Barbados Research Articles

Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Potential of Aloe vera: A Comprehensive Review

Aloe is a tropical, drought-resistant succulent. In botany it is known as Aloe vera (L.) Webb. (Aloe barbadensis Mill.) of the Liliaceae family. Aloe vera is the most common aloe variety. It is native to the Mediterranean region, the Arabian Peninsula, India, China and Eastern Africa. Wild forms of aloe are common in Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, the Canary Islands, and in India . The biggest Aloe vera plantations can be found in the island of Barbados and in the North of the USA. Aloe has branched or unbranched shoots with greyish green sharp-edged coated leaves forming a rosette. The leaves are filled with brown or yellowish milky juice that contains most bioactive compounds.

Witchcraft or Otherness

Tituba, a supporting character in Arthur Miller’s 1953 play The Crucible, can be associated with the concept of otherness in several respects. For one, she is not free like the rest of the population of Salem, Massachusetts, where the play is set, but was brought to the community from the island of Barbados by Reverend Parris as an enslaved woman. Being of Caribbean origin, she is also not an English Protestant like the rest of the village, and despite having accepted her master’s church, as was common for the enslaved throughout the British colonial period, Protestantism is not her first religion. Finally, the two most evident and immediately perceivable characteristics placing her in the category of the Other are her skin colour and her language, which also seem to be the main reasons that she was the first person to be accused of witchcraft in Salem. This paper focuses on Tituba’s speech, particularly from the point of view of the possibilities as well as difficulties of translating her utterances into Slovene. The contrastive analysis includes Miller’s original play, its two Slovene translations, Lov na čarovnice, the published one (1964) and the unpublished theatre translation (1997/2019), as well as a brief insight into two theatre productions of the play at the Maribor National Theatre.

Characterization of the Cassava Mycobiome in Symptomatic Leaf Tissues Displaying Cassava Superelongation Disease.

Superelongation disease (SED) is a fungal disease that affects cassava in the Caribbean. The symptoms include the appearance of dry necrotic spots and lesions on the leaves, which may severely affect the plant yield. However, the primary causal pathogen is difficult to culture and isolate in the lab because of its slow growth and potential contamination from faster-growing organisms. In addition, the leaf symptoms can be confused with those caused by other pathogens that produce similar necrotic spots and scab-like lesions. There is also little or no information on the contribution of endophytes, if any, to disease symptoms in cassava, a plant where the disease is prevalent. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the fungal communities in cassava associated with SED symptoms by analyzing gross fungal morphology and performing metagenomics profiling. First, several individual pathogenic fungi were isolated and cultured from diseased cassava leaf tissues from seven locations in Barbados (BB). Both culture isolation and molecular community analyses showed the presence of several other fungi in the disease microenvironment of symptomatic cassava leaves. These included Fusarium, Colletotrichum, and Alternaria species and the suspected species Elsinoë brasiliensis synonym Sphaceloma manihoticola. Additionally, a community analysis using ITS2 amplicon sequencing of 21 symptomatic leaf tissues from BB, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Trinidad and Tobago (TT), and Jamaica (JA) revealed that the disease symptoms of superelongation may also result from the interactions of fungal communities in the mycobiome, including Elsinoë species and other fungi such as Colletotrichum, Cercospora, Alternaria, and Fusarium. Therefore, we suggest that examining the pathobiome concept in SED in the future is necessary.

The response of rhythmically forming processes to the latitudinal position of the zones of their implementation

