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A new four-dimensional, multiyear, and near-global climate data record of the fine-mode (submicrometer in terms of diameter) and coarse-mode (supermicrometer in terms of diameter) components of atmospheric pure-dust, is presented. The separation of the two modes of dust in detected atmospheric dust layers is based on a combination of (1) the total pure-dust product provided by the well-established European Space Agency (ESA) - "LIdar climatology of Vertical Aerosol Structure" (LIVAS) database and (2) the coarse-mode component of pure-dust provided by the first-step of the two-step POlarization LIdar PHOtometer Networking (POLIPHON) technique, developed in the framework of European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET). Accordingly, the fine-mode component of pure-dust is extracted as the residual between the LIVAS total puredust and the coarse-mode component of pure-dust. Intermediate steps involve the implementation of regionally-dependent lidar-derived lidar-ratio values and AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) based climatological extinction-to-volume conversion factors, facilitating conversion of dust backscatter into extinction and subsequently extinction into mass concentration. The decoupling scheme is applied to Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) observations at 532 nm. The final products consist of the fine-mode and coarse-mode of atmospheric pure-dust, of quality-assured profiles of backscatter coefficient at 532 nm, extinction coefficient at 532 nm, and mass concentration for each of the two components. The datasets are established primarily with the original L2 horizontal (5 km) and vertical (60 m) resolution of Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) along the CALIPSO orbit-path, and secondly in averaged profiles of seasonal-temporal resolution, 1o×1o spatial resolution, and with the original vertical resolution of CALIPSO, focusing on the latitudinal band extending between 70oS and 70oN and covering more than 15-years of Earth Observation (06/2006-12/2021). The quality of the dust products is justified by using AERONET fine-mode and coarse-mode aerosol optical thickness (AOT) interpolated to 532 nm and AERosol properties - Dust (AER-D) campaign airborne in-situ particle size distributions (PSDs) as reference datasets, during atmospheric conditions characterized by dust presence. The near-global fine-mode and coarse-mode pure-dust climate data record is considered unique with respect to a wide range of potential applications, including climatological, time-series, and trend analysis over extensive geographical domains and temporal periods, validation of atmospheric dust models and reanalysis datasets, assimilation activities, and investigation of the role of airborne dust on radiation and air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2018, the Aeolus satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA) has acquired wind HLOS (horizontal line-of-sight) profiles throughout the troposphere and up to the lower stratosphere, filling a critical gap in the Global Observing System (GOS). Aeolus, carrying ALADIN (Atmospheric LAser Doppler INstrument), the first UV HSRL (High Spectral Resolution Lidar) Doppler lidar ever placed in space, provides also vertically resolved optical properties of particulates (aerosols and clouds). The present study focuses on the assessment of Aeolus L2A particulate backscatter coefficient (baseline 2A11), retrieved by the Standard Correct Algorithm (SCA), in the eastern Mediterranean, a region hosting a variety of aerosol species. Ground-based retrievals acquired by lidar instruments operating in Athens (central Greece), Thessaloniki (northern Greece) and Antikythera (southwestern Greece) serve as reference. All lidar stations provide routine measurements to the PANACEA (PANhellenic infrastructure for Atmospheric Composition and climatE chAnge) network. A set of ancillary data, including sun-photometric observations (AERONET), reanalysis products (CAMS and MERRA-2), satellite observations (MSG-SEVIRI and MODIS Aqua) and backward-trajectories modelling (FLEXPART), is utilized towards an optimum characterization of the probed atmospheric conditions under the absence of a classification scheme in Aeolus SCA profiles. First, emphasis is given on the assessment of Aeolus SCA backscatter coefficient under specific aerosol scenarios over Antikythera island. Due to the misdetection of the cross-polar component of the backscattered lidar signal, Aeolus underestimates the aerosol backscatter coefficient by up to 33 % when non-spherical mineral particles are recorded (10 July 2019). A good performance is revealed on 3 July 2019, when horizontally homogeneous loads of fine spherical particles are confined below 4 km. For other two cases (8 July 2020 and 5 August 2020), due to noise issues, the SCA performance degrades in terms of depicting the stratification of aerosol layers composed of particles of different origin. According to the statistical assessment analysis of 43 identified cases, a poor-to-moderate performance is revealed for the unfiltered (aerosols plus clouds) SCA profiles, which improves substantially when cloud-contaminated profiles are excluded from the collocated sample. This improvement is evident at both Aeolus vertical scales (regular scales have 24 bins and mid-bin scales have 23 bins), and it is justified by the drastic reduction in the bias (from 0.45 to 0.27 Mm -1 sr -1 for SCA and from 0.69 to 0.37 Mm -1 sr -1 for SCA mid-bin) and root mean square error (from 2.00 to 1.65 Mm -1 sr -1 for SCA and from 1.88 to 1.00 Mm -1 sr -1 for SCA mid-bin) scores. In the vertical, the SCA performance degrades at the lowermost bins due to either the contamination from surface signals or the increased noise levels for the aerosol retrievals. Among the three PANACEA stations, the best agreement is found at the remote site of Antikythera with respect to the urban sites of Athens and Thessaloniki. Finally, all key Cal/Val (calibration and validation) aspects necessary for future relevant studies, the recommendations for a possible Aeolus follow-on mission and an overview of the ongoing related activities are thoroughly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2018, the Aeolus satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA) acquires wind HLOS (horizontal line-of-sight) profiles throughout the troposphere and up to the lower stratosphere, filling a critical gap of the Global Observing System (GOS). Aeolus, carrying ALADIN, the first UV HSRL Doppler lidar ever placed in space, along with wind HLOS profiles provides also vertically resolved optical properties of particulates (aerosols, hydrometeors). The present study focuses on the assessment of Aeolus L2A particulate backscatter coefficient, retrieved by the Standard Correct Algorithm (SCA), in the Eastern Mediterranean, a region hosting a variety of aerosol species. Ground-based retrievals acquired by lidar instruments operating in Athens (capital of Greece), Thessaloniki (north Greece) and Antikythera (southwest Greece) serve as reference. All lidar stations provide routine measurements to the PANACEA (PANhellenic infrastructure for Atmospheric Composition and climatE chAnge) network. A set of ancillary data including sunphotometric