Spectral aerosol optical depth characterization of desert dust during SAMUM 2006

C. Toledano; M. Wiegner; M. Garhammer; M. Seefeldner; J. Gasteiger; D. Müller; P. Koepke

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0889.2008.00382.x

Spectral aerosol optical depth characterization of desert dust during SAMUM 2006

Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology

Volume 61 (2009): Issue 1

By: C. Toledano, M. Wiegner, M. Garhammer, M. Seefeldner, J. Gasteiger, D. Müller and P. Koepke

Open Access

|Jan 2009

Abstract

The aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the range 340–1550 nm was monitored at Ouarzazate (Morocco) during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) experiment in May–June 2006. Two different sun photometers were used for this purpose. The mean AOD at 500 nm was 0.28, with a maximum of 0.83, and the mean Ångström exponent (AE) was 0.35. The aerosol content over the site changed alternatively from very low turbidity, associated to Atlantic air masses, to moderate dust load, associated to air masses arriving in the site from Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. The dusty conditions were predominant in the measurement period (78% of data), with AOD (500 nm) above 0.15 and AE below 0.4. The spectral features of the AOD under dusty conditions are discussed. Air mass back trajectory analysis is carried out to investigate the origin and height patterns of the dust loaded air masses. The advection of dust occurred mainly at atmospheric heights below 3000 m, where east flow is the predominant. At the 5000m level, the air masses originate mainly over the Atlantic Ocean. Finally the Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds (OPAC) model is used to perform a set of simulations with different aerosol mixtures to illustrate the measured AOD and AE values under varying dust concentrations, and a brief comparison with other measurement sites is presented.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0889.2008.00382.x | Journal eISSN: 1600-0889

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Language: English

Page range: 216 - 228

Submitted on: Dec 28, 2007

Accepted on: Aug 1, 2008

Published on: Jan 1, 2009

Published by: Stockholm University Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

© 2009 C. Toledano, M. Wiegner, M. Garhammer, M. Seefeldner, J. Gasteiger, D. Müller, P. Koepke, published by Stockholm University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 61 (2009): Issue 1