scholarly journals Continuous detection and characterization of the Sea Breeze in clear sky conditions using Meteosat Second Generation

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 6505-6513 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. M. Lensky ◽  
U. Dayan

Abstract. The sea breeze (SB) is a thermally induced boundary layer phenomenon that occurs at coastal locations throughout the world. Previous satellite remote sensing studies used low-level clouds formed over the sea-breeze convergence zones to identify the SB. In this study continuous thermal infrared data from a geostationary satellite (Meteosat Second Generation) and concurrent field measurements were used to detect and characterize the SB in clear sky conditions during the summer. Surface data (wind speed and direction) from 11 sites over Israel for ten summer days in July 2010 for three different synoptic circulation categories were selected. In order to assess the impact of the synoptic induced flow on the SB, we looked for the best agreement between surface and satellite SB timing. An independent classification of synoptic categories performed for the ten summer days revealed two distinct patterns of the SB. During weak horizontal pressure gradient (Weak Persian Trough and High to the West), which enables full development of the SB, the timing of the SB from satellite and field measurements were well correlated (R2 = 0.75), as compared to unfavorable atmospheric conditions (Deep Persian Trough) yielding lower value (R2 = 0.5). The SB was identified by surface measurements in an earlier time of the day, with respect to the satellite column integrated measurements. Visualizing timing of the SB retrieved from satellite data enabled distinction of SB behavior under different synoptic categories. Over desert regions the strong thermal contrast enables detection of the SB even under suppressing synoptic conditions (Deep Persian Trough). This method enables detection and timing of the SB over desert regions where clouds and field measurements are scarce, and is applicable worldwide.

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 33357-33377
Author(s):  
I. M. Lensky ◽  
U. Dayan

Abstract. The sea breeze (SB) is a thermally induced boundary layer phenomenon that occurs at coastal locations throughout the world. Previous satellite remote sensing studies used low-level clouds formed over the sea-breeze convergence zones to identify the SB. In this study continuous thermal infrared data from a geostationary satellite (Meteosat Second Generation) and concurrent field measurements were used to detect and characterize the SB in clear sky conditions during the summer. Surface data (wind speed and direction) from 11 sites over Israel for ten summer days in July 2010 for three different synoptic circulation categories were selected. In order to assess the impact of the synoptic induced flow on the SB, we looked for the best agreement between surface and satellite SB timing. An independent classification of synoptic categories performed for the ten summer days revealed two distinct patterns of the SB. During weak horizontal pressure gradient (Weak Persian Trough and High to the West), which enables full development of the SB, the timing of the SB from satellite and field measurements were well correlated (R2=0.75), as compared to unfavorable atmospheric conditions (Deep Persian Trough) yielding lower value (R2=0.5). The SB was identified by surface measurements in an earlier time of the day, with respect to the satellite column integrated measurements. Visualizing a product of time series analysis of the satellite data enabled clear distinction of SB behavior under different synoptic categories. Over desert regions the strong thermal contrast enables detection of the SB even under suppressing synoptic conditions (Deep Persian Trough). This method enables detection and timing of the SB over desert regions where clouds and field measurements are scarce, and is applicable worldwide.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaury de Souza ◽  
Razika Ihaddadene ◽  
Nabila Ihaddadene ◽  
Pelumi E. Oguntunde

The importance of statistical analysis in the field of energy for environmental engineering is shown in this research paper, in which the adequacy of the data sets of clarity index with the model of “best” probability (based on the criteria used) was studied. In Campo Grande which is the capital of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, located in the Center-West region of the country, there is a predominance of the atmospheric conditions of low cloudiness, with a high frequency of days with a clear sky and in consequence a low-frequency of days with cloudy sky. The aerosols resulting from the burning of sugarcane influence the sky conditions in Campo Grande thus reducing the frequency of the clear sky.


