Simultaneous measurements of ozone and its precursors on a diurnal scale at a semi urban site in India

Simultaneous observations of surface ozone (O₃) with its precursors namely, carbon monoxide (CO) and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) have been taken on diurnal scale from a tropical semi-urban site, Pune (18.54°N, 73.81°E) in India. We present the data for one year (2003–2004) period to study the salient features of these trace gases. The peak in amplitude of ozone is found during the noontime whereas in CO and NO_X it is observed in the morning hours between 0800 and 0900 H. The concentration of these pollutants drop down considerably during southwest monsoon months and the diurnal pattern also become very weak. The diurnal trends of these gases are found to be different for different seasons, which are specific to the receptor site. Model simulations using 3-D chemical-transport model with regional emission inventories and observed winds have also been carried out. The comparison of model results with observations, on seasonal basis yielded a reasonable qualitative agreement. The relative role of local emissions and long range transport in the diurnal pattern for different seasons has been outlined, which reveals that the ozone is highly influenced by regional/long range transport in this region. The effect of precursor amounts in the morning on afternoon ozone peak levels has been investigated using the lag correlation study, which reveals that a time lag of 5–7 h is required for most of these precursor gases to photo-chemically produce ozone to its maximum potential. Results are discussed in the light of available topographic and meteorological conditions.     

Correlation between black carbon aerosols, carbon monoxide and tropospheric ozone over a tropical urban site

Black carbon aerosols plays an important role in the earth's radiative balance and little is known of their concentrations, distributions, source strength, and especially the aerosol chemistry of the developing world. The present study addresses the impact of back carbon aerosols on different atmospheric species like CO and tropospheric ozone over an urban environment, namely Hyderabad, India. Ozone concentration varies from 14 to 63 ppbv over the study area. Diurnal variations of ozone suggest that ozone concentration starts increasing gradually after sunrise, attaining a maximum value by evening time and decreasing gradually thereafter. Black carbon (BC) aerosol mass concentrations varies from 1471 to 11,175 ng m⁻³. The diurnal variations of BC suggest that the concentrations are increased by a factor of 2 during morning (06:00–09:00 h) and evening hours (18:00 to 22:00 h) compared to afternoon hours. Positive correlation has been observed between BC and CO (r²=0.74) with an average slope of 6.4×10⁻³ g BC/g CO. The slope between black carbon aerosol mass concentration and tropospheric ozone suggests that every 1 μg m⁻³ increase in black carbon aerosol mass concentration causes a 3.5 μg m⁻³ reduction in tropospheric ozone. The results have been discussed in detail in the paper.     

The effect of ozone and aerosols on the surface erythemal UV radiation estimated from OMI measurements

Surface erythemal UV radiation is mainly affected by total column ozone, aerosols, clouds, and solar zenith angle. The effect of ozone on the surface UV radiation has been explored many times in the previous studies due to the decrease of ozone layer. In this study, we calculated the effect of aerosols on the surface UV radiation as well as that of ozone using data acquired from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). First, ozone, aerosol optical depth (AOD), and surface erythemal UVB radiation measured from satellite are compared with those from ground measurements. The results showed that the comparison for ozone was good with r ² of 0.92. For aerosol, there was difference between satellite measurements and surface measurements due to the insufficient information on aerosol in the retrieval algorithm. The r ² for surface erythemal UV radiation was high (～0.94) but satellite measurements showed about 30% larger values than surface measurements on average by not considering the effect of absorbing aerosols in the retrieval process from satellite measurements. Radiative amplification factor (RAF) is used to access the effect of ozone and aerosol quantitatively. RAF for ozone was 0.97～1.49 with solar zenith angle. To evaluate the effect of aerosol on the surface UV radiation, only clear-sky pixel data were used and solar zenith angle and total column amount of ozone were fixed. Also, RAF for aerosol was assessed according to the single scattering albedo (SSA) of aerosols. The results showed that RAF for aerosol with smaller SSA (< 0.90) was larger than that for with larger SSA (> 0.90). The RAF for aerosol was 0.09～0.22 for the given conditions which was relatively small compared to that for ozone. However, considering the fact that aerosol optical depth can change largely in time and space while the total column amount of ozone does not change very much, it needs to include the effect of aerosol to predict the variations of surface UV radiation more correctly.     

