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Isolated lower mesospheric echoes seen by medium frequency radar at 70° N, 19° E

We have noted sporadic instances of strong isolated reflections of medium frequency (MF) radar waves from the mesosphere from as low as 50 km altitude and have devised a set of criteria for isolating these apparently anomalous echoes from those normally occurring from progressive partial reflections in the D-region. The object of this study is to map the occurrences of such echoes facilitating comparisons with other observations. For example, the similarity and simultaneity of the echo structure for the 20 January 2005 with VHF radar results presented by Lübken et al. (2006) are particularly striking. In presenting a number of such echo events since 2001 selected from the MF radar dataset (which spans 1997 to present), we find that virtually all echo occurrences coincide with enhanced solar proton fluxes suggesting that substantial ionisation of the mesosphere is a necessary condition. Strong partial reflections of the radio wave in the lower mesosphere combined with seasonally varying total absorption higher up, thus giving false impressions of lower mesospheric layers preferentially in winter, constitute a scenario consistent with our observations.
Methane emission from tropical savanna Trachypogon sp. grasses

Methane flux measurements from the soil-grass system were made during the wet season in unperturbed plots and plots where standing dry and green Trachypogon sp. grasses were clipped to just above the soil surface. Results support the surprising discovery that vegetation emits methane. The results of this work allows to infer that the savanna dry/green mixture of grasses produce methane at a rate of ~10 ng m−2 s−1, which is in agreement with early published soil-grass system fluxes. An extrapolation of this flux to the global savanna produces an annual emission much lower than the CH4 production recently suggested in the literature. On the other hand, during the wet season savanna soil consume CH4 at a rate of ~4.7 ng m−2 s−1. Therefore, the tropical savanna soil-grass system would make a modest contribution to the global budget of methane.
The weekend effect within and downwind of Sacramento: Part 2. Observational evidence for chemical and dynamical contributions

Observations of day-of-week patterns and diurnal profiles of ozone, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides are examined to assess the chemical and dynamical factors governing the daytime ozone accumulation and the distribution of chemically related species in Central California. Isoprene observations show that urban OH concentrations are higher on the weekend whereas rural OH concentrations are lower on the weekend, confirming that NOx concentrations have a direct effect on the rate of photochemical ozone production and that the transition from NOx-saturated (VOC-limited) to NOx-limited chemistry occurs between the city and the downwind rural counties. We quantify the extent to which mixing of ozone and its precursors from aloft contributes to the daytime accumulation of ozone at the surface in Sacramento. Ozone production in the rural Mountain Counties is currently NOx-limited and will decrease in response to NOx emission reductions in the Sacramento Valley. However, NOx emissions reductions of at least 50% (from weekday levels) are necessary to bring about a significant decrease in accumulation of ozone at the surface in the Sacramento Valley. The impact of NOx emission reductions on the frequency of exceeding the federal 8-hour ozone standard at an individual site will depend on the balance between reduced titration and the sign and magnitude of production changes. We further show that HNO3 production, which depends on the product of OH and NO2 mixing ratios, is a constant at high NOx, suggesting that NOx must be reduced below a threshold before nitrate aerosol can be expected to decrease.
The latitude dependence and probability distribution of polar mesospheric turbulence

We consider in-situ observations and results from a global circulation model to study the latitude dependence and probability distribution of polar mesospheric turbulence. A comparison of summer observations at 69° N and 79° N shows that mesospheric turbulence weakens towards the summer pole. Furthermore, these data suggest that at both latitudes in about ~70% of all samples there are non-turbulent altitude bins in the considered altitude range between 70 and 95 km. The remaining 30% with detectable turbulence show an approximately log-normal distribution of dissipation rates. A low-resolution model version with a gravity wave (GW) parameterization explains the observed latitude dependence as a consequence of a downshift of the breaking levels towards the summer pole and an accompanying decay of turbulent heating per unit mass. When we do not use a GW parameterization but employ a high spatial resolution instead to simulate GW effects explicitly, the model predicts a similar latitudinal dependence with weakening turbulence towards the summer pole. In addition, the model also produces a log-normal distribution of dissipation rates. The simulated probability distribution is more narrow than in the observations since the model resolves at most mid-frequency GWs, whereas real turbulence is also excited by smaller-scale disturbances. The GW resolving simulation suggests a weaker tropospheric GW source at polar latitudes as the dominating mechanism for the latitudinal dependence.
Stratospheric variability and trends in models used for the IPCC AR4