observations (AERONET), reanalysis products (CAMS, MERRA-2), satellite observations (MSG-SEVIRI, MODIS-Aqua) and backward trajectories (FLEXPART) are utilized towards an optimum characterization of the probed atmospheric conditions under the absence of a classification scheme in Aeolus profiles. First, emphasis is given on the assessment of Aeolus L2A backscatter coefficient under different aerosol scenarios over Antikythera island. Due to the misdetection of the cross-polar component of the backscattered lidar signal, Aeolus underestimates backscatter by up to 33% when non-spherical mineral particles are recorded (10th July 2019). A very good performance is revealed on 3rd July 2019, when homogeneous loads of fine spherical particles are confined below 4 km. The level of agreement between spaceborne and ground-based retrievals varies with altitude when aerosol layers, composed of particles of different origin, are stratified (8th July 2020, 5th August 2020). According to the statistical assessment analysis for 46 identified cases, it is revealed a poor-to- moderate performance for the unfiltered (aerosols plus clouds) Aeolus profiles which improves substantially when cloud contaminated profiles are excluded from the collocated sample. This positive tendency is evident at both Aeolus vertical scales (regular, 24 bins and mid-bin, 23 bins) and it is justified by the drastic reduction of the bias and root-mean-square-error scores. In vertical, Aeolus performance downgrades at the lowermost bins (attributed to either the surface reflectance or the increased noise levels for the Aeolus retrievals and to the overlap issues for the ground-based profiles). Among the three PANACEA stations, the best agreement is found at the remote site of Antikythera with respect to the urban sites of Athens and Thessaloniki. Finally, all key Cal/Val aspects necessary for future relevant studies, the recommendations for a possible Aeolus follow-on mission and an overview of the ongoing related activities are thoroughly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring and describing the spatiotemporal variability in dust aerosols is crucial for understanding their multiple effects, related feedbacks, and impacts within the Earth system. This study describes the development of the ModIs Dust AeroSol (MIDAS) data set. MIDAS provides columnar daily dust optical depth (DOD) at 550 nm at a global scale and fine spatial resolution (0.1 ∘ × 0.1 ∘) over a 15-year period (2003–2017). This new data set combines quality filtered satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals from MODIS-Aqua at swath level (Collection 6.1; Level 2), along with DOD-to-AOD ratios provided by the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2) reanalysis to derive DOD on the MODIS native grid. The uncertainties of the MODIS AOD and MERRA-2 dust fraction, with respect to the AEronet RObotic NETwork (AERONET) and LIdar climatology of vertical Aerosol Structure for space-based lidar simulation (LIVAS), respectively, are taken into account for the estimation of the total DOD uncertainty. MERRA-2 dust fractions are in very good agreement with those of LIVAS across the dust belt in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Arabian Sea; the agreement degrades in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, where dust sources are smaller. MIDAS, MERRA-2, and LIVAS DODs strongly agree when it comes to annual and seasonal spatial patterns, with colocated global DOD averages of 0.033, 0.031, and 0.029, respectively; however, deviations in dust loading are evident and regionally dependent. Overall, MIDAS is well correlated with AERONET-derived DODs (R=0.89) and only shows a small positive bias (0.004 or 2.7 %). Among the major dust areas of the planet, the highest R values (>0.9) are found at sites of North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. MIDAS expands, complements, and upgrades the existing observational capabilities of dust aerosols, and it is suitable for dust climatological studies, model evaluation, and data assimilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring and describing the spatiotemporal variability of dust aerosols is crucial to understand their multiple effects, related feedbacks and impacts within the Earth system. This study describes the development of the MIDAS (ModIs Dust AeroSol) dataset. MIDAS provides columnar daily dust optical depth (DOD at 550 nm) at global scale and fine spatial resolution (0.1° x 0.1°) over a decade (2007-2016). This new dataset combines quality filtered satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals from MODIS-Aqua at swath level (Collection 6, Level 2), along with DOD-to-AOD ratios provided by MERRA-2 reanalysis to derive DOD on the MODIS native grid. The uncertainties of MODIS AOD and MERRA-2 dust fraction with respect to AERONET and CALIOP, respectively, are taken into account for the estimation of the total DOD uncertainty (including measurement and sampling uncertainties). MERRA-2 dust fractions are in very good agreement with CALIOP column-integrated dust fractions across the dust belt, in the Tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Arabian Sea; the agreement degrades in North America and the Southern Hemisphere where dust sources are smaller. MIDAS, MERRA-2 and CALIOP DODs strongly agree when it comes to annual and seasonal spatial patterns; however, deviations of dust loads' intensity are evident and regionally dependent. Overall, MIDAS is well correlated with ground-truth AERONET-derived DODs (R = 0.882), only showing a small negative bias (-0.009 or -5.307 %). Among the major dust areas of the planet, the highest R values (up to 0.977) are found at sites of N. Africa, Middle East and Asia. MIDAS expands, complements and upgrades existing observational capabilities of dust aerosols and it is suitable for dust climatological studies, model evaluation and data assimilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction has been made to Funding: This research has been co-financed by the Operational Program "Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning" and is co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund) and Greek national funds. A correction has been made to Acknowledgments: This research is implemented through the Operational Program "Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning". Global Clear-Sky Aerosol Speciated Direct Radiative Effects over 40 Years (1980-2019). [Extracted from the article]