The problem of variability of the Milankovich scale and cyclic oscillations in the troposphere circulation mode depending on the geographical latitude of the area is investigated. Parallels in the dynamics of multi-thousand-year and intra-century climate cycles in different latitudinal zones and possible causes of this phenomenon are considered. New data on the influence of axial rotation and the shape of the Earth on the structure of rhythm-forming processes are presented. It is established that the zone with a high frequency of pulsations of climatic phases is confined to low latitudes with the highest energy potential. The dependence of the velocity of air currents on the length of geographical parallels is shown. Thus, during the formation of air currents near the equator – the longest parallel of the planet (Hadley circulation cell), their velocity, which is set by the axial rotation of the Earth, is higher than the speed of sound and twice as high as similar flows originating in the temperate latitudes (Ferell cell). Paleogeographic evidence confirming Milankovich’s calculations about the different duration of the solar cycle period in the low, temperate and polar latitudes is presented. Thus, the dating of the terraces of the island of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea (low latitudes) showed that the period of the Milankovich cycle here is close to 20 thousand years. While in the zone of temperate latitudes, the period of the same cycle, judging by the dating of the stadial moraines of the former glacial covers, is 41 thousand years, i. e. twice as long. Maximum – up to 100 thousand years – set for polar latitudes in the study of the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland. Different degrees of meteorological impacts on ecosystems and the level of natural hazards within different latitudinal corridors have been revealed. The most dynamic and dangerous are the low latitudes with their hurricanes, typhoons, floods and storms with high frequency. This should be taken into account when developing a strategy for the economic development of high-risk territories and preventive measures for the protection of engineering orientation.

‘A philosophy of change’: Emotions, civil society and global development

Dominant paradigms of global development have historically been devoid of emotions, connected with racialized and gendered ideas of rationality and civility. Within contemporary scholarship there is however increasing recognition of the importance of emotions for understanding development processes. This paper adds to this body of work by exploring the ways that emotions shape how people who are trying to ‘do’ development actually do it. Drawing on empirical material from conversations with civil society activists based on the Caribbean islands of Grenada and Barbados, this article explores some of the emotions that are present within civil society organizing and makes the case that in this context emotions are not just felt, they are generative of civil society organizing and wider development processes. Focusing on shame, the article demonstrates how emotions are produced relationally within civil society organizing, how emotions are generative and can co-construct spaces for civil society and how civic organizing can act as counter-expressions to these feelings. Emotions are then constitutive of global development, yet often neglected in dominant discourses of civil society within the development sphere, with professional subjectivities dominant.

Post-independence challenges for Caribbean tourism development: a solution-driven approach through Agenda 2030

PropósitoEste trabajo ofrece un análisis comparativo del desarrollo del turismo sostenible en toda la región del Caribe anglófono desde el período posterior a la independencia de 1962 hasta la década de 2020. Se explora las implicaciones de la insularidad, la inversión turística y el ritmo de adopción de la tecnología en la posible realización de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) en las islas de Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad y Tobago y los Estados del Caribe Oriental.Diseño/metodología/enfoqueEl análisis se basa en datos secundarios bibliográficos a partir de documentos de política gubernamental, literatura académica, periódicos e informes de consultoría para explorar los temas centrales y proporcionar un marco conceptual en este documento.ConclusionesLas conclusiones revelan que los pequeños estados insulares en desarrollo (Caribbean Small Island Developing States, SIDS) están más próximos del enfoque del turismo como único sector económico o sostenibilidad débil para el desarrollo del turismo sostenible. Las conclusiones generales revelan que la fuerte concentración de la región en las prioridades económicas hace que se preste menos atención a los retos de la competitividad, como la gestión medioambiental, la equidad social y las innovaciones tecnológicas.Limitaciones/implicaciones de la investigaciónLa investigación presenta una visión global de la trayectoria de desarrollo turístico de otros Estados insulares dependientes del turismo. La investigación ofrece lecciones y oportunidades de aprendizaje que pueden ser útiles para los responsables de la toma de decisiones en los SIDS. La principal limitación es que las conclusiones sólo pueden ser transferibles y generalizadas en la medida en que otras jurisdicciones tengan estructuras de gobernanza macroeconómica y características culturales similares a las de los SIDS del Caribe.Implicaciones practicesEste documento ofrece un análisis significativo y contribuye al conjunto de conocimientos sobre la historia del desarrollo del turismo en el Caribe, los retos y el potencial futuro de la sostenibilidad, y se presta a oportunidades para futuras investigaciones en el Caribe y otros SIDS.Implicaciones socialesEl estudio esboza las implicaciones sociales del turismo inclusivo, responsable y sostenible que puede llevar a los SIDS del Caribe de un crecimiento lento a la eficiencia en el desarrollo del producto turístico, incluyendo el entorno tecnológico. Esto puede reducir las desigualdades, contribuir al desarrollo socioeconómico y mejorar el capital humano de la región.Originalidad/valorEste trabajo proporciona un análisis comparativo exhaustivo del desarrollo del turismo en el Caribe, específico para Jamaica, Trinidad y Tobago, Barbados y los Estados del Caribe Oriental. No se ha realizado ningún trabajo anterior para comparar el desarrollo del turismo dentro de esta agrupación. Por ello, este trabajo es esencial para informar a los responsables de la toma de decisiones y sentar las bases para continuar la investigación en este ámbito.

