2016, Myagkov, A., Seifert, P., Bauer-Pfundstein, M., Wandinger, U.

This paper is devoted to the experimental quantitative characterization of the shape and orientation distribution of ice particles in clouds. The characterization is based on measured and modeled elevation dependencies of the polarimetric parameters differential reflectivity and correlation coefficient. The polarimetric data are obtained using a newly developed 35 GHz cloud radar MIRA-35 with hybrid polarimetric configuration and scanning capabilities. The full procedure chain of the technical implementation and the realization of the setup of the hybrid-mode cloud radar for the shape determination are presented. This includes the description of phase adjustments in the transmitting paths, the introduction of the general data processing scheme, correction of the data for the differences of amplifications and electrical path lengths in the transmitting and receiving channels, the rotation of the polarization basis by 45°, the correction of antenna effects on polarimetric measurements, the determination of spectral polarimetric variables, and the formulation of a scheme to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. Modeling of the polarimetric variables is based on existing back-scattering models assuming the spheroidal representation of cloud scatterers. The parameters retrieved from the model are polarizability ratio and degree of orientation, which can be assigned to certain particle orientations and shapes. The developed algorithm is applied to a measurement of the hybrid-mode cloud radar taken on 20 October 2014 in Cabauw, the Netherlands, in the framework of the ACCEPT (Analysis of the Composition of Clouds with Extended Polarization Techniques) campaign. The case study shows the retrieved polarizability ratio and degree of orientation of ice particles for a cloud system of three cloud layers at different heights. Retrieved polarizability ratios are 0.43, 0.85, and 1.5 which correspond to oblate, quasi-spherical, and columnar ice particles, respectively. It is shown that the polarizability ratio is useful for the detection of aggregation/riming processes. The orientation of oblate and prolate particles is estimated to be close to horizontal while quasi-spherical particles were found to be more randomly oriented.

2009, Kawa, S.R., Stolarski, R.S., Newman, P.A., Douglass, A.R., Rex, M., Hofmann, D.J., Santee, M.L., Frieler, K.

The impact and significance of uncertainties in model calculations of stratospheric ozone loss resulting from known uncertainty in chemical kinetics parameters is evaluated in trajectory chemistry simulations for the Antarctic and Arctic polar vortices. The uncertainty in modeled ozone loss is derived from Monte Carlo scenario simulations varying the kinetic (reaction and photolysis rate) parameters within their estimated uncertainty bounds. Simulations of a typical winter/spring Antarctic vortex scenario and Match scenarios in the Arctic produce large uncertainty in ozone loss rates and integrated seasonal loss. The simulations clearly indicate that the dominant source of model uncertainty in polar ozone loss is uncertainty in the Cl2O 2 photolysis reaction, which arises from uncertainty in laboratory-measured molecular cross sections at atmospherically important wavelengths. This estimated uncertainty in JCl 2O2 from laboratory measurements seriously hinders our ability to model polar ozone loss within useful quantitative error limits. Atmospheric observations, however, suggest that the Cl2O2 photolysis uncertainty may be less than that derived from the lab data. Comparisons to Match, South Pole ozonesonde, and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) data all show that the nominal recommended rate simulations agree with data within uncertainties when the Cl2O2 photolysis error is reduced by a factor of two, in line with previous in situ ClOx measurements. Comparisons to simulations using recent cross sections from Pope et al. (2007) are outside the constrained error bounds in each case. Other reactions producing significant sensitivity in polar ozone loss include BrO + ClO and its branching ratios. These uncertainties challenge our confidence in modeling polar ozone depletion and projecting future changes in response to changing halogen emissions and climate. Further laboratory, theoretical, and possibly atmospheric studies are needed.

2017, Baumbach, Lukas, Siegmund, Jonatan F., Mittermeier, Magdalena, Donner, Reik V.

Temperature is a key factor controlling plant growth and vitality in the temperate climates of the mid-latitudes like in vast parts of the European continent. Beyond the effect of average conditions, the timings and magnitudes of temperature extremes play a particularly crucial role, which needs to be better understood in the context of projected future rises in the frequency and/or intensity of such events. In this work, we employ event coincidence analysis (ECA) to quantify the likelihood of simultaneous occurrences of extremes in daytime land surface temperature anomalies (LSTAD) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). We perform this analysis for entire Europe based upon remote sensing data, differentiating between three periods corresponding to different stages of plant development during the growing season. In addition, we analyze the typical elevation and land cover type of the regions showing significantly large event coincidences rates to identify the most severely affected vegetation types. Our results reveal distinct spatio-temporal impact patterns in terms of extraordinarily large co-occurrence rates between several combinations of temperature and NDVI extremes. Croplands are among the most frequently affected land cover types, while elevation is found to have only a minor effect on the spatial distribution of corresponding extreme weather impacts. These findings provide important insights into the vulnerability of European terrestrial ecosystems to extreme temperature events and demonstrate how event-based statistics like ECA can provide a valuable perspective on environmental nexuses.

