Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation Interactions over Major Cities in South Africa: Impact on Regional Environment and Climate Change

Adesina, Joseph A.; Kumar, K. Raghavendra; Sivakumar, Venkataraman

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2015.03.0185

Cited by 23 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(71 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Moreover, the occurrence of both maximum and minimum daily AOD timely differs from the monthly averages owing to the consistently high and low aerosol loading for different months. These results reflect the finding of Adesina, Kumar and Sivakumar (2016) that tropospheric aerosol over the region is maximum during the spring, followed by the summer. However, in their study, the effect of the atmospheric sink process and smog was not quantified.…”

Section: Optical Parameterssupporting

confidence: 91%

Optical properties of atmospheric aerosol over Cape Town, Western Cape of South Africa: Role of biomass burning

Yakubu¹,

Chetty²

2020

ATM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The optical characteristics of atmospheric aerosol are vital in the determination of the regional climate trend. Biomass burning is typically known to influence aerosol optical characteristics. Following the incessant biomass burning and the recent drop in precipitation over Western Cape, the aerosol optical properties with a focus on the impact of biomass burning are studied over Cape Town using data from AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer). In general terms, measurements from both platforms significantly agree on the estimates of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and water vapor content (WVC). The mean AOD 0.075 (± 0.022) and Ångström exponent (AE) 0.63 (± 0.19) derived from AERONET demonstrate the dominance of coarse mode aerosol typical of maritime aerosol. Similarly, aerosol particle size distributions display the predominance of coarse mode particles. However, the derived refractive index is more representative of urban-industrial aerosol. Also, estimated back-trajectories show that more than 70% of the aerosol particles over the region originate over the ocean. Atmospheric vapor increases from winter to summer and mainly influenced by air temperature, supersaturation level, and absorbing aerosol. Furthermore, two significant sources accounted for biomass burning related to high AOD values: local biomass burning and regionally transported aged smoke majorly from elsewhere in Sothern Africa.

show abstract

Section: Optical Parameterssupporting

confidence: 91%

Optical properties of atmospheric aerosol over Cape Town, Western Cape of South Africa: Role of biomass burning

Yakubu¹,

Chetty²

2020

ATM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The Western Cape is about 450 times the size of Hong Kong and offers a wide range of terrains and climates. Our sampled areas ranged from hot- and warm-Mediterranean climates (hot and dry summer, cold and wet winter; Köppen–Geiger climate classification Csa and Csb) in the South, to cold semi-arid regions in the North and East (hotter and drier summers than in the South, cold dry winters, large daily fluctuations in temperature; Köppen climate classification Bsk; Adesina et al , 2016 ; Beck et al , 2018 ). In Hong Kong, we sampled geckos and skinks between April and August 2019, i.e.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

No consistent effect of daytime versus night-time measurement of thermal tolerance in nocturnal and diurnal lizards

Dufour

Tsang

Clusella‐Trullas

et al. 2022

Conservation Physiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While essential in understanding impacts of climate change for organisms, diel variation remains an understudied component of temporal variation in thermal tolerance limits [i.e. the critical thermal minimum (CTmin) and maximum (CTmax)]. For example, a higher Ctmax might be expected for an individual if the measurement is taken during the day (when heat stress is most likely to occur) instead of at night. We measured thermal tolerance (Ctmin and Ctmax) during both the daytime and night-time in 101 nocturnal and diurnal geckos and skinks in Hong Kong and in South Africa, representing six species and covering a range of habitats. We found that period of measurement (day vs. night) only affected Ctmin in South Africa (but not in Hong Kong) and that Ctmax was unaffected. Body size and species were important factors for determining Ctmax in Hong Kong and Ctmin in South Africa, respectively. Overall, however, we did not find consistent diel variation of thermal tolerance and suggest that measurements of critical thermal limits may be influenced by timing of measurement—but that such effects, when present, are likely to be context-dependent.

show abstract

“…The choice of sites includes geographical proximity to weather stations and a variety of different climate zones (Table 1). Reaching from subtropical humid (Cfa) in the northeast, covering Saint Lucia and Durban via hot semiarid regions (Cfb) in the south, including Port Elizabeth and Buffalo Bay among others, to warm summer Mediterranean climate (Csb) around Cape Town (Adesina et al 2016;Lennard 2019).…”

Section: B Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Climate Change Threats to Beach Tourism Destinations: Application of the Hazard–Activity Pairs Methodology to South Africa

Friedrich

Stahl

Hoogendoorn

et al. 2020

Weather, Climate, and Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change poses significant threats to the sustainability of tourism economies globally. This is particularly true for beach tourism, which is highly dependent on the mean climate, daily weather, and natural setting of a destination to attract and satisfy tourists. This case study of the South African coastline provides new insights to the applicability of the vulnerability assessment methodology of hazard–activity pairs to the global south and specifically to sub-Saharan Africa. Through this method, tourists’ climate perceptions were analyzed and related to potential future impacts of climate change, creating hazard–activity pairs. Tourists’ perceptions of climate were captured by means of a questionnaire. Downscaled CMIP5 climate projections (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) for six weather stations close to major beach tourism destinations were used to estimate changes in precipitation and temperature. This study reveals that future projections of a mean reduction in precipitation and increasing temperature may have positive rather than negative direct effects on South African beach tourism destinations because what tourists perceive as “comfortable” weather conditions are increasing in prevalence. Nevertheless, indirect and induced effects of an already changing climate, defining further hazard–activity pairs, must be considered in vulnerability assessments. This work endorses the applicability of the hazard–activity pair methodology to South Africa and the global south at large.

show abstract

Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation Interactions over Major Cities in South Africa: Impact on Regional Environment and Climate Change

Cited by 23 publications

References 41 publications

Optical properties of atmospheric aerosol over Cape Town, Western Cape of South Africa: Role of biomass burning

Optical properties of atmospheric aerosol over Cape Town, Western Cape of South Africa: Role of biomass burning

No consistent effect of daytime versus night-time measurement of thermal tolerance in nocturnal and diurnal lizards

Exploring Climate Change Threats to Beach Tourism Destinations: Application of the Hazard–Activity Pairs Methodology to South Africa

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About