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    Original Research Papers

    Spectral aerosol optical depth characterization of desert dust during SAMUM 2006

    Authors:

    C. Toledano ,

    Meteorological Institute, Ludwig–Maximilians–Universität, DE
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    M. Wiegner,

    Meteorological Institute, Ludwig–Maximilians–Universität, DE
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    M. Garhammer,

    Meteorological Institute, Ludwig–Maximilians–Universität, DE
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    M. Seefeldner,

    Meteorological Institute, Ludwig–Maximilians–Universität, DE
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    J. Gasteiger,

    Meteorological Institute, Ludwig–Maximilians–Universität, DE
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    D. Müller,

    Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, DE
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    P. Koepke

    Meteorological Institute, Ludwig–Maximilians–Universität, DE
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    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.

    How to Cite: Toledano, C., Wiegner, M., Garhammer, M., Seefeldner, M., Gasteiger, J., Müller, D. and Koepke, P., 2009. Spectral aerosol optical depth characterization of desert dust during SAMUM 2006. Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 61(1), pp.216–228. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0889.2008.00382.x
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      Published on 01 Jan 2009
    Peer Reviewed
     CC BY 4.0
     Accepted on 1 Aug 2008            Submitted on 28 Dec 2007

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