2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 2309-2320 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Suresh Babu ◽  
K. Krishna Moorthy ◽  
S. K. Satheesh

Abstract. Seasonal distinctiveness in the microphysical and optical properties of columnar and near-surface (in the well mixed region) aerosols, associated with changes in the prevailing synoptic conditions, were delineated based on extensive (spread over 4 years) and collocated measurements at the tropical coastal location, Trivandrum (8.55° N; 76.97° E, 3 m a.m.s.l.), and the results were summarized in Part 1 of this two-part paper. In Part 2, we use these properties to develop empirical seasonal aerosol models, which represent the observed features fairly accurately, separately for winter monsoon season (WMS, December through March), inter-monsoon season (IMS, April and May), summer monsoon season (SMS, June through September) and post monsoon season (PMS, October and November). The models indicate a significant transformation in the aerosol environment from an anthropogenic-dominance in WMS to a natural-dominance in SMS. The modeled aerosol properties are used for estimating the direct, short wave aerosol radiative forcing, under clear-sky conditions. Our estimates show large seasonal changes. Under clear sky conditions, the daily averaged short-wave TOA forcing changes from its highest values during WMS, to the lowest values in SMS; this seasonal change being brought-in mainly by the reduction in the abundance and the mass fraction (to the composite) of black carbon aerosols and of accumulation mode aerosols. The resulting atmospheric forcing varies from the highest, (47 to 53 W m−2) in WMS to the lowest (22 to 26 W m−2) in SMS.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 4521-4536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yana A. Virolainen ◽  
Yury M. Timofeyev ◽  
Vladimir S. Kostsov ◽  
Dmitry V. Ionov ◽  
Vladislav V. Kalinnikov ◽  
...  

Abstract. The cross-comparison of different techniques for atmospheric integrated water vapour (IWV) measurements is the essential part of their quality assessment protocol. We inter-compare the synchronised data sets of IWV values measured by the Bruker 125 HR Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), RPG-HATPRO microwave radiometer (MW), and Novatel ProPak-V3 global navigation satellite system receiver (GPS) at the St. Petersburg site between August 2014 and October 2016. As the result of accurate spatial and temporal matching of different IWV measurements, all three techniques agree well with each other except for small IWV values. We show that GPS and MW data quality depends on the atmospheric conditions; in dry atmosphere (IWV smaller than 6 mm), these techniques are less reliable at the St. Petersburg site than the FTIR method. We evaluate the upper bound of statistical measurement errors for clear-sky conditions as 0.29 ± 0.02 mm (1.6 ± 0.3 %), 0.55 ± 0.02 mm (4.7 ± 0.4 %), and 0.76 ± 0.04 mm (6.3 ± 0.8 %) for FTIR, GPS, and MW methods, respectively. We propose the use of FTIR as a reference method under clear-sky conditions since it is reliable on all scales of IWV variability.


After shading a light on the extraterrestrial solar radiation in the chapter 3 it is important to evaluate the global terrestrial solar radiation and its components. The information on terrestrial solar radiation is required in several different forms depending on the kinds of calculations and kind of application that are to be done. Of course, terrestrial solar radiation on the horizontal plane depends on the different weather conditions such as cloud cover, relative humidity, and ambient temperature. Therefore, the impact of the atmosphere on solar radiation should be considered. One of the most important points of terrestrial solar radiation evaluation is its determination during clear sky conditions. Therefore, in this chapter, the equations that determine the air mass basing on available theories are given and the clear sky conditions are introduced with shading a light on the previous work in identifying clear sky conditions. Taking into consideration that, clear sky solar radiation estimation is of great importance for solar tracking, a detailed review of main available models is given in this chapter. As daily, monthly, seasonally, biannually and yearly mean daily solar radiations are required information for designing and installing long term tracking systems, different available methods are commented regarding their applicability for the estimation of solar radiation information in the desired format from the data that are available. An important accent is paid also on the assessment and comparison of monthly mean daily solar radiation estimation models.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 2675-2688 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Manninen ◽  
A. Riihelä ◽  
G. de Leeuw