"The True Temper of It": Combustibility and Emblematic Representation in Richard Ligon's True and Exact History of the Island of Barbados

"The True Temper of It": Combustibility and Emblematic Representation in Richard Ligon's True and Exact History of the Island of Barbados

Soil and Enslaved People: Racial Ecologies of the Plantation Economy, 1627–1764

Abstract: In his 1729 The Trade and Navigation of Great Britain Considered , the Quaker merchant Joshua Gee observed that "the island of Barbados is very much worn out, and does not afford the quantity of sugar as heretofore." Gee's concern over declining yields was shared by several contemporary Caribbean planters and agricultural reformers. With the expansion of sugar cultivation in older colonies such as Barbados, St. Kitts, and Antigua, the area under woodlands, pasture, and subsistence crops diminished, accelerating soil erosion. Planters recognized that, as fertility declined, additional slave importations and new uncultivated lands would be necessary to produce enough sugar for the world market. This essay examines how the expanding plantation complex transferred risks or uncertainties to its most vulnerable groups: African migrants and Caribbean slaves. Drawing on Samuel Martin's plantation manual, An Essay on Plantership (1762), James Grainger's West-India Georgic The Sugar Cane (1764), and the testimonies before the select committee of the House of Commons, I show how the subjugation of enslaved people and soil, labor and land, and bodies and landscapes was a social and environmental disaster—one with lasting consequences for African Caribbean slaves and their emancipated descendants.

"The Native Produce of this Island": Processes of Invention in Early Barbados

Starting in the 1620s, Englishmen, enslaved Africans, and Indigenous people from the greater Caribbean lived and labored on the Caribbean island of Barbados. Through free and forced migrations, they carried unique understandings of how to make and consume alcohol with them. Once on Barbados, American, African, and European ideas and technologies coexisted and sometimes intersected. By the 1640s, rum emerged from this maelstrom—it was an invention of the Atlantic world. A close examination of the alcohols that early inhabitants made and consumed complicates assumptions that ideas and innovations from one region could conquer the Atlantic world. It unveils how the colonization of Barbados and attendant enslavement of African and Indigenous people unleashed the creative collisions of skilled practitioners, agricultural products, technologies, and ideas surrounding consumption. Initially designed to satisfy local tastes, tracing the processes of invention surrounding rum and other alcoholic beverages demonstrates how experimentation and the development of taste preceded commodification. Understanding how rum became the "native produce" of Barbados shows us how cross-cultural interactions in the early modern Caribbean—which tied together the broader Atlantic world—created new worlds for all.

Challenges and Opportunities for Risk Management of Volcanic Hazards in Small-Island Developing States

