Universität zu Köln

Redl, Robert ORCID: 0000-0003-3055-7603, Knippertz, Peter ORCID: 0000-0001-9856-619X and Fink, Andreas H. ORCID: 0000-0002-5840-2120 (2016). Weakening and moistening of the summertime Saharan heat low through convective cold pools from the Atlas Mountains. J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121 (8). S. 3907 - 3929. WASHINGTON: AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. ISSN 2169-8996

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

The West African Monsoon (WAM) and its representation in numerical models is heavily influenced by the Saharan heat low (SHL), a low-pressure system driven by radiative heating over the central Sahara and ventilated by the cold and moist inflow from adjacent oceans. It has recently been shown that a significant part of the southerly moisture flux into the SHL originates from convective cold pools over the Sahel. These density currents driven by evaporation of rain are largely missing in models with parameterized convection. This crucial issue has been hypothesized to contribute to the inability of many climate models to reproduce the variability of the WAM. Observations from the Atlas Mountains, located at the northern flank of the SHL, indicate frequent convection and cold-pool generation during boreal summer, often during episodes of multiple days. This study is the first to analyze impacts of such convective periods on the SHL, based on simulations of two example cases using the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model at convection-permitting resolution. Sensitivity experiments with artificially removed cold pools, lower resolutions, and parameterizations are conducted. Results indicate that cold pools lead to increases in surface pressure of more than 1 hPa and significant moisture transports into the desert over several days. This moisture affects radiative heating and thus the energy balance of the SHL. Together with studies focusing on the Sahel, this work emphasizes the need for improved parameterization schemes for deep convection in order to produce more reliable climate projections for the WAM.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Redl, Robert UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0003-3055-7603 UNSPECIFIED Knippertz, Peter UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0001-9856-619X UNSPECIFIED Fink, Andreas H. UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-5840-2120 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-278295
DOI:	10.1002/2015JD024443
Journal or Publication Title:	J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos.
Volume:	121
Number:	8
Page Range:	S. 3907 - 3929
Date:	2016
Publisher:	AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
Place of Publication:	WASHINGTON
ISSN:	2169-8996
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language AFRICAN EASTERLY WAVES; DUST EMISSIONS; FENNEC 2011; SAHEL; WATER; VARIABILITY; AEROSOLS; DESERT; PARAMETERIZATION; PRECIPITATION Multiple languages Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/27829