Forecasting volcanic ash atmospheric pathways is of utmost importance for aviation. Volcanic ash can interfere with aircraft navigational instruments and can damage engine parts. Early warning systems, activated after volcanic eruptions can alleviate the impacts on aviation by providing forecasts of the volcanic ash plume dispersion. The quality of these short-term forecasts is subject to the accuracy of the meteorological wind fields used for the initialization of regional models. Here, we use wind profiling data from the first high spectral resolution lidar in space, Aeolus, to examine the impact of measured wind fields on regional NWP and subsequent volcanic ash dispersion forecasts, focusing on the case of Etna's eruption on March 2021. The results from this case study demonstrate a significant improvement of the volcanic ash simulation when using Aeolus-assimilated meteorological fields, with differences in wind speed reaching up to 8 m/s when compared to the control run. When comparing the volcanic ash forecast profiles with downwind surface-based aerosol lidar observations, the modeled field is consistent with the measurements only when Aeolus winds are assimilated. This result clearly demonstrates the potential of Aeolus and highlights the necessity of future wind profiling satellite missions for improving volcanic ash forecasting and hence aviation safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assess the 40-year climatological clear-sky global direct radiative effect (DRE) of five main aerosol types using the MERRA-2 reanalysis and a spectral radiative transfer model (FORTH). The study takes advantage of aerosol-speciated, spectrally and vertically resolved optical properties over the period 1980–2019, to accurately determine the aerosol DREs, emphasizing the attribution of the total DREs to each aerosol type. The results show that aerosols radiatively cool the Earth's surface and heat its atmosphere by 7.56 and 2.35 Wm−2, respectively, overall cooling the planet by 5.21 Wm−2, partly counterbalancing the anthropogenic greenhouse global warming during 1980–2019. These DRE values differ significantly in terms of magnitude, and even sign, among the aerosol types (sulfate and black carbon aerosols cool and heat the planet by 1.88 and 0.19 Wm−2, respectively), the hemispheres (larger NH than SH values), the surface cover type (larger land than ocean values) or the seasons (larger values in local spring and summer), while considerable inter-decadal changes are evident. These DRE differences are even larger by up to an order of magnitude on a regional scale, highlighting the important role of the aerosol direct radiative effect for local and global climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe (NAMEE domain) host a variety of suspended particles characterized by different optical and microphysical properties. In the current study, we investigate the importance of the lidar ratio (LR) on Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization–Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIOP-CALIPSO) aerosol retrievals towards assessing aerosols' impact on the Earth-atmosphere radiation budget. A holistic approach has been adopted involving collocated Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) observations, Radiative Transfer Model (RTM) simulations, as well as reference radiation measurements acquired using spaceborne (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System-CERES) and ground-based (Baseline Surface Radiation Network-BSRN) instruments. We are assessing the clear-sky shortwave (SW) direct radiative effects (DREs) on 550 atmospheric scenes, identified within the 2007–2020 period, in which the primary tropospheric aerosol species (dust, marine, polluted continental/smoke, elevated smoke, and clean continental) are probed using CALIPSO. RTM runs have been performed relying on CALIOP retrievals in which the default and the DeLiAn (Depolarization ratio, Lidar ratio, and Ångström exponent)-based aerosol-speciated LRs are considered. The simulated fields from both configurations are compared against those produced when AERONET AODs are applied. Overall, the DeLiAn LRs leads to better results mainly when mineral particles are either solely recorded or coexist with other aerosol species (e.g., sea-salt). In quantitative terms, the errors in DREs are reduced by ~26–27% at the surface (from 5.3 to 3.9 W/m2) and within the atmosphere (from −3.3 to −2.4 W/m2). The improvements become more significant (reaching up to ~35%) for moderate-to-high aerosol loads (AOD ≥ 0.2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey is located in the heart of complex transition geography between Eurasia and the Middle East. In the grand scheme, the so-called eastern Mediterranean Basin is located almost in the middle of the dusty belt, and is a hot spot of climate change. The downstream location of dust-carrying winds from close desert sources reveals Turkey as an open plane to particulate matter exposure throughout the year. In order to clarify this phenomenon, this paper aims to determine the desert dust climatology of Turkey via CALIPSO onboard Lidar. This prominent instrument enables us to understand clouds, aerosols and their types, and related climatic systems, with its valuable products. In this study, a 9-year CALIPSO-derived pure dust product dataset was formed to explain horizontal and vertical distributions, transport heights and case incidences. The results indicated that the pure dust extinction coefficient increased as the location shifted from west to east. Moreover, in the same direction of west to east, the dominant spring months changed to summer and autumn. Mountain range systems surrounding Anatolia were the main obstacles against lofted and buoyant dust particles travelling to northern latitudes. Even if high ridges accumulated mass load on the southern slopes, they also enabled elevated particles to reach the ground level of the inner cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The direct radiative effects of atmospheric aerosols are essential for climate, as well as for other societal areas, such as the energy sector. The goal of the present study is to exploit the newly developed ModIs Dust AeroSol (MIDAS) dataset for quantifying the direct effects on the downwelling surface solar irradiance (DSSI), induced by the total and dust aerosol amounts, under clear-sky conditions and the associated impacts on solar energy for the broader Mediterranean Basin, over the period 2003–2017. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) and dust optical depth (DOD) derived by the MIDAS dataset, along with additional aerosol and dust optical properties and atmospheric variables, were used as inputs to radiative transfer modeling to simulate DSSI components. A 15-year climatology of AOD, DOD and clear-sky global horizontal irradiation (GHI) and direct normal irradiation (DNI) was derived. The spatial and temporal variability of the aerosol and dust effects on the different DSSI components was assessed. Aerosol attenuation of annual GHI and DNI were 1–13% and 5–47%, respectively. Over North Africa and the Middle East, attenuation by dust was found to contribute 45–90% to the overall attenuation by aerosols. The GHI and DNI attenuation during extreme dust episodes reached 12% and 44%, respectively, over particular areas. After 2008, attenuation of DSSI by aerosols became weaker mainly because of changes in the amount of dust. Sensitivity analysis using different AOD/DOD inputs from Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) reanalysis dataset revealed that using CAMS products leads to underestimation of the aerosol and dust radiative effects compared to MIDAS, mainly because the former underestimates DOD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dust aerosols, emitted mainly from arid regions of the planet, are playing a crucial role in the Earth system due to their impact on climate, human health, anthropogenic activities and ecosystems. Under favorable meteorological conditions, these coarse particles of natural origin can be transported over areas situated far away from deserts and for monitoring their