Articles | Volume 18, issue 24
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7717-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7717-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Implications of dust minerals on radiative transfer at regional scale, using the METAL-WRF model
Christos Spyrou
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 10679 Athens, Greece
Ilias Fountoulakis
Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 10679 Athens, Greece
Stavros Solomos
Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 10679 Athens, Greece
Nikolaos Papadimitriou
Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 10679 Athens, Greece
Department of Physics, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
Alkiviadis Bais
Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
Julian Gröbner
Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC), Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Daniela Meloni
Laboratory for Models and Measurements for Air Quality and Climate Observations, ENEA, 00123, S. Maria di Galeria, Rome, Italy
Christos Zerefos
Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 10679 Athens, Greece
Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
Navarino Environmental Observatory (N.E.O.), Costa Navarino, Messinia, Greece
Mariolopoulos-Kanaginis Foundation for the Environmental Sciences, Athens, Greece
Related authors
No articles found.
Nikolaos Papadimitriou, Ilias Fountoulakis, Antonis Gkikas, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Andreas Kazantzidis, Stelios Kazadzis, Stefan Pfenninger, John Kapsomenakis, Kostas Eleftheratos, Athanassios A. Argiriou, Lionel Doppler, and Christos S. Zerefos
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 19, 1227–1244, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-1227-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-1227-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We perform Photovoltaic (PV) power simulations with the Global Solar Energy Estimator and assess the uncertainty linked to the use of a diffuse fraction model. Validation is conducted under diverse atmospheric conditions, including cloudiness and aerosols, using input data from ground-based measurements and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). Results indicate that simulations are reliable under most conditions, with overestimations occurring during intense dust events.
Kathrin Naegeli, Jennifer Susan Adams, Gabriele Bramati, Isabelle Gärtner-Roer, Julian Gröbner, and Nils Rietze
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-787, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-787, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Earth Observation (EO).
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the potential of drone-based thermal cameras in the Swiss Alps and found they can misread surface temperatures when the camera warms or cools. Lab and field checks showed some correction methods exaggerate extremes. Calibrating on site with ground sensors gave the best results as well as the implementation of a site-specific validation. This improves temperature maps needed to track melting snow and ice, and unstable ground in rapidly changing mountains.
Louis Mirallie, Eliane Maillard Barras, Caroline Jonas, Corinne Vigouroux, Roeland Van Malderen, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Thierry Leblanc, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, Antoine Vadès, Rolf Ruefenach, Alexander Haefele, Gunter Stober, Peter Effertz, Julian Gröbner, Gerard Ancellet, MarÃa Cazorla, Petra Duff, Matthias Frey, Michael Gill, James W. Hannigan, Nicholas Jones, Rigel Kivi, Raphael Koehler, Bogumil Kois, Debra Kollonige, Emmanuel Mahieu, Glen McConville, Johan Mellqvist, Gary Morris, Isao Murata, Tomoo Nagahama, Gerald E. Nedoluha, Shin-Ya Ogino, Richard Querel, Ryan Stauffer, Wolfgang Stremme, Kimberly Strong, Ralf Sussmann, Anne Thompson, and Yana Virolainen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-113, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-113, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
We present regional Bayesian composite of ground-based ozone records. Defining coherent regions via CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) representativeness study and partial columns to be merged using the BASIC (BAyeSian Integrated and Consolidated, Ball et al., 2017) method, we reduce trends by 15.3 % compared to a weighted mean. Results confirm upper stratospheric recovery and reveal significant lower stratospheric decline in some regions.
Dimitris Karagkiozidis, Alkiviadis Bais, Katerina Garane, Michel Van Roozendael, Dimitris Nikolis, Manuel Roca, and Dimitris Balis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5627, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5627, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we measured the total ozone in the atmosphere over Thessaloniki, Greece, using remote-sensing techniques. Our approach, applied in both ultraviolet and visible regions, produced results highly consistent with reference instruments. It consistently captured daily and seasonal ozone patterns across both spectral regions under varying atmospheric conditions. This research enhances ground-based ozone monitoring and supports long-term observations and satellite validation.
Angelos Karanikolas, Benjamin Torres, Masahiro Momoi, Marcos Herreras Giralda, Natalia Kouremeti, Julian Gröbner, Lionel Doppler, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 7651–7677, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7651-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7651-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Several techniques retrieve of the aerosol size distribution. The Generalized Retrieval of Atmosphere and Surface Properties algorithm can retrieve aerosol size distribution parameters using only aerosol optical depth (AOD) as input that is continuously observed by sun photometers worldwide. In this study, we apply the algorithm to AOD measured by sun photometers and spectroradiometers to assess the performance and limitations of such retrievals and investigate the effect of the spectral range.
Marilena Gidarakou, Alexandros Papayannis, Maria Mylonaki, Eleni Kralli, Kostas Eleftheratos, Ilias Fountoulakis, Olga Zografou, Evangelia Diapouli, Maria I. Gini, Stergios Vratolis, Konstantinos Granakis, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Christine Groot Zwaaftink, Eugenia Giagka, Marios-Andreas Zagklis, and Igor Veselovskii
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5856, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5856, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In summer 2023, Greece experienced one of its most intense wildfire seasons, with major fires across several regions. This study examines how smoke from two major fire events affected air quality and ultraviolet radiation in Athens using satellite images, modelling, and ground-based measurements to understand the optical and microphysical behavior of airborne particles.
Dhrona Jaine, Julian Gröbner, and Wolfgang Finsterle
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 7177–7186, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7177-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7177-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Solar irradiance monitoring is an integral part of climate research. But the major drawback was the larger uncertainties associated with the measurements. To minimize the uncertainties, improved calibration standards, measurement techniques and sensors were developed. In this study we are validating the a newly developed Bi-Tec sensor spectroradiometer with an average uncertainty of 0.53 % with world radiometric reference (WRR) and international system of units (SI).
Emmanouil Proestakis, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Thanasis Georgiou, Sofia Eirini Chatoutsidou, Mihalis Lazaridis, Antonis Gkikas, Ilias Fountoulakis, Ioanna Tsikoudi, Manolis P. Petrakis, and Vassilis Amiridis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 14777–14823, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-14777-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-14777-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Based on Earth observations of dust the study addresses the questions: To what extent have the fine and coarse modes of atmospheric dust within the planetary boundary layer (PBL) changed over major cities worldwide? Which areas experience fine-mode and coarse-mode dust mass concentrations within the PBL that exceed World Health Organization air quality guidelines, and which areas are projected to exceed these guidelines in the near future? Can we quantify associated impacts on human health?
Ilias Fountoulakis, Kyriaki Papachristopoulou, Stelios Kazadzis, Gregor Hülsen, Julian Gröbner, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Dimitra Kouklaki, Akriti Masoom, Natalia Kouremeti, Charalampos Kontoes, and Christos S. Zerefos
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 7451–7473, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-7451-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-7451-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The UVIOS2 model has been evaluated at Davos, Switzerland during the UVCIII campaign. The accuracy in the modelled UV indices has been assessed for different combinations of model inputs. A good overall agreement between UVIOS2 and the world reference spectroradiometer QASUME was found (average ratio of ~ 1 between the modelled and measured UV index), although the variability in the ratio can be large under cloudy conditions.
