TY - JOUR
T1 - Overview of the dust and biomass-burning experiment and African monsoon multidisciplinary analysis special observing period-0
AU - Haywood, Jim M.
AU - Pelon, Jacques
AU - Formenti, Paola
AU - Bharmal, N. A.
AU - Brooks, Malcolm E.
AU - Capes, Gerard
AU - Chazette, Patrick
AU - Chou, Cédric
AU - Christopher, Sundar A.
AU - Coe, Hugh
AU - Cuesta, Juan
AU - Derimian, Y.
AU - Desboeufs, Karine
AU - Greed, Glenn
AU - Harrison, Mark
AU - Heese, Birgit
AU - Highwood, Eleanor J.
AU - Johnson, Ben
AU - Mallet, Marc
AU - Marticorena, Béatrice
AU - Marsham, J.
AU - Milton, Sean
AU - Myhre, Gunnar
AU - Osborne, Simon R.
AU - Parker, D. J.
AU - Rajot, Jean Louis
AU - Schulz, Michael
AU - Slingo, A.
AU - Tanré, Didier
AU - Tulet, Pierre
PY - 2008/12/16
Y1 - 2008/12/16
N2 - The African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) is a major international campaign investigating far-reaching aspects of the African monsoon, climate and the hydrological cycle. A special, observing period was established for the dry season (SOP0) with a focus on aerosol and radiation measurements. SOP0 took place during January and February 2006 and involved several ground-based measurement sites across west Africa. These were augmented by aircraft measurements made by the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) aircraft during the Dust and Biomass-burning Experiment (DABEX), measurements from an ultralight aircraft, and dedicated modeling efforts. We provide an overview of these measurement and modeling studies together with an analysis of the meteorological conditions that determined the aerosol transport and link the results together to provide a balanced synthesis. The biomass burning aerosol was significantly more absorbing than that measured in other areas and, unlike industrial areas, the ratio of excess carbon monoxide to organic carbon was invariant, which may be owing to interaction between the organic carbon and mineral dust aerosol. The mineral dust aerosol in situ filter measurements close to Niamey reveals very little absorption, while other measurements and remote sensing inversions suggest significantly more absorption. The influence of both mineral dust and biomass burning aerosol on the radiation budget is significant throughout the period, implying that meteorological models should include their radiative effects for accurate weather forecasts and climate simulations. Generally, the operational meteorological models that simulate the production and transport of mineral dust show skill at lead times of 5 days or more. Climate models that need to accurately simulate the vertical profiles of both anthropogenic and natural aerosols to accurately represent the direct and indirect effects of aerosols appear to do a reasonable job, although the magnitude of the aerosol scattering is strongly dependent upon the emission data set.
AB - The African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) is a major international campaign investigating far-reaching aspects of the African monsoon, climate and the hydrological cycle. A special, observing period was established for the dry season (SOP0) with a focus on aerosol and radiation measurements. SOP0 took place during January and February 2006 and involved several ground-based measurement sites across west Africa. These were augmented by aircraft measurements made by the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) aircraft during the Dust and Biomass-burning Experiment (DABEX), measurements from an ultralight aircraft, and dedicated modeling efforts. We provide an overview of these measurement and modeling studies together with an analysis of the meteorological conditions that determined the aerosol transport and link the results together to provide a balanced synthesis. The biomass burning aerosol was significantly more absorbing than that measured in other areas and, unlike industrial areas, the ratio of excess carbon monoxide to organic carbon was invariant, which may be owing to interaction between the organic carbon and mineral dust aerosol. The mineral dust aerosol in situ filter measurements close to Niamey reveals very little absorption, while other measurements and remote sensing inversions suggest significantly more absorption. The influence of both mineral dust and biomass burning aerosol on the radiation budget is significant throughout the period, implying that meteorological models should include their radiative effects for accurate weather forecasts and climate simulations. Generally, the operational meteorological models that simulate the production and transport of mineral dust show skill at lead times of 5 days or more. Climate models that need to accurately simulate the vertical profiles of both anthropogenic and natural aerosols to accurately represent the direct and indirect effects of aerosols appear to do a reasonable job, although the magnitude of the aerosol scattering is strongly dependent upon the emission data set.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=59749094427&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1029/2008JD010077
DO - 10.1029/2008JD010077
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:59749094427
SN - 0148-0227
VL - 113
JO - Journal of Geophysical Research
JF - Journal of Geophysical Research
IS - 23
M1 - D00C17
ER -