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    Depolarization ratio profiling at several wavelengths in pure Saharan dust during SAMUM 2006
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Freudenthaler, Volker; Esselborn, Michael; Wiegner, Matthias; Heese, Birgit; Tesche, Matthias; Ansmann, Albert; Müller, Detlef; Althausen, Dietrich; Wirth, Martin; Fix, Andreas; Ehret, Gerhard; Knippertz, Peter; Toledano, Carlos; Gasteiger, Josef; Garhammer, Markus; Seefeldner, Meinhard
    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) and still high mean linear particle depolarization ratio between 0.21 and 0.25 during periods with aerosol optical thickness less than 0.1, with a mean AE of 0.76 (range 0.65–1.00), which represents a negative correlation of the linear particle depolarization ratio with the AE. A slight decrease of the linear particle depolarization ratio with wavelength was found between 532 and 1064 nm from 0.31 ± 0.03 to 0.27 ± 0.04.
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    Estimated desert-dust ice nuclei profiles from polarization lidar: Methodology and case studies
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2015) Mamouri, R.E.; Ansmann, A.
    A lidar method is presented that permits the estimation of height profiles of ice nuclei concentrations (INC) in desert dust layers. The polarization lidar technique is applied to separate dust and non-dust backscatter and extinction coefficients. The desert dust extinction coefficients σd are then converted to aerosol particle number concentrations APC280 which consider particles with radius > 280 nm only. By using profiles of APC280 and ambient temperature T along the laser beam, the profile of INC can be estimated within a factor of 3 by means of APC-T-INC parameterizations from the literature. The observed close relationship between σd at 500 nm and APC280 is of key importance for a successful INC retrieval. We studied this link by means of AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) sun/sky photometer observations at Morocco, Cabo Verde, Barbados, and Cyprus during desert dust outbreaks. The new INC retrieval method is applied to lidar observations of dust layers with the spaceborne lidar CALIOP (Cloud Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) during two overpasses over the EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) lidar site of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), Limassol (34.7° N, 33° E), Cyprus. The good agreement between the CALIOP and CUT lidar retrievals of σd, APC280, and INC profiles corroborates the potential of CALIOP to provide 3-D global desert dust APC280 and INC data sets.
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    Experimental study of the role of physicochemical surface processing on the IN ability of mineral dust particles
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2011) Niedermeier, D.; Hartmann, S.; Clauss, T.; Wex, H.; Kiselev, A.; Sullivan, R.C.; DeMott, P.J.; Petters, M.D.; Reitz, P.; Schneider, J.; Mikhailov, E.; Sierau, B.; Stetzer, O.; Reimann, B.; Bundke, U.; Shaw, R.A.; Buchholz, A.; Mentel, T.F.; Stratmann, F.
    During the measurement campaign FROST 2 (FReezing Of duST 2), the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS) was used to investigate the influence of various surface modifications on the ice nucleating ability of Arizona Test Dust (ATD) particles in the immersion freezing mode. The dust particles were exposed to sulfuric acid vapor, to water vapor with and without the addition of ammonia gas, and heat using a thermodenuder operating at 250 °C. Size selected, quasi monodisperse particles with a mobility diameter of 300 nm were fed into LACIS and droplets grew on these particles such that each droplet contained a single particle. Temperature dependent frozen fractions of these droplets were determined in a temperature range between −40 °C ≤T≤−28 °C. The pure ATD particles nucleated ice over a broad temperature range with their freezing behavior being separated into two freezing branches characterized through different slopes in the frozen fraction vs. temperature curves. Coating the ATD particles with sulfuric acid resulted in the particles' IN potential significantly decreasing in the first freezing branch (T>−35 °C) and a slight increase in the second branch (T≤−35 °C). The addition of water vapor after the sulfuric acid coating caused the disappearance of the first freezing branch and a strong reduction of the IN ability in the second freezing branch. The presence of ammonia gas during water vapor exposure had a negligible effect on the particles' IN ability compared to the effect of water vapor. Heating in the thermodenuder led to a decreased IN ability of the sulfuric acid coated particles for both branches but the additional heat did not or only slightly change the IN ability of the pure ATD and the water vapor exposed sulfuric acid coated particles. In other words, the combination of both sulfuric acid and water vapor being present is a main cause for the ice active surface features of the ATD particles being destroyed. A possible explanation could be the chemical transformation of ice active metal silicates to metal sulfates. The strongly enhanced reaction between sulfuric acid and dust in the presence of water vapor and the resulting significant reductions in IN potential are of importance for atmospheric ice cloud formation. Our findings suggest that the IN concentration can decrease by up to one order of magnitude for the conditions investigated.