Abstract. Ground-based pyranometer measurements of the (clear-sky) broadband surface albedo are affected by the atmospheric conditions (mainly by aerosol particles, water vapour and ozone). A new semi-empirical method for estimating the magnitude of the effect of atmospheric conditions on surface albedo measurements in clear-sky conditions is presented. Global and reflected radiation and/or aerosol optical depth (AOD) at two wavelengths are needed to apply the method. Depending on the aerosol optical depth and the solar zenith angle values, the effect can be as large as 20%. For the cases we tested using data from the Cabauw atmospheric test site in the Netherlands, the atmosphere caused typically up to 5% overestimation of surface albedo with respect to corresponding black-sky surface albedo values.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Ferrero ◽  
Asta Gregorič ◽  
Griša Močnik ◽  
Martin Rigler ◽  
Sergio Cogliati ◽  
...  

Abstract. We experimentally quantified the impact of cloud fraction and cloud type on the heating rates (HRs) of black and brown carbon (HRBC and HRBrC).In particular, in this work, we examine in more detail the average cloud effect (Ferrero et al., 2018) using high time-resolution measurements of aerosol absorption at multiple-wavelengths coupled with spectral measurements of the direct, diffuse and surface reflected radiation and lidar data in the Po Valley. The experimental set-up allowed a direct determination of HRBC and HRBrC in any sky condition. The highest values of total HR were found in the middle of the winter (1.43 ± 0.05 K day−1) while the lowest in spring (0.54 ± 0.02 K day−1) Overall the HRBrC accounted for 13.7 ± 0.2 % of the total HR, the BrC being characterized by an AAE of 3.49 ± 0.01. Simultaneously, sky conditions were classified (from clear-sky to cloudy) in terms of fraction of sky covered by clouds (oktas) and cloud types. Cloud types were grouped as a function of altitude into the following classes: 1) low level ( 7 km) cirrus, cirrocumulus-cirrostratus. Measurements carried out in different sky conditions at high-time resolution showed a constant decrease of HR with increasing cloudiness of the atmosphere enabling us to quantify for the first time the bias (in %) in the aerosol HR introduced by improperly assuming clear-sky conditions in radiative transfer calculations. In fact, during the campaign, clear sky conditions were only present 23 % of the time while the remaining time (77 %) was characterized by cloudy conditions. Our results show that, by incorrectly assuming clear-sky conditions, the HR of light absorbing aerosol can be largely overestimated (by 50 % in low cloudiness, oktas = 1–2), up to over 400 % (in complete overcast conditions, i.e., oktas = 7–8). The impact of different cloud types on the HR compared to a clear sky condition was also investigated. Cirrus were found to have a modest impact, decreasing the HRBC and HRBrC by −1– −5 %. Cumulus decreased the HRBC and HRBrC by −31 ± 12 and −26 ± 7 %, respectively, while cirrocumulus-cirrostratus by −60 ± 8 and −54 ± 4 %, which was comparable to the impact of altocumulus (−60 ± 6 and −46 ± 4 %). A high impact on HRBC and HRBrC was found for stratocumulus (−63 ± 6 and −58 ± 4 %, respectively) and altostratus (−78 ± 5 and −73 ± 4 %, respectively), although the highest impact was found to be associated to stratus that suppressed the HRBC and HRBrC by −85 ± 5 and −83 ± 3 %, respectively. Additionally, the cloud influence on the radiation spectrum that interacts with the absorbing aerosol was investigated. Black and brown carbon (BC and BrC) have different spectral responses (a different absorption Angstrom exponent, AAE) and our results show that the presence of clouds causes a greater decrease for the HRBC with respect to to HRBrC going clear sky to complete overcast conditions; the observed the difference is 12 ± 6 %. This means that, compared to BC, BrC is more efficient in heating the surrounding atmosphere in cloudy conditions than in clear sky. Overall, this study extends the results of a previous work (Ferrero et al., 2018), highlighting the need to take into account both the role of cloudiness and of different cloud types to better estimate the HR associated to both BC and BrC, and in turn decrease the uncertainties associated to the quantification of the impact of these species on radiation and climate.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1921
Author(s):  
Akriti Masoom ◽  
Panagiotis Kosmopoulos ◽  
Yashwant Kashyap ◽  
Shashi Kumar ◽  
Ankit Bansal

