SAFARI 2000 Modeled Tropospheric Air Mass Trajectories, Dry Season 2000

These sites are Durban, Middleburg, Pietersburg, and Springbok, South Africa; Maun, Botswana; Mongu, Zambia; and Windhoek, Namibia. The twice daily three-dimensional wind field (at 0000 and 1200 UTC) was used as input to the trajectory model.

By integrating the vertical motion of the air parcels over a period of time, the trajectory model was able to forecast the net vertical displacement of air parcels during 12-hour periods. The resulting trajectory plots represent the three-dimensional transport of air in time and can be used to examine what is happening in the low-to-mid troposphere during flight and ground-based observations. These levels are most significant in terms of the thermodynamic structure of the troposphere, especially the stable layers and accumulation of material between and below them, as well containing the major levels of subsidence over the subcontinent.