Nicholls, Stephen D.Mohr, Karen I.Shi, Jainn J.Braun, Scott A.2020-04-142020-04-142020-01-13Nicholls, Stephen D.; Mohr, Karen I.; Shi, Jainn J.; Braun, Scott A.; Characterizing 15 Years of Saharan-like, Dry, Well-Mixed Air Layers in North Africa; Meterology and Climatology (2020); https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20200001235http://hdl.handle.net/11603/1803633rd Conference on Climate Variability and Change; January 12, 2020 - January 16, 2020; Boston, MA; United States 100th American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting; January 12, 2020 - January 16, 2020; Boston, MA; United StatesThe Saharan Air Layer (SAL) is a dry, well-mixed layer (WML) of warm and sometimes dusty air of nearly constant water vapor mixing ratio generated by the intense surface heating and strong, dry convection in the Sahara Desert, which has notable downstream impacts on the surface energy balance, organized convective system development, seasonal precipitation, and air quality. Characterizing both WMLs and SALs from the existing rawinsonde network has proven challenging because of its sparseness and inconsistent data reporting. Spurred on by this challenge, we previously created a detection methodology and supporting software to automate the identification and characterization of WMLs from multiple data sources including rawinsondes, remote sensing platforms, and model products. We applied our algorithm to each dataset at both its native and at a common (most coarse data product) vertical resolution to detect WMLs and their characteristics (temperature, mixing ratio, AOD, etc.) at each of the 53 rawinsonde launch sites in north Africa.22 pagesen-USThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.Public Domain Mark 1.0This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.Text