Atmosphere and ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) experiments for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) are analyzed to better understand model variability and assess the importance of various forcing mechanisms on stratospheric trends during the 20th century. While models represent the climatology of the stratosphere reasonably well in comparison with NCEP reanalysis, there are biases and large variability among models. In general, AOGCMs are cooler than NCEP throughout the stratosphere, with the largest differences in the tropics. Around half the AOGCMs have a top level beneath ~2 hPa and show a significant cold bias in their upper levels (~10 hPa) compared to NCEP, suggesting that these models may have compromised simulations near 10 hPa due to a low model top or insufficient stratospheric levels. In the lower stratosphere (50 hPa), the temperature variability associated with large volcanic eruptions is absent in about half of the models, and in the models that do include volcanic aerosols, half of those significantly overestimate the observed warming. There is general agreement on the vertical structure of temperature trends over the last few decades, differences between models are explained by the inclusion of different forcing mechanisms, such as stratospheric ozone depletion and volcanic aerosols. However, even when human and natural forcing agents are included in the simulations, significant differences remain between observations and model trends, particularly in the upper tropical troposphere (200 hPa–100 hPa), where, since 1979, models show a warming trend and the observations a cooling trend.
Accuracy of analyzed temperatures, winds and trajectories in the Southern Hemisphere tropical and midlatitude stratosphere as compared to long-duration balloon flights

Eight super-pressure balloons floating at constant level between 50 and 80 hPa and three Infra-Red Montgolfier balloons of variable altitude (15 hPa daytime, 40–80 hPa night time) have been launched at 22° S from Brazil in February–May 2004 in the frame of the HIBISCUS project. The flights lasted for 7 to 79 days residing mainly in the tropics, but some of them passed the tropical barrier and went to southern midlatitudes. Compared to the balloon measurements just above the tropical tropopause the ECMWF operational temperatures show a systematic cold bias of 0.9 K and the easterly zonal winds are too strong by 0.7 m/s. This bias in the zonal wind adds to the ECMWF trajectory errors, but they still are relatively small with e.g. about an error of 700 km after 5 days. The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis trajectory errors are substantially larger (1300 km after 5 days). In the southern midlatitudes the cold bias is the same, but the zonal wind bias is almost zero. The trajectories are generally more accurate than in the tropics, but for one balloon a lot of the calculated trajectories end up on the wrong side of the tropical barrier and this leads to large trajectory errors.
Aerosol physical and optical properties in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin, Crete, from Aerosol Robotic Network data

In this study, we investigate the aerosol optical properties, namely aerosol extinction optical thickness (AOT), Angström parameter and size distribution over the Eastern Mediterranean Basin, using spectral measurements from the recently established FORTH (Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas) AERONET station in Crete, for the two-year period 2003–2004. The location of the FORTH-AERONET station offers a unique opportunity to monitor aerosols from different sources. Maximum values of AOT are found primarily in spring, which together with small values of the Angström parameter indicate dust transported from African deserts, whereas the minimum values of AOT occur in winter. In autumn, large AOT values observed at near-infrared wavelengths arise also from dust transport. In summer, large AOT values at ultraviolet (340 nm) and visible wavelengths (500 nm), together with large values of the Angström parameter, are associated with transport of fine aerosols of urban/industrial and biomass burning origin. The Angström parameter values vary on a daily basis within the range 0.05–2.20, and on a monthly basis within the range 0.68–1.9. This behaviour, together with broad frequency distributions and back-trajectory analyses, indicates a great variety of aerosol types over the study region including dust, urban-industrial and biomass-burning pollution, and maritime, as well as mixed aerosol types. Large temporal variability is observed in AOT, Angström parameter, aerosol content and size. The fine and coarse aerosol modes persist throughout the year, with the coarse mode dominant except in summer. The highest values of AOT are related primarily to southeasterly winds, associated with coarse aerosols, and to a less extent to northwesterly winds associated with fine aerosols. The results of this study show that the FORTH AERONET station in Crete is well suited for studying the transport and mixing of different types of aerosols from a variety of sources, especially those associated with major dust events from the Sahara.
Isentropic advection and convective lifting of water vapor in the UT – LS as observed over Brazil (22° S) in February 2004 by in situ high-resolution measurements of H2O, CH4, O3 and temperature