spatiotemporal patterns spaceborne observations have been proven a very powerful tool. Passive satellite sensors, such as MODIS, are providing columnar retrievals of high accuracy at is concerns aerosol loads in contrast to other optical properties representative of particles' size and nature, which are critical for dust identification. In order to overcome this inherent limitation, a potential solution can be the synergistic implementation of reanalysis datasets, such as MERRA-2, in which aerosols and meteorology are jointly assimilated. The scope of the present study is to develop a global dust climatology, over the period 2007-2016, based on MODIS-Aqua Level 2 retrievals (Collection 6) in which unreliable data (cloud contamination, isolated retrievals) have been masked out. To realize, the MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD) has been adjusted to dust optical depth (DOD), both reported at 550 nm, by utilizing the dust-to-total optical depth ratio provided by MERRA-2. The quality of the latter product has been justified via the evaluation against CALIOP-CALIPSO observations in which the contribution of pure dust to the total AOD has been computed relying on a sophisticated depolarization-based separation method, improved lidar ratios for Saharan and Asian dust and a series of quality criteria eliminating artifacts on vertical profiles.The MODIS-derived DOD, at 0.1° x 0.1° spatial resolution, has been analyzed both at pixel-level (geographical distributions) as well as on regional scale during the study period. According to obtained results, the most active dust source of the planet is located in the Bodélé Depression exhibiting a long-term DOD average equal to 1 with weak seasonal variation. Considerably high DODs (up to 0.8) are recorded over the western Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula with maximum values during boreal summer. In Asia, the highest DODs are found in the Taklamakan Desert with regional values ranging from 0.05 (December) to 0.65 (April) throughout the year. In the southern hemisphere, the annual average DODs over the desert areas of S. America, S. Africa and Australia do not exceed 0.2. At global scale, the most pronounced dust transport pattern is observed across the tropical Atlantic Ocean revealing a strong seasonal variation in terms of intensity (maximized during boreal summer), latitudinal shift and range. The evaluation of MODIS-Aqua DOD versus AERONET observations indicates a very good agreement between the two datasets with correlation coefficient and relative bias equal to 0.85 and -7.1%, respectively, calculated from 2838 matchups collected at 260 sites. Finally, the global DOD average is equal to 0.047±0.013 while a strong contrast is evident between the northern (0.083±0.030) and the southern (0.007±0.002) hemispheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mineral dust produced by wind erosion of arid and semiarid surfaces is a major component of atmospheric aerosol that affects climate, weather, ecosystems, and socioeconomic sectors such as human health, transportation, solar energy, and air quality. Understanding these effects and ultimately improving the resilience of affected countries requires a reliable, dense, and diverse set of dust observations, fundamental for the development and the provision of skillful dust-forecast-tailored products. The last decade has seen a notable improvement of dust observational capabilities in terms of considered parameters, geographical coverage, and delivery times, as well as of tailored products of interest to both the scientific community and the various end-users. Given this progress, here we review the current state of observational capabilities, including in situ, ground-based, and satellite remote sensing observations in northern Africa, the Middle East, and Europe for the provision of dust information considering the needs of various users. We also critically discuss observational gaps and related unresolved questions while providing suggestions for overcoming the current limitations. Our review aims to be a milestone for discussing dust observational gaps at a global level to address the needs of users, from research communities to nonscientific stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mineralogical composition of airborne dust particles is an important but often neglected parameter for several physiochemical processes, such as atmospheric radiative transfer and ocean biochemistry. We present the development of the METAL-WRF module for the simulation of the composition of desert dust minerals in atmospheric aerosols. The new development is based on the GOCART-AFWA dust module of WRF-Chem. A new wet deposition scheme has been implemented in the dust module alongside the existing dry deposition scheme. The new model includes separate prognostic fields for nine (9) minerals: illite, kaolinite, smectite, calcite, quartz, feldspar, hematite, gypsum, and phosphorus, derived from the GMINER30 database and also iron derived from the FERRUM30 database. Two regional model sensitivity studies are presented for dust events that occurred in August and December 2017, which include a comparison of the model versus elemental dust composition measurements performed in the North Atlantic (at Izaña Observatory, Tenerife Island) and in the eastern Mediterranean (at Agia Marina Xyliatos station, Cyprus Island). The results indicate the important role of dust minerals, as dominant aerosols, for the greater region of North Africa, South Europe, the North Atlantic, and the Middle East, including the dry and wet depositions away from desert sources. Overall, METAL-WRF was found to be capable of reproducing the relative abundances of the different dust minerals in the atmosphere. In particular, the concentration of iron (Fe), which is an important element for ocean biochemistry and solar absorption, was modeled in good agreement with the corresponding measurements at Izaña Observatory (22% overestimation) and at Agia Marina Xyliatos site (4% overestimation). Further model developments, including the implementation of newer surface mineralogical datasets, e.g., from the NASA-EMIT satellite mission, can be implemented in the model to improve its accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The ability of regional atmospheric models to accurately represent long-range transport of dust is crucial for describing dust effects on radiation and clouds and for reducing their uncertainties on these processes. The optimized CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) pure-dust product that provides the three-dimensional patterns of dust and its transport pathways is a unique tool that can address the aforementioned model's issues. In this study we use the CALIPSO dust extinction profiles as a tool for examining the performance of the regional dust model BSC-DREAM8b in space and time, for the period 2009–2013 over Northern Africa, the Mediterranean, Europe, Eastern North Atlantic and the Middle East. Our analysis suggests that the model overestimates the dust extinction coefficient above dust source regions in Sahara Desert especially at altitudes lower than 3 km at about 0.04 km−1. We also found a slight underestimation of transported dust over Europe and Atlantic Ocean lower than 0.025 km−1 of extinction coefficient values all along