Study of the air-sea interactions at the mesoscale: the SEMAPHORE experiment

The SEMAPHORE (Structure des Echanges Mer-Atmosphère, Propriétés des Hétérogénéités Océaniques: Recherche Expérimentale) experiment has been conducted from June to November 1993 in the Northeast Atlantic between the Azores and Madeira. It was centered on the study of the mesoscale ocean circulation and air-sea interactions. The experimental investigation was achieved at the mesoscale using moorings, floats, and ship hydrological survey, and at a smaller scale by one dedicated ship, two instrumented aircraft, and surface drifting buoys, for one and a half month in October-November (IOP: intense observing period). Observations from meteorological operational satellites as well as spaceborne microwave sensors were used in complement. The main studies undertaken concern the mesoscale ocean, the upper ocean, the atmospheric boundary layer, and the sea surface, and first results are presented for the various topics. From data analysis and model simulations, the main characteristics of the ocean circulation were deduced, showing the close relationship between the Azores front meander and the occurrence of Mediterranean water lenses (meddies), and the shift between the Azores current frontal signature at the surface and within the thermocline. Using drifting buoys and ship data in the upper ocean, the gap between the scales of the atmospheric forcing and the oceanic variability was made evident. A 2 °C decrease and a 40-m deepening of the mixed layer were measured within the IOP, associated with a heating loss of about 100 W m⁻². This evolution was shown to be strongly connected to the occurrence of storms at the beginning and the end of October. Above the surface, turbulent measurements from ship and aircraft were analyzed across the surface thermal front, showing a 30% difference in heat fluxes between both sides during a 4-day period, and the respective contributions of the wind and the surface temperature were evaluated. The classical momentum flux bulk parameterization was found to fail in low wind and unstable conditions. Finally, the sea surface was investigated using airborne and satellite radars and wave buoys. A wave model, operationally used, was found to get better results compared with radar and wave-buoy measurements, when initialized using an improved wind field, obtained by assimilating satellite and buoy wind data in a meteorological model. A detailed analysis of a 2-day period showed that the swell component, propagating from a far source area, is underestimated in the wave model. A data base has been created, containing all experimental measurements. It will allow us to pursue the interpretation of observations and to test model simulations in the ocean, at the surface and in the atmospheric boundary layer, and to investigate the ocean-atmosphere coupling at the local and mesoscales.     

An overview of the ACE‐2 CLOUDYCOLUMN closure experiment

CLOUDYCOLUMN is one of the 6 ACE‐2 projects which took place in June‐July 1997, between Portugal and the Canary Islands. It was specifically dedicated to the study of changes of cloud radiative properties resulting from changes in the properties of those aerosols which act as cloud condensation nuclei. This process is also refered to as the aerosol indirect effect on climate. CLOUDYCOLUMN is focused on the contribution of stratocumulus clouds to that process. In addition to the basic aerosol measurements performed at the ground stations of the ACE‐2 project, 5 instrumented aircraft carried out in situ characterization of aerosol physical, chemical and nucleation properties and cloud dynamical and microphysical properties. Cloud radiative properties were also measured remotely with radiometers and a lidar. 11 case studies have been documented, from pure marine to significantly polluted air masses. The simultaneity of the measurements with the multi‐aircraft approach provides a unique data set for closure experiments on the aerosol indirect effect. In particular CLOUDYCOLUMN provided the 1st experimental evidence of the existence of the indirect effect in boundary layer clouds forming in polluted continental outbreacks. This paper describes the objectives of the project, the instrumental setup and the sampling strategy. Preliminary results published in additional papers are briefly summarized.     

Microphysical properties of stratocumulus clouds during ACE‐2

Microphysical measurements performed during 8 flights of the CLOUDYCOLUMN component of ACE‐2, with the Meteo‐France Merlin‐IV, are analyzed in terms of droplet number concentration and size. The droplet concentration is dependent upon the aerosol properties within the boundary layer. Its mean value over a flight varies from 55 cm⁻³, for the cleanest conditions, to 244 cm⁻³, for the most polluted one. For each flight, the variability of the concentration, in selected cloud regions that are not affected by mixing with dry air or drizzle scavenging, ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 of the mean value. The mean volume diameter increases with altitude above cloud base according to the adiabatic cloud model. The frequency distribution of mean droplet volume normalized by the adiabatic value, for the selected regions, shows the same dispersion as the distribution of normalized concentration. The values of droplet concentration versus mean volume diameter are then examined in sub‐adiabatic samples to characterize the effects of mixing and drizzle scavenging. Finally, the ratio of mean volume diameter to effective diameter is analyzed and a simple relationship between these 2 crucial parameters is proposed.     

