Atmospheric Research Over the Western North Atlantic Ocean Region and North American East Coast: A Review of Past Work and Challenges Ahead

Armin Sorooshian, Andrea F. Corral, Rachel A. Braun, Brian Cairns, Ewan Crosbie, Richard Ferrare, Johnathan Hair, Mary M. Kleb, Ali Hossein Mardi, Hal Maring, Allison McComiskey, Richard Moore, David Painemal, Amy Jo Scarino, Joseph Schlosser, Taylor Shingler, Michael Shook, Hailong Wang, Xubin Zeng, Luke ZiembaPaquita Zuidema

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

46 Scopus citations

Abstract

Decades of atmospheric research have focused on the Western North Atlantic Ocean (WNAO) region because of its unique location that offers accessibility for airborne and ship measurements, gradients in important atmospheric parameters, and a range of meteorological regimes leading to diverse conditions that are poorly understood. This work reviews these scientific investigations for the WNAO region, including the East Coast of North America and the island of Bermuda. Over 50 field campaigns and long-term monitoring programs, in addition to 715 peer-reviewed publications between 1946 and 2019, have provided a firm foundation of knowledge for these areas. Of particular importance in this region has been extensive work at the island of Bermuda that is host to important time series records of oceanic and atmospheric variables. Our review categorizes WNAO atmospheric research into eight major categories, with some studies fitting into multiple categories (relative %): aerosols (25%); gases (24%); development/validation of techniques, models, and retrievals (18%); meteorology and transport (9%); air-sea interactions (8%); clouds/storms (8%); atmospheric deposition (7%); and aerosol-cloud interactions (2%). Recommendations for future research are provided in the categories highlighted above.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere2019JD031626
JournalJournal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
Volume125
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 27 2020

Keywords

  • ACTIVATE
  • Aerosol
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Cloud
  • Deposition
  • Gas

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Atmospheric Science

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