TDU MFC
4.4 Overview of meteorological and natural environmental conditions
The meteorological conditions at Cape Point during the bromoform measurement experimental period are examined in this section. The spring climatology for Cape Town exhibits a mixture of summer and winter conditions. Mean air temperatures ranged between∼13 and 18◦C, night and day, respectively during the experimental period. The occurrence of sub-tropical cyclones were typical for this time of year. Weather patterns are dominated by migratory anticyclones called cold fronts (Tyson and Preston-Whyte, 2000).
Selected elements were extracted and examined in greater detail for their impact on the variability in the bromoform mixing ratio.
4.4.1 Wind speed and direction
The wind speed at Cape Point varied between still air to an upper limit of 24.3 m s−1 (Fig. 4.9) during the experimental period. The variability in wind speed is primarily driven by local changes in pressure and wind direction with higher wind speed from the east to southeast (15 – 25 m s−1) compared to westerly winds (10 – 15 m s−1; Fig. 4.9). The change in wind speeds is possibly caused by local topographic features.
The wind direction measurement at Cape Point becomes unreliable at speeds of < 4 m s−1 and so these measurements were removed from the dataset before analysis (E.-G.Brunke and C. Labuschagne, SAWS, pers. comm. 2011). Two dominant wind directions were experienced at Cape Point during the experimental period (Fig. 4.7), one from the west-southwest (WSW) to northwest (NW) and one from the east (E) to southeast (SE). There were a greater number of days with direction from WSW-NW than E-SE.
The two dominant wind directions found at Cape Point are driven by synoptic conditions (Brunke et al., 2004). The southeasterly directions are driven by the presence of the SAHP, which is more indicative of summer conditions, while westerly winds are driven by cold fronts associated with extra-tropical cyclones that are mainly a winter phenomenon in Cape Town (Hutchings et al., 2009). Cut-off low pressure systems occur predominantly during the transition seasons (Singleton and Reason, 2007). These episodic low pressure systems are known to result in significant rainfall, often leading to flash-flooding. Cut-off low pressure systems have been linked with stratospheric-tropospheric exchange, resulting in the draw down of ozone (Singleton and Reason, 2007).
The variation in wind speed coupled with changes in direction may be an important driver of the observed variability in bromoform mixing ratios measured at Cape Point. Changes in speed providing conditions for the accumulation or dispersion within the MBL (Quack and Suess, 1999; Liss and Merlivat, 1986), and direction determining source region of the air mass.
4.4.2 Air temperature, relative humidity and shortwave radiation
Air temperature was relatively stable with a daily mean of 14.4◦C and a range of 10.5 – 21.5◦C (Fig. 4.8).
The lack of correlation between wind speed and air temperature suggests an absence of local land or
4.4. Overview of meteorological and natural environmental conditions 83
5%
10%
15%
20%
E W
S N
NE
SW NW
SE
0 − 5 5 − 10 10 − 15 15 − 20 20 − 25 m s−1
Figure 4.7: Wind speed and direction frequency plot for Cape Point during the bromoform experimental period.
10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Air temperature (° C)
0 5 10 15 20 25
Wind speed (ms−1 )
12/10 15/10 18/10 21/10 24/10 27/10 30/10 02/11 05/11 08/11 11/110 10
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Date
Bromoform (ppt)
Figure 4.8:Comparative graph of wind speed (green), air temperature (blue) and bromoform mixing ratios (black) at Cape Point during the bromoform experimental period.
sea breezes. However, land and sea breezes may have occurred on certain days and played a role in moderating local mixing ratios of bromoform in a manner similar to that experienced by Carpenter et al.
(2000).
