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    Sun photometer retrievals of Saharan dust properties over Barbados during SALTRACE
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2019) Toledano, Carlos; Torres, Benjamín; Velasco-Merino, Cristian; Althausen, Dietrich; Groß, Silke; Wiegner, Matthias; Weinzierl, Bernadett; Gasteiger, Josef; Ansmann, Albert; González, Ramiro; Mateos, David; Farrel, David; Müller, Thomas; Haarig, Moritz; Cachorro, Victoria E.
    The Saharan Aerosol Long-Range Transport and Aerosol-Cloud-Interaction Experiment (SALTRACE) was devoted to the investigation of Saharan dust properties over the Caribbean. The campaign took place in June-July 2013. A wide set of ground-based and airborne aerosol instrumentation was deployed at the island of Barbados for a comprehensive experiment. Several sun photometers performed measurements during this campaign: two AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) Cimel sun photometers and the Sun and Sky Automatic Radiometer (SSARA). The sun photometers were co-located with the ground-based multi-wavelength lidars BERTHA (Backscatter Extinction lidar Ratio Temperature Humidity profiling Apparatus) and POLIS (Portable Lidar System). Aerosol properties derived from direct sun and sky radiance observations are analyzed, and a comparison with the co-located lidar and in situ data is provided. The time series of aerosol optical depth (AOD) allows identifying successive dust events with short periods in between in which the marine background conditions were observed. The moderate aerosol optical depth in the range of 0.3 to 0.6 was found during the dust periods. The sun photometer infrared channel at the 1640nm wavelength was used in the retrieval to investigate possible improvements to aerosol size retrievals, and it was expected to have a larger sensitivity to coarse particles. The comparison between column (aerosol optical depth) and surface (dust concentration) data demonstrates the connection between the Saharan Air Layer and the boundary layer in the Caribbean region, as is shown by the synchronized detection of the successive dust events in both datasets. However the differences of size distributions derived from sun photometer data and in situ observations reveal the difficulties in carrying out a column closure study. © 2019 All rights reserved.
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    Saharan dust contribution to the Caribbean summertime boundary layer - A lidar study during SALTRACE
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2016) Groß, Silke; Gasteiger, Josef; Freudenthaler, Volker; Müller, Thomas; Sauer, Daniel; Toledano, Carlos; Ansmann, Albert
    Dual-wavelength lidar measurements with the small lidar system POLIS of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München were performed during the SALTRACE experiment at Barbados in June and July 2013. Based on high-accuracy measurements of the linear depolarization ratio down to about 200 m above ground level, the dust volume fraction and the dust mass concentration within the convective marine boundary layer can be derived. Additional information from radiosonde launches at the ground-based measurement site provide independent information on the convective marine boundary layer height and the meteorological situation within the convective marine boundary layer. We investigate the lidar-derived optical properties, the lidar ratio and the particle linear depolarization ratio at 355 and 532 nm and find mean values of 0.04 (SD 0.03) and 0.05 (SD 0.04) at 355 and 532 nm, respectively, for the particle linear depolarization ratio, and (26 ± 5) sr for the lidar ratio at 355 and 532 nm. For the concentration of dust in the convective marine boundary layer we find that most values were between 20 and 50 µgm−3. On most days the dust contribution to total aerosol volume was about 30–40 %. Comparing the dust contribution to the column-integrated sun-photometer measurements we see a correlation between high dust contribution, high total aerosol optical depth and a low Angström exponent, and of low dust contribution with low total aerosol optical depth.
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    Saharan Mineral Dust Experiments SAMUM-1 and SAMUM-2: What have we learned?
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2011) Ansmann, Albert; Petzold, Andreas; Kandler, Konrad; Tegen, Ina; Wendisch, Manfred; Müller, Detlef; Weinzierl, Bernadett; Müller, Thomas; Heintzenberg, Jost
    Two comprehensive field campaigns were conducted in 2006 and 2008 in the framework of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) project. The relationship between chemical composition, shape morphology, size distribution and optical effects of the dust particles was investigated. The impact of Saharan dust on radiative transfer and the feedback of radiative effects upon dust emission and aerosol transport were studied. Field observations (ground-based, airborne and remote sensing) and modelling results were compared within a variety of dust closure experiments with a strong focus on vertical profiling. For the first time, multiwavelength Raman/polarization lidars and an airborne high spectral resolution lidar were involved in major dust field campaigns and provided profiles of the volume extinction coefficient of the particles at ambient conditions (for the full dust size distribution), of particle-shape-sensitive optical properties at several wavelengths, and a clear separation of dust and smoke profiles allowing for an estimation of the single-scattering albedo of the biomass-burning aerosol. SAMUM–1 took place in southern Morocco close to the Saharan desert in the summer of 2006, whereas SAMUM–2 was conducted in Cape Verde in the outflow region of desert dust and biomass-burning smoke from western Africa in the winter of 2008. This paper gives an overview of the SAMUM concept, strategy and goals, provides snapshots (highlights) of SAMUM–2 observations and modelling efforts, summarizes main findings of SAMUM–1 and SAMUM–2 and finally presents a list of remaining problems and unsolved questions.