Disentangling different moisture transport pathways over the eastern subtropical North Atlantic using multi-platform isotope observations and high-resolution numerical modelling ...

• Main Authors: Dahinden, Fabienne, Aemisegger, Franziska, Wernli, Heini, Schneider, Matthias, Diekmann, Christopher J., Ertl, Benjamin, Knippertz, Peter, Werner, Martin, Pfahl, Stephan
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2021
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000516241; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/516241

Due to its dryness, the subtropical free troposphere plays a critical role in the radiative balance of the Earth's climate system. But the complex interactions of the dynamical and physical processes controlling the variability in the moisture budget of this sensitive region of the subtropical atmosphere are still not fully understood. Stable water isotopes can provide important information about several of the latter processes, namely subsidence drying, turbulent mixing, and dry and moist convective moistening. In this study, we use high-resolution simulations of the isotope-enabled version of the regional weather and climate prediction model of the Consortium for Small-Scale Modelling (COSMOiso) to investigate predominant moisture transport pathways in the Canary Islands region in the eastern subtropical North Atlantic. Comparison of the simulated isotope signals with multi-platform isotope observations (aircraft, ground- and space-based remote sensing) from a field campaign in summer 2013 shows that ... : Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 21 (21) ...