Shortwave radiation exhibited a mean daily maximum of approximately 973 W m−2. Light from the moon does not seem to have impacted on measured global radiation despite many cloudless nights. The
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Wind direction (° )
0 5 10 15 20 25
Wind speed (ms−1 )
12/10 15/10 18/10 21/10 24/10 27/10 30/10 02/11 05/11 08/11 11/110 10
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Date
Bromoform (ppt)
Figure 4.9:Time series of wind speeds (green) and direction (blue stars) with bromoform mixing ratios (black) at Cape Point during the bromoform experimental period.
proximity of the GAW station to the lighthouse at Cape Point might explain the raised radiation values at night. Local cloud events caused a decrease in the maximum radiation received at ground level. Six cloudy days were recorded at Cape Point during the experimental period, decreasing shortwave radiation values from∼1000 W m−2to between 400 and 800 W m−2.
Relative humidity (RH) values exhibited a cyclical variation with values ranging between 80 and 95 % during the experimental period. Two departures from this occurred during 26 and 28 October and 7 to 8 November where RH values remained low at 60 – 70 % and < 50 %. The depreciated RH values may have been due to changes in wind direction and consistent wind (Fig. 4.9). While RH and air temperature showed a weak negative (r= -0.32) relationship, they displayed a concomitant variability, exhibiting a strong diurnal cycle. RH and shortwave radiation showed a moderate negative correlation (Fig. 4.10).
4.4.3 Marine boundary layer height
The MBL height at Cape Point showed some large variations, ranging from lows of 91 m (night time surface inversions) to highs of∼2000 m as well as days with no apparent MBL, suggesting well mixed conditions. The estimated MBL heights do not seem to be correlated with any of the meteorological measurements taken at Cape Point (Fig. 4.11). A roughly diurnal pattern can be discerned from the estimated heights, suggesting that shortwave radiation and air temperature mechanisms may be driving the variability, despite the lack of correlation (Seibert et al., 2000). The spatial inconstancy of measurement may be the reason for an inability to rigorously identify driving mechanisms.
4.4. Overview of meteorological and natural environmental conditions 85 4.4.4 Tidal height
A comparison of predictedversusactual tidal height for Port Nolloth (west coast) and Mossel Bay (south coast) during the bromoform sampling period found no significant difference in the heights or timing,
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Solar radiation (W m−2)
RH (%)
Figure 4.10:Comparative graph of relative humidity and incoming shortwave radiation at Cape Point during the bromoform experimental period.
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
MBL height (m)
Bromoform (ppt)
Figure 4.11:Estimated boundary layer height at Cape Town International airport as a proxy for MBL at Cape Point.
The linear relationship between MBL height and bromoform is shown by the red line.
implying that the tides were not influenced by internal or coastal trapped waves (Fig. 4.12). Correlations of the predicted to actual height were 1 and 0.94 for Port Nolloth and Mossel Bay, respectively. This generated confidence in the use of the predicted tidal heights for Simon’s Town as a proxy for the actual tidal height at Cape Point.
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Actual tide height (m)
Predicted tide heigh (m)
Figure 4.12:The predictedversusactual tidal heights for Mossel Bay are shown.
The predicted tidal height record for Simon’s Town showed a maximum range of 1.93 m (26 October 2011) and a minimum of 0.56 m (21 October 2011). Sampling started on a spring tide. The time of the first low tide on the day in the semi-diurnal pattern shifted from 9 am to an earlier 3 am during neap tides (Fig. 4.13). The timing and range of the tide may affect the variability of bromoform mixing ratios through the extent of exposure and amount of photosynthetic stress induced. A larger tidal range is likely to expose a greater mass of macroalgae to the atmosphere possibly initiating the release of bromoform. If the macroalgae is exposed with increasing shortwave radiation, this may induce a greater photosynthetic stress in the macroalgae, affecting the amount of bromoform release. The neap tides occurred on 21 October and 2 November 2011, while the spring tides occurred on 26 October and 10 November 2011.
4.4.5 Gas tracers
Ozone (O3) mixing ratios at Cape Point exhibited a cyclical pattern with a mean of approximately 28 ppb.
