Search results for "Troposphere"

Observational and modelling evidence of tropical deep convective clouds as a source of mid-tropospheric accumulation mode aerosols

2008

High concentrations (up to 550 cm−3 STP) of aerosols in the accumulation mode (>0.12 μm) were observed by aircraft above 7.5 km altitude in the dynamically active regions of several deep convect ...

Small-scale mixing processes enhancing troposphere-to-stratosphere transport by pyro-cumulonimbus storms

2007

Abstract. Deep convection induced by large forest fires is an efficient mechanism for transport of aerosol particles and trace gases into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS). For many pyro-cumulonimbus clouds (pyroCbs) as well as other cases of severe convection without fire forcing, radiometric observations of cloud tops in the thermal infrared (IR) reveal characteristic structures, featuring a region of relatively high brightness temperatures (warm center) surrounded by a U-shaped region of low brightness temperatures. We performed a numerical simulation of a specific case study of pyroCb using a non-hydrostatic cloud resolving model with a two-moment cloud microphysics p…

Analysis of variability in divergence and turn-over induced by three idealized convective systems with a 3D cloud resolving model

2020

Abstract. The sensitivity of upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric convective outflows and related divergence fields is analysed using an ensemble of cloud resolving model (CM1) simulations in LES-mode including various physically manipulated simulations for three different convective systems initialized with an idealized trigger. The main goal of this study is to assess to what extend the divergence field depends on cloud microphysical processes, the mode of convection and on the processes of convective momentum transport and moist static energy redistribution. We find that latent heat release (representing the microphysical uncertainty) plays an essential role by explaining much of m…

Impacts of Varying Concentrations of Cloud Condensation Nuclei on Deep Convective Cloud Updrafts—A Multimodel Assessment

2021

AbstractThis study presents results from a model intercomparison project, focusing on the range of responses in deep convective cloud updrafts to varying cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations among seven state-of-the-art cloud-resolving models. Simulations of scattered convective clouds near Houston, Texas, are conducted, after being initialized with both relatively low and high CCN concentrations. Deep convective updrafts are identified, and trends in the updraft intensity and frequency are assessed. The factors contributing to the vertical velocity tendencies are examined to identify the physical processes associated with the CCN-induced updraft changes. The models show several c…

Global Frequency and Geographical Distribution of Nighttime Streamer Corona Discharges (BLUEs) in Thunderclouds

2021

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

The 1-way on-line coupled model system MECO(n) – Part 4: Chemical evaluation (based on MESSy v2.52)

2016

Abstract. For the first time a simulation incorporating tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry using the newly developed MECO(n) model system is performed. MECO(n) is short for MESSyfied ECHAM and COSMO model nested n-times. It features an on-line coupling of the COSMO-CLM model, equipped with the Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy) interface (called COSMO/MESSy), with the global atmospheric chemistry model ECHAM5/MESSy for Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC). This on-line coupling allows a consistent model chain with respect to chemical and meteorological boundary conditions from the global scale down to the regional kilometre scale. A MECO(2) simulation incorporating one regional instance ov…

Trace gas composition in the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone: a case study based on aircraft observations and model simulations

2017

We present in situ measurements of the trace gas composition of the upper tropospheric (UT) Asian summer monsoon anticyclone (ASMA) performed with the High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO) in the frame of the Earth System Model Validation (ESMVal) campaign. Air masses with enhanced O3 mixing ratios were encountered after entering the ASMA at its southern edge at about 150 hPa on 18 September 2012. This is in contrast to the presumption that the anticyclone's interior is dominated by recently uplifted air with low O3 in the monsoon season. We also observed enhanced CO and HCl in the ASMA, which are tracers for boundary layer pollution and tropopause layer (TL) air or stratosp…

2018

Abstract. This study places HALO research aircraft observations in the upper-tropospheric Asian summer monsoon anticyclone (ASMA) into the context of regional, intra-annual variability by hindcasts with the ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model. The observations were obtained during the Earth System Model Validation (ESMVal) campaign in September 2012. Observed and simulated tracer–tracer relations reflect photochemical O3 production as well as in-mixing from the lower troposphere and the tropopause layer. The simulations demonstrate that tropospheric trace gas profiles in the monsoon season are distinct from those in the rest of the year, and the measurements reflect the main proc…

Evaluation of the coupled high-resolution atmospheric chemistry model system MECO(n) using in situ and MAX-DOAS NO<sub>2</sub&am…

2021

Abstract. We present high spatial resolution (up to 2.2×2.2 km2) simulations focussed over south-west Germany using the online coupled regional atmospheric chemistry model system MECO(n) (MESSy-fied ECHAM and COSMO models nested n times). Numerical simulation of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) surface volume mixing ratios (VMRs) are compared to in situ measurements from a network with 193 locations including background, traffic-adjacent and industrial stations to investigate the model's performance in simulating the spatial and temporal variability of short-lived chemical species. We show that the use of a high-resolution and up-to-date emission inventory is crucial for reproducing the spatial varia…

Modeling the aerosol chemical composition of the tropopause over the Tibetan Plateau during the Asian summer monsoon

2019

Enhanced aerosol abundance in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) associated with the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) is referred to as the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL). The chemical composition, microphysical properties, and climate effects of aerosols in the ATAL have been the subject of discussion over the past decade. In this work, we use the ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) general circulation model at a relatively fine grid resolution (about 1.1×1.1∘) to numerically simulate the emissions, chemistry, and transport of aerosols and their precursors in the UTLS within the ASM anticyclone during the years 2010–2012. We find a pronounced maximum of aerosol extin…