2015, Jägermeyr, J., Gerten, D., Heinke, J., Schaphoff, S., Kummu, M., Lucht, W.

2018-9-20, Giono, Gabriel, Strelnikov, Boris, Asmus, Heiner, Staszak, Tristan, Ivchenko, Nickolay, Lübken, Franz-Josef

Characterising the photoelectron current induced by the Sun's UV radiation is crucial to ensure accurate daylight measurements from particle detectors. This article lays out the methodology used to address this problem in the case of the meteoric smoke particle detectors (MSPDs), developed by the Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Kühlungsborn (IAP) and flown on board the PMWEs (Polar Mesosphere Winter Echoes) sounding rockets in April 2018. The methodology focuses on two complementary aspects: modelling and experimental measurements. A detailed model of the MSPD photocurrent was created based on the expected solar UV flux, the atmospheric UV absorption as a function of height by molecular oxygen and ozone, the photoelectric yield of the material coating the MSPD as a function of wavelength, the index of refraction of these materials as a function of wavelength and the angle of incidence of the illumination onto the MSPD. Due to its complex structure, composed of a central electrode shielded by two concentric grids, extensive ray-tracing calculations were conducted to obtain the incidence angles of the illumination on the central electrode, and this was done for various orientations of the MSPD in respect to the Sun. Results of the modelled photocurrent at different heights and for different materials, as well as for different orientations of the detector, are presented. As a pre-flight confirmation, the model was used to reproduce the experimental measurements conducted by Robertson et al. (2014) and agrees within an order of magnitude. An experimental setup for the calibration of the MSPD photocurrent is also presented. The photocurrent induced by the Lyman-alpha line from a deuterium lamp was recorded inside a vacuum chamber using a narrowband filter, while a UV-sensitive photodiode was used to monitor the UV flux. These measurements were compared with the model prediction, and also matched within an order of magnitude. Although precisely modelling the photocurrent is a challenging task, this article quantitatively improved the understanding of the photocurrent on the MSPD and discusses possible strategies to untangle the meteoric smoke particles (MSPs) current from the photocurrent recorded in-flight.

2019, Proestakis, Emmanouil, Amiridis, Vassilis, Marinou, Eleni, Binietoglou, Ioannis, Ansmann, Albert, Wandinger, Ulla, Hofer, Julian, Yorks, John, Nowottnick, Edward, Makhmudov, Abduvosit, Papayannis, Alexandros, Pietruczuk, Aleksander, Gialitaki, Anna, Apituley, Arnoud, Szkop, Artur, Muñoz Porcar, Constantino, Bortoli, Daniele, Dionisi, Davide, Althausen, Dietrich, Mamali, Dimitra, Balis, Dimitris, Nicolae, Doina, Tetoni, Eleni, Liberti, Gian Luigi, Baars, Holger, Mattis, Ina, Stachlewska, Iwona Sylwia, Voudouri, Kalliopi Artemis, Mona, Lucia, Mylonaki, Maria, Perrone, Maria Rita, Costa, Maria João, Sicard, Michael, Papagiannopoulos, Nikolaos, Siomos, Nikolaos, Burlizzi, Pasquale, Pauly, Rebecca, Engelmann, Ronny, Abdullaev, Sabur, Pappalardo, Gelsomina

