Overview: quasi-Lagrangian observations of Arctic airmass transformations – introduction and initial results ofthe HALO–(AC)3 aircraft campaign
International audience Global warming is amplified in the Arctic. However, numerical models struggle to represent key pro-cesses that determine Arctic weather and climate. To collect data that help to constrain the models, the HALO–(AC)3 aircraft campaign was conducted over the Norwegian and Greenla...
Published in: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
HAL CCSD
2024
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://insu.hal.science/insu-04522598 https://insu.hal.science/insu-04522598v2/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-04522598v2/file/acp-24-8865-2024.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8865-2024 |
Summary: | International audience Global warming is amplified in the Arctic. However, numerical models struggle to represent key pro-cesses that determine Arctic weather and climate. To collect data that help to constrain the models, the HALO–(AC)3 aircraft campaign was conducted over the Norwegian and Greenland seas, the Fram Strait, and the centralArctic Ocean in March and April 2022. The campaign focused on one specific challenge posed by the models,namely the reasonable representation of transformations of air masses during their meridional transport into andout of the Arctic via northward moist- and warm-air intrusions (WAIs) and southward marine cold-air outbreaks(CAOs). Observations were made over areas of open ocean, the marginal sea ice zone, and the central Arcticsea ice. Two low-flying and one long-range, high-altitude research aircraft were flown in colocated formationwhenever possible. To follow the air mass transformations, a quasi-Lagrangian flight strategy using trajectorycalculations was realized, enabling us to sample the same moving-air parcels twice along their trajectories. Sevendistinct WAI and 12 CAO cases were probed. From the quasi-Lagrangian measurements, we have quantified thediabatic heating/cooling and moistening/drying of the transported air masses. During CAOs, maximum valuesof 3 K h−1 warming and 0.3 g kg−1 h−1 moistening were obtained below 1 km altitude. From the observations ofWAIs, diabatic cooling rates of up to 0.4 K h−1 and a moisture loss of up to 0.1 g kg−1 h−1 from the ground toabout 5.5 km altitude were derived. Furthermore, the development of cloud macrophysical (cloud-top height andhorizontal cloud cover) and microphysical (liquid water path, precipitation, and ice index) properties along thesouthward pathways of the air masses were documented during CAOs, and the moisture budget during a specificWAI event was estimated. In addition, we discuss the statistical frequency of occurrence of the different thermo-dynamic phases of Arctic low-level clouds, the interaction of Arctic ... |
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