the vertical column. Over the Mediterranean dust is overestimated (∼0.01 km−1) in layers higher than 1 km height. Dust in the Middle East is significantly underestimated by the model (∼0.05 km−1) all along the vertical column especially during warm seasons. The study also provides an analysis of the CALIPSO limitations and uncertainties on the detection of strong dust activity contributing to the differences between the simulations and observations above the dust sources of Bodelé and Algeria. Highlights • The LIVAS-CALIPSO product provides the three-dimensional patterns of pure dust. • It can be used as a unique tool to address models' biases and reduce uncertainties in dust model simulations. • BSC-DREAM8b underestimates transported dust over Europe and the Atlantic Ocean (0.025km-1 of dust extinction coefficient). • The model overestimates dust load over the Mediterranean (~0.01km-1). • It significantly underestimates dust over the Middle East (0.05km-1) over all heights especially during the warm season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Icelandic topsoil sediments, as confirmed by numerous scientific studies, represent the largest and the most important European source of mineral dust. Strong winds, connected with the intensive cyclonic circulation in the North Atlantic, induce intense emissions of mineral dust from local sources all year and carry away these fine aerosol particles for thousands of kilometers. Various impacts of airborne mineral dust particles on local air quality, human health, transportation, climate and marine ecosystems motivated us to design a fully dynamic coupled atmosphere–dust numerical modelling system in order to simulate, predict and quantify the Icelandic mineral dust process including: local measurements and source specification over Iceland. In this study, we used the Dust Regional Atmospheric Model (DREAM) with improved Icelandic high resolution dust source specification and implemented spatially variable particle size distribution, variable snow cover and soil wetness. Three case studies of intense short- and long-range transport were selected to evaluate the model performance. Results demonstrated the model's capability to forecast major transport features, such as timing, and horizontal and vertical distribution of the processes. This modelling system can be used as an operational forecasting system, but also as a reliable tool for assessing climate and environmental Icelandic dust impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study focuses on assessment of dust impact on forecasting solar irradiance and energy, during an extreme dust event. We utilize surface-based Aeronet measurements, satellite observations (MODIS and CALIPSO), and ModIs Dust AeroSol (MIDAS) dust database in conjunction with Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulations, based on inputs from Indian Solar Irradiance Operational System (INSIOS) and Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) forecast. This work presents a novel approach of CAMS aerosol optical depth (AOD) ingestion into WRF model for analyzing dust impact on solar irradiance. The study region is the northwestern part of Indian subcontinent, an area with some of the largest solar power projects in India. A set of three consecutive and deadly dust storms occurred in May 2018 with one having high intensity and values of AOD and dust optical depth reaching up to 2. Dust events of this extent leads to a significant reduction in solar irradiance and affect the capacity of energy exploitation through Photovoltaic installations and Concentrating Solar Power plants due to the solar aerosol-related extinction. The dust plume resulted in an average decrease of 76 W/m 2 and 275 W/m 2 for global horizontal irradiance (GHI) and direct normal irradiance (DNI), respectively, and a maximum reduction of 100 W/m 2 (10%) and 400 W/m 2 (40%) in GHI and DNI, respectively. The proposed methodology can support solar energy producers, for optimum energy production forecasting, management, and maintenance (e.g. soiling) as well as transmission and distribution system operators, taking into account the effect of dust aerosols into their day-to-day market operations. [Display omitted] • High intensity dust storm with aerosol optical depth and dust optical depth reaching up to 2 was analyzed. • Pure and polluted dust classification was done from CALIOP overpasses. • Dust plume resulted in an average decrease of 11% for GHI and 41% for DNI. • Dust events reduces solar irradiance affecting PV and CSP plants due to the solar aerosol related extinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A satellite algorithm able to identify Dust Aerosols (DA) is applied for a climatological investigation of Dust Aerosol Episodes (DAEs) over the greater Mediterranean Basin (MB), one of the most climatologically sensitive regions of the globe. The algorithm first distinguishes DA among other aerosol types (such as Sea Salt and Biomass Burning) by applying threshold values on key aerosol optical properties describing their loading, size and absorptivity, namely Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Aerosol Index (AI) and Ångström Exponent (α). The algorithm operates on a daily and 1° × 1° geographical cell basis over the 15-year period 2005–2019. Daily gridded spectral AOD data are taken from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua Collection 6.1, and are used to calculate the α data, which are then introduced into the algorithm, while AI data are obtained by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) -Aura- Near-UV aerosol product OMAERUV dataset. The algorithm determines the occurrence of Dust Aerosol Episode Days (DAEDs), whenever high loads of DA (higher than their climatological mean value plus two/four standard deviations for strong/extreme DAEDs) exist over extended areas (more than 30 pixels or 300,000 km2). The identified DAEDs are finally grouped into Dust Aerosol Episode Cases (DAECs), consisting of at least one DAED. According to the algorithm results, 166 (116 strong and 50 extreme) DAEDs occurred over the MB during the study period. DAEDs are observed mostly in spring (47%) and summer (38%), with strong DAEDs occurring primarily in spring and summer and extreme ones in spring. Decreasing, but not statistically significant, trends of the frequency, spatial extent and intensity of DAECs are revealed. Moreover, a total number of 98 DAECs was found, primarily in spring (46 DAECs) and secondarily in summer (36 DAECs). The seasonal distribution of the frequency of DAECs varies geographically, being highest in early spring over the eastern Mediterranean, in late spring over the central Mediterranean and in summer over the western MB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A satellite-based algorithm is developed and used to determine the presence of dust aerosols on a global scale. The algorithm uses as input aerosol optical properties from the MOderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-Aqua Collection 6.1 and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)-Aura version v003 (OMAER-UV) datasets and identifies the existence of dust aerosols in the atmosphere by applying specific thresholds, which ensure the coarse size and the absorptivity of dust aerosols, on the input optical properties. The utilized