Bernard Campistron

Observation of the Diurnal Cycle in the Low Troposphere of West Africa

Abstract The authors give an overview of the diurnal cycle of the low troposphere during 2006 at two different sites, Niamey (Niger) and Nangatchori (Benin). This study is partly based on the first observations of UHF wind profilers ever made in West Africa in the context of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) project. Also used are the radiosoundings made in Niamey and ground station observations at Nangatchori, which allow for the study of the impact of the dynamics on the water vapor cycle and the turbulence observed at the ground. Profiler measurements revealed a very consistent year-round nocturnal low-level jet maximal around 0500 UTC and centered at 400-m above the ground, with wind speed around 15 m s−1. This jet comes either from the northeast during the dry season or from the southwest during the wet season, in relation with the position of the intertropical discontinuity. The radiosoundings made in Niamey highlight both the role of the nocturnal jet in bringing water vapor fro...

TURBULENT DISSIPATION RATE IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER VIA UHF WIND PROFILER DOPPLER SPECTRAL WIDTH MEASUREMENTS

The study is focused on the retrieval and validation of the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate εfrom spectral width measurements made by a UHF wind profiler in the convective atmospheric boundary layer. The possibility to deduce ε, which is one of the most important parameters for boundary-layer study and monitoring, from Doppler radar spectral width measurements has a firm theoretical basis established by numerous earlier works. However, the major drawback of this approach lies in various meteorological and instrumental sources of non-turbulent spectral width broadening which have to be recognised and accounted for. In the first part of the study, the theoretical background of the ε retrieval is detailed and all possible causes of spectral broadening are listed and evaluated. In the second part, the method is applied to four days of UHF diurnal boundary-layer observations, collected during the TRAC-98 experiment, for which in situ aircraft ε measurements were available. Comparison between radar-retrieved εand in situ aircraft measurements yields a fairly good agreement with a linear correlation coefficient of about 0.9 and a residual bias less than 2 × 10-4 m2 s-3. The analysis of εderived from vertical and off-zenith observation leads to the recommendation, that in the boundary layer, where the wind is usually moderate, data collected by off-zenith beams should be used. Indeed, the measurement of the vertical spectral width, less affected by the large-scale broadening factor, can still be altered by the ground clutter removal.

Regional transport and dilution during high-pollution episodes in southern France: Summary of findings from the Field Experiment to Constraint Models of Atmospheric Pollution and Emissions Transport (ESCOMPTE)

In the French Mediterranean basin the large city of Marseille and its industrialized suburbs (oil plants in the Fos-Berre area) are major pollutant sources that cause frequent and hazardous pollution episodes, especially in summer when intense solar heating enhances the photochemical activity and when the sea breeze circulation redistributes pollutants farther north in the countryside. This paper summarizes the findings of 5 years of research on the sea breeze in southern France and related mesoscale transport and dilution of pollutants within the Field Experiment to Constraint Models of Atmospheric Pollution and Emissions Transport (ESCOMPTE) program held in June and July 2001. This paper provides an overview of the experimental and numerical challenges identified before the ESCOMPTE field experiment and summarizes the key findings made in observation, simulation, and theory. We specifically address the role of large-scale atmospheric circulation to local ozone vertical distribution and the mesoscale processes driving horizontal advection of pollutants and vertical transport and mixing via entrainment at the top of the sea breeze or at the front and venting along the sloped terrain. The crucial importance of the interactions between processes of various spatial and temporal scales is thus highlighted. The advances in numerical modeling and forecasting of sea breeze events and ozone pollution episodes in southern France are also underlined. Finally, we conclude and point out some open research questions needing further investigation.In the French Mediterranean basin the large city of Marseille and its industrialized suburbs (oil plants in the Fos-Berre area) are major pollutant sources that cause frequent and hazardous pollution episodes, especially in summer when intense solar heating enhances the photochemical activity and when the sea breeze circulation redistributes pollutants farther north in the countryside. This paper summarizes the findings of 5 years of research on the sea breeze in southern France and related mesoscale transport and dilution of pollutants within the Field Experiment to Constraint Models of Atmospheric Pollution and Emissions Transport (ESCOMPTE) program held in June and July 2001. This paper provides an overview of the experimental and numerical challenges identified before the ESCOMPTE field experiment and summarizes the key findings made in observation, simulation, and theory. We specifically address the role of large-scale atmospheric circulation to local ozone vertical distribution and the mesoscale processes driving horizontal advection of pollutants and vertical transport and mixing via entrainment at the top of the sea breeze or at the front and venting along the sloped terrain. The crucial importance of the interactions between processes of various spatial and temporal scales is thus highlighted. The advances in numerical modeling and forecasting of sea breeze events and ozone pollution episodes in southern France are also underlined. Finally, we conclude and point out some open research questions needing further investigation.

Life Cycle of a Mesoscale Circular Gust Front Observed by a C-Band Doppler Radar in West Africa

AbstractOn 10 July 2006, during the Special Observation Period (SOP) of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) campaign, a small convective system initiated over Niamey and propagated westward in the vicinity of several instruments activated in the area, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) C-band Doppler radar and the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) mobile facility. The system started after a typical convective development of the planetary boundary layer. It grew and propagated within the scope of the radar range, so that its entire life cycle is documented, from the precluding shallow convection to its traveling gust front. The analysis of the observations during the transitions from organized dry convection to shallow convection and from shallow convection to deep convection lends support to the significant role played by surface temperature heterogeneities and boundary layer processes in the initiation of deep convection in semiarid conditions. The analysis ...

