Dr Peter Knippertz

Reader in Meteorology

Telephone number: +44(0) 113 34 36422
Email address: p.knippertz@leeds.ac.uk
Room: 11.104

Biography

Dr Peter Knippertz is a Reader in Meteorology and has extensive research expertise in analyzing, modelling and forecasting storm systems in the tropics and extratropics.

His current work is focussed on dust storms over the Sahara and windstorms over the North Atlantic/Europe using a wide range of observations (conventional, satellite, aircraft) and modelling tools. He has been involved in several international research programmes and field campaigns such as THORPEX (The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment), AMMA (African Monsoon Multiscale Analysis), SAMUM (Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment), DIAMET (DIAbatic influence on Mesoscale structures in ExTratropical storms) and FENNEC.

Ongoing projects are being funded by the European Research Council (ERC), the AXA Research Fund and the National Environmental Research Council (NERC). He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles on tropical-extratropical interations, the dynamics of dust storms, precipitation dynamics in Africa and extratropical wind storms.

Qualifications

Diploma Meteorology, University of Cologne
PhD Meteorology, University of Cologne

Memberships/Fellowships

Associate Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society
Member of the German Meteorological Society and the European Geosciences Union

Research Interests

Atmospheric Dynamics
Tropical Meteorology
Dust Research
Wind and Rain Storms

Academic CV (pdf file)