Akriti Masoom, Stelios Kazadzis, Robin Lewis Modini, Martin Gysel-Beer, Julian Gröbner, Martine Collaud Coen, Francisco Navas-Guzman, Natalia Kouremeti, Benjamin Tobias Brem, Nora Kristina Nowak, Giovanni Martucci, Maxime Hervo, and Sophie Erb
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2755, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2755, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This article aims at providing details on the special aerosol properties observed during 2023 Canadian wildfire plume transport and exploring the synergism between remote sensing and in situ measurements for investigating the cause of the occurrence of the observations of special aerosol properties.
Anna Kampouri, Vassilis Amiridis, Thanasis Georgiou, Stavros Solomos, Anna Gialitaki, Maria Tsichla, Michael Rennie, Simona Scollo, and Prodromos Zanis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7343–7368, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7343-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7343-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study proposes a novel inverse modeling framework coupled with remote sensing data for improving volcanic ash dispersion forecasts, essential for aviation safety. By integrating FLEXPART dispersion model outputs with ground-based ACTRIS lidar observations, the approach estimates Etna's volcanic particle emissions and highlights a significant enhancement in the forecast accuracy.
Monica Campanelli, Victor Estellés, Gaurav Kumar, Teruyuki Nakajima, Masahiro Momoi, Julian Gröbner, Stelios Kazadzis, Natalia Kouremeti, Angelos Karanikolas, Africa Barreto, Saulius Nevas, Kerstin Schwind, Philipp Schneider, Iiro Harju, Petri Kärhä, Henri Diémoz, Rei Kudo, Akihiro Uchiyama, Akihiro Yamazaki, Anna Maria Iannarelli, Gabriele Mevi, Annalisa Di Bernardino, and Stefano Casadio
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5029–5050, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5029-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5029-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
To retrieve columnar aerosol properties from sun photometers, some calibration factors are needed. The on-site calibrations, performed as frequently as possible to monitor changes in the machine conditions, allow operators to track and evaluate the calibration status on a continuous basis, reducing the data gaps incurred by the periodic shipments for performing centralized calibrations. The performance of the on-site calibration procedures was evaluated, providing very good results.
Henk Eskes, Athanasios Tsikerdekis, Melanie Ades, Mihai Alexe, Anna Carlin Benedictow, Yasmine Bennouna, Lewis Blake, Idir Bouarar, Simon Chabrillat, Richard Engelen, Quentin Errera, Johannes Flemming, Sebastien Garrigues, Jan Griesfeller, Vincent Huijnen, Luka Ilić, Antje Inness, John Kapsomenakis, Zak Kipling, Bavo Langerock, Augustin Mortier, Mark Parrington, Isabelle Pison, Mikko Pitkänen, Samuel Remy, Andreas Richter, Anja Schoenhardt, Michael Schulz, Valerie Thouret, Thorsten Warneke, Christos Zerefos, and Vincent-Henri Peuch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9475–9514, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9475-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9475-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) provides global analyses and forecasts of aerosols and trace gases in the atmosphere. On 27 June 2023 a major upgrade, Cy48R1, became operational. Comparisons with in situ, surface remote sensing, aircraft, and balloon and satellite observations show that the new CAMS system is a significant improvement. The results quantify the skill of CAMS to forecast impactful events, such as wildfires, dust storms and air pollution peaks.
Ilias Fountoulakis, Alexandra Tsekeri, Stelios Kazadzis, Vassilis Amiridis, Angelos Nersesian, Maria Tsichla, Emmanouil Proestakis, Antonis Gkikas, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Vasileios Barlakas, Claudia Emde, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4915–4948, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4915-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4915-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In our study we provide an assessment, through a sensitivity study, of the limitations of models to calculate the dust direct radiative effect (DRE) due to the underrepresentation of its size, refractive index (RI), and shape. Our results indicate the necessity of including more realistic sizes and RIs for dust particles in dust models, in order to derive better estimations of the dust direct radiative effects.
Karl Voglmeier, Voltaire A. Velazco, Luca Egli, Julian Gröbner, Alberto Redondas, and Wolfgang Steinbrecht
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2277–2294, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2277-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Comparison between total ozone column (TOC) measurements from ground-based Dobson and Brewer spectrophotometers generally reveals seasonally varying differences of a few percent. This study recommends a new TOC retrieval approach, which effectively eliminates these seasonally varying differences by applying new ozone absorption cross sections, appropriate slit functions for the Dobson instrument, and climatological values for the effective ozone temperature.
Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Ilias Fountoulakis, Alkiviadis F. Bais, Basil E. Psiloglou, Nikolaos Papadimitriou, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Andreas Kazantzidis, Charalampos Kontoes, Maria Hatzaki, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1851–1877, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1851-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1851-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The upgraded systems SENSE2 and NextSENSE2 focus on improving the quality of solar nowcasting and forecasting. SENSE2 provides real-time estimates of solar irradiance across a wide region every 15 min. NextSENSE2 offers short-term forecasts of irradiance up to 3 h ahead. Evaluation with actual data showed that the instantaneous comparison yields the most discrepancies due to the uncertainties of cloud-related information and satellite versus ground-based spatial representativeness limitations.
Giandomenico Pace, Alcide di Sarra, Filippo Cali Quaglia, Virginia Ciardini, Tatiana Di Iorio, Antonio Iaccarino, Daniela Meloni, Giovanni Muscari, and Claudio Scarchilli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1617–1632, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1617-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1617-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the performances of 17 formulas to determine the clear sky longwave downward irradiance in the Arctic environment. The formulas need to be tuned to the environmental conditions of the studied region and, to date, few of them have been developed and/or tested in the Arctic. The best formulas provide biases and root mean squared errors respectively smaller than 1 and 5 W m-2. We intend to use these results to estimate the longwave cloud radiative perturbation.
Antonio Fernando Almansa, Ãfrica Barreto, Natalia Kouremeti, Ramiro González, Akriti Masoom, Carlos Toledano, Julian Gröbner, Rosa Delia GarcÃa, Yenny González, Stelios Kazadzis, Stéphane Victori, Óscar Ãlvarez, Fabrice Maupin, Virgilio Carreño, Victoria Eugenia Cachorro, and Emilio Cuevas
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 659–675, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-659-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-659-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper applies sun photometer synergies to improve calibration transference between different sun photometers and also enhance their quality assurance and quality control. We have validated this technique using different instrumentation, the WMO-GAW and NASA-AERONET references, under different aerosol regimes using the standard Langley calibration method as a reference.
Daniela Meloni, Filippo Calì Quaglia, Virginia Ciardini, Annalisa Di Bernardino, Tatiana Di Iorio, Antonio Iaccarino, Giovanni Muscari, Giandomenico Pace, Claudio Scarchilli, and Alcide di Sarra
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 543–566, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-543-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-543-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Solar and infrared radiation are key factors in determining Arctic climate. Only a few sites in the Arctic perform long-term measurements of the surface radiation budget (SRB). At the Thule High Arctic Atmospheric Observatory (THAAO, 76.5° N, 68.8° W) in Northern Greenland, solar and infrared irradiance measurements were started in 2009. These data are of paramount importance in studying the impact of the atmospheric (mainly clouds and aerosols) and surface (albedo) parameters on the SRB.