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    Evaluation of long-range transport and deposition of desert dust with the CTM MOCAGE
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Martet, M.; Peuch, V-H.; Laurent, B.; Marticorena, B.; Bergametti, G.
    Desert dust modelling and forecasting attract growing interest, due to the numerous impacts of dusts on climate, numerical weather prediction, health, ecosystems, transportation, as well as on many industrial activities. The validation of numerical tools is a very important activity in this context, and we present here an example of such an effort, combining in situ (horizontal visibility in SYNOP messages, IMPROVE database) and remote-sensing data (satellite imagery, AERONET aerosol optical thickness data). Interestingly, these measurements are available routinely, and not only in the context of dedicated measurements campaign; thus, they can be used in an operational context to monitor the performances of operational forecasting systems. MOCAGE is the chemistry-transport model of Météo-France, used operationally to forecast the three-dimensional transport of dusts and their deposition. Two very long-range transport episodes of dust have been studied: one case of Saharan dust transported to East America through Asia and Pacific observed in November 2004 and one case of Saharan dust transported from West Africa to Caribbean Islands in May 2007. Episodes of geographical extension had seldom been studied, and they provide a very selective reference to compare the modelled desert dusts with. The representation of dusts in MOCAGE appears to be realistic in these two very different cases. In turn, the model simulations are used to make the link between the complementary information provided by the different measurements tools, providing a fully consistent picture of the entire episodes. The evolution of the aerosol size distribution during the episodes has also been studied. With no surprise, our study underlines that deposition processes are very sensitive to the size of dust particles. If the atmospheric cycle, in terms of mass, is very much under the influence of larger particles (some micrometres and above), only the finer particles actually travel over thousands of kilometres. This illustrates the need for an accurate representation of size distributions for this aerosol component in numerical models and advocates for using a size-resolved (bin) approach as sinks, and particularly, deposition do not affect the emitted log-normal distributions symmetrically on both sides of the median diameter. Overall, the results presented in this study provide an evaluation of Météo-France operational dust forecasting system MOCAGE.
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    In situ measurements of optical properties at Tinfou (Morocco) during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment SAMUM 2006
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Schladitz, A.; Müller, T.; Kaaden, N.; Massling, A.; Kandler, K.; Ebert, M.; Weinbruch, S.; Deutscher, C.; Wiedensohler, A.
    In situ measurements of optical and physical properties of mineral dust were performed at the outskirts of the Saharan Desert in the framework of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment part 1 (SAMUM-1). Goals of the field study were to achieve information on the extent and composition of the dust particle size distribution and the optical properties of dust at the ground. For the particle number size distribution, measured with a DMPS/APS, a size dependent dynamic shape factor was considered. The mean refractive index of the particles in this field study is 1.53–4.1 × 10-3i at 537 nm wavelength and 1.53–3.1 × 10-3i at 637 nm wavelength derived from measurements of scattering and absorption coefficients, as well as the particle size distribution. Whereas the real part of the refractive index is rather constant, the imaginary part varies depending on the mineral dust concentrations. For high dust concentration the single scattering albedo is primarily influenced by iron oxide and is 0.96 ± 0.02 and 0.98 ± 0.01 at 537 nm and 637 nm wavelength, respectively. During low dust concentration the single scattering albedo is more influenced by a soot-type absorber and is 0.89 ± 0.02 and 0.93 ± 0.01 for the same wavelengths.
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    Ice nucleating particles over the Eastern Mediterranean measured by unmanned aircraft systems
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2017) Schrod, Jann; Weber, Daniel; Drücke, Jaqueline; Keleshis, Christos; Pikridas, Michael; Ebert, Martin; Cvetković, Bojan; Nickovic, Slobodan; Marinou, Eleni; Baars, Holger; Ansmann, Albert; Vrekoussis, Mihalis; Mihalopoulos, Nikos; Sciare, Jean; Curtius, Joachim; Bingemer, Heinz G.