Use of the Doppler Spectral Width to Improve the Estimation of the Convective Boundary Layer Height from UHF Wind Profiler Observations

Abstract Enhancement of the air refractive index structure parameter C2n often occurs at the top of the convective boundary layer (CBL), where the absolute values of the vertical gradients of virtual potential temperature and mixing ratio have a peak. This well-known behavior of the C2n profiles is often used to locate the height of the mixed layer Zi from UHF wind profiler observations. In the present study, Zi determination with the C2n-based technique was investigated for a case of clear-air CBL and a case of cloud-topped CBL. In certain circumstances, such as multifold C2n peaks or poorly defined peaks, these techniques fail to correctly retrieve CBL height. In order to improve Zi determination, a new method based on the conjoint use of C2n and Doppler spectral width profiles is proposed and discussed.

Comparison of Radar Reflectivity and Vertical Velocity Observed with a Scannable C-Band Radar and Two UHF Profilers in the Lower Troposphere

Abstract A C-band meteorological Doppler radar has been used to investigate the dynamic processes and the coherent organizations within a clear air atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). Depending on the atmospheric conditions, this moderate sensitive radar was able to provide a coherent and continuous velocity field from 0.1 km up to 3 km above ground, and over a horizontal range reaching at least 30 km. Here the focus is on the profiling capability of this Doppler radar in a clear air boundary layer. The velocity volume processing method was used to deduce vertical profiles of the wind field from the panoramic conical scannings. A comparison between the observations of this C-band radar and two UHF wind profilers is presented. Good agreement was obtained in the measurements of the wind velocity and of the vertical and temporal evolution of the reflectivity. In particular, as for UHF wind profilers, the ABL top was found coincident for the C-band radar with a bright band of reflectivity maximum, and both type...

Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Horizontal Rolls and Cells in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Based on Radar and in Situ Observations

This paper is the second of a series devoted to the observation and analysis of coherent structures in the cloudy Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) such as horizontal rolls or thermal cells. In the first paper, the TRAC (Turbulence Radar Aircraft Cells) experiment which is the observational support of this investigation based on coupled radar-aircraft measurements, was presented along with an overview of the main results of this campaign held in June 1993 in France. Here the analysis is focused on the spatial characteristics (length-scale, orientation ... ) of the coherent structures, their temporal evolution and vertical distribution deduced from the radar reflectivity fields acquired in clear air at several levels for five different ABLs. For that, an original and efficient image processing method able to extract the major mode of the organisation was developed. These characteristics are examined in relation to the dynamic and thermodynamic state of the ABL using mean and turbulent information as observed by the in-situ aircraft. These experimental results are the basis of a future Large Eddy Simulation modeling of an organised ABL which is in progress and will be the concern of the third paper in the series.

Characteristic distributions of angel echoes in the lower atmosphere and their meteorological implications

Analysis of a vast series of angel echo observations made by a millimetric vertically-pointing radar reveals four major types of echo organization on height-time recordings. The relationship between the formation and development of these structures and the thermodynamic state of the atmosphere is clarified. The meteorological indicator role played by angel echoes is then discussed. In particular it is shown that in certain conditions, angel echoes can delineate the boundaries of small cumulus.

REMOTE SENSING AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS OF THE RESPONSE OF THE ATMOSPHERIC BOUNDARY LAYER TO A SOLAR ECLIPSE

On 11 August 1999, a near-total solar eclipse (80%) was observed in Campistrous, France. The influence of this particular event on the atmospheric boundary layer was observed with a UHF-RASS radar, a sodar and an instrumented mast. The changes in turbulence intensity, radar reflectivity, and temperature on the radiative budget are described in relation to collocated ground meteorological data. The impact of the eclipse induces a clear response of the atmosphere, with a time lag of 15 to 30 min, perceptible in several mean and turbulent meteorological variables up to the top of the atmospheric boundary layer.

Numerical study of the impact of coherent structures on vertical transfers in the atmospheric boundary layer

In two preceding papers, coherent structures of theatmospheric boundary layer (ABL), such as rollvortices or cells, were investigated through radar andaircraft observations collected during the TRAC-93(Turbulence Radar Aircraft Cells) experiment held inFrance in June 1993. The analysis of this experimentaldata set provided information on the spatialcharacteristics of these organisations (length scale,orientation, type ... ), their temporal and verticalevolution, and their relation with the dynamic andthermodynamic conditions of the ABL. For the thirdpaper in this series, a large eddy simulation model is used to examine the impact of thecoherent structures on the ABL vertical fluxes. Theanalysis of the simulated horizontal fields is madewith two-dimensional auto and cross-correlationsapplied on different pertinent ABL variables. Theresults emphasise a directional anisotropy of theseorganised fields throughout the ABL, much morepronounced in the heat flux fields, not only at thelength scale of organisations but also at theturbulence scales. This finding has an importantconsequence for traditional ABL flux measurementsbased on the hypothesis of isotropic and homogeneousturbulence. It can explain part of the underestimationof the surface fluxes often mentioned in theliterature. This approach makes it possible tomodify the concept of diffusion time (in chemicalmodelling) and could also lead to revised ABLparameterisations in Range Scale models.