The explosive volcanic eruptions of La Soufrière volcano, St Vincent and the Grenadines, in April 2021 caused the displacement of thousands of people, resulting in heavy disruption of livelihoods and economic activities, destruction of critical infrastructure, and volcanic ash deposits that affected the entire mountainous island of St Vincent and the neighboring island of Barbados. The resulting triple crisis in the region included volcanological risks, the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, and hydrometeorological risks due to the approaching hurricane season. This article analyzes the scientific and operational activities that The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre undertook after effusive activity was detected in December 2020, as well as the actions taken during an official response mission of the United Nations, led by the Joint Environment Unit of the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva and upon request for international environmental assistance from the Government of St Vincent. It examines the interplay and collaboration between these 2 organizations and other disaster risk reduction agencies. The article also highlights how the interconnected, systemic nature of risks and disasters emphasizes the ultimate need for regional coordination and collaboration across sectors, including scientific monitoring networks; national, regional, and international emergency preparedness and response agencies; academia; and the private sector. The presented case study for elucidating the ongoing lahar hazard at La Soufrière volcano supports a long-term view for planning and mitigation in this challenging topography. This will help to ensure that the volcanic risks in the Caribbean region are appropriately considered a major component of the multihazard approach undertaken by national authorities and scientists to manage community safety and sustainable economic development through adequate means of disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness.

Peripheral Arterial Disease Prevalence in a Population-Based Sample of People with Diabetes on the Caribbean Island of Barbados.

BackgroundPeripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a risk factor for amputation and systemic atherosclerotic disease. Barbados has a high diabetes prevalence, and 89% of diabetes-related hospital admissions are for foot problems. Foot examination is infrequent in Barbados primary care. The prevalence and potential risk factors for PAD in people with diabetes in Barbados were studied.MethodsMultistage probability sampling was used to select a representative population sample of people ≥25 years of age with known diabetes or fasting blood glucose ≥7 mmol/L or HbA1c ≥6.5%. We administered the Edinburgh claudication questionnaire and assessed the ankle brachial pressure index (ABI) and Doppler waveform in both dorsalis pedis and posterior tibial arteries. Participants were classified into categories based on ABI as follows: PAD ≤0.90 in any leg; borderline 0.91 to 0.99 in one leg and the other not ≤0.90 or >0.4; normal 1.00 to 1.40 in both legs; and non-compressible >1.40 in one leg and the other not ≤0.9. Waveforms crossing the zero-flow baseline were categorised as normal. Multivariable logistic regression assessed the associations of potential risk factors with PAD.ResultsOf 236 participants (74% response rate, 33% male, median age 58.6 years), 51% had previously diagnosed diabetes. Of nine people with symptoms of definite or atypical claudication, four had PAD and one had non-compressible arteries. ABI prevalence (95% CI) was PAD 18.6% (13.8, 24.6), borderline 21.9% (16.6, 28.4), normal 55.5% (49.4, 61.5) and non-compressible 3.9% (1.6, 9.3). Increasing age and female gender were independently associated with PAD. Over 80% of normal legs (ABI 1.00 to 1.40) had normal posterior tibial and dorsalis pedis waveforms, while only 23% legs with PAD (ABI ≤0.90) had normal waveforms in both arteries (Kappa = 0.43).ConclusionAsymptomatic PAD is common in people with diabetes and requires ABI screening to detect it. Female gender is associated with PAD.

Caribbean plantation economies as colonial models: The case of the English East India Company and St. Helena in the late seventeenth century

ABSTRACT In the 1680s the English East India Company (EIC) sought to develop a plantation economy in its South Atlantic colony of St. Helena, using the Caribbean island of Barbados as a colonial model. The EIC’s attempt to develop Barbadian-style plantations on St. Helena demonstrates the global reach of the Caribbean sugar colonies and their importance as an exemplar for English imperial projects in the early modern period. Colonial theorists working outside the remit of the EIC even sought to expand the Caribbean plantation system beyond the Cape of Good Hope in this period, highlighting how English overseas expansion was an interconnected phenomenon which defies rigid categorization along regional lines. Yet the failure of the EIC’s top-down plan for St. Helena also underscores how both historical contingencies and local factors were central to the success of colonial plantation, and that misunderstanding these conditions could undermine the best-laid plans and models.