Lidar Measurements of Aerosols in the Tropical Atmosphere

Measurements of atmospheric aerosols and trace gases using the Laser radar (lidar) techniques, have been in pro-gress since 1985 at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune (18o32’N, 73o51’E, 559 m AMSL), India. These observations carried out during nighttime in the lower atmosphere (up to 5.5 km AGL), employing an Argon ion / Helium-Neon lidar provided information on the nature, size, concentration and other characteristics of the constituents present in the tropical atmosphere. The time-height variations in aerosol concentration and associated layer structure exhibit marked differences between the post-sunset and pre-sunrise periods besides their seasonal va-riation with maximum concentration during pre-monsoon / winter and minimum concentration during monsoon months. These observations also revealed the influence of the terrain of the experimental site and some selected me-teorological parameters on the aerosol vertical distributions. The special observations of aerosol vertical profiles ob-tained in the nighttime atmospheric boundary layer during October 1986 through September 1989 showed that the most probable occurrence of mixing depth lies between 450 and 550 m, and the multiple stably stratified aerosol lay-ers present above the mixing depth with maximum frequency of occurrence at around 750 m. This information on nighttime mixing depth / stable layer derived from lidar aerosol observations showed good agreement with the height of the ground-based shear layer / elevated layer observed by the simultaneously operated sodar at the lidar site.     

Variations in surface ozone and NOx at Kannur: a tropical, coastal site in India

Continuous measurements of surface ozone (O₃), NOx (NO + NO₂) and meteorological parameters have been made in Kannur (11.9?°N, 75.4?°E, 5?m asl), India from November 2009 to October 2010. It was observed that O₃ and NOx showed distinct diurnal and seasonal variabilities at this site. The annual average diurnal profile of O₃ showed a peak of (30.3?±?10.4) ppbv in the late afternoon and a minimum of (3.2?±?0.7) ppbv in the early morning. The maximum value of O₃ mixing ratio was observed in winter (44?±?3.1) ppbv and minimum during monsoon (18.46?±?3.5) ppbv. The rate of production of O₃ was found to be higher in December (10.1?ppbv/h) and lower in July (1.8?ppbv/h) during the time interval 0800?C1000?h. A correlation coefficient of 0.52 for the relationship between O₃ and [NO₂]/[NO] reveals the role of NO₂ photolysis that generates O₃ at this site. The correlation between O₃ and meteorological parameters indicate the influence of seasonal changes on O₃ production. Investigations were further extended to explore the week day weekend variations in O₃ mixing ratio at an urban site reveals the enhancement of O₃. The variations of O₃ mixing ratio with seasonal air mass flows were elucidated with the aid of backward air trajectories. This study also indicates how vapor phase organic species present in the ambient air at this location may influence the complex chemistry involving (VOCs) that enhances the production of O₃ at this location.     

Impacts of the diurnal cycle of radiation on tropical cyclone intensification and structure

To investigate the impacts of the diurnal cycle on tropical cyclones （TCs）,a set of idealized simulations were conducted by specifying different radiation （i.e.,nighttime-only,daytime-only,full diurnal cycle）.It was found that,for an initially weak storm,it developed faster during nighttime than daytime.The impacts of radiation were not only on TC intensification,but also on TC structure and size.The nighttime storm tended to have a larger size than its daytime counterparts.During nighttime,the radiative cooling steepened the lapse rate and thus reduced the static stability in cloudy regions,enhancing convection.Diabatic heating associated with outer convection induced boundary layer inflows,which led to outward expansion of tangential winds and thus increased the storm size.     

Shipboard measurements of concentrations and properties of carbonaceous aerosols during ACE‐2

Mass concentrations of total, organic and black carbon were derived by analyzing the supermicron and submicron aerosol fractions of shipboard collected samples in the easternAtlantic Ocean as part of the second Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE‐2). These analyses were complemented by experiments intended to estimate the water‐soluble fraction of the submicron carbonaceous material. Our results can be summarized as follows. Depending on the sample, between 35% and 80% of total aerosol carbon is associated with the submicron fraction. Total submicron carbon was well correlated with black carbon, a unique tracer for incomplete combustion. These correlations and the approximately constant total to black carbon ratios, suggest that the majority of submicron total carbon is of primary combustion derived origin. No systematic relationship between total submicron aerosol carbon and sulfate concentrations was found. Sulfate concentrations were, with a few exceptions, significantly higher than total carbon. Our experiments have demonstrated that water exposure removed between 36% and 72% of total carbon from the front filter, suggesting that a substantial fraction of the total submicron aerosol organic carbon is water‐soluble. An unexpected result of this study is that water exposure of filter samples caused substantial removal of, nominally insoluble, submicron black carbon. Possible reasons for this observation are discussed.     

