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Dust and smoke transport from Africa to South America: Lidar profiling over Cape Verde and the Amazon rainforest
Author(s) -
Ansmann Albert,
Baars Holger,
Tesche Matthias,
Müller Detlef,
Althausen Dietrich,
Engelmann Ronny,
Pauliquevis Theotonio,
Artaxo Paulo
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2009gl037923
Subject(s) - cape verde , aerosol , amazon rainforest , lidar , environmental science , mineral dust , smoke , atmospheric sciences , dry season , rainforest , plume , biomass burning , stratification (seeds) , amazon basin , geography , geology , remote sensing , meteorology , cartography , ecology , ethnology , biology , history , seed dormancy , botany , germination , dormancy
Quasi‐simultaneous vertically resolved multiwavelength aerosol Raman lidar observations were conducted in the near field (Praia, Cape Verde, 15°N, 23.5°W) and in the far field (Manaus, Amazon basin, Brazil, 2.5°S, 60°W) of the long‐range transport regime between West Africa and South America. Based on a unique data set (case study) of spectrally resolved backscatter and extinction coefficients, and of the depolarization ratio a detailed characterization of aerosol properties, vertical stratification, mixing, and aging behavior during the long‐distance travel in February 2008 (dry season in western Africa, wet season in the Amazon basin) is presented. While highly stratified aerosol layers of dust and smoke up to 5.5 km height were found close to Africa, the aerosol over Manaus was almost well‐mixed, reached up to 3.5 km, and mainly consisted of aged biomass burning smoke.