Lagrangian formation pathways of moist anomalies in the trade-wind region during the dry season: two case studies from EUREC<sup>4</sup>A

Abstract. Shallow clouds in the trade-wind region over the North Atlantic contribute substantially to the global radiative budget. In the vicinity of the Caribbean island of Barbados, they appear in different mesoscale organization patterns with distinct net cloud radiative effects (CREs). Cloud formation processes in this region are typically controlled by the prevailing large-scale subsidence. However, occasionally weather systems from remote origin cause significant disturbances. This study investigates the complex cloud–circulation interactions during the field campaign EUREC4A (Elucidate the Couplings Between Clouds, Convection and Circulation) from 16 January to 20 February 2020, using a combination of Eulerian and Lagrangian diagnostics. Based on observations and ERA5 reanalyses, we identify the relevant processes and characterize the formation pathways of two moist anomalies above the Barbados Cloud Observatory (BCO), one in the lower troposphere (∼ 1000–650 hPa) and one in the middle troposphere (∼ 650–300 hPa). These moist anomalies are associated with strongly negative CRE values and with contrasting long-range transport processes from the extratropics and the tropics, respectively. The first case study about the low-level moist anomaly is characterized by an unusually thick cloud layer, high precipitation totals, and a strongly negative CRE. The formation of the low-level moist anomaly is connected to an extratropical dry intrusion (EDI) that interacts with a trailing cold front. A quasi-climatological (2010-2020) analysis reveals that EDIs lead to different conditions at the BCO depending on how they interact with the associated trailing cold front. Based on this climatology, we discuss the relevance of the strong large-scale forcing by EDIs for the low-cloud patterns near the BCO and the related CRE. The second case study about the mid-tropospheric moist anomaly is associated with an extended and persistent mixed-phase shelf cloud and the lowest daily CRE value observed during the campaign. The formation of the mid-level moist anomaly is linked to “tropical mid-level detrainment” (TMD), which refers to detrainment from tropical deep convection near the melting layer. The quasi-climatological analysis shows that TMDs consistently lead to mid-tropospheric moist anomalies over the BCO and that the detrainment height controls the magnitude of the anomaly. However, no systematic relationship was found between the amplitude of this mid-tropospheric moist anomaly and the CRE at the BCO. This is most likely due to the modulation of the CRE by above and below lying clouds and the fact that we used daily mean CREs, thereby ignoring the impact of the timing of the synoptic anomaly with respect to the daily cycle. Overall, this study reveals the important impact of the long-range moisture transport, driven by dynamical processes either in the extratropics or the tropics, on the variability of the vertical structure of moisture and clouds, and on the resulting CRE in the North Atlantic winter trades.

Field report: Deployment of a fleet of drones for cloud exploration

Drones are commonly used for civil applications and are accessible to those with limited piloting skills in several scenarios. However, the deployment of a fleet in the context of scientific research can lead to complex situations that require an important preparation in terms of logistics, permission to fly from authorities, and coordination during the flights. This paper is a field report of the flight campaign held at the Barbados Island as part of the NEPHELAE project. The main objectives were to fly into trade wind cumulus clouds to understand the microphysical processes involved in their evolution, as well as to provide a proof of concept of sensor-based adaptive navigation patterns to optimize the data collection. After introducing the flight strategy and context of operation, the main challenges and the solutions to address them will be presented, to conclude with the evaluation of some technical evolution developed from these experiments.

Deployment of the C-band radar Poldirad on Barbados during EUREC<sup>4</sup>A

Abstract. The German polarimetric C-band weather radar Poldirad (Polarization Diversity Radar) was deployed for the international field campaign EUREC4A (Elucidating the role of clouds–circulation coupling in climate) on the island of Barbados where it was operated from February until August 2020. Focus of the installation was monitoring clouds and precipitation in the trade wind region east of Barbados. Different scanning modes were used with a temporal sequence of 5 min and a maximum range of 375 km. In addition to built-in quality control performed by the radar signal processor, it was found that the copoloar correlation coefficient ρHV can be used to remove contamination of radar products by sea clutter. Radar images were available in real time for all campaign participants and aboard research aircraft. Examples of mesoscale precipitation patterns, rain rate accumulation, diurnal cycle, and vertical distribution are given to show the potential of the radar measurements for further studies on the life cycle of precipitating shallow cumulus clouds and other related aspects. Poldirad data from the EUREC4A campaign are available on the EUREC4A AERIS database: https://doi.org/10.25326/218 (Hagen et al., 2021a) for raw data and https://doi.org/10.25326/217 (Hagen et al., 2021b) for gridded data.