    During an intensive field campaign on aerosol, clouds, and ice nucleation in the Eastern Mediterranean in April 2016, we measured the abundance of ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the lower troposphere from unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). Aerosol samples were collected by miniaturized electrostatic precipitators onboard the UASs at altitudes up to 2.5 km. The number of INPs in these samples, which are active in the deposition and condensation modes at temperatures from -20 to -30 °C, were analyzed immediately after collection on site using the ice nucleus counter FRIDGE (FRankfurt Ice nucleation Deposition freezinG Experiment). During the 1-month campaign, we encountered a series of Saharan dust plumes that traveled at several kilometers' altitude. Here we present INP data from 42 individual flights, together with aerosol number concentrations, observations of lidar backscattering, dust concentrations derived by the dust transport model DREAM (Dust Regional Atmospheric Model), and results from scanning electron microscopy. The effect of the dust plumes is reflected by the coincidence of INPs with the particulate matter (PM), the lidar signal, and the predicted dust mass of the model. This suggests that mineral dust or a constituent related to dust was a major contributor to the ice nucleating properties of the aerosol. Peak concentrations of above 100 INPs std L-1 were measured at -30 °C. The INP concentration in elevated plumes was on average a factor of 10 higher than at ground level. Since desert dust is transported for long distances over wide areas of the globe predominantly at several kilometers' altitude, we conclude that INP measurements at ground level may be of limited significance for the situation at the level of cloud formation.
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    Spectral absorption coefficients and imaginary parts of refractive indices of Saharan dust during SAMUM-1
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Müller, T.; Schladitz, A.; Massling, A.; Kaaden, N.; Kandler, K.; Wiedensohler, A.
    During the SAMUM-1 experiment, absorption coefficients and imaginary parts of refractive indices of mineral dust particles were investigated in southern Morocco. Main absorbing constituents of airborne samples were identified to be iron oxide and soot. Spectral absorption coefficients were measured using a spectral optical absorption photometer (SOAP) in the wavelength range from 300 to 800 nm with a resolution of 50 nm. A new method that accounts for a loading-dependent correction of fibre filter based absorption photometers, was developed. The imaginary part of the refractive index was determined using Mie calculations from 350 to 800 nm. The spectral absorption coefficient allowed a separation between dust and soot absorption. A correlation analysis showed that the dust absorption coefficient is correlated (R2 up to 0.55) with the particle number concentration for particle diameters larger than 0.5 μm, whereas the coefficient of determination R2 for smaller particles is below 0.1. Refractive indices were derived for both the total aerosol and a dust aerosol that was corrected for soot absorption. Average imaginary parts of refractive indices of the entire aerosol are 7.4 × 10−3, 3.4 × 10−3 and 2.0 × 10−3 at wavelengths of 450, 550 and 650 nm. After a correction for the soot absorption, imaginary parts of refractive indices are 5.1 × 10−3, 1.6 × 10−3 and 4.5 × 10−4.
