Regional Weather and Climate, Atmospheric Hazards, and Health

The Dead Sea region and the ambient Eastern Mediterranean coastal zone provide a natural laboratory for studying atmospheric processes ranging from the smallest scale of cloud processes to regional weather and climate. The impact of those processes on the water availability in the region is of decisive importance. Especially, cloud and precipitation formation, the energy budget of soil and water surfaces, and flow dynamics are key processes for the water cycle and its variability. The role of aerosols in modifying clouds and precipitation and in developing the Dead Sea haze layer is one of the most intriguing questions. The haze influences visibility, solar radiation, and evaporation, and may even affect economy and health.

WP7 combines a long-term meteorological monitoring network, intensive special observation periods, and numerical modelling to:

• estimate Dead Sea evaporation which among others contributes to the Dead Sea water budget (WP2), triggers precipitation, and governs the intensity of Dead Sea haze;
• develop a flash flood warning system based on commercial cell phone systems, radar networks, and rain gauge observations in cooperation with WP6;
• quantify and characterize aerosols, as well as regional and local wind systems applying LIDAR and radar systems, as well as microwave remote sensing technology;
• simulate regional weather with COSMO and COSMO-ART to improve the process representation of evaporation, haze, and precipitation formation;
• investigate the impact of global warming and regional land use change on the water budget components (WP2) with high resolution regional climate simulations (COSMO-CLM);
• identify atmospheric factors contributing to better health at the Dead Sea to formulate treatment guidelines with respect to atmospheric exposure.

 

News: Implementation of first DESERVE meteorological station in Palestine

News: KITcube measurements successfully started

News: KITcube arrived at Masada to investigate „Haze and evaporation at the Dead Sea 2014“ (HEADS 2014)

News: Implementation of first DESERVE meteorological station in Jordan

News: Evaporation measurements at the Dead Sea

Poster: Simulation of the Aerosol-Atmosphere Interaction in the Dead Sea Area with COSMO-ART

 

Contact:
Dr. Ulrich Corsmeier
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-TRO)
Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1
76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen
Germany
ulrich.corsmeier@kit.edu

Prof. Dr. Pinhas Alpert    
Tel Aviv University (TAU)
TAU Weather Research Center (TAU WeRC)
Tel Aviv
Israel
pinhas@post.tau.ac.il