Abstract 13165: Increasing Incidence Rates and High Case Fatality Rates for Acute Myocardial Infarction in the Caribbean Island of Barbados

Introduction: The Caribbean sub-region has the highest rates of cardiovascular disease in the Region of the Americas. We present data from one of the few population-based registries in the region - the Barbados National Registry for NCDs (BNR). We describe trends in incidence and case fatality rates for acute myocardial infarction(MI) in the high income small island developing state of Barbados. Hypothesis: Myocardial infarction age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) are increasing. Methods: Data from the BNR were collected prospectively from charts of patients diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction from all private and public hospitals for the period 2010-2019. Out-of-hospital deaths and in-hospital deaths within 24 hours, were identified through the national vital registration department. Cases are defined in accordance with the Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarctions published by the American Heart Association. Population estimates were obtained from the United Nation World Population Prospects. We calculated incidence rates by sex, age-standardized to the World Health Organization 2000 population and assessed trends in case fatality rates for those admitted to hospital. Results: For the period 2010-2019, 4065 cases of as myocardial infarction (MI) were registered by BNR. Numbers of cases ranged from 294 in 2011 to 547 in 2019. The 3-year average for 2014 - 2016 is 391 cases versus 499 cases for 2017 - 2019 - a 28% increase in new cases. ASIRs increased from 67 per 100,000 (95%UI 59 to 75) in 2011 to 123 per 100,000 (95%UI 113 to 135) in 2019. ASIRs were consistently higher in men ranging from 83 per 100,00 (95% UI 71 - 98) to 120 (95% UI 106 to 136) while rates in women ranged from 43 per 100,000 95% CI (35 - 53) to 83 per 100,000 (73 - 95). The in-hospital case fatality rate (CFR) was 25% in 2019, ranging from 15% in 2011 to 31% in 2014. Overall, CFR was higher in women (24%) versus men (19%) and this was true in 9/10 years. Conclusions: Despite its status as a high income country, ASIRs for MIs in Barbados are increasing while case fatality rates are more than twice as high as rates found in developed countries.

Holding Land, Claiming Kin: The Relation Between Race, Land, and Kinship in the Southern US and Barbados

Abstract“Holding Land, Claiming Kin” uses a comparison between the Southern US and the Caribbean island of Barbados to explore the connection between race, property, and kinship. Focusing on the customary practices of family land and the legal category of heir property, we argue that land ownership is used by racially dispossessed populations to name and practise kinship, to assert multiple forms of belonging, and to define their own value systems within racialised, social, and legal structures. Contributing to broader understandings of Black geographies, this work adds to social understandings of land ownership as place making and has the potential to influence US policies around grants, agricultural assistance, and protection of heir property, as well as Caribbean understandings of land as a family resource. Through this comparative analysis we posit dispossession as more than the loss of monetary wealth and land ownership as more than an economic asset.

Saving hawksbill sea turtles from rats, cats and Hurricane Ida

Hatching season on the Caribbean island of Barbados is a busy time for Carla Daniel. Hatching season on the Caribbean island of Barbados is a busy time for Carla Daniel.

Satellite retrieval of cloud base height and geometric thickness of low-level cloud based on CALIPSO