Óscar Alvárez, Ãfrica Barreto, Omaira E. GarcÃa, Frank Hase, Rosa D. GarcÃa, Julian Gröbner, Sergio F. León-Luis, Eliezer Sepúlveda, Virgilio Carreño, Antonio Alcántara, Ramón Ramos, A. Fernando Almansa, Stelios Kazadzis, Noémie Taquet, Carlos Toledano, and Emilio Cuevas
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4861–4884, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4861-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4861-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, we have extended the capabilities of a portable Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) instrument, which was originally designed to provide high-quality greenhouse gas monitoring within COCCON (COllaborative Carbon Column Observing Network). The extension allows the spectrometer to now also provide coincidentally column-integrated aerosol information. This addition of a reference instrument to a global network will be utilised to enhance our understanding of atmospheric chemistry.
Mingyue Zhang, Eva Hartmann, Sebastian Wagner, Muralidhar Adakudlu, Niklas Luther, Christos Zerefos, and Elena Xoplaki
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2023-77, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2023-77, 2023
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
A transient regional paleoclimate simulation with all external forcings (solar, orbital, volcanic, GHG, and land use), at 0.44° resolution is presented. The mean climate between Early Roman Period and pre-industrial over Eastern Mediterranean & Nile River basin is compared. The availability of this modelling data enables us to compare the simulated output with proxy records, further link the climate events with societal change and provide insights into their impact on societal and human history.
Verena Schenzinger, Axel Kreuter, Barbara Klotz, Michael Schwarzmann, and Julian Gröbner
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-188, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-188, 2023
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
We present a fast an easy method to incorporate clouds from satellite imagery into a model for calculating surface UV index maps in near-real time. To judge the quality of the model, we compare our results to measurements from ground based detectors. We discuss in detail where variations in either of the values come from and why satellite and ground values might not necessarily be comparable in every situation.
Julian Gröbner, Natalia Kouremeti, Gregor Hülsen, Ralf Zuber, Mario Ribnitzky, Saulius Nevas, Peter Sperfeld, Kerstin Schwind, Philipp Schneider, Stelios Kazadzis, Ãfrica Barreto, Tom Gardiner, Kavitha Mottungan, David Medland, and Marc Coleman
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4667–4680, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4667-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4667-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Spectral solar irradiance measurements traceable to the International System of Units (SI) allow for intercomparability between instruments and for their validation according to metrological standards. Here we also validate and reduce the uncertainties of the top-of-atmosphere TSIS-1 Hybrid Solar Reference Spectrum (HSRS). The management of large networks, e.g. AERONET or GAW-PFR, will benefit from reducing logistical overhead, improving their resilience and achieving metrological traceability.
Akriti Masoom, Ilias Fountoulakis, Stelios Kazadzis, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Anna Kampouri, Basil E. Psiloglou, Dimitra Kouklaki, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Eleni Marinou, Stavros Solomos, Anna Gialitaki, Dimitra Founda, Vasileios Salamalikis, Dimitris Kaskaoutis, Natalia Kouremeti, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, Vassilis Amiridis, Andreas Kazantzidis, Alexandros Papayannis, Christos S. Zerefos, and Kostas Eleftheratos
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8487–8514, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8487-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8487-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We analyse the spatial and temporal aerosol spectral optical properties during the extreme wildfires of August 2021 in Greece and assess their effects on air quality and solar radiation quantities related to health, agriculture, and energy. Different aerosol conditions are identified (pure smoke, pure dust, dust–smoke together); the largest impact on solar radiation quantities is found for cases with mixed dust–smoke aerosols. Such situations are expected to occur more frequently in the future.
Luca Egli, Julian Gröbner, Herbert Schill, and Eliane Maillard Barras
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2889–2902, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2889-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2889-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper introduces a new method to retrieve total column ozone with spectral ground-based measurements from a novel array spectroradiometer. Total column ozone estimates using the small, cost-effective, and robust instrument and the new retrieval method are compared with other co-located total column ozone instruments. The comparison shows that the new system performs similarly to other well-established instruments, which require substantially more maintenance than the system introduced here.
Xiaoyi Zhao, Vitali Fioletov, Alberto Redondas, Julian Gröbner, Luca Egli, Franz Zeilinger, Javier López-Solano, Alberto Berjón Arroyo, James Kerr, Eliane Maillard Barras, Herman Smit, Michael Brohart, Reno Sit, Akira Ogyu, Ihab Abboud, and Sum Chi Lee
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2273–2295, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2273-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2273-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Brewer ozone spectrophotometer is one of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW)'s standard ozone monitoring instruments since the 1980s. This work is aimed at obtaining answers to (1) why Brewer primary calibration work can only be performed at certain sites (e.g., Izaña and MLO) and (2) what is needed to assure the equivalence of calibration quality from different sites.
Ka Lok Chan, Pieter Valks, Klaus-Peter Heue, Ronny Lutz, Pascal Hedelt, Diego Loyola, Gaia Pinardi, Michel Van Roozendael, François Hendrick, Thomas Wagner, Vinod Kumar, Alkis Bais, Ankie Piters, Hitoshi Irie, Hisahiro Takashima, Yugo Kanaya, Yongjoo Choi, Kihong Park, Jihyo Chong, Alexander Cede, Udo Frieß, Andreas Richter, Jianzhong Ma, Nuria Benavent, Robert Holla, Oleg Postylyakov, Claudia Rivera Cárdenas, and Mark Wenig
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1831–1870, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1831-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1831-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents the theoretical basis as well as verification and validation of the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2) daily and monthly level-3 products.
Bruce W. Forgan, Julian Gröbner, and Ibrahim Reda
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 727–743, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-727-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-727-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper investigates the Absolute Cavity Pyrgeometer (ACP) and its use in measuring atmospheric terrestrial irradiances traceable to the standard system of units (SI). This work fits into the objective of the Expert Team on Radiation References, established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), to develop and validate instrumentation that can be used as reference instruments for terrestrial radiation measurements.
Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Antonis Gkikas, Ilias Fountoulakis, Akriti Masoom, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15703–15727, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15703-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15703-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Megacities' air quality is determined by atmospheric aerosols. We focus on changes over the last two decades in the 81 largest cities, using satellite data. European and American cities have lower aerosol compared to African and Asian cities. For European, North American and East Asian cities, aerosols are decreasing over time, especially in China and the US. In the remaining cities, aerosol loads are increasing, particularly in India.
Angelos Karanikolas, Natalia Kouremeti, Julian Gröbner, Luca Egli, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5667–5680, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5667-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5667-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The aim of this work is to investigate the limitations of calculating long-term trends of a parameter that quantifies the overall effect of atmospheric aerosols on the solar radiation. A main finding is that even instruments with good agreement between their observations can show significantly different linear trends. By calculating time-varying trends, the trend agreement is shown to improve. We also show that different methods of trend estimation can result in significant trend differences.
