During the summer of 2018, a widespread drought developed over Northern and Central Europe. The increase in temperature and the reduction of soil moisture have influenced carbon dioxide (CO
2
) ...exchange between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems in various ways, such as a reduction of photosynthesis, changes in ecosystem respiration, or allowing more frequent fires. In this study, we characterize the resulting perturbation of the atmospheric CO
2
seasonal cycles. 2018 has a good coverage of European regions affected by drought, allowing the investigation of how ecosystem flux anomalies impacted spatial CO
2
gradients between stations. This density of stations is unprecedented compared to previous drought events in 2003 and 2015, particularly thanks to the deployment of the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) network of atmospheric greenhouse gas monitoring stations in recent years. Seasonal CO
2
cycles from 48 European stations were available for 2017 and 2018. Earlier data were retrieved for comparison from international databases or national networks. Here, we show that the usual summer minimum in CO
2
due to the surface carbon uptake was reduced by 1.4 ppm in 2018 for the 10 stations located in the area most affected by the temperature anomaly, mostly in Northern Europe. Notwithstanding, the CO
2
transition phases before and after July were slower in 2018 compared to 2017, suggesting an extension of the growing season, with either continued CO
2
uptake by photosynthesis and/or a reduction in respiration driven by the depletion of substrate for respiration inherited from the previous months due to the drought. For stations with sufficiently long time series, the CO
2
anomaly observed in 2018 was compared to previous European droughts in 2003 and 2015. Considering the areas most affected by the temperature anomalies, we found a higher CO
2
anomaly in 2003 (+3 ppm averaged over 4 sites), and a smaller anomaly in 2015 (+1 ppm averaged over 11 sites) compared to 2018.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Impacts of the 2018 severe drought and heatwave in Europe: from site to continental scale'.
The atmospheric composition measured at the Pic du Midi high-altitude observatory (2875 m MSL) in the French Pyrenees is frequently affected by upward transport of boundary layer air during anabatic ...circulations at different scales. The Pyrenean Platform for Observation of the Atmosphere (P2OA) includes two observatories located 28 km apart: at the Pic du Midi and at a low-altitude site (580 m MSL) located in the plain north of the mountain chain. From a 10-yr-long data series collected at P2OA, three different methods are used to detect thermally induced circulations. The methods are based on observations collected independently at three key locations in the plain–mountain circulation cell: within the altitude return flow above the plain, close to the surface in the plain, and at the mountaintop. The main aims are 1) to present and compare the three detection methods and 2) to evaluate the impact of thermally driven circulations on in situ air composition measurements at the Pic du Midi. The first method uses radar wind measurements at 3000 and 5000 m above the plain to detect the return flow of the plain–mountain circulation. The second, which is based on surface wind data from the plain site, reveals days during which surface thermally induced winds occur locally. The third method, which is based on surface data at the mountaintop, focuses on diurnal moisture cycles to rank days with decreasing anabatic influence. We then compare the three independent detection methods, discuss possible connections among thermal circulations at different scales and locations, and present an evaluation of their impact on in situ atmospheric composition measurements at Pic du Midi.
A series of high-resolution (1 km) numerical simulations with a limited-area numerical model has been performed over Reunion Island. In the dynamical context of a regular maritime flow perturbed by a ...major topographic obstacle such as Reunion Island, the objectives are to identify the main atmospheric circulations at local-scale over the island and to improve the understanding of local-scale transport and dispersion of pollutants emitted from local sources. To investigate the effects of topography and land surface heating on low-level flows over the island, simulations representative of austral winter were performed in idealized conditions keeping the radiative forcing plus a background east-south-easterly synoptic flux of varying strengths, typical of the prevailing trade-wind conditions. The numerical experiments show mainly that flow splitting of the trade-wind occurs around the island, with enhanced winds blowing along the coast lines parallel to the synoptic flux, due to the lateral constriction of the flow by the island and resulting Venturi effect. Blocking occurs on the island side facing the trade-wind. The north-western area on the leeside is screened from the trade-wind by high mountains, and this enables the development of diurnal thermally-induced circulations, combining downslope and land-breeze at night, and upslope and sea breeze at daytime. Flow splitting is modulated by radiative convergence toward the island at daytime, and divergence from the island at night. Stronger winds than the large-scale trade-wind occur along the coast at daytime (Venturi effect), whereas at night, the trade-wind flow is pushed few kilometres offshore by divergence of cooled air from the land. At night, the trade-wind flow is pushed few kilometres offshore by divergence of cooled air from the land. Consequently, a number of processes of pollution transport and dispersion have been identified. Vortices in the wake of the island were found to cause counterflow circulation and trapping of polluted air masses near the north-western coast. These air masses may in turn be sucked by anabatic wind systems during daytime (upslope and sea breezes) in the cirques and up to the summits of the island, and especially to Piton Maïdo (2200 m) where a new observatory of the Indian Ocean background atmosphere is being built. A "cap effect" above the mountains downstream from the volcano (to the south-east of the island), and especially above Piton Maïdo, might occur in case of development of inland and upslope breezes on the west coast. In this case, air pumped from lower layers may protect the observatory from the volcanic plume forced to pass over a "cap" of low-level air clean of volcanic emissions.