We present the evaluation activity of the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) for the quantitative assessment of the Level 2 aerosol backscatter coefficient product derived by the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) aboard the International Space Station (ISS; Rodier et al., 2015). The study employs correlative CATS and EARLINET backscatter measurements within a 50km distance between the ground station and the ISS overpass and as close in time as possible, typically with the starting time or stopping time of the EARLINET performed measurement time window within 90min of the ISS overpass, for the period from February 2015 to September 2016. The results demonstrate the good agreement of the CATS Level 2 backscatter coefficient and EARLINET. Three ISS overpasses close to the EARLINET stations of Leipzig, Germany; Évora, Portugal; and Dushanbe, Tajikistan, are analyzed here to demonstrate the performance of the CATS lidar system under different conditions. The results show that under cloud-free, relative homogeneous aerosol conditions, CATS is in good agreement with EARLINET, independent of daytime and nighttime conditions. CATS low negative biases are observed, partially attributed to the deficiency of lidar systems to detect tenuous aerosol layers of backscatter signal below the minimum detection thresholds; these are biases which may lead to systematic deviations and slight underestimations of the total aerosol optical depth (AOD) in climate studies. In addition, CATS misclassification of aerosol layers as clouds, and vice versa, in cases of coexistent and/or adjacent aerosol and cloud features, occasionally leads to non-representative, unrealistic, and cloud-contaminated aerosol profiles. Regarding solar illumination conditions, low negative biases in CATS backscatter coefficient profiles, of the order of 6.1%, indicate the good nighttime performance of CATS. During daytime, a reduced signal-to-noise ratio by solar background illumination prevents retrievals of weakly scattering atmospheric layers that would otherwise be detectable during nighttime, leading to higher negative biases, of the order of 22.3%. © Author(s) 2019.

2014, Lasslop, G., Thonicke, K., Kloster, S.

Quantification of the role of fire within the Earth system requires an adequate representation of fire as a climate-controlled process within an Earth system model. To be able to address questions on the interaction between fire and the Earth system, we implemented the mechanistic fire model SPITFIRE, in JSBACH, the land surface model of the MPI Earth system model. Here, we document the model implementation as well as model modifications. We evaluate our model results by comparing the simulation to the GFED version 3 satellite-based data set. In addition, we assess the sensitivity of the model to the meteorological forcing and to the spatial variability of a number of fire relevant model parameters. A first comparison of model results with burned area observations showed a strong correlation of the residuals with wind speed. Further analysis revealed that the response of the fire spread to wind speed was too strong for the application on global scale. Therefore, we developed an improved parametrization to account for this effect. The evaluation of the improved model shows that the model is able to capture the global gradients and the seasonality of burned area. Some areas of model-data mismatch can be explained by differences in vegetation cover compared to observations. We achieve benchmarking scores comparable to other state-of-the-art fire models. The global total burned area is sensitive to the meteorological forcing. Adjustment of parameters leads to similar model results for both forcing data sets with respect to spatial and seasonal patterns. Key Points The SPITFIRE fire model was evaluated within the JSBACH land surface model A modified wind speed response improved the spatial pattern of burned area Regional gradients in burned area are driven by vegetation and fuel properties.

2013, Healy, R.M., Sciare, J., Poulain, L., Crippa, M., Wiedensohler, A., Prévôt, A.S.H., Baltensperger, U., Sarda-Estève, R., McGuire, M.L., Jeong, C.-H., McGillicuddy, E., O'Connor, I.P., Sodeau, J.R., Evans, G.J., Wenger, J.C.

Single-particle mixing state information can be a powerful tool for assessing the relative impact of local and regional sources of ambient particulate matter in urban environments. However, quantitative mixing state data are challenging to obtain using single-particle mass spectrometers. In this study, the quantitative chemical composition of carbonaceous single particles has been determined using an aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS) as part of the MEGAPOLI 2010 winter campaign in Paris, France. Relative peak areas of marker ions for elemental carbon (EC), organic aerosol (OA), ammonium, nitrate, sulfate and potassium were compared with concurrent measurements from an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS), a thermal–optical OCEC analyser and a particle into liquid sampler coupled with ion chromatography (PILS-IC). ATOFMS-derived estimated mass concentrations reproduced the variability of these species well (R2 = 0.67–0.78), and 10 discrete mixing states for carbonaceous particles were identified and quantified. The chemical mixing state of HR-ToF-AMS organic aerosol factors, resolved using positive matrix factorisation, was also investigated through comparison with the ATOFMS dataset. The results indicate that hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA) detected in Paris is associated with two EC-rich mixing states which differ in their relative sulfate content, while fresh biomass burning OA (BBOA) is associated with two mixing states which differ significantly in their OA / EC ratios. Aged biomass burning OA (OOA2-BBOA) was found to be significantly internally mixed with nitrate, while secondary, oxidised OA (OOA) was associated with five particle mixing states, each exhibiting different relative secondary inorganic ion content. Externally mixed secondary organic aerosol was not observed. These findings demonstrate the range of primary and secondary organic aerosol mixing states in Paris. Examination of the temporal behaviour and chemical composition of the ATOFMS classes also enabled estimation of the relative contribution of transported emissions of each chemical species and total particle mass in the size range investigated. Only 22% of the total ATOFMS-derived particle mass was apportioned to fresh, local emissions, with 78% apportioned to regional/continental-scale emissions.