Publications

Knippertz P; Todd MC (2012) MINERAL DUST AEROSOLS OVER THE SAHARA: METEOROLOGICAL CONTROLS ON EMISSION AND TRANSPORT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MODELING, REVIEWS OF GEOPHYSICS, 50, . doi: 10.1029/2011RG000362
Fink AH; Pohle S; Pinto JG; Knippertz P (2012) Diagnosing the influence of diabatic processes on the explosive deepening of extratropical cyclones, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 39, . doi: 10.1029/2012GL051025
Brindley H; Knippertz P; Ryder C; Ashpole I (2012) A critical evaluation of the ability of the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) thermal infrared red-green-blue rendering to identify dust events: Theoretical analysis, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, 117, . doi: 10.1029/2011JD017326
Marsham JH; Knippertz P; Dixon NS; Parker DJ; Lister GMS (2011) The importance of the representation of deep convection for modeled dust-generating winds over West Africa during summer, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 38, . doi: 10.1029/2011GL048368
Heinold B; Tegen I; Schepanski K; Tesche M; Esselborn M; Freudenthaler V; Gross S; Kandler K; Knippertz P; Mueller D; Schladitz A; Toledano C; Weinzierl B; Ansmann A; Althausen D; Mueller T; Petzold A; Wiedensohler A (2011) Regional modelling of Saharan dust and biomass-burning smoke Part I: Model description and evaluation, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY, 63, pp.781-799. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2011.00570.x
Stein THM; Parker DJ; Delanoe J; Dixon NS; Hogan RJ; Knippertz P; Maidment RI; Marsham JH (2011) The vertical cloud structure of the West African monsoon: A 4 year climatology using CloudSat and CALIPSO, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, 116, . doi: 10.1029/2011JD016029
Knippertz P; Fink AH; Schuster R; Trentmann J; Schrage JM; Yorke C (2011) Ultra-low clouds over the southern West African monsoon region, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 38, . doi: 10.1029/2011GL049278
Knippertz P; Tesche M; Heinold B; Kandler K; Toledano C; Esselborn M (2011) Dust mobilization and aerosol transport from West Africa to Cape Verde-a meteorological overview of SAMUM-2, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY, 63, pp.430-447. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2011.00544.x
Wiegand L; Twitchett A; Schwierz C; Knippertz P (2011) Heavy Precipitation at the Alpine South Side and Saharan Dust over Central Europe: A Predictability Study Using TIGGE, WEATHER AND FORECASTING, 26, pp.957-974. doi: 10.1175/WAF-D-10-05060.1
Schepanski K; Knippertz P (2011) Soudano-Saharan depressions and their importance for precipitation and dust: a new perspective on a classical synoptic concept, QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, 137, pp.1431-1445. doi: 10.1002/qj.850
Cuesta J; Lavaysse C; Flamant C; Mimouni M; Knippertz P (2010) Northward bursts of the West African monsoon leading to rainfall over the Hoggar Massif, Algeria, QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, 136, pp.174-189. doi: 10.1002/qj.439
Mueller D; Weinzierl B; Petzold A; Kandler K; Ansmann A; Mueller T; Tesche M; Freudenthaler V; Esselborn M; Heese B; Althausen D; Schladitz A; Otto S; Knippertz P (2010) Mineral dust observed with AERONET Sun photometer, Raman lidar, and in situ instruments during SAMUM 2006: Shape-independent particle properties, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, 115, . doi: 10.1029/2009JD012520
Emmel C; Knippertz P; Schulz O (2010) Climatology of convective density currents in the southern foothills of the Atlas Mountains, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, 115, . doi: 10.1029/2009JD012863
Knippertz P; Wernli H (2010) A Lagrangian Climatology of Tropical Moisture Exports to the Northern Hemispheric Extratropics, JOURNAL OF CLIMATE, 23, pp.987-1003. doi: 10.1175/2009JCLI3333.1
Lavaysse C; Flamant C; Janicot S; Knippertz P (2010) Links between African easterly waves, midlatitude circulation and intraseasonal pulsations of the West African heat low, QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, 136, pp.141-158. doi: 10.1002/qj.555
Lafore J; Flamant C; Giraud V; Guichard F; Knippertz P; Mahfouf J; Mascart P; Williams ER (2010) Introduction to the AMMA Special Issue on 'Advances in understanding atmospheric processes over West Africa through the AMMA field campaign', QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, 136, pp.2-7. doi: 10.1002/qj.583
Knippertz P; Chagnon JM; Foster A; Lathouwers L; Marsham JH; Methven J; Parker DJ (2010) Research flight observations of a prefrontal gravity wave near the southwestern UK, WEATHER, 65, pp.293-297. doi: 10.1002/wea.632
Knippertz P; Todd MC (2010) The central west Saharan dust hot spot and its relation to African easterly waves and extratropical disturbances, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, 115, . doi: 10.1029/2009JD012819
Reinfried F; Tegen I; Heinold B; Hellmuth O; Schepanski K; Cubasch U; Huebener H; Knippertz P (2009) Simulations of convectively-driven density currents in the Atlas region using a regional model: Impacts on dust emission and sensitivity to horizontal resolution and convection schemes, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, 114, . doi: 10.1029/2008JD010844
Tesche M; Ansmann A; Mueller D; Althausen D; Mattis I; Heese B; Freudenthaler V; Wiegner M; Esselborn M; Pisani G; Knippertz P (2009) Vertical profiling of Saharan dust with Raman lidars and airborne HSRL in southern Morocco during SAMUM, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY, 61, pp.144-164. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2008.00390.x
