0000000000744221

AUTHOR

Béatrice Morel

L’Observatoire de l’environnement nocturne de La Réunion, un dispositif partenarial de recherche-action territorialisée

Présentation du dispositif Observatoire de l'environnement nocturne (CNRS) et Observatoire de l'environnement nocturne de La Réunion (CNRS/Parc national de La Réunion) aux services internes du Parc national de La Réunion.

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On the determination of coherent solar climates over a tropical island with a complex topography

Abstract Many tropical islands aim at developing a greener self-sufficient energy production systems based on renewable energy, notably solar-generated electricity. This work explores the mean diurnal and annual solar cycles over La Reunion island (southwest Indian Ocean: 21°S, 55.5°E), and their spatial behavior, using the Solar surfAce RAdiation Heliosat – East (SARAH-E) satellite-derived data at high spatial ( 0.05 ° × 0.05 ° ) and time (hourly) resolutions over period 1999–2016. Comparisons of the SARAH-E data with ground-based measurements over the period 2011–2015 show differences of ~ 15 % for diurnal-seasonal variations. The solar resource over the island displays strong spatial var…

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Regionalizing rainfall at very high resolution over la Réunion island using a regional climate model.

Abstract Regional climate models (RCMs) should be evaluated with respect to their ability to downscale large-scale climate information to the local scales, which are sometimes strongly modulated by surface conditions. This is the case for La Réunion (southwest Indian Ocean) because of its island context and its complex topography. Large-scale atmospheric configurations such as tropical cyclones (TCs) may have an amplifying effect on local rainfall patterns that only a very high-resolution RCM, forced by the large scales and resolving finescale processes, may simulate properly. This paper documents the capability of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) RCM to regionalize rainfall…

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Estimation du rayonnement solaire dans le sud-ouest de l’océan Indien et a la Réunion : modélisation régionale du climat.

6 pages; International audience; On analyse ici la capacité du modèle climatique régional RegCM4 à simuler les champs radiatifs, la températurede surface et les précipitations sur un domaine couvrant l’Afrique australe et le sud-ouest de l’océan Indien (0-40°S ; 0-100°E), centré sur La Réunion. Les données produites par le modèle sont confrontées aux données d’observations CERESpour les paramètres du rayonnement (ondes courtes et longues) et GPCP pour les précipitations, et aux données desréanalyses ERA-Interim pour la température. Six simulations ont été conduites, chacune avec un schéma de convectiondifférent, afin de tester la sensibilité des résultats à la physique du modèle.Le schéma m…

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Analysis of cloudiness and solar radiation diurnal cycles for a better understanding of the forests greenness mean annual cycle in Central Africa.

To better understand the Central Africa forests sensitivity toclimate variability, we jointly analyse the mean annual cycles of greenness, rainfall, cloudiness and solarradiation for the target region 0-5°N/12-19°E using high resolution satellite data. Our results demonstrate theimportance of the diurnal scale for understanding the mean annual cycles of rainfall, cloudiness and solarradiation and the way they shape those of forest greenness. They also suggest that whereas the March-Mayrainy season appears optimal for greenness especially because of favorable light conditions, water availabilityis the main controlling factor in December-January the main dry season and in February at the star…

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Evolution of dry season low cloud cover over the Atlantic coast of Central Africa from diurnal to interannual scale

Despite its bioclimatic importance, few studies have focused on the stratiform low-level cloud cover ofthe dry season (June-September) of the Atlantic coast of Central Africa. Using in-situ data documenting theperiod 1971-2019, we show that this cloud cover is underestimated by SAFNWC satellite observations andCMIP6 models. We identify three types of days: clear, cloudy at night and totally cloudy, the latterbeing more frequent on the coast and inland, to the windward of the Cristal and Chaillu Mountains. Onan interannual scale, temperature anomalies in the South Tropical Atlantic, the equatorial Pacific and theCongo Basin, by modulating the meridional and zonal circulation cells, influence…

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Regionalizing Rainfall at Very High Resolution over La Réunion Island: A Case Study for Tropical Cyclone Ando

AbstractEnsemble simulations of Tropical Cyclone (TC) Ando (31 December 2000–9 January 2001) are performed over the southwest Indian Ocean using the nonhydrostatic WRF Model. Nested domains centered over the island of La Réunion allow for the simulation of local rainfall amounts associated with TC Ando at very high resolution (680-m grid spacing). The model is forced by and nudged toward ERA-Interim during the first (1–6) day(s) of the TC’s life cycle. The nudging ends at various dates to constrain either the whole life cycle or only parts of it.As expected, results show weakened member dispersion, as the relaxation lasts longer, with more members producing similar cyclone tracks and intens…

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