Optical and microphysical characterization of atmospheric aerosol in the Central Mediterranean during simultaneous volcanic ash and desert dust transport events

Volcanic plume aerosol following the paroxysmal event of Mount Etna (Italy) in February 21st - 26th, 2021 was detected in Naples area (Italy), together with transport of Saharan dust aerosol, combining lidar, sunphotometer and satellite observations with back-trajectories and dispersion models simul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Atmospheric research 2022-06, Vol.271, p.106099, Article 106099
Main Authors: Sannino, Alessia, Amoruso, Salvatore, Damiano, Riccardo, Scollo, Simona, Sellitto, Pasquale, Boselli, Antonella
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerosol size distribution
Remote sensing
Saharan dust
Sciences of the Universe
Volcanic aerosol
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Summary:Volcanic plume aerosol following the paroxysmal event of Mount Etna (Italy) in February 21st - 26th, 2021 was detected in Naples area (Italy), together with transport of Saharan dust aerosol, combining lidar, sunphotometer and satellite observations with back-trajectories and dispersion models simulations. Lidar data allowed to clearly distinguish the two main aerosol components, to investigate the spectral dependence of the aerosol optical properties and to retrieve their microphysical properties, essential for a detailed aerosol characterization. A new Monte Carlo algorithm, capable of retrieving the particle size distribution from lidar measurements, was applied. Lidar results are in good agreement with columnar integrated sunphotometer data. This combination of novel lidar observations of the vertically-resolved aerosol microphysics, column observations and modelling allows for a more complete description of multi-layered aerosol conditions. [Display omitted] •Volcanic aerosol was observed by remote sensing instruments in Naples (Italy) after a lava fountain events of Mount Etna.•Aerosol optical and microphysical characterization allowed to discriminate volcanic aerosol from Saharan dust.•Aerosol size distributions were retrieved from lidar-derived optical properties averaged in the observed layers.
ISSN:0169-8095
1873-2895
DOI:10.1016/j.atmosres.2022.106099