Evolution of the atmospheric boundary-layer structure of an arid Andes Valley

Summary The boundary-layer structure of the Elqui Valley is investigated, which is situated in the arid north of Chile and extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Andes in the east. The climate is dominated by the south-eastern Pacific subtropical anticyclone and the cold Humboldt Current. This combination leads to considerable temperature and moisture gradients between the coast and the valley and results in the evolution of sea and valley wind systems. The contribution of these mesoscale wind systems to the heat and moisture budget of the valley atmosphere is estimated, based on radiosoundings performed near the coast and in the valley. Near the coast, a well-mixed cloud-topped boundary layer exists. Both, the temperature and the specific humidity do not change considerably during the day. In the stratus layer the potential temperature increases, while the specific humidity decreases slightly with height. The top of the thin stratus layer, about 300 m in depth, is marked by an inversion. Moderate sea breeze winds of 3–4 m s⁻¹ prevail in the sub-cloud and cloud layer during daytime, but no land breeze develops during the night. The nocturnal valley atmosphere is characterized by a strong and 900 m deep stably stratified boundary layer. During the day, no pronounced well-mixed layer with a capping inversion develops in the valley. Above a super-adiabatic surface layer of about 150 m depth, a stably stratified layer prevails throughout the day. However, heating can be observed within a layer above the surface 800 m deep. Heat and moisture budget estimations show that sensible heat flux convergence exceeds cold air advection in the morning, while both processes compensate each other around noon, such that the temperature evolution stagnates. In the afternoon, cold air advection predominates and leads to net cooling of the boundary layer. Furthermore, the advection of moist air results in the accumulation of moisture during the noon and afternoon period, while latent heat flux convergence is of minor relevance to the moisture budget of the boundary layer. Correspondence: Norbert Kalthoff, Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung, Universit?t Karlsruhe/Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Postfach 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany     

High-resolution representation of the mechanisms responsible for the initiation of isolated thunderstorms over flat and complex terrains: analysis of CSIP and COPS cases

Two important measurement campaigns took place in Europe in the last years, the Convective Storm Initiation Project (CSIP) and the Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study (COPS) to gain a better understanding of why deep convection develops. In both campaigns, a dense network of instruments was deployed for detailed observation of the boundary layer characteristics. This paper investigates the usefulness of the combination of high-resolution surface, GPS, and radiosonde measurements to ascertain the likelihood of deep convection in particular for the complex terrain of the COPS domain. Two convection episodes were analysed for this purpose, one from the CSIP campaign and one from the COPS experiment. This study shows that despite the high spatial resolution of the radiosonde network in comparison to current observations, it was necessary to ascertain higher-resolution data sets illustrating the spatial variability of humidity, atmospheric stability, and convective inhibition. GPS and radiosonde data were used to determine high-resolution humidity fields, yielding high-resolution convection-related parameters’ fields representing atmospheric instability and inhibition in the area. The surface data provided a high-resolution representation of the near-surface convergence zones, which acted as triggering mechanism. The use of GPS measurements and surface stations, in addition to radiosonde measurements, turned out to be especially helpful to determine the regions of increased likelihood of deep convection.     

Identification of the influencing factors on groundwater drought and depletion in north-western Bangladesh

Groundwater drought is a specific type of hydrological drought that concerns groundwater bodies. It may have a significant adverse effect on the socio-economic, agricultural, and environmental conditions. Investigating the effect of different climatic and anthropogenic factors on groundwater drought provides essential information for sustainable planning and management of (ground) water resources. The aim of this study is to identify the influencing factors on groundwater drought in north-western Bangladesh, to understand the forcing mechanisms. A multi-step methodology is proposed to achieve this objective. The standardised precipitation index (SPI) and reconnaissance drought index (RDI) have been used to quantify the aggregated deficit between precipitation and the evaporative demand of the atmosphere, i.e. meteorological drought. The influence of land-cover patterns on the groundwater drought has been identified by calculating spatially distributed groundwater recharge as a function of land cover. Groundwater drought is defined by a threshold method. The results show that the evapotranspiration and rainfall deficits are determining meteorological drought, which shows a direct relation with groundwater recharge deficits. Land-cover change has a small effect on groundwater recharge but does not seem to be the main cause of groundwater-level decline (depletion) in the study area. The groundwater depth and groundwater-level deficit (drought) is continuously increasing with little correlation to meteorological drought or recharge anomalies. Overexploitation of groundwater for irrigation seems to be the main cause of groundwater-level decline in the study area. Efficient irrigation management is essential to reduce the growing pressure on groundwater resources and ensure sustainable water management.     

Model Simulations of the Boundary-Layer Evolution over an Arid Andes Valley

The boundary layer of the Elqui valley in the arid north of Chile exhibits several interesting phenomena, such as a very shallow convective boundary layer (CBL) during the day. In the morning, warming is observed in and above the CBL, while the humidity decreases in the CBL. At midday, in and above the CBL of the valley, the temperature stagnates. In the afternoon in the CBL the temperature decreases and humidity increases, although the latent heat flux is very low. Because the characteristic features of the valley atmosphere are hard to interpret from observations alone, model simulations were applied. The simulations indicate that all components of the budget equations, i.e. the turbulent flux divergences, advection via the sea breeze, the upvalley and upslope wind systems, as well as subsidence, contribute to the evolution of the valley atmosphere.