Articles | Volume 12, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-171-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-171-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
The SASSCAL contribution to climate observation, climate data management and data rescue in Southern Africa
Deutscher Wetterdienst, National Climate Monitoring, Frankfurter Str. 135, 63067 Offenbach, Germany
J. Helmschrot
University of Hamburg; Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology of Plants; Hamburg, Germany
A. Mhanda
Department of Meteorological Services (DMS), Gaborone, Botswana
M. Butale
Department of Meteorological Services (DMS), Gaborone, Botswana
W. de Clercq
Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
J. K. Kanyanga
Zambia Meteorological Department (ZMD), Lusaka, Zambia
F. O. S. Neto
Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia e Geofisica (INAMET), Luanda, Angola
S. Kruger
National Botanical Research Institute, Windhoek, Namibia
M. Castro Matsheka
Department of Meteorological Services (DMS), Gaborone, Botswana
G. Muche
University of Hamburg; Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology of Plants; Hamburg, Germany
T. Hillmann
University of Hamburg; Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology of Plants; Hamburg, Germany
K. Josenhans
University of Hamburg; Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology of Plants; Hamburg, Germany
R. Posada
Deutscher Wetterdienst, National Climate Monitoring, Frankfurter Str. 135, 63067 Offenbach, Germany
J. Riede
Deutscher Wetterdienst, National Climate Monitoring, Frankfurter Str. 135, 63067 Offenbach, Germany
M. Seely
Gobabeb Research and Training Centre, Walvis Bay, Namibia
C. Ribeiro
Instituto Superior Politécnico Tundavala, Lubango, Angola
P. Kenabatho
University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
R. Vogt
University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
N. Jürgens
University of Hamburg; Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology of Plants; Hamburg, Germany
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Adv. Sci. Res., 12, 57–61, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-57-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-57-2015, 2015
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Thomas Spangehl, Michael Borsche, Deborah Niermann, Frank Kaspar, Semjon Schimanke, Susanne Brienen, Thomas Möller, and Maren Brast
Adv. Sci. Res., 20, 109–128, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-20-109-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-20-109-2023, 2023
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Katharina Lengfeld, Paul Voit, Frank Kaspar, and Maik Heistermann
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1227–1232, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1227-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1227-2023, 2023
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Alberto Caldas-Alvarez, Markus Augenstein, Georgy Ayzel, Klemens Barfus, Ribu Cherian, Lisa Dillenardt, Felix Fauer, Hendrik Feldmann, Maik Heistermann, Alexia Karwat, Frank Kaspar, Heidi Kreibich, Etor Emanuel Lucio-Eceiza, Edmund P. Meredith, Susanna Mohr, Deborah Niermann, Stephan Pfahl, Florian Ruff, Henning W. Rust, Lukas Schoppa, Thomas Schwitalla, Stella Steidl, Annegret H. Thieken, Jordis S. Tradowsky, Volker Wulfmeyer, and Johannes Quaas
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Hendrik Andersen, Jan Cermak, Julia Fuchs, Peter Knippertz, Marco Gaetani, Julian Quinting, Sebastian Sippel, and Roland Vogt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3415–3438, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3415-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3415-2020, 2020
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Lisa Hannak, Karsten Friedrich, Florian Imbery, and Frank Kaspar
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Short summary
Short summary
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Frank Kaspar, Michael Borsche, Uwe Pfeifroth, Jörg Trentmann, Jaqueline Drücke, and Paul Becker
Adv. Sci. Res., 16, 119–128, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-16-119-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-16-119-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we assess balancing effects between photovoltaics and wind energy. On average, the seasonal cycles complement each other in Germany as well as in Europe. The frequency of events with a risk of low electricity generation is analyzed. The results illustrate that the number of such events is reduced when offshore regions are included, or when a combined system of PV and wind energy is considered. A European-wide analysis also leads to a distinct reduction of such events.
Andrew Watson, Jodie Miller, Manfred Fink, Sven Kralisch, Melanie Fleischer, and Willem de Clercq
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2679–2697, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2679-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2679-2019, 2019
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Frank Kaspar, Frank Kratzenstein, and Andrea K. Kaiser-Weiss
Adv. Sci. Res., 16, 75–83, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-16-75-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-16-75-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
During recent years, Germany’s national meteorological service has significantly expanded the open access to its climate observations. To improve the interactive and user-friendly access to the data, a new data portal has been developed. The portal serves a variety of user requirements that result from the broad range of applications of DWD’s climate data. The focus of the recent developments was on improved access to German station data.