MM5 simulations of interannual change and the diurnal cycle of southern African regional climate

Summary Two cumulus convection and two planetary boundary layer schemes are used to investigate the climate of southern Africa using the MM5 regional climate model. Both a wet (1988/89) and a dry (1991/92) summer (December–February, DJF) rainfall season are simulated and the results compared with three different observational sources: Climate Research Unit seasonal data (precipitation, 2 m surface temperature, number of rain days), satellite-derived diurnal precipitation and the Surface Radiation Budget diurnal short-wave fluxes and optical depth. Using the ETA model boundary layer in MM5 simulates too much incident short-wave radiation at the surface at 12 UTC, whereas the medium range forecast model boundary layer yields a diurnal cycle of short-wave radiation closer to the observed. The Betts-Miller convection scheme in MM5 simulates peak rainfall later in the day and less rain days than observed, whereas when using the Kain-Fritsch convection scheme a peak rainfall earlier in the day and more rain days than observed are simulated. The intensity of the hydrological cycle is therefore dependent on the choice of convection scheme, which in turn is further modified by the boundary layer scheme. Precipitation during the wet 1988/89 season is reasonably captured by most simulations, though using the Betts-Miller scheme more accurately simulates rainfall during the dry 1991/92 season. Mean DJF biases in the surface temperature and diurnal temperature range are consistent with biases in the number of rain days and the diurnal cycles of surface moisture and energy.     

Composing the diurnal cycle of mixing height from simultaneous sodar and wind profiler measurements

Mixing heights have been determined independently from sodar and boundary-layer wind profiler measurements carried out at the Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg of the German Weather Service between 1 June 1994 and 6 July 1994. Good agreement between both systems was found for mixing height values between about 250 m and 700 m, i.e., in an evolving convective boundary layer. Considering the typical sounding ranges of the sodar (50 m up to 800 m) and of the wind profiler (200 m up to higher than 3000 m), simultaneous operation of the two systems is demonstrated to be a promising tool for continously monitoring the mixing height throughout its complete diurnal cycle.     

Surface energy balance measurements at a tropical site in West Africa during the transition from dry to wet season

Summary In one of the first micrometeorological experiments at a tropical site in West Africa, direct measurements of all surface energy balance components were carried out. The experiment NIMEX-1 in Ile-Ife, Nigeria (7°33′ N, 4°33′ E), was conducted from February 19, 2004 to March 9, 2004, during the transition from the dry to the wet season. Three typical weather situations could be observed: firstly, monsoonal winds from the southwest blew over desiccated soils. Almost 100% of the available energy at the surface was transformed into sensible heat flux. Secondly, after several thundershowers, monsoonal winds swept over soils of increased water content, which led to a partitioning of the available energy corresponding to Bowen ratios between 0.3 and 0.5. Thirdly, harmattan winds advected dry dusty air from northern directions, which reduced the incoming shortwave radiation. Again, Bowen ratios range from 0.3 to 0.5 during daytime, whereas latent heat fluxes are still high during the night due to the advection of very dry air. No systematic non-closure of the surface energy balance could be found for the NIMEX-1 dataset. Unlike other experiments in Europe, most of the ogives for the sensible and latent heat flux were found to be convergent during NIMEX-1 in Ile-Ife. This can be attributed to the homogeneity of the surrounding bush, which lacks the defined borders found in agriculturally cultivated landscapes.     

Decadal long convection-permitting regional climate simulations over eastern China: evaluation of diurnal cycle of precipitation

With a decadal long period (1998–2010) climate simulation using the Weather Research and Forecasting model at convection-permitting resolution (4 km) (WRF_CPM), the diurnal cycles of precipitation amount (PA), frequency (PF) and intensity (PI) and their related large-scale atmospheric circulations over eastern China are analyzed. The simulations are further compared against the CN05.1, CMORPH v1.0 and the ECMWF Re-Analysis Interim (ERAIN). Results show that WRF_CPM can reasonably represent the observed seasonal rainfall and the atmospheric circulations. As for the features at a sub-daily scale, WRF_CPM is superior at reproducing the diurnal amplitude of PF that is similar to PA in terms of the spatial distribution. Moreover, the diurnal peak timing of summer PF and PA over the three sub-regions, i.e., North China (NC), Yangtze-Huaihe River basin (YHR) and South China (SC), can be properly reproduced by WRF_CPM. The observed precipitation systems exhibit obvious eastward propagation from the Plateau to its downstream, which may be due to the solenoid circulations associated with the low-level anomalous wind and moisture convergence. However, they are almost overestimated by WRF_CPM and in turn causing overestimated precipitation along YHR. The early morning precipitation in WRF_CPM has a larger fraction than CMORPH, which is related to the overestimated nocturnal low-level jet. Whereas, due to the solar heating and the land-sea breezes, the late-afternoon precipitation peak is mainly located along the coasts of eastern China, which matches well with the vertical motion in WRF_CPM.     