Between 16 and 19 October 2011 mean O3mixing ratios were elevated to approximately 32 ppb (Fig. 4.14).
Observed CO mixing ratios displayed stability on a diurnal scale, however fluctuations over the course of days occurred (Fig. 4.14). CO mixing ratios remained low between 46 and 58 ppb during the experimental period. The observed background monthly means of CO at Cape Point during October and November amounted to 55.9±2.0 ppb and 51.6±3.0 ppb, respectively (E.-G. Brunke, SAWS, pers. comm. 2014).
4.4. Overview of meteorological and natural environmental conditions 87
00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00 00:00 0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Time (hours)
Tide height (m)
2 Nov 21 Oct 26 Oct 10 Nov
Figure 4.13: Four tides at Simon’s Town, near Cape Point: 2 spring (black and magenta) and 2 neap (blue and green). Reflecting the range, timing and variability of the tides during bromoform experimental period.
This confirms that during the experimental period approximately 55 % of the CO concentrations observed fall within this background range. Therefore, the majority of air samples recorded at Cape Point during the experimental period were of a marine origin.
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Ozone (ppb)
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Carbon monoxide (ppb)
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Date
Bromoform (ppt)
(a)
15 20 25 30 35 40
46 48 50 52 54 56 58
Ozone (ppb)
Carbon monoxide (ppb)
(b)
Figure 4.14:Comparative graphs of background CO (green) and O3(blue) (a) over time with bromoform indicated in black, and (b) correlation of CO and O3at Cape Point during the bromoform experimental period.
The cyclic variability of O3and background CO values appeared to be concomitant (r= 0.51, Fig. 4.14), however, the CO mixing ratios observed at Cape Point decreased for a number of days on four separate occasions (Fig. 4.14). This created departures between the O3and CO records, reducing the ozone-CO
correlation. The O3mixing ratios remained constant during these periods (Fig. 4.14). The variability of CO at Cape Point is sensitive to anthropogenic influences. The decreased CO values may be due to changes in wind direction resulting in a decrease in anthropogenic input. A positive relationship between ozone and CO was observed (O3/ CO; 0.38 – 0.68), during the experimental period. This suggests local photochemical production was the dominant source of the ozone observed at Cape Point.
The strength of the relationship between O3 and CO decreased (r = 0.33) when air samples from the baseline wind direction (BWD, 170 – 320◦) were considered in isolation. The decrease in the ozone-CO relationship strength in marine air samples (BWD) suggests an influence of anthropogenically contaminated air at Cape Point through a reduction in CO mixing ratios. Most of the air samples arriving at Cape Point during the bromoform experimental period were of clean marine origin with222Rn mixing ratios below 350 mBq m−3(Fig. 4.15). A few days contained mixed air samples that had come into contact with landmasses (600 – 1000 mBq m−3) and an almost equal number of anthropologically enhanced air samples occurred (> 1200 mBq m−3, Fig. 4.15). Cape Point mainly received clean marine air with occasional days or events of mixed or anthropogenic influence. Increases in CO mixing ratio appear to be linked with changes in air mass type from clean marine air to urban air (Fig. 4.15). The higher CO values might, therefore, imply an anthropogenic source. However, CO mixing ratios were uncorrelated with222Rn and occurred over a wide range of222Rn values, probably due to the fact that background CO values were used.
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Carbon monoxide (ppb)
12/100 15/10 18/10 21/10 24/10 27/10 30/10 02/11 05/11 08/11 11/11 500
1000 1500 2000 2500
Date
222 Rn (mBq m−3 )
Figure 4.15:The time evolution of222Rn and CO measurements at Cape Point during the bromoform experimental period show concurrent elevation events, possibly the introduction of anthropogenically enhanced air masses. Gaps in both data sets are due to the removal of bad data through quality control checks applied by SAWS. Clean marine airs samples are shown by measurements occurring below red line (350 mBq m−3).