Hendrik Andersen, Jan Cermak, Irina Solodovnik, Luca Lelli, and Roland Vogt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4383–4392, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4383-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4383-2019, 2019
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Fog and low clouds (FLCs) are an essential but poorly understood component of Namib-region climate. This study uses observations from multiple satellite platforms and ground-based measurements to coherently characterize Namib-region FLC patterns. Findings concerning the seasonal cycle of the vertical structure and the diurnal cycle of FLCs lead to a new conceptual model of the spatiotemporal dynamics of FLCs in the Namib and help to improve the understanding of underlying processes.
Amelie Driemel, John Augustine, Klaus Behrens, Sergio Colle, Christopher Cox, Emilio Cuevas-Agulló, Fred M. Denn, Thierry Duprat, Masato Fukuda, Hannes Grobe, Martial Haeffelin, Gary Hodges, Nicole Hyett, Osamu Ijima, Ain Kallis, Wouter Knap, Vasilii Kustov, Charles N. Long, David Longenecker, Angelo Lupi, Marion Maturilli, Mohamed Mimouni, Lucky Ntsangwane, Hiroyuki Ogihara, Xabier Olano, Marc Olefs, Masao Omori, Lance Passamani, Enio Bueno Pereira, Holger Schmithüsen, Stefanie Schumacher, Rainer Sieger, Jonathan Tamlyn, Roland Vogt, Laurent Vuilleumier, Xiangao Xia, Atsumu Ohmura, and Gert König-Langlo
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 1491–1501, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1491-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1491-2018, 2018
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The Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) collects and centrally archives high-quality ground-based radiation measurements in 1 min resolution. More than 10 300 months, i.e., > 850 years, of high-radiation data in 1 min resolution from the years 1992 to 2017 are available. The network currently comprises 59 stations collectively representing all seven continents as well as island-based stations in the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic oceans.
Sunday Adenrele Adeniyi, Willem Petrus de Clercq, and Adriaan van Niekerk
Solid Earth, 8, 827–843, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-827-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-827-2017, 2017
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Cocoa agroecosystems are a major land use type in West Africa, reportedly associated with the problem of soil degradation. This study developed a composite soil degradation assessment index (CSDI) for determining the degradation status of cocoa soils under smallholder farming systems in southwestern Nigeria. The newly developed index can show early warning signs of soil degradation, which can help farmers and extension officers to implement rehabilitation practices on degraded cocoa soils.
Kai-Uwe Eiselt, Frank Kaspar, Thomas Mölg, Stefan Krähenmann, Rafael Posada, and Jens O. Riede
Adv. Sci. Res., 14, 163–173, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-14-163-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-14-163-2017, 2017
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As one element of the SASSCAL initiative (a cooperation of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, South Africa and Germany) networks of automatic weather stations have been installed or improved in Southern Africa. Here we compare interpolation methods for monthly minimum and maximum temperatures which were calculated from hourly measurements. The best interpolation results have been achieved combining multiple linear regression with three dimensional inverse distance weighted interpolation.
Frank Kaspar, Lisa Hannak, and Klaus-Jürgen Schreiber
Adv. Sci. Res., 13, 163–171, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-13-163-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-13-163-2016, 2016
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Germany's national meteorological service (DWD) operates a network of so-called climate reference stations. At these stations parallel measurements are performed in order to allow the comparison of manual and automatic observations. We present an analysis of parallel measurements of temperature at 2 m height. It is shown that the automation of stations did not cause an artificial increase in the series of daily mean temperature. A bias occurs for maximum temperature in specific configurations.
Michael Borsche, Andrea K. Kaiser-Weiss, and Frank Kaspar
Adv. Sci. Res., 13, 151–161, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-13-151-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-13-151-2016, 2016
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Wind speeds derived from the regional reanalysis COSMO-REA6 and from two global reanalyses of ECMWF (ERA-Interim and ERA-20C) have been compared to tower measurements covering heights from 10 m up to 140 m, located in the North Sea, in The Netherlands, and in Northeast Germany. In general, the monthly and hourly mean values of COSMO-REA6 are at least as close to the measurements as the global reanalyses, and in the correlation of daily means an added value of COSMO-REA6 is found.
Rafael Posada, Domingos Nascimento, Francisco Osvaldo S. Neto, Jens Riede, and Frank Kaspar
Adv. Sci. Res., 13, 97–105, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-13-97-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-13-97-2016, 2016
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To respond to the challenges of climate change, Angola, Botswana, Germany, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia have initiated the regional competence centre SASSCAL. As part of the initiative, Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) cooperates with the meteorological services of Angola, Botswana and Zambia to improve the management of climate data. First results of the cooperation between DWD and the Angolan Meteorological Services (INAMET) are presented in order to provide hints for comparable activities.