2013, Genberg, J., Denier van der Gon, H.A.C., Simpson, D., Swietlicki, E., Areskoug, H., Beddows, D., Ceburnis, D., Fiebig, M., Hansson, H.C., Harrison, R.M., Jennings, S.G., Saarikoski, S., Spindler, G., Visschedijk, A.J.H., Wiedensohler, A., Yttri, K.E., Bergström, R.

The atmospheric concentration of elemental carbon (EC) in Europe during the six-year period 2005–2010 has been simulated with the EMEP MSC-W model. The model bias compared to EC measurements was less than 20% for most of the examined sites. The model results suggest that fossil fuel combustion is the dominant source of EC in most of Europe but that there are important contributions also from residential wood burning during the cold seasons and, during certain episodes, also from open biomass burning (wildfires and agricultural fires). The modelled contributions from open biomass fires to ground level concentrations of EC were small at the sites included in the present study, <3% of the long-term average of EC in PM10. The modelling of this EC source is subject to many uncertainties, and it was likely underestimated for some episodes. EC measurements and modelled EC were also compared to optical measurements of black carbon (BC). The relationships between EC and BC (as given by mass absorption cross section, MAC, values) differed widely between the sites, and the correlation between observed EC and BC is sometimes poor, making it difficult to compare results using the two techniques and limiting the comparability of BC measurements to model EC results. A new bottom-up emission inventory for carbonaceous aerosol from residential wood combustion has been applied. For some countries the new inventory has substantially different EC emissions compared to earlier estimates. For northern Europe the most significant changes are much lower emissions in Norway and higher emissions in neighbouring Sweden and Finland. For Norway and Sweden, comparisons to source-apportionment data from winter campaigns indicate that the new inventory may improve model-calculated EC from wood burning. Finally, three different model setups were tested with variable atmospheric lifetimes of EC in order to evaluate the model sensitivity to the assumptions regarding hygroscopicity and atmospheric ageing of EC. The standard ageing scheme leads to a rapid transformation of the emitted hydrophobic EC to hygroscopic particles, and generates similar results when assuming that all EC is aged at the point of emission. Assuming hydrophobic emissions and no ageing leads to higher EC concentrations. For the more remote sites, the observed EC concentration was in between the modelled EC using standard ageing and the scenario treating EC as hydrophobic. This could indicate too-rapid EC ageing in the model in relatively clean parts of the atmosphere.

2020, Yin, Yuanyuan, Wang, Lei, Wang, Zhongjing, Tang, Qiuhong, Piao, Shilong, Chen, Deliang, Xia, Jun, Conradt, Tobias, Liu, Junguo, Wada, Yoshihide, Cai, Ximing, Xie, Zhenghui, Duan, Qingyun, Li, Xiuping, Zhou, Jing, Zhang, Jianyun

With the increasing pressure from population growth and economic development, northern China (NC) faces a grand challenge of water scarcity, which can be further exacerbated by climatic and societal changes. The South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) project is designed to mitigate the water scarcity in NC. However, few studies have quantified the impact of the SNWD on water scarcity within the context of climatic and societal changes and its potential effects on economic and agricultural food in the region. We used water supply stress index (WaSSI) to quantify water scarcity within the context of environmental change in NC and developed a method to estimate the economic and agricultural impacts of the SNWD. Focuses were put on alleviating the water supply shortage and economic and agricultural benefits for the water-receiving NC. We find that societal changes, especially economic growth, are the major contributors to water scarcity in NC during 2009–2099. To completely mitigate the water scarcity of NC, at least an additional water supply of 13 billion m3/year (comparable to the annual diversion water by SNWD Central Route) will be necessary. Although SNWD alone cannot provide the full solution to NC's water shortage in next few decades, it can significantly alleviate the water supply stress in NC (particularly Beijing), considerably increasing the agricultural production (more than 115 Tcal/year) and bringing economic benefits (more than 51 billion RMB/year) through supplying industrial and domestic water use. Additionally, the transfer project could have impacts on the ecological environment in the exporting regions. ©2020. The Authors.