Fewer clouds in the Mediterranean: consistency of observations and climate simulations.

Clouds play a major role in the climate system, but large uncertainties remain about their decadal variations. Here we report a widespread decrease in cloud cover since the 1970 s over the Mediterranean region, in particular during the 1970 s-1980 s, especially in the central and eastern areas and during springtime. Confidence in these findings is high due to the good agreement between the interannual variations of cloud cover provided by surface observations and several satellite-derived and reanalysis products, although some discrepancies exist in their trends. Climate model simulations of the historical experiment from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) also exhibit a decrease in cloud cover over the Mediterranean since the 1970 s, in agreement with surface observations, although the rate of decrease is slightly lower. The observed northward expansion of the Hadley cell is discussed as a possible cause of detected trends.

Two methods for retrieving UV index for all cloud conditions from sky imager products or total SW radiation measurements.

Cloud effects on UV Index (UVI) and total solar radiation (TR) as a function of cloud cover and sunny conditions (from sky images) as well as of solar zenith angle (SZA) are assessed. These analyses are undertaken for a southern-hemisphere mid-latitude site where a 10-years dataset is available. It is confirmed that clouds reduce TR more than UV, in particular for obscured Sun conditions, low cloud fraction (<60%) and large SZA (>60°). Similarly, local short-time enhancement effects are stronger for TR than for UV, mainly for visible Sun conditions, large cloud fraction and large SZA. Two methods to estimate UVI are developed: (1) from sky imaging cloud cover and sunny conditions, and (2) from TR measurements. Both methods may be used in practical applications, although Method 2 shows overall the best performance, as TR allows considering cloud optical properties. The mean absolute (relative) differences of Method 2 estimations with respect to measured values are 0.17 UVI units (6.7%, for 1 min data) and 0.79 Standard Erythemal Dose (SED) units (3.9%, for daily integrations). Method 1 shows less accurate results but it is still suitable to estimate UVI: mean absolute differences are 0.37 UVI units (15%) and 1.6 SED (8.0%).

Relationship between VOC and NOx emissions and chemical production of tropospheric ozone in the Aburrá Valley (Colombia).

Relationship between volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions and the chemical production of tropospheric ozone is studied through mathematical simulation. The study is applied to the Aburrá Valley, in the Colombian Andes, which is a practically unknown area from the point of view of ozone formation. The model used for this application is the European modelling of atmospheric constituents (EUMAC) zooming model (EZM) which consists of a mesoscale prognostic model (MEMO, mesoscale meteorological model) and a chemical reaction model (MUSE, multiscale for the atmospheric dispersion of reactive species), coupled to the chemical mechanism EMEP (European monitoring and evaluation program). The analysis is performed for a real episode that was characterized by high ozone production and that happened during the 23rd and 24th December, 1999 in Medellín (Colombia). From this real scenario, a sensitivity analysis has been carried out in order to assess the influence of VOC and NOx amounts on ozone production and to extract some conclusions for future ozone abatement policies in Andean regions. As far as ozone air quality is concerned, it is shown that in order to keep current levels the emphasis must be put to avoid increasing NOx emissions, or alternatively, to augment VOC emissions in order to have a high VOC/NOx ratio.