Kostas Eleftheratos, John Kapsomenakis, Ilias Fountoulakis, Christos S. Zerefos, Patrick Jöckel, Martin Dameris, Alkiviadis F. Bais, Germar Bernhard, Dimitra Kouklaki, Kleareti Tourpali, Scott Stierle, J. Ben Liley, Colette Brogniez, Frédérique Auriol, Henri Diémoz, Stana Simic, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Kaisa Lakkala, and Kostas Douvis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12827–12855, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12827-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12827-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present the future evolution of DNA-active ultraviolet (UV) radiation in view of increasing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and decreasing ozone depleting substances (ODSs). It is shown that DNA-active UV radiation might increase after 2050 between 50° N–50° S due to GHG-induced reductions in clouds and ozone, something that is likely not to happen at high latitudes, where DNA-active UV radiation will continue its downward trend mainly due to stratospheric ozone recovery from the reduction in ODSs.
Eleni Drakaki, Vassilis Amiridis, Alexandra Tsekeri, Antonis Gkikas, Emmanouil Proestakis, Sotirios Mallios, Stavros Solomos, Christos Spyrou, Eleni Marinou, Claire L. Ryder, Demetri Bouris, and Petros Katsafados
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12727–12748, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12727-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12727-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
State-of-the-art atmospheric dust models have limitations in accounting for a realistic dust size distribution (emission, transport). We modify the parameterization of the mineral dust cycle by including particles with diameter >20 μm, as indicated by observations over deserts. Moreover, we investigate the effects of reduced settling velocities of dust particles. Model results are evaluated using airborne and spaceborne dust measurements above Cabo Verde.
Silvia Becagli, Elena Barbaro, Simone Bonamano, Laura Caiazzo, Alcide di Sarra, Matteo Feltracco, Paolo Grigioni, Jost Heintzenberg, Luigi Lazzara, Michel Legrand, Alice Madonia, Marco Marcelli, Chiara Melillo, Daniela Meloni, Caterina Nuccio, Giandomenico Pace, Ki-Tae Park, Suzanne Preunkert, Mirko Severi, Marco Vecchiato, Roberta Zangrando, and Rita Traversi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9245–9263, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9245-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9245-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Measurements of phytoplanktonic dimethylsulfide and its oxidation products in the Antarctic atmosphere allow us to understand the role of the oceanic (sea ice melting, Chl α and dimethylsulfoniopropionate) and atmospheric (wind direction and speed, humidity, solar radiation and transport processes) factors in the biogenic aerosol formation, concentration and characteristic ratio between components in an Antarctic coastal site facing the polynya of the Ross Sea.
Luca Egli, Julian Gröbner, Gregor Hülsen, Herbert Schill, and René Stübi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1917–1930, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1917-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1917-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents traceable total column ozone retrievals from direct solar spectral irradiance measurements. The retrieved ozone does not require any field calibration with a reference instrument as it is required for other operational network instruments such as Brewer or Dobson. Total column ozone can be retrieved with a traceable overall standard uncertainty of less than 0.8 % indicating a benchmark uncertainty for total column ozone measurements.
Dimitris Karagkiozidis, Martina Michaela Friedrich, Steffen Beirle, Alkiviadis Bais, François Hendrick, Kalliopi Artemis Voudouri, Ilias Fountoulakis, Angelos Karanikolas, Paraskevi Tzoumaka, Michel Van Roozendael, Dimitris Balis, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1269–1301, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1269-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1269-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In this study we focus on the retrieval of aerosol, NO2, and HCHO vertical profiles from multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) observations for the first time over Thessaloniki, Greece. We use two independent inversion algorithms for the profile retrievals. We evaluate their performance, we intercompare their results, and we validate their products with ancillary data, measured by other co-located reference instruments.
Ilias Fountoulakis, Henri Diémoz, Anna Maria Siani, Alcide di Sarra, Daniela Meloni, and Damiano M. Sferlazzo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 18689–18705, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18689-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18689-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The variability and trends of solar spectral UV irradiance have been studied for the periods 1996–2020 (for Rome) and 2006–2020 (for Lampedusa, Rome, and Aosta) with respect to the variability and trends of total ozone and geopotential height. Analyses revealed increasing UV in particular months at all sites, possibly due to decreasing lower-stratospheric ozone (at Rome in 1996–2020) and decreasing attenuation by aerosols and/or clouds (at all stations in 2006–2020).
Song Liu, Pieter Valks, Gaia Pinardi, Jian Xu, Ka Lok Chan, Athina Argyrouli, Ronny Lutz, Steffen Beirle, Ehsan Khorsandi, Frank Baier, Vincent Huijnen, Alkiviadis Bais, Sebastian Donner, Steffen Dörner, Myrto Gratsea, François Hendrick, Dimitris Karagkiozidis, Kezia Lange, Ankie J. M. Piters, Julia Remmers, Andreas Richter, Michel Van Roozendael, Thomas Wagner, Mark Wenig, and Diego G. Loyola
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7297–7327, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7297-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7297-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, an improved tropospheric NO2 retrieval algorithm from TROPOMI measurements over Europe is presented. The stratospheric estimation is implemented with correction for the dependency of the stratospheric NO2 on the viewing geometry. The AMF calculation is implemented using improved surface albedo, a priori NO2 profiles, and cloud correction. The improved tropospheric NO2 data show good correlations with ground-based MAX-DOAS measurements.
Isabelle De Smedt, Gaia Pinardi, Corinne Vigouroux, Steven Compernolle, Alkis Bais, Nuria Benavent, Folkert Boersma, Ka-Lok Chan, Sebastian Donner, Kai-Uwe Eichmann, Pascal Hedelt, François Hendrick, Hitoshi Irie, Vinod Kumar, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Bavo Langerock, Christophe Lerot, Cheng Liu, Diego Loyola, Ankie Piters, Andreas Richter, Claudia Rivera Cárdenas, Fabian Romahn, Robert George Ryan, Vinayak Sinha, Nicolas Theys, Jonas Vlietinck, Thomas Wagner, Ting Wang, Huan Yu, and Michel Van Roozendael
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12561–12593, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12561-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12561-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper assess the performances of the TROPOMI formaldehyde observations compared to its predecessor OMI at different spatial and temporal scales. We also use a global network of MAX-DOAS instruments to validate both satellite datasets for a large range of HCHO columns. The precision obtained with daily TROPOMI observations is comparable to monthly OMI observations. We present clear detection of weak HCHO column enhancements related to shipping emissions in the Indian Ocean.