The micro-SDLA balloonborne diode laser spectrometer was flown twice from Bauru (22° S, Brazil) in February 2004 during HIBISCUS to yield in situ H2O measurements in the Upper Troposphere (UT) and Lower Stratosphere (LS) and in particular in the Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL). The overall TTL was found warmer (with a subsaturated cold point near –79°C) and the LS moister compared to former measurements obtained in tropical oceanic conditions. The use of specific balloons with a slow descent, combined with the high-resolution of the laser sensor, allowed us to observe in situ in the UT, the TTL and the LS several thin layers correlated on H2O, CH4, O3, temperature and PV. A component of these layers is associated with the isentropic transport into the UT- LS of extratropical stratospheric air masses. Moreover, the examination of temperature and tracer (CH4, O3) profiles gives insights on the potential contribution of convective transport of H2O in the TTL.
The ASSET intercomparison of ozone analyses: method and first results

This paper aims to summarise the current performance of ozone data assimilation (DA) systems, to show where they can be improved, and to quantify their errors. It examines 11 sets of ozone analyses from 7 different DA systems. Two are numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems based on general circulation models (GCMs); the other five use chemistry transport models (CTMs). The systems examined contain either linearised or detailed ozone chemistry, or no chemistry at all. In most analyses, MIPAS (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) ozone data are assimilated; two assimilate SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography) observations instead. Analyses are compared to independent ozone observations covering the troposphere, stratosphere and lower mesosphere during the period July to November 2003. Biases and standard deviations are largest, and show the largest divergence between systems, in the troposphere, in the upper-troposphere/lower-stratosphere, in the upper-stratosphere and mesosphere, and the Antarctic ozone hole region. However, in any particular area, apart from the troposphere, at least one system can be found that agrees well with independent data. In general, none of the differences can be linked to the assimilation technique (Kalman filter, three or four dimensional variational methods, direct inversion) or the system (CTM or NWP system). Where results diverge, a main explanation is the way ozone is modelled. It is important to correctly model transport at the tropical tropopause, to avoid positive biases and excessive structure in the ozone field. In the southern hemisphere ozone hole, only the analyses which correctly model heterogeneous ozone depletion are able to reproduce the near-complete ozone destruction over the pole. In the upper-stratosphere and mesosphere (above 5 hPa), some ozone photochemistry schemes caused large but easily remedied biases. The diurnal cycle of ozone in the mesosphere is not captured, except by the one system that includes a detailed treatment of mesospheric chemistry. These results indicate that when good observations are available for assimilation, the first priority for improving ozone DA systems is to improve the models. The analyses benefit strongly from the good quality of the MIPAS ozone observations. Using the analyses as a transfer standard, it is seen that MIPAS is ~5% higher than HALOE (Halogen Occultation Experiment) in the mid and upper stratosphere and mesosphere (above 30 hPa), and of order 10% higher than ozonesonde and HALOE in the lower stratosphere (100 hPa to 30 hPa). Analyses based on SCIAMACHY total column are almost as good as the MIPAS analyses; analyses based on SCIAMACHY limb profiles are worse in some areas, due to problems in the SCIAMACHY retrievals.
Technical Note: The MESSy-submodel AIRSEA calculating the air-sea exchange of chemical species

The new submodel AIRSEA for the Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy) is presented. It calculates the exchange of chemical species between the ocean and the atmosphere with a focus on organic compounds. The submodel can be easily extended to a large number of tracers, including highly soluble ones. It is demonstrated that the application of explicitly calculated air-sea exchanges with AIRSEA can induce substantial changes in the simulated tracer distributions in the troposphere in comparison to a model setup in which this process is neglected. For example, the simulations of acetone, constrained with measured oceanic concentrations, shows relative changes in the atmospheric surface layer mixing ratios over the Atlantic Ocean of up to 300%.