Diurnal Variability of the Radiative Impact of Atmospheric Aerosols in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: A Seasonal Approach

Abstract

The objective of this work is to study the diurnal evolution of the radiative impact of atmospheric aerosols in an urban city located in the West African Sahel and the correlations with the main influencing factors of local climate dynamics. The simulation was performed using a treatment chain including the GAME code. In the methodology, the atmosphere is modeled by 33 plane parallel layers and the effects of absorption, multiple scattering by particles and gas are taken account. An hour-by-hour calculation of radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere, in the atmospheric layer and at the earth’s surface was performed. The data used as input are the monthly averages of optical properties, radiosonde measurements, daily synoptic measurements and surface albedo. The results show a parabolic diurnal course of a negative radiative impact at the top of the atmosphere with an extremum at 12 o'clock. Maximum cooling is observed shortly after sunrise and shortly after sunset. The largest annual deviations are noted between the months of March and December with respective maximum cooling values of -34 W/m2 and -15.60 W/m2. On the earth’s surface, a cooling impact is observed with two diurnal peaks at sunrise and sunset, the greatest difference between the diurnal maximums is noted between March (-104.45 W/m2) and August (-54 W/m2). In the atmospheric layer, there is almost constant diurnal warming between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. The maximum difference between the diurnal extremes is also noted between March (about 85 W/m2) and August (35 W/m2). Likewise, the study of the diurnal warming of the first atmospheric layer showed the extreme values in March (5.6°C) and August (2.4°C), these maximum values being always observed at around 12 o’clock. An analysis of similar works carried out in urban cities in various locations of the world has shown a relatively good accordance with the values obtained. This study highlights the radiative impact of Saharan desert dust, the effect of the local climate and the succession between dry season (November to May) and the rainy one (July to October), as well as the zenith solar angle and human activity.