Panagiotis G. Kosmopoulos, Stelios Kazadzis, Alois W. Schmalwieser, Panagiotis I. Raptis, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Ilias Fountoulakis, Akriti Masoom, Alkiviadis F. Bais, Julia Bilbao, Mario Blumthaler, Axel Kreuter, Anna Maria Siani, Kostas Eleftheratos, Chrysanthi Topaloglou, Julian Gröbner, Bjørn Johnsen, Tove M. Svendby, Jose Manuel Vilaplana, Lionel Doppler, Ann R. Webb, Marina Khazova, Hugo De Backer, Anu Heikkilä, Kaisa Lakkala, Janusz Jaroslawski, Charikleia Meleti, Henri Diémoz, Gregor Hülsen, Barbara Klotz, John Rimmer, and Charalampos Kontoes
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5657–5699, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5657-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5657-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Large-scale retrievals of the ultraviolet index (UVI) in real time by exploiting the modern Earth observation data and techniques are capable of forming operational early warning systems that raise awareness among citizens of the health implications of high UVI doses. In this direction a novel UVI operating system, the so-called UVIOS, was introduced for massive outputs, while its performance was tested against ground-based measurements revealing a dependence on the input quality and resolution.
Ralf Zuber, Ulf Köhler, Luca Egli, Mario Ribnitzky, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, and Julian Gröbner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4915–4928, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4915-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4915-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We validated two BTS-based systems in a longer-term TOC analysis in the 2019/2020 campaign at Hohenpeißenberg and Davos. The results showed a deviation of the BTS-Solar to Brewers of < 0.1 % with a k = 2 of < 1.5 %. Koherent showed a deviation of 1.7 % with a k = 2 of 2.7 %. Resultingly, the BTS-Solar performance is comparable to Brewers in Hohenpeißenberg. Koherent shows a seasonal variation in Davos due to the sensitivity of its TOC retrieval algorithm to stratospheric temperature.
Marek Å mÃd, Geiland Porrovecchio, Jiřà TesaÅ™, Tim Burnitt, Luca Egli, Julian GrÅ‘bner, Petr LinduÅ¡ka, and Martin StanÄ›k
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3573–3582, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3573-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3573-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We designed and developed a tuneable and portable radiation source (TuPS) to provide a reference wavelength scale, with a bandwidth of emitted radiation of 0.13 nm and uncertainty in wavelength of 0.02 nm. TuPS was successfully used for the in-field characterization of 14 Dobson spectrophotometers in campaigns in Europe. The line spread functions of Dobsons measured by TuPS in conjunction with the cross-sections from IUP improves the consistency between the Dobson and Brewer from 3 % to 1 %.
Julian Gröbner, Herbert Schill, Luca Egli, and René Stübi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3319–3331, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3319-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3319-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The world's longest continuous total column ozone time series was initiated in 1926 at the Lichtklimatisches Observatorium (LKO), at Arosa, in the Swiss Alps. The measurements between Dobson and Brewer spectroradiometers have shown seasonal variations of the order of 2 %. The results of the study show that the consistency between the two instrument types can be significantly improved when the ozone cross-sections from Serdyuchenko et al. (2013) and the measured slit functions are used.
Ioanna Skoulidou, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Astrid Manders, Arjo Segers, Dimitris Karagkiozidis, Myrto Gratsea, Dimitris Balis, Alkiviadis Bais, Evangelos Gerasopoulos, Trisevgeni Stavrakou, Jos van Geffen, Henk Eskes, and Andreas Richter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5269–5288, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5269-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5269-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The performance of LOTOS-EUROS v2.2.001 regional chemical transport model NO2 simulations is investigated over Greece from June to December 2018. Comparison with in situ NO2 measurements shows a spatial correlation coefficient of 0.86, while the model underestimates the concentrations mostly during daytime (12 to 15:00 local time). Further, the simulated tropospheric NO2 columns are evaluated against ground-based MAX-DOAS NO2 measurements and S5P/TROPOMI observations for July and December 2018.
Cited articles
Ackerman, T. P. and Toon, O. B.: Absorption of visible radiation in atmosphere containing mixtures of absorbing and non-absorbing particles, Appl. Optics, 20, 3661–3662, 1981. 
Adeyemi, A. and Kok, J. F.: Climate models miss most of the coarse dust in the atmosphere, Sci. Adv., 6, eaaz9507, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz9507, 2020. 
Barnard, J. C., Fast, J. D., Paredes-Miranda, G., Arnott, W. P., and Laskin, A.: Technical Note: Evaluation of the WRF-Chem “Aerosol Chemical to Aerosol Optical Properties†Module using data from the MILAGRO campaign, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 7325–7340, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-7325-2010, 2010. 
Bond, T. C., Habib, G., and Bergstrom, R. W.: Limitations in the enhancement of visible light absorption due to mixing state, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D20211, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD007315, 2006. 
Chen, S., Huang, J., Kang, L., Wang, H., Ma, X., He, Y., Yuan, T., Yang, B., Huang, Z., and Zhang, G.: Emission, transport, and radiative effects of mineral dust from the Taklimakan and Gobi deserts: comparison of measurements and model results, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 2401–2421, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2401-2017, 2017. 
Cheng, T., Chen, H., Gu, X., Yu, T., Guo, J., and Guo, H.: The inter-comparison of MODIS, MISR and GOCART aerosol products against AERONET data over China, Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 113, 2135–2145, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2012.06.016, 2012. 
Claquin, T., Schulz, M., and Balkanski, Y.: Modeling the mineralogy of atmospheric dust sources, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 22243–22256, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD900416, 1999. 
Creamean, J. M., Suski, K. J., Rosenfeld, D., Cazorla, A., DeMott, P. J., Sullivan, R. C., White, A. B., Ralph, F. M., Minnis, P., Comstock, J. M., Tomlinson, J. M., and Prather, K. A.: Dust and Biological Aerosols from the Sahara and Asia Influence Precipitation in the Western U.S., Science, 339, 1572–1578, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1227279, 2013. 
Derimian, Y., Karnieli, A., Kaufman, Y.J., Andreae, M. O., Andreae, T. W., Dubovik, O., Maenhaut, W., Koren, I., and Holben, B. N.: Dust and pollution aerosols over the Negev desert, Israel: Properties, transport, and radiative effect, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D05205, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006549, 2006. 
Drakaki, E., Amiridis, V., Tsekeri, A., Gkikas, A., Proestakis, E., Mallios, S., Solomos, S., Spyrou, C., Marinou, E., Ryder, C. L., Bouris, D., and Katsafados, P.: Modeling coarse and giant desert dust particles, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12727–12748, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12727-2022, 2022. 
Driemel, A., Augustine, J., Behrens, K., Colle, S., Cox, C., Cuevas-Agulló, E., Denn, F. M., Duprat, T., Fukuda, M., Grobe, H., Haeffelin, M., Hodges, G., Hyett, N., Ijima, O., Kallis, A., Knap, W., Kustov, V., Long, C. N., Longenecker, D., Lupi, A., Maturilli, M., Mimouni, M., Ntsangwane, L., Ogihara, H., Olano, X., Olefs, M., Omori, M., Passamani, L., Pereira, E. B., Schmithüsen, H., Schumacher, S., Sieger, R., Tamlyn, J., Vogt, R., Vuilleumier, L., Xia, X., Ohmura, A., and König-Langlo, G.: Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN): structure and data description (1992–2017), Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 1491–1501, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1491-2018, 2018. 