This study estimates the photovoltaic (PV) energy production from the rooftop solar plant of the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) and the impact of clouds and aerosols on the PV energy production based on earth observation (EO)-related techniques and solar resource modeling. The post-processed satellite remote sensing observations from the INSAT-3D have been used in combination with Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) 1-day forecasts to perform the Indian Solar Irradiance Operational System (INSIOS) simulations. NITK experiences cloudy conditions for a major part of the year that attenuates the solar irradiance available for PV energy production and the aerosols cause performance issues in the PV installations and maintenance. The proposed methodology employs cloud optical thickness (COT) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) to perform the INSIOS simulations and quantify the impact of clouds and aerosols on solar energy potential, quarter-hourly monitoring, forecasting energy production and financial analysis. The irradiance forecast accuracy was evaluated for 15 min, monthly, and seasonal time horizons, and the correlation was found to be 0.82 with most of the percentage difference within 25% for clear-sky conditions. For cloudy conditions, 27% of cases were found to be within ±50% difference of the percentage difference between the INSIOS and silicon irradiance sensor (SIS) irradiance and it was 60% for clear-sky conditions. The proposed methodology is operationally ready and is able to support the rooftop PV energy production management by providing solar irradiance simulations and realistic energy production estimations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Poljak ◽  
M. T. Prtenjak ◽  
M. Kvakić ◽  
N. Strelec Mahović ◽  
K. Babić

Abstract. The northeastern (NE) Adriatic in the northern Mediterranean is the area with (i) the highest frequency of thunderstorms in Croatia, and (ii) frequent appearances of sea breeze (SB) along the coast. This study investigates the impact of the combined large-scale wind (associated with particular synoptic conditions) and the SB on the moist convection development over the NE Adriatic. The four selected cases were (i) chosen on the basis of a daytime moist convection; (ii) supplemented by one of the dominant large-scale winds with seaward (NE, NW) and landward (SW, SE) directions and (iii) simulated by WRF numerical model. The near-surface wind patterns consisted of SBs along the coastline, generated a narrow eastward-moving convergence zone (CZ) along the area if the large-scale wind was less than 9 m s−1 (below 500 hPa). Apart from the low-level CZ, the advection of large-scale wind influenced the lifetime and movement of the initial Cb cells. While the local front collision with the NE wind advection caused the thunderstorm to propagate southward, the CZ and fronts interaction determined the afternoon northwestward storm movement against the NW large-scale wind. Due to particular synoptic background, the thunderstorm event in SE case was the shortest with only a minor impact on the SB. While the origins and locations of storm cells were completely controlled by the low-level CZ and the upward advection of low-level moisture at the SB front, the most typical convective case with SW warm-wet wind only partially supported the SB–Cb interaction.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 2171-2180
Author(s):  
Jing Feng ◽  
Yi Huang

Abstract Accurate integration of directional radiance shows that the conventional diffusivity-factor approximation with a constant diffusivity angle results in an overestimation of the outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) in the window band and an underestimation in the absorption band. We propose an analytical estimation of a spectrally dependent diffusivity angle for clear-sky spectral OLR, considering actual atmospheric conditions and realistic optical path geometry. Beginning with the plane-parallel geometry, we present a new, physical explanation of the conventional diffusivity angle that applies to the gas absorption bands and derives an alternative solution for the window bands. Then a correction scheme is developed to account for the impact of the spherical Earth geometry on the diffusivity angle. The proposed method achieves higher accuracy, reducing biases to generally less than 2% in all spectral regions.


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