Search results for "SAMUM"
showing 10 items of 12 documents
Desert dust aerosol air mass mapping in the western Sahara, using particle properties derived from space-based multi-angle imaging
2009
Coincident observations made over the Moroccan desert during the Sahara mineral dust experiment (SAMUM) 2006 field campaign are used both to validate aerosol amount and type retrieved from multi-angle imaging spectroradiometer (MISR) observations, and to place the suborbital aerosol measurements into the satellite's larger regional context. On three moderately dusty days during which coincident observations were made, MISR mid-visible aerosol optical thickness (AOT) agrees with field measurements point-by-point to within 0.05–0.1. This is about as well as can be expected given spatial sampling differences; the space-based observations capture AOT trends and variability over an extended regi…
State of mixing, shape factor, number size distribution, and hygroscopic growth of the Saharan anthropogenic and mineral dust aerosol at Tinfou, Moro…
2009
The Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) was conducted in May and June 2006 in Tinfou, Morocco. A H-TDMA system and a H-DMA-APS system were used to obtain hygroscopic properties of mineral dust particles at 85% RH. Dynamic shape factors of 1.11, 1.19 and 1.25 were determined for the volume equivalent diameters 720, 840 and 960 nm, respectively. During a dust event, the hydrophobic number fraction of 250 and 350 nm particles increased significantly from 30 and 65% to 53 and 75%, respectively, indicating that mineral dust particles can be as small as 200 nm in diameter. Log-normal functions for mineral dust number size distributions were obtained from total particle number size distributio…
EARLINET observations of the 14-22-may long-range dust transport event during SAMUM 2006: validation of results from dust transport modelling
2009
We observed a long-range transport event of mineral dust from North Africa to South Europe during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) 2006. Geometrical and optical properties of that dust plume were determined with Sun photometer of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) and Raman lidar near the North African source region, and with Sun photometers of AERONET and lidars of the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) in the far field in Europe. Extinction-to-backscatter ratios of the dust plume over Morocco and Southern Europe do not differ. Ångstr¨om exponents increase with distance from Morocco. We simulated the transport, and geometrical and optical properties of the dus…
A new method to retrieve the aerosol layer absorption coefficient from airborne flux density and actinic radiation measurements
2010
A new method is presented to derive the mean value of the spectral absorption coefficient of an aerosol layer from combined airborne measurements of spectral net irradiance and actinic flux density. While the method is based on a theoretical relationship of radiative transfer theory, it is applied to atmospheric radiation measurements for the first time. The data have been collected with the Spectral Modular Airborne Radiation Measurement System (SMARTA¢ÂÂAlbedometer), the Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR), and the Actinic Flux Spectroradiometer (AFSR) during four field campaigns between 2002 and 2008 (the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM), the Influence of Clouds on the Spectra…
Depolarization�ratio profiling at several wavelengths in pure Saharan dust during SAMUM 2006
2009
Vertical profiles of the linear particle depolarization ratio of pure dust clouds were measured during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) at Ouarzazate, Morocco (30.9°N, –6.9°E), close to source regions in May–June 2006, with four lidar systems at four wavelengths (355, 532, 710 and 1064 nm). The intercomparison of the lidar systems is accompanied by a discussion of the different calibration methods, including a new, advanced method, and a detailed error analysis. Over the whole SAMUM periode pure dust layers show a mean linear particle depolarization ratio at 532 nm of 0.31, in the range between 0.27 and 0.35, with a mean Ångström exponent (AE, 440–870 nm) of 0.18 (range 0.04–0.34…
Airborne measurements of dust layer properties, particle size distribution and mixing state of Saharan dust during SAMUM 2006
2009
The Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) was conducted in May/June 2006 in southern Morocco. As part of SAMUM, airborne in situ measurements of the particle size distribution in the diameter range 4 nm < Dp < 100 μm were conducted. The aerosol mixing state was determined below Dp < 2.5 μm. Furthermore, the vertical structure of the dust layers was investigated with a nadir-looking high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL). The desert dust aerosol exhibited two size regimes of different mixing states: below 0.5 μm, the particles had a non-volatile core and a volatile coating; larger particles above 0.5 μm consisted of non-volatile components and contained light absorbing material. In…
Regional Saharan dust modelling during the SAMUM 2006 campaign
2011
The regional dust model system LM-MUSCAT-DES was developed in the framework of the SAMUM project. Using the unique comprehensive data set of near-source dust properties during the 2006 SAMUM field campaign, the performance of the model system is evaluated for two time periods in May and June 2006. Dust optical thicknesses, number size distributions and the position of the maximum dust extinction in the vertical profiles agree well with the observations. However, the spatio-temporal evolution of the dust plumes is not always reproduced due to inaccuracies in the dust source placement by the model. While simulated winds and dust distributions are well matched for dust events caused by dry syn…
Size distribution, mass concentration, chemical and mineralogical composition and derived optical parameters of the boundary layer aerosol at Tinfou,…
2009
During the SAMUM 2006 field campaign in southern Morocco, physical and chemical properties of desert aerosols were measured. Mass concentrations ranging from 30 Ã�¼g m-3 for PM2.5 under desert background conditions up to 300,000 Ã�¼g m-3 for total suspended particles (TSP) during moderate dust storms were measured. TSP dust concentrations are correlated with the local wind speed, whereas PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations are determined by advection from distant sources. Size distributions were measured for particles between 20 nm and 500 Ã�¼m diameter (parameterizations are given). Two major regimes of the size spectrum can be distinguished. Smaller than 500 nm particle diameter, the distrib…
Saharan dust absorption and refractive index from aircraft-based observations during SAMUM 2006
2009
During the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) conducted in summer 2006 in southeast Morocco, the complex refractive index of desert dust was determined from airborne measurements of particle size distributions and aerosol absorption coefficients at three different wavelengths in the blue (467 nm), green (530 nm) and red (660 nm) spectral regions. The vertical structure of the dust layers was analysed by an airborne high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL). The origin of the investigated dust layers was estimated from trajectory analyses, combined with Meteosat 2nd Generation (MSG) scenes and wind field data analyses. The real part n of the dust refractive index was found almost constant w…
Dust mobilization and transport in the northern Sahara during SAMUM 2006 – a meteorological overview
2009
The SAMUM field campaign in southern Morocco in May/June 2006 provides valuable data to study the emission, and the horizontal and vertical transports of mineral dust in the Northern Sahara. Radiosonde and lidar observations show differential advection of air masses with different characteristics during stable nighttime conditions and up to 5-km deep vertical mixing in the strongly convective boundary layer during the day. Lagrangian and synoptic analyses of selected dust periods point to a topographic channel from western Tunisia to central Algeria as a dust source region. Significant emission events are related to cold surges from the Mediterranean in association with eastward passing upp…