0000000000429096

AUTHOR

Silvia Becagli

On the radiative impact of aerosols on photolysis rates: comparison of simulations and observations in the Lampedusa island during the ChArMEx/ADRIMED campaign

The Mediterranean basin is characterized by large concentrations of aerosols from both natural and anthropogenic sources. These aerosols affect tropospheric photochemistry by modulating the photolytic rates. Three simulations of the atmospheric composition at basin scale have been performed with the CHIMERE chemistry-transport model for the period from 6 June to 15 July 2013 covered by the ADRIMED campaign, a campaign of intense measurements in the western Mediterranean basin. One simulation takes into account the radiative effect of the aerosols on photochemistry, the second one does not, and the third one is designed to quantify the model sensitivity to a bias in the ozone column. These s…

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The June 2007 Saharan dust event in the central Mediterranean: Observations and radiative effects in marine, urban, and sub-urban environments

Abstract A desert dust episode in June 2007 and its radiative effects on the energy budget have been studied at three Italian stations (Rome, Lecce and Lampedusa) with the aim of investigating the interactions with different conditions and aerosol types over the Mediterranean. The three sites are representative for urban (Rome), sub-urban/rural (Lecce), and marine (Lampedusa) environment, respectively in the central Mediterranean region. Measured ground-based column-averaged aerosol optical properties and aerosol extinction profiles were used to initialize the MODTRAN4 radiative transfer model. The radiative transfer model was used to estimate the shortwave aerosol radiative forcing ( ARF )…

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Constraining the ship contribution to the aerosol of the central Mediterranean

Particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters lower than 10 µm, (PM10) aerosol samples were collected during summer 2013 within the framework of the Chemistry and Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment (ChArMEx) at two sites located north (Capo Granitola) and south (Lampedusa Island), respectively, of the main Mediterranean shipping route in the Straight of Sicily. The PM10 samples were collected with 12 h time resolutions at both sites. Selected metals, main anions, cations and elemental and organic carbon were determined. The evolution of soluble V and Ni concentrations (typical markers of heavy fuel oil combustion) was related to meteorology and ship traffic intensity in the Straight of Sicily…

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