Diurnal and seasonal cycles of cloud occurrences, types, and radiative impact over West Africa

Abstract

This study focuses on the occurrence and type of clouds observed in West Africa, a subject that has been neither much documented nor quantified. It takes advantage of data collected above Niamey, Niger, in 2006 with the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility. A survey of cloud characteristics inferred from ground measurements is presented with a focus on their seasonal evolution and diurnal cycle. Four types of clouds are distinguished: high-level clouds, deep convective clouds, shallow convective clouds, and midlevel clouds. A frequent occurrence of the latter clouds located at the top of the Saharan air layer is highlighted. High-level clouds are ubiquitous throughout the period whereas shallow convective clouds are mainly noticeable during the core of the monsoon. The diurnal cycle of each cloud category and its seasonal evolution are investigated. CloudSat and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) data are used to demonstrate that these four cloud types (in addition to stratocumulus clouds over the ocean) are not a particularity of the Niamey region and that midlevel clouds are present over the Sahara during most of the monsoon season. Moreover, using complementary datasets, the radiative impact of each type of clouds at the surface level has been quantified in the short- and longwave domains. Midlevel clouds and anvil clouds have the largest impact, respectively, in longwave (about 15 W m -2) and shortwave (about 150 W m -2) radiation. Furthermore, midlevel clouds exert a strong radiative forcing during the spring at a time when the other cloud types are less numerous. © 2012 American Meteorological Society.