High altitude stations are the only platforms allowing for continuous measurements of the free-troposphere composition, and monitoring of trends away from pollution sources. However, they are ...influenced by mountain breezes and convection that bring air from the lowland boundary layer up to the summits. In summer 2005, a field campaign involving in situ measurements and ozone lidars was organized in the Pyrenees to investigate the impact of such processes on in situ measurements at the Pic du Midi (PDM) high altitude station (2875ma.s.l.). On June 17 and 19, a plain-to-mountain thermal circulation developed during the day. Observations show that direct transport of lowland air masses to PDM cannot account for ozone measurements at the station. Also, according to measurements, the PDM station did not directly sample the free troposphere. These two days were further investigated using a Lagrangian box model combining transport, photochemistry and mixing with the background troposphere. It was possible to reproduce and analyze ozone time series recorded at PDM, and quantify the partial mixing with free tropospheric air during the transport. A large fraction (43 to 86%) of air from the lower free troposphere was found to contribute to the gas melange sampled at PDM, with the best agreement found for fractions 57% (resp. 74%) on June 17 (resp. June 19).
•Reproduction and analysis of ozone time series recorded at Pic du Midi (PDM).•Ozone concentrations in the PBL few hours earlier influence PDM measurements.•Photochemistry during transport to PDM contributes to a few ppb of ozone.•PDM sampled a large fraction (43 to 86%) of air from the lower free troposphere.
In November and December 2008, ground-based mobile lidar (GBML) measurements were carried out on Reunion Island (Indian Ocean,
21
∘
07
′
S
,
55
∘
32
′
E
, 700 km east of Madagascar) with an ...ultraviolet (355 nm) aerosol-backscatter lidar. Complex substructures were identified within the planetary boundary layer (PBL). A 500-m-resolution non-hydrostatic model was used to simulate the dynamics of the lower troposphere for two observation periods characteristic of the two main weather regimes in this season: the “trade-wind” regime and the “breeze” regime. The model captured the observed structures with a high degree of realism compared to the GBML. A complete diurnal cycle of the PBL along the south coast of the island during a “trade-wind” day was observed and simulated. The PBL depth was found to be anti-correlated with the wind speed. The model showed that the PBL along the coast behaved as a shallow-water flow in hydraulic theory. As the flow accelerated in response to lateral constriction, conversion of potential into kinetic energy forced the PBL top downwards. This favoured rapid transport of concentrated surface emissions within the contracted surface layer, with a possible impact on air quality. GBML observations were also conducted during the early morning of a “breeze” day on the western slope of the Maïdo mountain (2,200 m), at the top of which a new atmospheric observatory has been in operation since 2012. Both model and GBML revealed two superposed layers. The upper layer, higher than approximately 1,600 m above mean sea level, corresponded to free tropospheric air driven by the trade winds. Below, westerly counterflow advection of humid marine air occurred as a result of wake vortices in the lee of the island. The model suggests that free-tropospheric conditions prevail at the observatory from the second half of the night to mid-morning.
Continuous measurements of atmospheric gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), particulate bound mercury (PBM) and gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) at the high-altitude Pic du Midi Observatory (PDM, 2877 m ...a.s.l) in southern France were made from Nov 2011 to Nov 2012. The mean GEM, PBM and GOM concentrations were 1.86 ng m.sup.−3, 14 pg m.sup.−3 and 27 pg m.sup.−3, respectively and we observed 44 high PBM (up to 98 pg m.sup.−3) and 61 high GOM (up to 295 pg m.sup.−3) events. The high PBM events occurred mainly in cold seasons (winter and spring) whereas high GOM events were mainly observed in the warm seasons (summer and autumn). In cold seasons the maximum air mass residence times (ARTs) associated with high PBM events were observed in the upper troposphere over North America. The ratios of high PBM ARTs to total ARTs over North America, Europe, the Arctic region and Atlantic Ocean were all elevated in the cold season compared to the warm season, indicating that the middle and upper free troposphere of the Northern Hemisphere may be more enriched in PBM in cold seasons. PBM concentrations and PBM/GOM ratios during the high PBM events were significantly anti-correlated with atmospheric aerosol concentrations, air temperature and solar radiation, suggesting in situ formation of PBM in the middle and upper troposphere. We identified two distinct types of high GOM events with the GOM concentrations positively and negatively correlated with atmospheric ozone concentrations, respectively. High GOM events positively correlated with ozone were mainly related to air masses from the upper troposphere over the Arctic region and middle troposphere over the temperate North Atlantic Ocean, whereas high GOM events anti-correlated with ozone were mainly related to air masses from the lower free troposphere over the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean. The ARTs analysis demonstrates that the lower and middle free troposphere over the North Atlantic Ocean was the largest source region of atmospheric GOM at PDM Observatory. The ratios of high GOM ARTs to total ARTs over the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean in summer were significantly higher than that over the temperate and sub-arctic North Atlantic Ocean as well as that over the North Atlantic Ocean in other seasons, indicating abundant in situ oxidation of GEM to GOM in the lower free troposphere over the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean in summer.
In mesoscale models (resolution ~ 1 km) used for regional dispersion of pollution plumes the volcanic heat sources and emissions of gases and aerosols, as well as the induced atmospheric convective ...motions, are all sub-grid-scale processes (mostly true for weak effusive eruptions) which need to be parameterised. We propose a modified formulation of the EDMF scheme (eddy diffusivity/mass flux) proposed by Pergaud et al. (2009) which is based on a single sub-grid updraft model. It is used to represent volcano induced updrafts tested for a case study of the January 2010 summit eruption of Piton de la Fournaise (PdF) volcano. The validation of this modified formulation using a reference large eddy simulation (LES) focuses on the ability of the model to transport tracer concentrations up to 1–2 km above the ground in the lower troposphere as is the case of majority of PdF eruptions. The modelled volcanic plume agrees reasonably with the profiles of SO2 (sulfur dioxide) tracer concentrations and specific humidity found from the reference LES. Sensitivity tests performed for the modified formulation of the EDMF scheme emphasise the sensitivity of the parameterisation to ambient fresh air entrainment at the plume base.
PDF
