Nicholls, Stephen D.Mohr, Karen I.2018-04-102018-04-102018http://hdl.handle.net/11603/7927Presented at the 31st Conference on Climate Variability and Change (10 January 2018)• Evaluated AIRS SAL detection potential given porous radiosonde network (2002–2016) • AIRS vs AIRS/AMSU WML detection rates within 5% • WML: Potent seasonal cycle, best resolved by AIRS • SAL Frequency: Well-matched to observations, WML to SAL conversion rates highest in Sahara (Max 26%) • SAL Properties: • Distinct warm bias (esp. ECMWF) • Layer thickness well captured, but AIRS IQR too small • SAL trajectories: • Precipitation: 43-47% (0-10 mm), 10-13% (100mm+) • Dusty air (> 0.30 ODU): Sahara – 20-22%, Non-Sahara – 40-55% • Caveat: AIRS likely to do better further from rawinsondes station, AIRS results lose little with loss of AMSU.16 pagesen-USThis item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the author.North AfricaclimateSaharan Air Layer (SAL)Well-Mixed Layers (WML's)Atmosphere Infrared Sounder (AIRS)Saharan Air Layer (SAL) FrequencySaharan Air Layer (SAL) PropertiesSaharan Air Layer (SAL) TrajectoriesStill Image