M. Borsche, A. K. Kaiser-Weiss, P. Undén, and F. Kaspar
Adv. Sci. Res., 12, 207–218, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-207-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-207-2015, 2015
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Within the European Union’s seventh Framework Programme project Uncertainties in Ensembles of Regional Re-Analyses (UERRA), ensembles of RRAs covering the European area are produced and their uncertainties are quantified. In this study, we discuss different methods for quantifying the uncertainty of RRAs in order to answer the question to which extent the smaller scale information (or resulting statistics) provided by the RRAs can be relied on.
A. K. Kaiser-Weiss, F. Kaspar, V. Heene, M. Borsche, D. G. H. Tan, P. Poli, A. Obregon, and H. Gregow
Adv. Sci. Res., 12, 187–198, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-187-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-187-2015, 2015
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Wind speed measured at the German stations correlate well with reanalysis fields. Monthly means from two global reanalyses (ERA-20C, ERA-Interim) and one regional reanalysis (COSMO-REA6) were analysed and correlate well for the majority of the German stations. Thus we conclude that the monthly and seasonal anomalies recorded at these stations can be understood as representative for a spatial area comparable to the resolution of the reanalyses, at least for the recent years.
H. Gregow, P. Poli, H. M. Mäkelä, K. Jylhä, A. K. Kaiser-Weiss, A. Obregon, D. G. H. Tan, S. Kekki, and F. Kaspar
Adv. Sci. Res., 12, 63–67, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-63-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-63-2015, 2015
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Many users of climate information are unaware of the availability of reanalysis feedback data and input observations, and uptake of feedback data is rather low. The most important factors limiting the use of this data is that the users feel that there is no easy interface to get the data or they do not find it at all. The relevant communities should invest resources to develop tools and provide training to bridge the gap between current capabilities and comprehensive exploitation of the data.
F. Kaspar, B. Tinz, H. Mächel, and L. Gates
Adv. Sci. Res., 12, 57–61, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-57-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-57-2015, 2015
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Germany’s national meteorological service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD) houses in Offenbach and Hamburg huge archives of historical handwritten journals of weather observations. They comprise not only observations from Germany, but also of the oceans and land stations in many parts of the world. DWD works on the digitisation and quality control of these archives. The paper presents the current status.
F. Kaspar, K. Zimmermann, and C. Polte-Rudolf
Adv. Sci. Res., 11, 93–99, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-11-93-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-11-93-2014, 2014
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Plant phenology is the study of periodically recurring patterns of growth and development of plants during the year. First plant phenological observations have been performed in Germany already in the 18th century. Today, Germany’s national meteorological service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD) maintains a dense phenological observation network and a database with phenological observations.
E. Hammer, N. Bukowiecki, M. Gysel, Z. Jurányi, C. R. Hoyle, R. Vogt, U. Baltensperger, and E. Weingartner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1123–1139, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1123-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1123-2014, 2014
F. Kaspar, G. Müller-Westermeier, E. Penda, H. Mächel, K. Zimmermann, A. Kaiser-Weiss, and T. Deutschländer
Adv. Sci. Res., 10, 99–106, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-10-99-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-10-99-2013, 2013
K.-G. Karlsson, A. Riihelä, R. Müller, J. F. Meirink, J. Sedlar, M. Stengel, M. Lockhoff, J. Trentmann, F. Kaspar, R. Hollmann, and E. Wolters
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 5351–5367, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5351-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5351-2013, 2013
A. Riihelä, T. Manninen, V. Laine, K. Andersson, and F. Kaspar
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 3743–3762, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3743-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3743-2013, 2013
Cited articles
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Helmschrot, J. and Jürgens, N.: Integrated SASSCAL research to assess and secure current and future water resources in Southern Africa. Hydrological Sciences and Water Security: Past, Present and Future, Proc. IAHS, 366, 168–169, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-366-168-2015, 2015.
IPCC: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, 2014.
Kaspar, F., Tinz, B., Mächel, H., and Gates, L.: Data rescue of national and international meteorological observations at Deutscher Wetterdienst, Adv. Sci. Res., 12, 57–61, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-57-2015, 2015.
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One task of the “Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management” (www.sasscal.org) is the provision of climate data for Southern Africa. Extension and improvements of observational networks in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and South Africa are supported. This effort is complemented by an improvement of climate data management at national weather authorities, capacity building activities and an extension of the data bases with historical climate data.
One task of the “Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land...