aerosol optical properties are the multiwavelength aerosol optical depth (AOD), the Aerosol Absorption Index (AI) and the Ångström Exponent (a). The algorithm operates on a daily basis and at 1° × 1° latitude-longitude spatial resolution for the period 2005–2019 and computes the absolute and relative frequency of the occurrence of dust. The monthly and annual mean frequencies are calculated on a pixel level for each year of the study period, enabling the study of the seasonal as well as the inter-annual variation of dust aerosols' occurrence all over the globe. Temporal averaging is also applied to the annual values in order to estimate the 15-year climatological mean values. Apart from temporal, a spatial averaging is also applied for the entire globe as well as for specific regions of interest, namely great global deserts and areas of desert dust export. According to the algorithm results, the highest frequencies of dust occurrence (up to 160 days/year) are primarily observed over the western part of North Africa (Sahara), and over the broader area of Bodélé, and secondarily over the Asian Taklamakan desert (140 days/year). For most of the study regions, the maximum frequencies appear in boreal spring and/or summer and the minimum ones in winter or autumn. A clear seasonality of global dust is revealed, with the lowest frequencies in November–December and the highest ones in June. Finally, an increasing trend of global dust frequency of occurrence from 2005 to 2019, equal to 56.2%, is also found. Such an increasing trend is observed over all study regions except for North Middle East, where a slight decreasing trend (−2.4%) is found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have used a method based on ground-based solar radiation measurements and radiative transfer models (RTMs) in order to estimate the following cloud optical properties: cloud optical thickness (COT), cloud single scattering albedo (SSAc) and effective droplet radius (reff). The method is based on the minimisation of the difference between modelled and measured downward shortwave radiation (DSR). The optical properties are estimated for more than 3000 stratus–altostratus (St–As) and 206 cirrus–cirrostratus (Ci–Cs) measurements during 2013–2017, at the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) station in Payerne, Switzerland. The RTM libRadtran is used to simulate the total DSR as well as its direct and diffuse components. The model inputs of additional atmospheric parameters are either ground- or satellite-based measurements. The cloud cases are identified by the use of an all-sky cloud camera. For the low- to mid-level cloud class St–As, 95 % of the estimated cloud optical thickness values using total DSR measurements in combination with a RTM, herein abbreviated as COT DSR , are between 12 and 92 with a geometric mean and standard deviation of 33.8 and 1.7, respectively. The comparison of these COT DSR values with COT Barnard values retrieved from an independent empirical equation results in a mean difference of -1.2±2.7 and is thus within the method uncertainty. However, there is a larger mean difference of around 18 between COT DSR and COT values derived from MODIS level-2 (L2), Collection 6.1 (C6.1) data (COT MODIS). The estimated reff (from liquid water path and COT DSR) for St–As are between 2 and 20 µ m. For the high-level cloud class Ci–Cs, COT DSR is derived considering the direct radiation, and 95 % of the COT DSR values are between 0.32 and 1.40. For Ci–Cs, 95 % of the SSAc values are estimated to be between 0.84 and 0.99 using the diffuse radiation. The COT for Ci–Cs is also estimated from data from precision filter radiometers (PFRs) at various wavelengths (COT PFR). The herein presented method could be applied and validated at other stations with direct and diffuse radiation measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have used a method based on ground-based solar radiation measurements and radiative transfer models (RTM) in order to estimate the following cloud optical properties: cloud optical thickness (COT), cloud single scattering albedo (SSAc) and effective droplet radius (reff). The method is based on the minimisation of the difference between modelled and measured downward shortwave radiation (DSR). The optical properties are estimated for more than 3,000 stratus-altostratus (St-As) and 206 cirrus-cirrostratus (Ci-Cs) measurements during 2013–2017, at the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) station in Payerne, Switzerland. The RTM libRadtran is used to simulate the total DSR, as well as its direct and diffuse components. The model inputs of additional atmospheric parameters are either ground- or satellite-based measurements. The cloud cases are identified by the use of an all-sky cloud camera. For the low- to mid-level cloud class St-As, 95 % of the estimated COT values from DSR measurements (COTDSR) are between 11.9 and 91.5 with a geometric mean and standard deviation of 33.81 and 1.67, respectively. The comparison of these COTDSR values with COTBarnard values retrieved from an independent empirical equation, results in a mean difference of −1.20 ± 2.73 and is thus within the method uncertainty. However, there is a larger mean difference of around 18 between COTDSR and COT values derived from MODIS level-2 (L2), Collection 6.1 (C6.1) data (COTMODIS). The estimated reff (from liquid water path (LWP) and COTDSR) for St-As are between 2.1 and 20.4 μm. For the high-level cloud class Ci-Cs, COTDSR is derived considering the direct radiation and 95 % of the values are between 0.32 and 1.40. For Ci-Cs, 95 % of the SSAc values are estimated to be between 0.84 and 0.99 using diffuse radiation measurements. The COT values for Ci-Cs are also estimated from data from precision filter radiometers (PFR) at various wavelengths. The herein presented method could be applied and validated at other stations with direct and diffuse radiation measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desert dust (DD) aerosols are broadly studied during the last three decades since they play a significant role on the Earth's energy and radiation budget, by interacting both with shortwave and longwave radiation and thus affecting climate. DD also has weather implications, namely by modifying cloud physic-chemical, optical and radiative properties such as cloud lifetime and precipitation ability. Furthermore, dust aerosols also serve as surfaces for gaseous or aqueous reactions in the atmosphere, while affecting global oceans and carbon cycle. Finally, under episodic high-concentration conditions, DD is harmful for human health and hamper socio-economic activities like surface, sea and air transports. Although, DD originates from desert land surfaces, it undergoes medium or large scale transport, even inter-continental, under favorable synoptic systems. Variability in dust emissions, transport and removal processes result in a strong spatial and temporal variability of DD, which deserves to be studied especially in context of the ongoing climate change and in special world areas of interest. The Mediterranean basin (MB) is such an ideal study region for DD due to its location near to the world greatest deserts of North Africa and Middle-East from which it undergoes significant dust transport. Being one of the hot-spot global climate change