Improved understanding of the vertical distribution of simulated dust distribution in the Saharan Air Layer during the ICE-D field campaign with the WRF-CHEM model

Abstract

During the period of 4-27 August of 2015, the UK Ice in dust clouds experiment will take place in Cape Verde. UK_ICE-D will characterize aerosol particles and their ability to act as ice nuclei (IN) and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and determine their influence on cloud particles within convective and layered clouds. UK_ICE-D includes measurements from BAe146 aircraft (aerosol and cloud particle in-situ measurements, Lidar profiles, O3, CO, NOX, CH4 measurements), ground based aerosol measurements using the Manchester aerosol laboratory and radar measurements of cloud. The WRF-CHEM using the GOCART module will be used to forecast horizontal and vertical distributions of dust in Cape Verde. The model uses a grid spacing of 10 km and 31 vertical levels. These measurements will be compared to radiosondes and aerosol measurements that will provide ground level and vertical distributions of dust concentrations and size distributions. In addition we will examine the vertical biases in the models forecast of dry air and the mid-level easterly Jet during SAL events.