Structure and dynamics of the Saharan atmospheric boundary layer during the West African monsoon onset: observations and analyses from the research flights of 14 and 17 July 2006
Abstract
This paper presents the results of co‐ordinated research flights over the Saharan heat‐low, conducted during July 2006 as part of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) Special Observing Periods. The flights consisted of a morning transect on 14 July 2006 with the Falcon F20 aircraft of the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft‐ und Raumfahrt (DLR), using the Doppler lidar WIND to observe the tropospheric winds, followed by an afternoon flight on 17 July with the BAe146 aircraft of the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) releasing a curtain of 16 dropsondes. Measurements from radiosondes at the Algerian stations of Tamanrasset and In Salah, as well as the CALIPSO spaceborne lidar, are analysed also. It is shown that the daytime Saharan atmospheric boundary layer exhibits a remarkable split structure, with a well‐mixed convective layer lying beneath a residual layer whose dynamics appear to be more nearly laminar. Observations from Saharan radiosonde stations confirm that the Saharan residual boundary layer is, on some days, a persistent rather than a transient feature, and that on occasion the residual layer can last right through the day.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2010
- Source ID
- 10.1002/qj.469
Entities
People
- A. Agusti‐panareda
- Christophe Messager
- Christopher M. Taylor
- Douglas J. Parker
- J. Cuesta
- O. Reitebuch
Organizations
- Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine
- German Aerospace Center
- Natural Environment Research Council