regions, and already exhibiting signals of changing climate patterns, the Mediterranean basin's DD regime is worth to study on a climatological basis. In the past, there have been a large number of studies dealing with DD, but all of them only partly cover the needs of such a climatological DD study over MB, being limited either in spatial and or temporal terms. The rapid advent of satellite remote sensing and improved retrieval algorithms of DD during the last decade enables a holistic approach of such a DD climatological study over the MB, which is attempted in this study. The obtained DD climatology is useful for better understanding the various effects of dust and for use in various applications including climate and weather models. The identification of DD over the broader MD is performed with an algorithm solely based on contemporary input satellite data enabling a complete spatial and an extended temporal coverage. The algorithm's input data are spectral Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and the Aerosol Index (AI). Using the spectral AOD information, the algorithm computes in a first step the aerosol Angstrom Exponent (AE), and in a second step it determines the presence of DD by setting threshold values (criteria) for AE and AI. The applied criteria ensure the presence of coarse mode and absorbing aerosols, which are characteristic features of DD. The spectral values of AOD and AI are taken from the MODIS-Aqua Collection-6.1 and OMI-Aura (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) datasets, respectively. The algorithm input data are daily at 1°x1° latitude-longitude resolution and cover the 14-year period 2005-2018. The algorithm output quantifies the frequency of occurrence and the loading of DD, namely its optical depth. Emphasis is given to the study of the seasonal and inter-annual variability and changes of the Mediterranean DD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the question of cyclone contribution to dust transport events over the Mediterranean. For this reason, we tracked and associated all intense cyclones in the period 2005-2012 with satellite estimations of the aerosol optical depth, the aerosol index and the aerosol Ångström exponent. Results show that cyclones are related with up to 20% of the total dust events over the Mediterranean, especially affecting its eastern side. When considering only the extreme dust events, the cyclone contribution may reach 70%, highlighting cyclones as one of the main factors for extreme dust transport events in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyprus plans to drastically increase the share of renewable energy sources from 13.9% in 2020 to 22.9% in 2030. Solar energy can play a key role in the effort to fulfil this goal. The potential for production of solar energy over the island is much higher than most of European territory because of the low latitude of the island and the nearly cloudless summers. In this study, high quality and fine resolution satellite retrievals of aerosols and dust, from the newly developed MIDAS climatology, and information for clouds from CM SAF are used in order to quantify the effects of aerosols, dust, and clouds on the levels of surface solar radiation for 2004–2017 and the corresponding financial loss for different types of installations for the production of solar energy. Surface solar radiation climatology has also been developed based on the above information. Ground-based measurements were also incorporated to study the contribution of different species to the aerosol mixture and the effects of day-to-day variability of aerosols on SSR. Aerosols attenuate 5–10% of the annual global horizontal irradiation and 15–35% of the annual direct normal irradiation, while clouds attenuate 25–30% and 35–50% respectively. Dust is responsible for 30–50% of the overall attenuation by aerosols and is the main regulator of the variability of total aerosol. All-sky annual global horizontal irradiation increased significantly in the period of study by 2%, which was mainly attributed to changes in cloudiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the carbonaceous-aerosol characteristics at three contrasting urban environments in Greece (Ioannina, Athens, and Heraklion), on the basis of 12 h sampling during winter (January to February 2013), aiming to explore the inter-site differences in atmospheric composition and carbonaceous-aerosol characteristics and sources. The winter-average organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations in Ioannina were found to be 28.50 and 4.33 µg m−3, respectively, much higher than those in Heraklion (3.86 µg m−3 for OC and 2.29 µg m−3 for EC) and Athens (7.63 µg m−3 for OC and 2.44 µg m−3 for EC). The winter OC/EC ratio in Ioannina (6.53) was found to be almost three times that in Heraklion (2.03), indicating a larger impact of wood combustion, especially during the night, whereas in Heraklion, emissions from biomass burning were found to be less intense. Estimations of primary and secondary organic carbon (POC and SOC) using the EC-tracer method, and specifically its minimum R-squared (MRS) variant, revealed large differences between the sites, with a prevalence of POC (67–80%) in Ioannina and Athens and with a larger SOC fraction (53%) in Heraklion. SOC estimates were also obtained using the 5% and 25% percentiles of the OC/EC data to determine the (OC/EC)pri, leading to results contrasting to the MRS approach in Ioannina (70–74% for SOC). Although the MRS method provides generally more robust results, it may significantly underestimate SOC levels in environments highly burdened by biomass burning, as the fast-oxidized semi-volatile OC associated with combustion sources is classified in POC. Further analysis in Athens revealed that the difference in SOC estimates between the 5% percentile and MRS methods coincided with the semi-volatile oxygenated organic aerosol as quantified by aerosol mass spectrometry. Finally, the OC/Kbb+ ratio was used as tracer for decomposition of the POC into fossil-fuel and biomass-burning components, indicating the prevalence of biomass-burning POC, especially in Ioannina (77%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term ground-based measurements of aerosol optical properties in Athens, Greece, for the period 2008–2018 performed by the National Observatory of Athens are used in order to investigate the aerosol climatology of the area. In this study, we utilize quality-assured measurements of the aerosol optical depth (AOD), Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) and Ångström exponent obtained by CIMEL photometers in the framework of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) to extract the seasonality and the trends of aerosols in the region. Higher aerosol loads are found during spring and summer months. A 1.1% per year decrease for AOD at 440 nm and 0.4% decrease per year for SSA during the studied period are recorded. Collocated and synchronous PM10 values, for a five-year period, are used in order to study ground-level conditions. Also, the Planetary Boundary Layer Height from ERA-5 is used to investigate the stratification of the particles. The classification of aerosols using AERONET data is performed to separate dust, biomass burning, polluted urban, marine and continental dominant aerosol mixtures. Also, the