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    Comparing contact and immersion freezing from continuous flow diffusion chambers
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2016) Nagare, Baban; Marcolli, Claudia; Welti, André; Stetzer, Olaf; Lohmann, Ulrike
    Ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the atmosphere are responsible for glaciating cloud droplets between 237 and 273 K. Different mechanisms of heterogeneous ice nucleation can compete under mixed-phase cloud conditions. Contact freezing is considered relevant because higher ice nucleation temperatures than for immersion freezing for the same INPs were observed. It has limitations because its efficiency depends on the number of collisions between cloud droplets and INPs. To date, direct comparisons of contact and immersion freezing with the same INP, for similar residence times and concentrations, are lacking. This study compares immersion and contact freezing efficiencies of three different INPs. The contact freezing data were obtained with the ETH CoLlision Ice Nucleation CHamber (CLINCH) using 80 µm diameter droplets, which can interact with INPs for residence times of 2 and 4 s in the chamber. The contact freezing efficiency was calculated by estimating the number of collisions between droplets and particles. Theoretical formulations of collision efficiencies gave too high freezing efficiencies for all investigated INPs, namely AgI particles with 200 nm electrical mobility diameter, 400 and 800 nm diameter Arizona Test Dust (ATD) and kaolinite particles. Comparison of freezing efficiencies by contact and immersion freezing is therefore limited by the accuracy of collision efficiencies. The concentration of particles was 1000 cm−3 for ATD and kaolinite and 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000 cm−3 for AgI. For concentrations  <  5000 cm−3, the droplets collect only one particle on average during their time in the chamber. For ATD and kaolinite particles, contact freezing efficiencies at 2 s residence time were smaller than at 4 s, which is in disagreement with a collisional contact freezing process but in accordance with immersion freezing or adhesion freezing. With “adhesion freezing”, we refer to a contact nucleation process that is enhanced compared to immersion freezing due to the position of the INP on the droplet, and we discriminate it from collisional contact freezing, which assumes an enhancement due to the collision of the particle with the droplet. For best comparison with contact freezing results, immersion freezing experiments of the same INPs were performed with the continuous flow diffusion chamber Immersion Mode Cooling chAmber–Zurich Ice Nucleation Chamber (IMCA–ZINC) for a 3 s residence time. In IMCA–ZINC, each INP is activated into a droplet in IMCA and provides its surface for ice nucleation in the ZINC chamber. The comparison of contact and immersion freezing results did not confirm a general enhancement of freezing efficiency for contact compared with immersion freezing experiments. For AgI particles the onset of heterogeneous freezing in CLINCH was even shifted to lower temperatures compared with IMCA–ZINC. For ATD, freezing efficiencies for contact and immersion freezing experiments were similar. For kaolinite particles, contact freezing became detectable at higher temperatures than immersion freezing. Using contact angle information between water and the INP, it is discussed how the position of the INP in or on the droplets may influence its ice nucleation activity.
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    Vertically resolved dust optical properties during SAMUM: Tinfou compared to Ouarzazate
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Heese, Birgit; Althausen, Dietrich; Dinter, Tilman; Esselborn, Michael; Müller, Thomas; Tesche, Matthias; Wiegner, Matthias
    Vertical profiles of dust key optical properties are presented from measurements during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) by Raman and depolarization lidar at two ground-based sites and by airborne high spectral resolution lidar. One of the sites, Tinfou, is located close to the border of the Sahara in Southern Morocco and was the main in situ site during SAMUM. The other site was Ouarzazate airport, the main lidar site. From the lidar measurements the spatial distribution of the dust between Tinfou and Ouarzazate was derived for 1 d. The retrieved profiles of backscatter and extinction coefficients and particle depolarization ratios show comparable dust optical properties, a similar vertical structure of the dust layer, and a height of about 4 km asl at both sites. The airborne cross-section of the extinction coefficient at the two sites confirms the low variability in dust properties. Although the general picture of the dust layer was similar, the lidar measurements reveal a higher dust load closer to the dust source. Nevertheless, the observed intensive optical properties were the same. These results indicate that the lidar measurements at two sites close to the dust source are both representative for the SAMUM dust conditions.
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    Regional modelling of Saharan dust and biomass-burning smoke, Part 2: Direct radiative forcing and atmospheric dynamic response
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Heinold, Bernd; Tegen, Ina; Bauer, Stefan; Wendisch, Manfred
    The direct radiative forcing and dynamic atmospheric response due to Saharan dust and biomass-burning aerosol particles are presented for a case study during the SAMUM-2 field campaign in January and February 2008. The regional model system COSMO-MUSCAT is used. It allows online interaction of the computed dust and smoke load with the solar and terrestrial radiation and with the model dynamics. Model results of upward solar irradiances are evaluated against airborne radiation measurements in the Cape Verde region. The comparison shows a good agreement for the case of dust and smoke mixture. Dust and smoke particles influence the atmospheric dynamics by changing the radiative heating rates. The related pressure perturbations modify local and synoptic scale air-flow patterns. In the radiative feedback simulations, the Hadley circulation is enhanced and convergence zones occur along the Guinea coast. Thus, the smoke particles spread more than 5◦ further north and the equatorward transport is reduced. Within the convergence zones, Saharan dust and biomass-burning material are more effectively advected towards the Cape Verdes. Given the model uncertainties, the agreement between the modelled and observed aerosol distribution is locally improved when aerosol–radiation interaction is considered.