ALBERT

Description: As part of the international project entitled "African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA)", NAMMA (NASA AMMA) aimed to gain a better understanding of the relationship between the African Easterly Waves (AEWs), the Sahara Air Layer (SAL), and tropical cyclogenesis. The NAMMA airborne field campaign was based out of the Cape Verde Islands during the peak of the hurricane season, i.e., August and September 2006. Multiple Sahara dust layers were sampled during 62 encounters in the eastern portion of the hurricane main development region, covering both the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and the western Saharan desert (i.e., 5–22° N and 10–35° W). The centers of these layers were located at altitudes between 1.5 and 3.3 km and the layer thickness ranged from 0.5 to 3 km. Detailed dust microphysical and optical properties were characterized using a suite of in-situ instruments aboard the NASA DC-8 that included a particle counter, an Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer, an Aerodynamic Particle Sizer, a nephelometer, and a Particle Soot Absorption Photometer. The NAAMA sampling inlet has a size cut (i.e., 50% transmission efficiency size) of approximately 4 μm in diameter for dust particles, which limits the representativeness of the NAMMA observational findings. The NAMMA dust observations showed relatively low particle number densities, ranging from 268 to 461 cm−3, but highly elevated volume density with an average at 45 μm3 cm−3. NAMMA dust particle size distributions can be well represented by tri-modal lognormal regressions. The estimated volume median diameter (VMD) is averaged at 2.1 μm with a small range of variation regardless of the vertical and geographical sampling locations. The Ångström Exponent assessments exhibited strong wavelength dependence for absorption but a weak one for scattering. The single scattering albedo was estimated at 0.97 ± 0.02. The imaginary part of the refractive index for Sahara dust was estimated at 0.0022, with a range from 0.0015 to 0.0044. Closure analysis showed that observed scattering coefficients are highly correlated with those calculated from spherical Mie-Theory and observed dust particle size distributions. These values are generally consistent with literature values reported from studies with similar particle sampling size range.

Description: The long-term monitoring of basic hydrological parameters (temperature and salinity), collected as time series with adequate temporal resolution (i.e. with a sampling interval allowing the resolution of all important timescales) in key places of the Mediterranean Sea (straits and channels, zones of dense water formation, deep parts of the basins), constitute a priority in the context of global changes. This led CIESM (The Mediterranean Science Commission) to support, since 2002, the HYDROCHANGES programme (http//www.ciesm.org/marine/programs/hydrochanges.htm), a network of autonomous conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) sensors, deployed on mainly short and easily manageable subsurface moorings, within the core of a certain water mass. The HYDROCHANGES strategy is twofold and develops on different scales. To get information about long-term changes of hydrological characteristics, long time series are needed. But before these series are long enough they allow the detection of links between them at shorter timescales that may provide extremely valuable information about the functioning of the Mediterranean Sea. The aim of this paper is to present the history of the programme and the current set-up of the network (monitored sites, involved groups) as well as to provide for the first time an overview of all the time series collected under the HYDROCHANGES umbrella, discussing the results obtained thanks to the programme.

Description: Within the framework of the EGITTO/EGYPT program, the spatial structure and the temporal variability of the surface circulation in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea was studied by means of satellite-tracked drifters. A total of 97 drifters drogued to 15-m nominal depth were released between September 2005 and March 2007, either regularly along ship-of-opportunity routes (Sicily Channel) or within specific structures during dedicated campaigns (Levantine sub-basin). After editing and low-pass filtering, the drifter trajectories were used to estimate pseudo-Eulerian statistics: mean current, variance ellipses, mean and eddy kinetic energies. A statistical analysis was also performed dividing the dataset in two extended seasons (winter and summer). This study completes previous ones in the Sicily Channel and in the Ionian. Several veins are evidenced, together with a seasonal variability inducing a reversal of the circulation in the southern part of the Ionian. However, in this latter area, data are too scarce and the dynamics too complex to achieve a circulation pattern yet. Eastward, the general circulation is described as a counterclockwise flow along the Libyo-Egyptian and Middle East slopes. Part of this flow is deflected toward the open sea by the anticyclones generated alongslope by the Libyo-Egyptian current (Libyan and Egyptian eddies), by the wind (Ierapetra) or by the topography (over the Eratosthenes Seamount and off Latakia). The entrainment of this flow around successive eddies (paddle-wheels effect) results in an open sea eastward transport of Atlantic water. When the Libyan eddies (anticyclonic) are close to the slope, the westward current is stronger than the mean eastward current and the circulation is temporally and locally reversed. The strong variability induced by the eddies and the meteorological conditions hinder evenly covering all the study area. Additional deployments are required to improve further our understanding of the circulation in this basin.

Description: Within the framework of the EGITTO/EGYPT programs, the spatial structure and the temporal variability of the surface circulation in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea was studied with satellite-tracked drifters. A total of 97 drifters drogued to 15-m nominal depth were released between September 2005 and March 2007, regularly along ship-of-opportunity routes in the Sicily Channel and within specific structures during dedicated campaigns in the Levantine sub-basin. This study complements previous ones in the former and in the Ionian, but it is the first one in the latter. After editing and low-pass filtering, the drifter trajectories were used to estimate pseudo-Eulerian statistics: mean current, variance ellipses, mean and eddy kinetic energies. A statistical analysis was also performed dividing the dataset in two extended seasons (winter and summer). A branching behaviour of the surface water after passing through the Sicily Channel is evidenced, together with a seasonal variability inducing a reversal of the circulation in the southern part of the Ionian. In the Levantine, the surface circulation describes an eastward flow along the Libyan and Egyptian slopes (the Libyo-Egyptian Current: LEC) that continues in a cyclonic circuit along the Middle East and Turkish slopes. This general alongslope circuit can be perturbed locally and temporally by the numerous anticyclonic eddies that co-exist in the Levantine, mainly created by the instability of the LEC in the south (Libyo-Egyptian Eddies: LEEs), but also by the wind (Ierapetra and Pelops), and by the topography (over the Eratosthenes Seamount and off Latakia). The most frequent perturbation is the entrainment of part of the flow seaward: the LEEs close to the slope can interact with the LEC, which then spreads more or less around them, so that a series of contiguous LEEs (paddle-wheel effect) can possibly result in an eastward offshore transport (the so-called Mid Mediterranean Jet). Additionally, when LEEs are close enough to the slope, most of the surface flow is spread seaward. Along the slope the current is then induced by the LEEs southern side which results in a westward current. Locally and temporally the circulation along the slope can thus be reversed.