characterization of AOD provided by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) is investigated. Finally, seasonal AOD trends recorded from AERONET from satellite sensors (MODIS-Aqua/MODIS-Terra) and estimated by CAMS are examined, and significant differences have been found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A global climatology of absorbing carbonaceous aerosols (ACA) for the period 2005–2015 is obtained by using satellite MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)-Aqua and OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument)-Aura aerosol optical properties and by applying an algorithm. The algorithm determines the frequency of presence of ACA (black and brown carbon) over the globe at 1° × 1° pixel level and on a daily basis. The results of the algorithm indicate high frequencies of ACA (up to 19 days/month) over world regions with extended biomass burning, such as the tropical forests of southern and central Africa, South America and equatorial Asia, over savannas, cropland areas or boreal forests, as well as over urban and rural areas with intense anthropogenic activities, such as the eastern coast of China or the Indo-Gangetic plain. A clear seasonality of the frequency of occurrence of ACA is evident, with increased values during June–October over southern Africa, during July–November over South America, August–November over Indonesia, November–March over central Africa and November–April over southeastern Asia. The estimated seasonality of ACA is in line with the known annual patterns of worldwide biomass-burning emissions, while other features such as the export of carbonaceous aerosols from southern Africa to the southeastern Atlantic Ocean are also successfully reproduced by the algorithm. The results indicate a noticeable interannual variability and tendencies of ACA over specific world regions during 2005–2015, such as statistically significant increasing frequency of occurrence over southern Africa and eastern Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates the impact of dust aerosols on surface solar radiation and solar energy in Egypt based on Earth Observation (EO) related techniques. For this purpose, we exploited the synergy of monthly mean and daily post processed satellite remote sensing observations from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), radiative transfer model (RTM) simulations utilizing machine learning, in conjunction with 1-day forecasts from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). As cloudy conditions in this region are rare, aerosols in particular dust, are the most common sources of solar irradiance attenuation, causing performance issues in the photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) plant installations. The proposed EO-based methodology is based on the solar energy nowcasting system (SENSE) that quantifies the impact of aerosol and dust on solar energy potential by using the aerosol optical depth (AOD) in terms of climatological values and day-to-day monitoring and forecasting variability from MODIS and CAMS, respectively. The forecast accuracy was evaluated at various locations in Egypt with substantial PV and CSP capacity installed and found to be within 5–12% of that obtained from the satellite observations, highlighting the ability to use such modelling approaches for solar energy management and planning (M&P). Particulate matter resulted in attenuation by up to 64–107 kWh/m2 for global horizontal irradiance (GHI) and 192–329 kWh/m2 for direct normal irradiance (DNI) annually. This energy reduction is climatologically distributed between 0.7% and 12.9% in GHI and 2.9% to 41% in DNI with the maximum values observed in spring following the frequent dust activity of Khamaseen. Under extreme dust conditions the AOD is able to exceed 3.5 resulting in daily energy losses of more than 4 kWh/m2 for a 10 MW system. Such reductions are able to cause financial losses that exceed the daily revenue values. This work aims to show EO capabilities and techniques to be incorporated and utilized in solar energy studies and applications in sun-privileged locations with permanent aerosol sources such as Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A record-breaking dust episode took place in Crete on 22 March 2018. The event was characterized by surface concentrations exceeding 1 mg m−3 for a period of 4–7 h, reaching record values higher than 6 mg m−3 at the background station of Finokalia. We present here a detailed analysis of the atmospheric dynamical processes during this period, to identify the main reasons for such extreme dust advection over Crete. At the synoptic scale, the weakening of the polar vortex and the meridional transport of polar air masses at upper tropospheric layers resulted in a strong jet streak over north Africa and Central Mediterranean and corresponding tropospheric folding that brought cold stratospheric air in mid and upper troposphere. Cyclogenesis occurred at the Gulf of Sirte in Libya, resulting in strong winds over the north-east parts of Libya, enhancing particle emissions. The dust plume traveled at low altitude (0.5–3 km) along the warm conveyor belt preceding the depression cold front. This type of dusty southerly wind is commonly known as “Khamsin”. As the flow approached Crete, Foehn winds at the lee side of the island favored the downward mixing of dust towards the surface, resulting in local maxima of PM10 in Heraklion and Finokalia. The analysis is based on the combination of high-resolution WRF-Chem simulations reaching up to 1 × 1 km grid space over Crete, ground-based and satellite remote sensing of the dust plumes (PollyXT LiDAR, MSG-SEVIRI, MODIS) and detailed surface aerosol in situ measurements at urban (Heraklion, Chania, Greece) and background (Finokalia) stations in Crete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers the various factors that regulate nutrients supply in the Red Sea. Multi-sensor observation and reanalysis datasets are used to examine the relationships among dust deposition, sea surface temperature (SST), and wind speed, as they may contribute to anomalous phytoplankton blooms, through time-series and correlation analyses. A positive correlation was found at 0–3 months lag between chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) anomalies and dust anomalies over the Red Sea regions. Dust deposition process was further examined with dust aerosols’ vertical distribution using satellite lidar data. Conversely, a negative correlation was found at 0–3 months lag between SST anomalies and Chl-a that was particularly strong in the southern Red Sea during summertime. The negative relationship between SST and phytoplankton is also evident in the continuously low levels of Chl-a during 2015 to 2016, which were the warmest years in the region on record. The overall positive correlation between wind speed and Chl-a relate to the nutritious water supply from the Gulf of Aden to the southern Red Sea and the vertical mixing encountered in the northern part. Ocean Color Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) dataset experience some temporal inconsistencies due to the inclusion of different datasets. We addressed those issues in our analysis with a valid interpretation of these complex relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]