Abstract. Satellite-based cloud base and top height (CBH and CTH) and cloud geometrical thickness (CGT) are validated against ground-based lidar measurements and provide new scientific insights. The satellite measurements are done by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO). The retrieval methodology is built on the 333 m resolution low-level water cloud data obtained from the Vertical Feature Mask product of CALIPSO. The methodology is based on the definition that CBH of boundary layer clouds is the lowest cloud base over an area of several tens of kilometers. This allows taking the CBH of the neighboring penetrable shallower cloud as having CBH representative for the entire cloud field. The methodology over the ocean was validated based on observations from two surface-based ceilometer measurements in the islands of Barbados and the Azores, with an error standard deviation of ±115 m. Validation over land was based on 4 years data of 138 terrestrial ceilometer sites with an error standard deviation of ±220 m. The unprecedented accurate CBH allows us to obtain CGT, which is an essential parameter in the understanding of the aerosol–cloud interaction. Based on this newly developed methodology, we retrieved the annual, seasonal, and diurnal distributions of global CBH, CTH, and CGT for two years and analyzed the variations of CBH and CTH over the ocean and land. Climatology of the annual mean cloud geometrical properties shows the following. (1) The lowest CBH occurs over the eastern margins of the subtropical oceans and increases westward from 300–400 to 800–900 m. The CGT increases from 300 to 1200 m, respectively. In the western part of the tropical oceans, CBH is 500–600 m and CGT is ∼ 1500 m. (2) A narrow band of lower CBH and CGT occurs over the Equator, especially over the eastern parts of the oceans. (3) CBH and CGT over the tropical rain forests (Amazon and Congo) are 1200 and 1500 m, respectively. CBH over the drier tropical land is 1500–2000 m, with CGT of 800–1000 m. (4) CBH decreases towards Antarctica in the Southern Ocean, while CGT deepens. (5) Seasonally, the mid-latitude global oceans have the lowest CBH (mostly below 500 m) and CGT in summer seasons and the highest values in winter. (6) There is just an obvious difference between day and night for the maximum CTH and CGT over the tropics. Over the ocean, there is no discernible difference in CBH, but during night CTH is higher by ∼ 300 m.

Observations from the NOAA P-3 aircraft during ATOMIC

Abstract. The Atlantic Tradewind Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign (ATOMIC), part of the larger experiment known as Elucidating the Role of Clouds-Circulation Coupling in Climate (EUREC4A), was held in the western Atlantic during the period 17 January–11 February 2020. This paper describes observations made during ATOMIC by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Lockheed WP-3D Orion research aircraft based on the island of Barbados. The aircraft obtained 95 h of observations over 11 flights, many of which were coordinated with the NOAA research ship R/V Ronald H. Brown and autonomous platforms deployed from the ship. Each flight contained a mixture of sampling strategies including high-altitude circles with frequent dropsonde deployment to characterize the large-scale environment, slow descents and ascents to measure the distribution of water vapor and its isotopic composition, stacked legs aimed at sampling the microphysical and thermodynamic state of the boundary layer, and offset straight flight legs for observing clouds and the ocean surface with remote sensing instruments and the thermal structure of the ocean with in situ sensors dropped from the plane. The characteristics of the in situ observations, expendable devices, and remote sensing instrumentation are described, as is the processing used in deriving estimates of physical quantities. Data archived at the National Center for Environmental Information include flight-level data such as aircraft navigation and basic thermodynamic information (NOAA Aircraft Operations Center and NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory, 2020, https://doi.org/10.25921/7jf5-wv54); high-accuracy measurements of water vapor concentration from an isotope analyzer (National Center for Atmospheric Research, 2020, https://doi.org/10.25921/c5yx-7w29); in situ observations of aerosol, cloud, and precipitation size distributions (Leandro and Chuang, 2020, https://doi.org/10.25921/vwvq-5015); profiles of seawater temperature made with Airborne eXpendable BathyThermographs (AXBTs; NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory, 2020a, https://doi.org/10.25921/pe39-sx75); radar reflectivity, Doppler velocity, and spectrum width from a nadir-looking W-band radar (NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory, 2020c, https://doi.org/10.25921/n1hc-dc30); estimates of cloud presence, the cloud-top location, and the cloud-top radar reflectivity and temperature, along with estimates of 10 m wind speed obtained from remote sensing instruments operating in the microwave and thermal infrared spectral regions (NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory, 2020b, https://doi.org/10.25921/x9q5-9745); and ocean surface wave characteristics from a Wide Swath Radar Altimeter (Prosensing, Inc., 2020, https://doi.org/10.25921/qm06-qx04). Data are provided as netCDF files following Climate and Forecast conventions.