Description: The long-term monitoring of basic hydrological parameters (temperature and salinity), collected as time series with adequate temporal resolution (i.e. with a sampling interval allowing the resolution of all important time scales) in key-places of the Mediterranean Sea (straits and channels, zones of dense water formation, deep parts of the basins), constitute a priority in the context of global changes. This led CIESM (The Mediterranean Science Commission) to support, since 2002, the HYDROCHANGES programme (http://www.ciesm.org/marine/programs/hydrochanges.htm), a network of autonomous conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensors, deployed on mainly short and easily manageable sub-surface moorings. The HYDROCHANGES strategy is twofold and develops on different scales. To get information about long-term changes of hydrological characteristics, long time series are needed. But before these series are long enough they allow detecting links between them at shorter time scales that may provide extremely valuable information about the functioning of the Mediterranean Sea. Here we present the history of the programme and the current setup of the network (monitored sites, involved groups) and provide an overview of all the available time series, discussing some of the results obtained thanks to the programme.

Description: Successful river flow forecasting is a major goal and an essential procedure that is necessary in water resource planning and management. There are many forecasting techniques used for river flow forecasting. This study proposed a hybrid model based on a combination of two methods: Self Organizing Map (SOM) and Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LSSVM) model, referred to as the SOM-LSSVM model for river flow forecasting. The hybrid model uses the SOM algorithm to cluster the entire dataset into several disjointed clusters, where the monthly river flows data with similar input pattern are grouped together from a high dimensional input space onto a low dimensional output layer. By doing this, the data with similar input patterns will be mapped to neighbouring neurons in the SOM's output layer. After the dataset has been decomposed into several disjointed clusters, an individual LSSVM is applied to forecast the river flow. The feasibility of this proposed model is evaluated with respect to the actual river flow data from the Bernam River located in Selangor, Malaysia. The performance of the SOM-LSSVM was compared with other single models such as ARIMA, ANN and LSSVM. The performance of these models was then evaluated using various performance indicators. The experimental results show that the SOM-LSSVM model outperforms the other models and performs better than ANN, LSSVM as well as ARIMA for river flow forecasting. It also indicates that the proposed model can forecast more precisely, and provides a promising alternative technique for river flow forecasting.

Description: Successful river flow time series forecasting is a major goal and an essential procedure that is necessary in water resources planning and management. This study introduced a new hybrid model based on a combination of two familiar non-linear method of mathematical modeling: Self Organizing Map (SOM) and Least Square Support Vector Machine (LSSVM) model referred as SOM-LSSVM model. The hybrid model uses the SOM algorithm to cluster the training data into several disjointed clusters and the individual LSSVM is used to forecast the river flow. The feasibility of this proposed model is evaluated to actual river flow data from Bernam River located in Selangor, Malaysia. Their results have been compared to those obtained using LSSVM and artificial neural networks (ANN) models. The experiment results show that the SOM-LSSVM model outperforms other models for forecasting river flow. It also indicates that the proposed model can forecast more precisely and provides a promising alternative technique in river flow forecasting.

Description: As part of the international project entitled "African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA)", NAMMA (NASA AMMA) aimed to gain a better understanding of the relationship between the African Easterly Waves (AEWs), the Sahara Air Layer (SAL), and tropical cyclogenesis. The NAMMA airborne field campaign was based out of the Cape Verde Islands during the peak of the hurricane season, i.e., August and September 2006. Multiple Sahara dust layers were sampled during 62 encounters in the eastern portion of the hurricane main development region, covering both the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and the western Saharan desert (i.e., 5–22° N and 10–35° W). The centers of these layers were located at altitudes between 1.5 and 3.3 km and the layer thickness ranged from 0.5 to 3 km. Detailed dust microphysical and optical properties were characterized using a suite of in situ instruments aboard the NASA DC-8 that included a particle counter, an Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer, an Aerodynamic Particle Sizer, nephelometer, and Particle Soot Absorption Photometer. The NAMMA dust observations showed relatively low particle number densities, ranging from 268 to 461 cm−3, but highly elevated volume density with an average at 45 μm3 cm−3. NAMMA dust particle size distributions were well represented by tri-modal lognormal regressions. The estimated volume median diameter (VMD) is averaged at 2.1 μm with a small range of variation regardless of the vertical and geographical sampling locations. The absorption coefficient measurements exhibited a strong wavelength dependence for absorption but a weak one for scattering. The single scattering albedo was estimated at 0.97±0.02. Closure analyses showed that observed scattering and absorption coefficients are highly correlated with those calculated from spherical Mie-Theory and observed dust particle size distributions. The imaginary part of the refractive index for Sahara dust was estimated at 0.0022, with a range from 0.0015 to 0.0044. These values are generally consistent with literature values.