Dubovik, O. and King, M. D.: A flexible inversion algorithm for retrieval of aerosol optical properties from Sun and sky radiance measurements, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 20673–20696, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900282, 2000. 
Egan, W. G. and Hilgeman, T. W.: Optical Properties of Inhomogeneous Materials Applications to Geology, Astronomy, Chemistry and Engineering, ISBN 978-0-12-232650-9,1979. 
Esmaeil, N., Gharagozloo, M., Rezaei, A., and Grunig, G.: Dust events, pulmonary diseases and immune system, Am. J. Clin. Exp. Immunol., 3, 20–29, 2014. 
Fast, J. D., Gustafson Jr., W. I., Easter, R. C., Zaveri, R. A., Barnard, J. C., Chapman, E. G., Grell, G. A., and Peckham S. E.: Evolution of ozone, particulates, and aerosol direct radiative forcing in the vicinity of Houston using a fully coupled meteorology-chemistry-aerosol model, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D21305, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006721, 2006. 
Fountoulakis, I., Kosmopoulos, P., Papachristopoulou, K., Raptis, I. P., Mamouri, R. E., Nisantzi, A., Gkikas, A., Witthuhn, J., Bley, S., Moustaka, A., Buehl, J., Seifert, P., Hadjimitsis, D. G., Kontoes, C., and Kazadzis, S.: Effects of Aerosols and Clouds on the Levels of Surface Solar Radiation and Solar Energy in Cyprus, Remote Sens., 13, 2319, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13122319, 2021. 
Fountoulakis, I., Tsekeri, A., Kazadzis, S., Amiridis, V., Nersesian, A., Tsichla, M., Proestakis, E., Gkikas, A., Papachristopoulou, K., Barlakas, V., Emde, C., and Mayer, B.: A sensitivity study on radiative effects due to the parameterization of dust optical properties in models, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4915–4948, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4915-2024, 2024. 
Giles, D. M., Sinyuk, A., Sorokin, M. G., Schafer, J. S., Smirnov, A., Slutsker, I., Eck, T. F., Holben, B. N., Lewis, J. R., Campbell, J. R., Welton, E. J., Korkin, S. V., and Lyapustin, A. I.: Advancements in the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Version 3 database – automated near-real-time quality control algorithm with improved cloud screening for Sun photometer aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 169–209, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-169-2019, 2019. 
Ginoux, P., Chin, M., Tegen, I., Goddard, T., and In, G.: Sources and distributions of dust aerosols simulated with the GOCART model, J. Geophys. Res., 106, 20255–20273, 2001. 
Gkikas, A., Obiso, V., Pérez GarcÃa-Pando, C., Jorba, O., Hatzianastassiou, N., Vendrell, L., Basart, S., Solomos, S., Gassó, S., and Baldasano, J. M.: Direct radiative effects during intense Mediterranean desert dust outbreaks, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8757–8787, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8757-2018, 2018. 
GLORYS12V1 product: E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information (CMEMS), Marine Data Store (MDS), https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00021, 2023. 
Gonçalves Ageitos, M., Obiso, V., Miller, R. L., Jorba, O., Klose, M., Dawson, M., Balkanski, Y., Perlwitz, J., Basart, S., Di Tomaso, E., Escribano, J., Macchia, F., Montané, G., Mahowald, N. M., Green, R. O., Thompson, D. R., and Pérez GarcÃa-Pando, C.: Modeling dust mineralogical composition: sensitivity to soil mineralogy atlases and their expected climate impacts, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8623–8657, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8623-2023, 2023. 
Grell, G. A. and Freitas, S. R.: A scale and aerosol aware stochastic convective parameterization for weather and air quality modeling, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 5233–5250, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5233-2014, 2014. 
Grell, G. A., Peckham, S. E., Schmitz, R., McKeen, S. A., Frost, G., Skamarock, W. C., and Eder, B.: Fully coupled “online†chemistry within the WRF model, Atmos. Environ., 39, 6957–6975, 2005 
Hamilton, D. S., Scanza, R. A., Feng, Y., Guinness, J., Kok, J. F., Li, L., Liu, X., Rathod, S. D., Wan, J. S., Wu, M., and Mahowald, N. M.: Improved methodologies for Earth system modelling of atmospheric soluble iron and observation comparisons using the Mechanism of Intermediate complexity for Modelling Iron (MIMI v1.0), Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 3835–3862, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-3835-2019, 2019. 
Hersbach, H., Bell, B., Berrisford, P., Hirahara, S., Horányi, A., Muñoz-Sabater, J., Nicolas, J., Peubey, C., Radu, R., Schepers, D., Simmons, A., Soci, C., Abdalla, S., Abellan, X., Balsamo, G., Bechtold, P., Biavati, G., Bidlot, J., Bonavita, M., De Chiara, G., Dahlgren, P., Dee, D., Diamantakis, M., Dragani, R., Flemming, J., Forbes, R., Fuentes, M., Geer, A., Haimberger, L., Healy, S., Hogan, R.J., Hólm, E., Janisková, M., Keeley, S., Laloyaux, P., Lopez, P., Lupu, C., Radnoti, G., de Rosnay, P., Rozum, I., Vamborg, F., Villaume, S., and Thépaut J.-N.: The ERA5 global reanalysis, Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 146, 1999–2049, 2020. 
Holben, B. N., Eck, T. F., Slutsker, I., Tanré, D., Buis, J. P., Setzer, A., Vermote, E., Reagan, J. A., Kaufman, Y. J., Nakajima, T., Lavenu, F., Jankowiak, I., and Smirnov, A.: AERONET – A federated instrument network and data archive for aerosol characterization, Remote Sens. Environ., 66, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-4257(98)00031-5, 1998. 
Holben, B. N., Tanre, D., Smirnov, A., Eck, T. F., Slutsker, I., Abuhassan, N., Newcomb, W. W., Schafer, J. S., Chatenet, B., Lavenu, F., Kaufman, Y. J., Vande, C., Setzer, J., Markham, A., Clark, B., Frouin, D., Halthore, R., Karneli, R., O'Neill, A., Pietras, N. T., Pinker, C., Voss, R. T., and Zibordi, K. G.: An emerging ground-basedaerosol climatology: aerosol optical depth from AERONET, J. Geophys. Res., 106, 12067–12097, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD900014, 2021. 
Iacono, M. J., Delamere, J. S., Mlawer, E. J., Shephard, M. W., Clough, S. A., and Collins, W. D.: Radiative forcing by long–lived greenhouse gases: Calculations with the AER radiative transfer models, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D13103, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD009944, 2008. 
Janjić, Z. I.: The Step–Mountain Eta Coordinate Model: Further developments of the convection, viscous sublayer, and turbulence closure schemes, Mon. Wea. Rev., 122, 927–945, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1994)122<0927:TSMECM>2.0.CO;2, 1994. 
Janjić, Z. I.: Nonsingular implementation of the Mellor-Yamada level 2.5 scheme in the NCEP Meso model. Office note (National Centers for Environmental Prediction (U.S.)), 437, https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/11409 (last access: 3 November 2025), 2001. 