Petzold A; Rasp K; Weinzierl B; Esselborn M; Hamburger T; Doernbrack A; Kandler K; Schuetz L; Knippertz P; Fiebig M; Virkkula A (2009) Saharan dust absorption and refractive index from aircraft-based observations during SAMUM 2006, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY, 61, pp.118-130. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2008.00383.x
Knippertz P; Ansmann A; Althausen D; Mueller D; Tesche M; Bierwirth E; Dinter T; Mueller T; Von Hoyningen-Huene W; Schepanski K; Wendisch M; Heinold B; Kandler K; Petzold A; Schuetz L; Tegen I (2009) Dust mobilization and transport in the northern Sahara during SAMUM 2006 - a meteorological overview, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY, 61, pp.12-31. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2008.00380.x
Kandler K; Schuetz L; Deutscher C; Ebert M; Hofmann H; Jaeckel S; Jaenicke R; Knippertz P; Lieke K; Massling A; Petzold A; Schladitz A; Weinzierl B; Wiedensohler A; Zorn S; Weinbruch S (2009) Size distribution, mass concentration, chemical and mineralogical composition and derived optical parameters of the boundary layer aerosol at Tinfou, Morocco, during SAMUM 2006, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY, 61, pp.32-50. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2008.00385.x
Knippertz P; Fink AH; Pohle S (2009) Comments on "Dry-Season Precipitation in Tropical West Africa and Its Relation to Forcing from the Extratropics'' Reply, MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW, 137, pp.3151-3157. doi: 10.1175/2009MWR3006.1
Meier F; Knippertz P (2009) Dynamics and Predictability of a Heavy Dry-Season Precipitation Event over West Africa-Sensitivity Experiments with a Global Model, MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW, 137, pp.189-206. doi: 10.1175/2008MWR2622.1
Knippertz P; Fink AH; Pohle S (2009) Reply, Monthly Weather Review, 137, pp.3151-3157.
Ansmann A; Tesche M; Knippertz P; Bierwirth E; Althausen D; Mueller D; Schulz O (2009) Vertical profiling of convective dust plumes in southern Morocco during SAMUM, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY, 61, pp.340-353. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2008.00384.x
Flamant C; Knippertz P; Parker DJ; Chaboureau J; Lavaysse C; Agusti-Panareda A; Kergoat L (2009) The impact of a mesoscale convective system cold pool on the northward propagation of the intertropical discontinuity over West Africa, QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, 135, pp.139-159. doi: 10.1002/qj.357
Knippertz P; Trentmann J; Seifert A (2009) High-resolution simulations of convective cold pools over the northwestern Sahara, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, 114, . doi: 10.1029/2008JD011271
Freudenthaler V; Esselborn M; Wiegner M; Heese B; Tesche M; Ansmann A; Mueller D; Althausen D; Wirth M; Fix A; Ehret G; Knippertz P; Toledano C; Gasteiger J; Garhammer M; Seefeldner A (2009) Depolarization ratio profiling at several wavelengths in pure Saharan dust during SAMUM 2006, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY, 61, pp.165-179. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2008.00396.x
Kahn R; Petzold A; Wendisch M; Bierwirth E; Dinter T; Esselborn M; Fiebig M; Heese B; Knippertz P; Mueller D; Schladitz A; Hoyningen-Huene AV (2009) Desert dust aerosol air mass mapping in the western Sahara, using particle properties derived from space-based multi-angle imaging, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY, 61, pp.239-251. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2008.00398.x
Heinold B; Tegen I; Esselborn M; Kandler K; Knippertz P; Mueller D; Schladitz A; Tesche M; Weinzierl B; Ansmann A; Althausen D; Laurent B; Massling A; Mueller T; Petzold A; Schepanski K; Wiedensohler A (2009) Regional Saharan dust modelling during the SAMUM 2006 campaign, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY, 61, pp.307-324. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2008.00387.x
Knippertz P; Fink AH (2009) Prediction of Dry-Season Precipitation in Tropical West Africa and Its Relation to Forcing from the Extratropics, WEATHER AND FORECASTING, 24, pp.1064-1084. doi: 10.1175/2009WAF2222221.1
Mueller D; Heinold B; Tesche M; Tegen I; Althausen D; Arboledas LA; Amiridis V; Amodeo A; Ansmann A; Balis D; Comeron A; D'amico G; Gerasopoulos E; Guerrero-Rascado JL; Freudenthaler V; Giannakaki E; Heese B; Iarlori M; Knippertz P; Mamouri RE; Mona L; Papayannis A; Pappalardo G; Perrone R; Pisani G; Rizi V; Sicard M; Spinelli N; Tafuro A; Wiegner M (2009) EARLINET observations of the 14-22-May long-range dust transport event during SAMUM 2006: validation of results from dust transport modelling, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY, 61, pp.325-339. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2008.00400.x
Knippertz P (2008) Dust emissions in the West African heat trough - the role of the diurnal cycle and of extratropical disturbances, METEOROLOGISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT, 17, pp.553-563. doi: 10.1127/0941-2948/2008/0315
Karam DB; Flamant C; Knippertz P; Reitebuch O; Pelon J; Chong M; Dabas A (2008) Dust emissions over the Sahel associated with the West African monsoon intertropical discontinuity region: A representative case-study, QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, 134, pp.621-634. doi: 10.1002/qj.244
