Estimation of mixing in the troposphere from Lagrangian trace gas reconstructions during long-range pollution plume transport

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research
• Main Authors: Pisso, Ignacio, Real, Elsa, Law, Kathy S., Legras, B., Bousserez, N., Attié, Jean-Luc, Schlager, H.
• Other Authors: Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), University of Cambridge UK (CAM), Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), TROPO - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d'Enseignement et de Recherche en Environnement Atmosphérique (CEREA), École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-EDF R&D (EDF R&D), EDF (EDF)-EDF (EDF), Laboratoire d'aérologie (LAERO), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), DLR Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre = DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IPA), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt Oberpfaffenhofen-Wessling (DLR), CNRS/INSU, ADEME (PNCA, PATOM), IPSL (ITOP), IGN, European Union, European Project: 505390-GOCE-CT-2004,SCOUT-03
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2009
• Subjects: [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-AO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics [physics.ao-ph]; [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00421748; https://hal.science/hal-00421748/document; https://hal.science/hal-00421748/file/Pisso_et_al-2009-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Solid_Earth_%281978-2012%29.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD011289

International audience The dispersion and mixing of pollutant plumes during long-range transport across the North Atlantic is studied using ensembles of diffusive backward trajectories in order to estimate turbulent diffusivity coefficients in the free troposphere under stratified flow conditions. Values of the order of 0.3-1 m2 s−1 and 1 × 104 m2 s−1 for the vertical and horizontal diffusivity coefficients D v and D h , respectively, are derived. Uncertainties related to the method are discussed, and results are compared with previous estimates of atmospheric mixing rates. These diffusivity estimates also yield an estimate of the vertical/horizontal aspect ratio of tracer structures in the troposphere. Results from this case study are used to estimate grid resolutions needed to accurately simulate the intercontinental transport of pollutants as being of the order of 500 m in the vertical and at least 40 km in the horizontal. This work forms the basis of high-resolution chemical simulations using ensembles of diffusive backward trajectories.