Kallos, G., Solomos, S., Kushta, J., Mitsakou, C., Spyrou, C., Bartsotas, N., and Kalogeri, C.: Natural and anthropogenic aerosols in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East: Possible impacts, Science of the Total Environment, 488–489, 389–397, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.02.035, 2014. 
Kampouri, A., Amiridis, V., Solomos, S., Gialitaki, A., Marinou, E., Spyrou, C., Georgoulias, A. K., Akritidis, D., Papagiannopoulos, N., Mona, L., Scollo, S., Tsichla, M., Tsikoudi, I., Pytharoulis, I., Karacostas, T., and Zanis, P.: Investigation of Volcanic Emissions in the Mediterranean: “The Etna–Antikythera Connectionâ€, Atmosphere, 12, 40, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12010040, 2021. 
Kaskaoutis, D. G., Badarinath, K. V. S., Kumar Kharol, S., Rani Sharma, A., and Kambezidis, H. D.: Variations in the aerosol optical properties and types over the tropical urban site of Hyderabad, India, J. Geophys. Res., 114, D22204, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD012423, 2009. 
Kok, J., Storelvmo, T., Karydis, V., Adebiyi, A., Mahowald, N., Evan, A., He, C., and Leung, D.: Mineral dust aerosol impacts on global climate and climate change, Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, 4, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00379-5, 2023. 
Kosmopoulos, P. G., Kazadzis, S., El-Askary, H., Taylor, M., Gkikas, A., Proestakis, E., Kontoes, C., and El-Khayat, M. M.: Earth-Observation-Based Estimation and Forecasting of Particulate Matter Impact on Solar Energy in Egypt, Remote Sens., 10, 1870, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10121870, 2018. 
LeGrand, S. L., Polashenski, C., Letcher, T. W., Creighton, G. A., Peckham, S. E., and Cetola, J. D.: The AFWA dust emission scheme for the GOCART aerosol model in WRF-Chem v3.8.1, Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 131–166, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-131-2019, 2019. 
Levin, Z. and Cotton, W. R.: Aerosol Pollution Impact on Precipitation: A Scientific Review, WMO/IUGG International Aerosol Precipitation Science Assessment Group (IAPSAG), 485 pp., https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8690-8, 2007. 
Li, L., Mahowald, N. M., Miller, R. L., Pérez GarcÃa-Pando, C., Klose, M., Hamilton, D. S., Gonçalves Ageitos, M., Ginoux, P., Balkanski, Y., Green, R. O., Kalashnikova, O., Kok, J. F., Obiso, V., Paynter, D., and Thompson, D. R.: Quantifying the range of the dust direct radiative effect due to source mineralogy uncertainty, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3973–4005, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3973-2021, 2021. 
Long, L. L., Querry, M. R., Bell, R. J., and Alexander, R. W.: Optical properties of calcite and gypsum in crystalline and powdered form in the infrared and far-infrared, Infrared Physics, 34, 191–201, https://doi.org/10.1016/0020-0891(93)90008-U, 1993. 
Meloni, D., di Sarra, A., Biavati, G., DeLuisi, J. J., Monteleone, F., Pace, G., Piacentino, S., and Sferlazzo, D. M.: Seasonal behavior of Saharan dust events at the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in the period 1999–2005, Atmos. Environ., 41, 3041–3056, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.12.001, 2007. 
Mesinger, F.: Forecasting upper tropospheric turbulence within the framework of the Mellor-Yamada 2.5 closure, Res. Activ. in Atmos., and Ocean. Mod., WMO, Geneva, CAS/JSC WGNE Rep. No. 18, 4.28–4.29, 1993. 
Mishra, S. K., Sagnik, D., and Tripathi, S. N.: Implications of particle composition and shape to dust radiative effect: A case study from the Great Indian Desert, Geophysical Research Letters, 35, L23814, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL036058, 2008. 
Mitsakou, C., Kallos, G., Papantoniou, N., Spyrou, C., Solomos, S., Astitha, M., and Housiadas, C.: Saharan dust levels in Greece and received inhalation doses, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 7181–7192, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-7181-2008, 2008. 
Mlawer, E., Steven, J., Taubman, J., Patrick, Brown, D., Iacono, M. J., and Clough, S. A.: Radiative transfer for inhomogeneous atmospheres: RRTM, a validated correlated–k model for the longwave. J. Geophys. Res., 102, 16663–16682, https://doi.org/10.1029/97JD00237, 1997. 
Natsis, A., Bais, A., and Meleti, C.: Trends from 30-Year Observations of Downward Solar Irradiance in Thessaloniki, Greece, Appl. Sci., 14, 252, https://doi.org/10.3390/app14010252, 2024. 
Nickovic, S., Vukovic, A., Vujadinovic, M., Djurdjevic, V., and Pejanovic, G.: Technical Note: High-resolution mineralogical database of dust-productive soils for atmospheric dust modeling, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 845–855, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-845-2012, 2012. 
Obiso, V., Gonçalves Ageitos, M., Miller, R. L., Pérez GarcÃa-Pando, C., Schuster, G. L., Bauer, S. E., Di Biagio, C., Formenti, P., Jorba, O., Perlwitz, J. P., and Tsigaridis, K.: Regional variations in dust shortwave absorption explained predominantly by mineralogical composition, in preparation, 2025. 
O'Neill, N. T., Eck, T. F., Smirnov, A., Holben, B. N., and Thulasiraman, S.: Spectral discrimination of coarse and fine mode optical depth, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 108, 4559–4573, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002975, 2003. 
Papachristopoulou, K., Fountoulakis, I., Gkikas, A., Kosmopoulos, P. G., Nastos, P. T., Hatzaki, M., and Kazadzis, S.: 15-Year Analysis of Direct Effects of Total and Dust Aerosols in Solar Radiation/Energy over the Mediterranean Basin, Remote Sens., 14, 1535, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14071535, 2022. 
Perlwitz, J. P., Pérez GarcÃa-Pando, C., and Miller, R. L.: Predicting the mineral composition of dust aerosols – Part 1: Representing key processes, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 11593–11627, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11593-2015, 2015. 
Prospero, J. M., Ginoux, P., Torres, O., Nicholson, S. E., and Gill, T. E.: Environmental Characterization of Global Sources of Atmospheric Soil Dust Identified with the Nimbus 7 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (Toms) Absorbing Aerosol Product, Rev. Geophys., 40, 1002, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000RG000095, 2002. 
Querry, M.: Optical Constants of Minerals and Other Materials from the Millimeter to the Ultraviolet Report CRDEC-CR-88009, US Army, Aberdeen, https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA197803.pdf (last access: 5 March 2025), 1987. 
Rap, A., Scott, C. E., Spracklen, D. V., Bellouin, N., Forster, P. M., Carslaw, K. S., Schmidt, A., and Mann, G.: Natural Aerosol Direct and Indirect Radiative Effects, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 3297–3301, https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50441, 2013. 