Froehlich L; Knippertz P (2008) Identification and global climatology of upper-level troughs at low latitudes, METEOROLOGISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT, 17, pp.565-573. doi: 10.1127/0941-2948/2008/0320
Knippertz P; Fink AH (2008) Dry-season precipitation in tropical West Africa and its relation to forcing from the extratropics, MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW, 136, pp.3579-3596. doi: 10.1175/2008MWR2295.1
Born K; Christoph M; Fink AH; Knippertz P; Paeth H; Speth P (2008) Moroccan climate in the present and future: Combined view from observational data and regional climate scenarios., In: Zereini F; Hötzl H (Ed) Climate changes and water resources in the Middle East and in North Africa, Springer, pp.29-45.
Ansmann A; Tesche M; Althausen D; Mueller D; Seifert P; Freudenthaler V; Heese B; Wiegner M; Pisani G; Knippertz P; Dubovik O (2008) Influence of Saharan dust on cloud glaciation in southern Morocco during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, 113, . doi: 10.1029/2007JD008785
Todd MC; Washington R; Raghavan S; Lizcano G; Knippertz P (2008) Regional model simulations of the Bodele low-level jet of northern Chad during the Bodele Dust Experiment (BoDEx 2005), JOURNAL OF CLIMATE, 21, pp.995-1012. doi: 10.1175/2007JCLI1766.1
Fink AH; Piecha K; Brücher T; Knippertz P (2008) Precipitation variability in Northwest Africa, In: Schulz O; Judex M (Ed) IMPETUS Atlas Morocco. Research Results 2000–2007., Department of Geography, University of Bonn.
Knippertz P (2007) Tropical-extratropical interactions related to upper-level troughs at low latitudes, DYNAMICS OF ATMOSPHERES AND OCEANS, 43, pp.36-62. doi: 10.1016/j.dynatmoce.2006.06.003
Knippertz P; Martin JE (2007) The role of dynamic and diabatic processes in the generation of cut-off lows over Northwest Africa, METEOROLOGY AND ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, 96, pp.3-19. doi: 10.1007/s00703-006-0217-4
Knippertz P; Martin JE (2007) A Pacific moisture conveyor belt and its relationship to a significant precipitation event in the semiarid southwestern United States, WEATHER AND FORECASTING, 22, pp.125-144. doi: 10.1175/WAF963.1
Kandler K; Benker N; Bundke U; Cuevas E; Ebert M; Knippertz P; Rodriguez S; Schuetz L; Weinbruch S (2007) Chemical composition and complex refractive index of Saharan Mineral Dust at Izana, Tenerife (Spain) derived by electron microscopy, ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT, 41, pp.8058-8074. doi: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.06.047
Knippertz P; Deutscher C; Kandler K; Mueller T; Schulz O; Schuetz L (2007) Dust mobilization due to density currents in the Atlas region: Observations from the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment 2006 field campaign, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, 112, . doi: 10.1029/2007JD008774
Knippertz P; Fink AH (2006) Synoptic and dynamic aspects of an extreme springtime Saharan dust outbreak, QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, 132, pp.1153-1177. doi: 10.1256/qj.05.109
Knippertz P; Fink AH (2006) An extreme Saharan dust outbreak in spring 2004 and its impact on the onset of the West African monsoon, 27th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology, .
Evan AT; Heidinger AK; Knippertz P (2006) Analysis of winter dust activity off the coast of West Africa using a new 24-year over-water advanced very high resolution radiometer satellite dust climatology, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, 111, . doi: 10.1029/2005JD006336
Knippertz P (2005) Tropical-extratropical interactions associated with an Atlantic tropical plume and subtropical jet streak, MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW, 133, pp.2759-2776. doi: 10.1175/MWR2999.1
Knippertz P; Martin JE (2005) Tropical plumes and extreme precipitation in subtropical and tropical West Africa, QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, 131, pp.2337-2365. doi: 10.1256/qj.04.148
Knippertz P (2004) A simple identification scheme for upper-level troughs and its application to winter precipitation variability in northwest Africa, JOURNAL OF CLIMATE, 17, pp.1411-1418. doi: 10.1175/1520-0442(2004)017<1411:ASISFU>2.0.CO;2
Knippertz P; Fink AH; Reiner A; Speth P (2003) Three late summer/early autumn cases of tropical-extratropical interactions causing precipitation in northwest Africa, MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW, 131, pp.116-135. doi: 10.1175/1520-0493(2003)131<0116:TLSEAC>2.0.CO;2
Knippertz P (2003) Tropical-extratropical interactions causing precipitation in northwest Africa: Statistical analysis and seasonal variations, MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW, 131, pp.3069-3076. doi: 10.1175/1520-0493(2003)131<3069:TICPIN>2.0.CO;2
Knippertz P; Ulbrich U; Marques F; Corte-Real J (2003) Decadal changes in the link between El Nino and springtime North Atlantic oscillation and European-North African rainfall, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, 23, pp.1293-1311. doi: 10.1002/joc.944
Fink AH; Knippertz P (2003) An extreme precipitation event in southern Morocco in spring 2002 and some hydrological implications, WEATHER, 58, pp.377-387.
Knippertz P; Christoph M; Speth P (2003) Long-term precipitation variability in Morocco and the link to the large-scale circulation in recent and future climates, METEOROLOGY AND ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, 83, pp.67-88. doi: 10.1007/s00703-002-561-y
Knippertz P; Ulbrich U; Speth P (2000) Changing cyclones and surface wind speeds over the North Atlantic and Europe in a transient GHG experiment, CLIMATE RESEARCH, 15, pp.109-122. doi: 10.3354/cr015109