Open AccessThe strongest desert dust intrusion mixed with smoke over the Iberian Peninsula registered with Sun photometry
Author(s) -
Cachorro V. E.,
Toledano C.,
Prats N.,
Sorribas M.,
Mogo S.,
Berjón A.,
Torres B.,
Rodrigo R.,
de la Rosa J.,
De Frutos A. M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2007jd009582
Subject(s) - aeronet , angstrom exponent , environmental science , aerosol , mineral dust , radiative forcing , atmospheric sciences , geology , meteorology , physics
We present the analysis of the strongest North African desert dust (DD) intrusion that occurred over the Iberian Peninsula (IP) during the last decade, as registered by modern remote sensing techniques like Sun photometry. This event took place from 22 July to 3 August 2004. The most relevant features of this exceptional event, originated over the Saharan desert, were its great intensity and duration. We focus on the columnar aerosol properties measured by the AERONET‐Cimel photometers at El Arenosillo (southwest) and Palencia (north‐center) stations. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) reached a maximum of 2.7 at El Arenosillo during 22 July and 1.3 at Palencia on 23 July, with the Ånsgtröm exponent values near zero during the AOD peaks. In addition, PM10 concentration levels are also reported at various sites of the IP in order to establish the impact of this intrusion, reaching daily values as high as 200 μ g/m 3 and peaks near 600 μ g/m 3 in an hourly basis. The interest of this special event is increased because of the mixing with smoke particles from concurrent forest fires in the IP. Features of the columnar volume particle size distribution and derived microphysical parameters, the single scattering albedo, and a reliable estimation of the radiative forcing under these extreme conditions are also reported. Complementary information, as air mass back trajectories, synoptic charts, images, and AOD maps of satellite sensors (SeaWIFS, MODIS) together with NAAPS prognostic model, is used in the analysis in order to draw a detailed scenario of this dust‐smoke event over the IP.