Rodriguez-Navarro, C., di Lorenzo, F., and Elert, K.: Mineralogy and physicochemical features of Saharan dust wet deposited in the Iberian Peninsula during an extreme red rain event, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 10089–10122, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10089-2018, 2018. 
Rothman, L. S., Rinsland, C. P., Goldman, A., Massie, S. T., Edwards, D. P., Flaud, J.-M., Perrin, A., Camy-Peyret, C., Dana, V., Mandin, J.-Y., Schroeder, J., Mccann, A., Gamache, R. R., Wattson, R. B., Yoshino, K., Chance, K. V., Jucks, K. W., Brown, L. R., Nemtchinov, V., and Varanasi, P.: The HITRAN Molecular Spectroscopic Database And Hawks (HITRAN Atmospheric Workstation): 1996 Edition, Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 60, 665–710, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4073(98)00078-8, 1998. 
Scanza, R. A., Mahowald, N., Ghan, S., Zender, C. S., Kok, J. F., Liu, X., Zhang, Y., and Albani, S.: Modeling dust as component minerals in the Community Atmosphere Model: development of framework and impact on radiative forcing, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 537–561, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-537-2015, 2015. 
Sinyuk, A., Holben, B. N., Eck, T. F., Giles, D. M., Slutsker, I., Korkin, S., Schafer, J. S., Smirnov, A., Sorokin, M., and Lyapustin, A.: The AERONET Version 3 aerosol retrieval algorithm, associated uncertainties and comparisons to Version 2, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3375–3411, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3375-2020, 2020. 
Skamarock, W. C., Klemp, J. B., Dudhia, J., Gill, D. O., Liu, Z., Berner, J., Wang, W., Powers, G., Duda, G. Melvyn, D., and Huang, X.: A Description of the Advanced Research WRF Model Version 4.3 (No. NCAR/TN-556+STR), https://doi.org/10.5065/1dfh-6p97, 2021. 
Sokolik, I. N. and Toon, O. B.: Direct radiative forcing by anthropogenic airborne mineral aerosols, Nature, 381, 681–683, 1996. 
Sokolik, I. N. and Toon, O. B.: Incorporation of mineralogical composition into models of the radiative properties of mineral aerosol form UV to IR wavelengths, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 9423–9444, 1999. 
Solomos, S., Kallos, G., Kushta, J., Astitha, M., Tremback, C., Nenes, A., and Levin, Z.: An integrated modeling study on the effects of mineral dust and sea salt particles on clouds and precipitation, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 873–892, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-873-2011, 2011. 
Solomos, S., Kalivitis, N., Mihalopoulos, N., Amiridis, V., Kouvarakis, G., Gkikas, A., Binietoglou, I., Tsekeri, A., Kazadzis, S., Kottas, M., Pradhan, Y., Proestakis, E., Nastos, P. T., and Marenco, F.: From Tropospheric Folding to Khamsin and Foehn Winds: How Atmospheric Dynamics Advanced a Record-Breaking Dust Episode in Crete, Atmosphere, 9, 240, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9070240, 2018. 
Solomos, S., Spyrou, C., Barreto, A., RodrÃguez, S., González, Y., Neophytou, M. K. A., Mouzourides, P., Bartsotas, N. S., Kalogeri, C., Nickovic, S., Vimic, A. V., Mandic, M. V, Pejanovic, G., Cvetkovic, B., Amiridis, V., Sykioti, O., Gkikas, A., and Zerefos, C.: The Development of METAL-WRF Regional Model for the Description of Dust Mineralogy in the Atmosphere, Atmosphere, 14, 1615, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14111615, 2023. 
Spyrou, C.: Direct radiative impacts of desert dust on atmospheric water content, Aerosol Sci. Technol., 52, 693–701, 2018. 
Spyrou, C., Mitsakou, C., Kallos, G., Louka, P., and Vlastou, G.: An Improved Limited Area Model for Describing the Dust Cycle in the Atmosphere, J. Geophys. Res., 115, D17211, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD013682, 2010. 
Spyrou, C., Kallos, G., Mitsakou, C., Athanasiadis, P., Kalogeri, C., and Iacono, M. J.: Modeling the radiative effects of desert dust on weather and regional climate, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 5489–5504, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5489-2013, 2013. 
Spyrou, C., Solomos, S., Bartsotas, N. S., Douvis, K. C., and Nickovic, S.: Development of a Dust Source Map for WRF-Chem Model Based on MODIS NDVI, Atmosphere, 13, 868, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13060868, 2022. 
Tewari, M., Chen, F., Wang, W., Dudhia, J., LeMone, M. A., Mitchell, K., Ek, M., Gayno, G., Wegiel, J., and Cuenca, R. H.: Implementation and verification of the unified NOAH land surface model in the WRF model, 20th conference on weather analysis and forecasting, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 11–15, 2165–2170, 2004. 
Thompson, G., Field, P. R., Rasmussen, R. M., and Hall, W. D.: Explicit Forecasts of Winter Precipitation Using an Improved Bulk Microphysics Scheme. Part II: Implementation of a New Snow Parameterization, Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 5095–5115, https://doi.org/10.1175/2008MWR2387.1, 2008. 
Toledano, C., Cachorro, V. E., Berjon, A., de Frutos, A. M., Sorribas, M., de la Morena, B. A., and Goloub, P.: Aerosol optical depth and Ångström exponent climatology at El Arenosillo AERONET site (Huelva, Spain), Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 133, 795–807, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.54, 2007. 
Ukhov, A., Ahmadov, R., Grell, G., and Stenchikov, G.: Improving dust simulations in WRF-Chem v4.1.3 coupled with the GOCART aerosol module, Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 473–493, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-473-2021, 2021. 
Varlas, G., Vervatis, V., Spyrou, C., Papadopoulou, E., Papadopoulos, A., and Katsafados, P.: Investigating the impact of atmosphere–wave–ocean interactions on a Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone, Ocean Modelling, 153, 101675, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2020.101675, 2020.  
Varlas, G., Marinou, E., Gialitaki, A., Siomos, N., Tsarpalis, K., Kalivitis, N., Solomos, S., Tsekeri, A., Spyrou, C., Tsichla, M., Kampouri, A., Vervatis, V., Giannakaki, E., Amiridis, V., Mihalopoulos, N., Papadopoulos A., and Katsafados, P.: Assessing Sea-State Effects on Sea-Salt Aerosol Modeling in the Lower Atmosphere Using Lidar and In-Situ Measurements, Remote Sensing, 13, 614, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13040614, 2021. 
Zaveri, R. A., Easter, R. C., Fast, J. D., and Peters, L. K.: Model for simulating aerosol interactions and chemisty (MOSAIC), J. Geophys. Res., 113, D13204, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD008782, 2008. 
Short summary
Dust particles originating from desert areas of the planet have significant radiative impacts on the ground and atmospheric column. The magnitude of the dust radiative effect is dependent on their optical properties and mineralogical content. Therefore, we upgrade the METAL-WRF model to incorporate the direct radiative impact of the minerals in dust. The capabilities of the model to simulate the chemical composition and associated impacts is significantly improved.
Dust particles originating from desert areas of the planet have significant radiative impacts on...