Cross-correlation of random fields: mathematical approach and applications

Random field cross‐correlation is a new promising technique for seismic exploration, as it bypasses shortcomings of usual active methods. Seismic noise can be considered as a reproducible, stationary in time, natural source. In the present paper we show why and how cross‐correlation of noise records can be used for geophysical imaging. We discuss the theoretical conditions required to observe the emergence of the Green's functions between two receivers from the cross‐correlation of noise records. We present examples of seismic imaging using reconstructed surface waves from regional to local scales. We also show an application using body waves extracted from records of a small‐scale network. We then introduce a new way to achieve surface wave seismic experiments using cross‐correlation of unsynchronized sources. At a laboratory scale, we demonstrate that body wave extraction may also be used to image buried scatterers. These works show the feasibility of passive imaging from noise cross‐correlation at different scales.     

Cloud condensation nuclei and cloud droplet measurements during ACE‐2

During the 2nd Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE‐2), relationships between stratocumulus cloud properties and aerosols were examined. Here, the relevant measurements including the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation spectrum, updraft velocity, cloud microphysical and aerosol properties are presented. It is shown that calculations of droplet concentration based on updraft velocity and the CCN activation spectrum are consistent with direct observations. Also discussed is an apparent disparity among measurements of the CCN activation spectrum, the accumulation mode size distribution, and the composition of the submicrometric aerosol. The observed consistency between CCN, updraft and cloud droplets is a necessary refinement; however, extended analyses of the ACE‐2 data set are needed to guide improvements in model simulations of the interaction between aerosols and cloud microphysics. In particular, there is need for an examination of aerosol size spectra and chemical composition measurements with a view towards validating droplet activation schemes which relate the aerosol and cloud dynamical properties to cloud albedo.     

Monitoring volcanoes using seismic noise correlations

In this article, we summarize some recent results of measurements of temporal changes of active volcanoes using seismic noise cross-correlations. We first present a novel approach to estimate volcano interior temporal seismic velocity changes. The proposed method allows to measure very small velocity changes (≈ 0.1%) with a time resolution as small as one day. The application of that method to Piton de la Fournaise Volcano (La Réunion Island) shows velocity decreases preceding eruptions. Moreover, velocity changes from noise cross-correlations over 10 years allow to detect transient velocity changes that could be due to long-lasting intrusions of magma without eruptive activity or to pressure buildup associated to the replenishing of the magma reservoir. We also present preliminary results of noise cross-correlation waveform perturbation associated with the occurrence of dike injection and volcanic eruption. We show that such an analysis leads us to locate the areas of dike injection and eruptive fissures at Piton de la Fournaise Volcano. These recent results suggest that monitoring volcanoes using seismic noise correlations should improve our ability to forecast eruptions, their intensity and thus potential environmental impact.     

The influence of CCN spectra and updraft velocities on the validity of the b parameterization of the condensation process

A detailed parcel model of condensational droplet growth, including surface tension and dissolved salts effects, is used for studying the validity of a parameterization based on the simplified droplet growth equation, the b² scheme. In the b² scheme, spectra are derived from the droplet distribution at the activation level, and the liquid water mixing ratio using a translation of the initial spectrum in the r² scale. Spectra derived from the detailed model are thus compared to translated spectra. Four simplified CCN distributions are tested for updraft velocities in the range of 0.5 m/s to 5.0 m/s. It is shown that the b² scheme is suitable for use in cloud models, except when the proportion of large nuclei in the CCN distribution is extremely high.     

Landslide kinematics inferred from in situ measurements: the Cliets rock-slide (Savoie,French Alps)

This paper presents an analysis of two large rock toppling/sliding events which occurred in January 2014 and February 2019 at the Cliets unstable slope (Savoie, French Alps). To understand the mechanism involved and its control by external forcings, a multi-technique analysis approach is used combining geological observations, meteorological data analysis, topographic measurements and simple physical modeling. The pre-failure stage of the events is more particularly analyzed. No direct relationships are found between triggering factors and surface motion though a kinematics analysis highlights the transition toppling-sliding. It showed that, at first order, this transition occurred 4 years before the first failure of 2014, while it happened 2 months before the second failure of 2019. From this date, the environment is considered like a block sliding on an inclined plane. By applying a frictional model (Helmstetter et al. in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 109(B2), 2004), we illustrated that the two events belong to an unstable velocity-weakening sliding regime. The time to failure (Voight in Science 243(4888):200–203, 1989) is forecasted with the model, and the results are consistent with the observations. They confirm that the gravitational factor is predominant over the triggering factors for the two events.