In-cloud scavenging of gases and aerosols at a mountain site in Central Switzerland

An in-cloud scavenging case study of the major ions (NH₄ ⁺, SO₄ ^2- and NO₃ ^-) determining the cloudwater composition at a mountain site (1620 m.a.s.l.) is presented. A comparison between in-cloud measurements of the cloudwater composition, liquid water content, gas concentrations and aerosol concentrations and pre-cloud gas and aerosol concentrations yields the following results. Cloudwater concentrations resulted from scavenging of about half of the available NH₃, aerosol NH₄ ⁺, aerosol NO₃ ^-, and aerosol SO₄ ^2-. Approximately a third of the SO₂ was scavenged by the cloudwater and oxidized to SO₄ ^2-. Cloud acidity during the first two hours of cloud interception (pH 3.24) was determined mostly by the scavenged gases (NH₃, SO₂, and HNO₃); aerosol contributions to the acidity were found to be small. Observations of gas and aerosol concentrations at three elevations prior to several winter precipitation events indicated that NH₃ concentrations are typically half (12–80 %) of the total (gas and aerosol) N (-III) concentrations. HNO₃ typically is present at much lower concentrations (1–55 %) than aerosol NO₃ ^-. Concentrations of SO₂ are a substantial component of total sulfur, with concentrations averaging 60 % (14–76 %) of the total S (IV and VI).     

Total ozone variations in the tropical belt: An application for quality of ground based measurements

Summary The study of the regime of ozone variations in the huge tropical belt (25° S to 25° N), which are, in general, very small and zonally nearly symmetric, permits to establish a statistical model for estimating the ozone deviations using Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) data. The equatorial stratospheric winds at 25 and 50hPa and the solar flux at 10.7 cm are used as major predictors and the linear trend was also estimated. The 10m/sec stratospheric wind change is related to1.2% ozone change at the equator, to practically no change in the 8–15° belts and up to 1.4% change with opposite phase over the tropics in spring but nearly zero change in fall. The solar cycle related amplitude is about 1.4% per 100 units of 10.7 cm solar flux. The ozone trends are negative: not significant over the equator and about –2% per decade (significant at 95% level) over the tropics. The latter could have been enforced by the 2 to 4% lower ozone values during 1991–1993, part of which might be related to the effects of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, but might also be due to the strong QBO. The estimated deviations are verified versus reliable observations and the very good agreement permits applying the model for quantitative quality control of the reported ozone data from previous years. The standard deviation of the difference between observed ozone deviations and those estimated from the model is only 0.9–1.6% for yearly mean, that means instruments used for total ozone observations in the tropical belt should have systematic error of less than 1%. Cases when the discrepancies between the model and reported observations at a given station exceed 2–3% for time interval of 2 or more years should be verified.With 17 Figures     

副热带高压对登陆台风影响的数值模拟研究

中国登陆台风多发于夏季,尤其对于登陆后继续北上深入内陆的热带气旋,逐渐与其所处的中纬度环境场发生相互作用,强度衰减缓慢甚至再次发展,且伴随有台风动力、热力结构的转变(ET过程).同时,夏季多伴有副热带高压的活跃与西伸趋势,然而该系统与台风之间相互作用的物理机制仍不十分清楚,这已成为提高台风预报能力的主要障碍之一.文中选取1997年第11号台风"温妮"为研究个例,通过中尺度模式MM5模拟再现了该台风登陆后经历初期减弱、变性及变性后再次发展的演变过程.采用Davis等提出的片段位涡反演方法,改变模式积分初始时刻台风东部副热带高压强度,通过数值模拟与诊断分析的方法,深入研究不同强度副热带高压系统对台风陆上维持、变性和发展的影响.研究表明,副热带高压强度的加强加快了台风中心的北移速度,冷空气提前下沉入侵台风中心,加快台风的变性,配合暖气团的强迫抬升激发强烈的对流层中高层锋生,台风变性后冉次加强幅度增大.副热带高压强度的改变直接影响台风中心上空高空形势,而后者与台风强度的变化有较好的相关性.     

Atmospheric back radiation in the tropical pacific: Intercomparison of in-situ measurements, simulations and satellite retrievals

Summary The back radiation has been measured with an Eppley pyrgeometer on board the R/V Vickers in the tropical Pacific Ocean during the field campaigns COARE (Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment) and CEPEX (Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment) in February and March 1993, respectively. As part of these compaigns radiosondes have been launched from the Vickers several times per day and cloud cover was observed frequently. The radiosonde and cloud observations are used together with a radiative transfer model to calculate the back radiation for a subsequent intercomparison with the pyrgeometer measurements. Another means of comparison is derived from space-borne SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave/Imager) measurements. The mean difference between pyrgeometer measurements and simulated downwelling irradiance at the sea surface is less than 2 W/m², at a mean of 425 W/m² in the warm pool, with a standard deviation of 8 W/m². The comparison of satellite measurements with pyrgeometer readings shows a mean difference of-3 W/m² and a standard deviation of 14 W/m². The mean difference between satellite-derived back radiation and simulated one is 3 W/m² with a standard deviation of 14 W/m². Comparisons with results obtained from bulk formulae applied to surface meteorological observations show a good performance of the bulk parameterisations in the cloud-free case but a general overestimation of the back radiation in cloudy situations.With 5 Figures