Articles | Volume 19, issue 17
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-5753-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-19-5753-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
10 Sep 2026
Research article |
| 10 Sep 2026
| 10 Sep 2026
Characterization of Saharan and Middle Eastern dust aerosols and their associated shortwave direct radiative effects over Cyprus
Georgia Charalampous
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Resilient Society, Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence, Fragklinou Rousvelt 82, 3012 Limassol, Cyprus
Department of Civil Engineering & Geomatics, Cyprus University of Technology, 3036 Limassol, Cyprus
Konstantinos Fragkos
Climate and Atmosphere Research Centre (CARE-C), The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, 2121, Cyprus
Ilias Fountoulakis
Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 106 79 Athens, Greece
Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou
Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC), Davos 7260, Switzerland
Anna Moustaka
Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC), Davos 7260, Switzerland
Franco Marenco
Climate and Atmosphere Research Centre (CARE-C), The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, 2121, Cyprus
Yevgeny Derimian
Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8518 – LOA – Laboratoire d'Optique Atmosphérique, 59000 Lille, France
Argyro Nisantzi
Department of Civil Engineering & Geomatics, Cyprus University of Technology, 3036 Limassol, Cyprus
Department of Environment and Climate, Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence, Fragklinou Rousvelt 82, 3012 Limassol, Cyprus
Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri
Department of Civil Engineering & Geomatics, Cyprus University of Technology, 3036 Limassol, Cyprus
Department of Environment and Climate, Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence, Fragklinou Rousvelt 82, 3012 Limassol, Cyprus
Diofantos Hadjimitsis
Department of Civil Engineering & Geomatics, Cyprus University of Technology, 3036 Limassol, Cyprus
Department of Resilient Society, Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence, Fragklinou Rousvelt 82, 3012 Limassol, Cyprus
Stelios Kazadzis
Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC), Davos 7260, Switzerland
Related authors
Dimitra Kouklaki, Georgia Charalampous, Anna Moustaka, Alkistis Papetta, Celia Herrero del Barrio, Rizos-Theodoros Chadoulis, S. Yeşer Aslanoğlu, Sara Herrero-Anta, Michail Mytilinaios, Nikolaos Papadimitriou, Katerina Anyfanti, Christos Spyrou, Daniela Meloni, Konstantinos Fragkos, Yevgeny Derimian, Tatiana Di Iorio, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Vassilis Amiridis, Stavros Solomos, Stelios Kazadzis, and Ilias Fountoulakis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 19, 5633–5657, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-5633-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-5633-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
In the present study we investigated how aerosols, and specifically dust, affect solar radiation and energy production by investigating several dust events across multiple sites in the Mediterranean Basin between 2021 and 2022 through ground-based observations and model simulations. The results revealed that dust can significantly attenuate solar radiation and, therefore, lead to considerable losses in solar power generation, specifically in the case of solar tracking systems.
Anna Moustaka, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Georgia Charalampous, and Stelios Kazadzis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4413, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4413, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric particles affect how much sunlight reaches the Earth's surface, but their uncertainty is rarely considered in solar energy studies. We estimated this uncertainty from a global atmospheric dataset and examined its effect on sunlight reaching the ground between 2003 and 2024. The results improve confidence in solar energy assessments, particularly in dusty and polluted regions.
Alkistis Papetta, Celia Herrero del Barrio, S. Yeşer Aslanoğlu, Rizos-Theodoros Chadoulis, Georgia Charalampous, Sara Herrero-Anta, Dimitra Kouklaki, Michail Mytilinaios, Anna Moustaka, Emmanouil Proestakis, Vassilis Amiridis, Christos Spyrou, Antonis Gkikas, Michael Pikridas, Maria Kezoudi, Franco Marenco, Jean Sciare, Sophie Vandenbussche, Stavros Solomos, Stelios Kazadzis, and Ilias Fountoulakis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 12395–12434, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12395-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12395-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We studied four major dust events from the Sahara and the Middle East over the Mediterranean. Saharan dust events exhibited coarser and more scattering particles, while Middle Eastern dust was finer and mixed with pollution. Differences in absorption could not be explained by mineralogy and are attributed to mixing.
Dimitra Kouklaki, Georgia Charalampous, Anna Moustaka, Alkistis Papetta, Celia Herrero del Barrio, Rizos-Theodoros Chadoulis, S. Yeşer Aslanoğlu, Sara Herrero-Anta, Michail Mytilinaios, Nikolaos Papadimitriou, Katerina Anyfanti, Christos Spyrou, Daniela Meloni, Konstantinos Fragkos, Yevgeny Derimian, Tatiana Di Iorio, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Vassilis Amiridis, Stavros Solomos, Stelios Kazadzis, and Ilias Fountoulakis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 19, 5633–5657, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-5633-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-5633-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
In the present study we investigated how aerosols, and specifically dust, affect solar radiation and energy production by investigating several dust events across multiple sites in the Mediterranean Basin between 2021 and 2022 through ground-based observations and model simulations. The results revealed that dust can significantly attenuate solar radiation and, therefore, lead to considerable losses in solar power generation, specifically in the case of solar tracking systems.
Anna Moustaka, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Georgia Charalampous, and Stelios Kazadzis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4413, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4413, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric particles affect how much sunlight reaches the Earth's surface, but their uncertainty is rarely considered in solar energy studies. We estimated this uncertainty from a global atmospheric dataset and examined its effect on sunlight reaching the ground between 2003 and 2024. The results improve confidence in solar energy assessments, particularly in dusty and polluted regions.
Alkistis Papetta, Celia Herrero del Barrio, S. Yeşer Aslanoğlu, Rizos-Theodoros Chadoulis, Georgia Charalampous, Sara Herrero-Anta, Dimitra Kouklaki, Michail Mytilinaios, Anna Moustaka, Emmanouil Proestakis, Vassilis Amiridis, Christos Spyrou, Antonis Gkikas, Michael Pikridas, Maria Kezoudi, Franco Marenco, Jean Sciare, Sophie Vandenbussche, Stavros Solomos, Stelios Kazadzis, and Ilias Fountoulakis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 12395–12434, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12395-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12395-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We studied four major dust events from the Sahara and the Middle East over the Mediterranean. Saharan dust events exhibited coarser and more scattering particles, while Middle Eastern dust was finer and mixed with pollution. Differences in absorption could not be explained by mineralogy and are attributed to mixing.
Jianyu Zheng, Hongbin Yu, Chamara Rajapakse, Mian Chin, Michael Schulz, Yves Balkanski, Susanne E. Bauer, Huisheng Bian, Peter Colarco, Dongchul Kim, Ramiro Checa-Garcia, Yevgeny Derimian, Oleg Dubovik, Paul Ginoux, Zak Kipling, Jasper F. Kok, Harri Kokkola, Philippe Le Sager, Lei Li, Marianne Tronstad Lund, Gunnar Myhre, Hitoshi Matsui, Dirk J. L. Olivie, Samuel Remy, Oyvind Seland, Qianqian Song, Toshihiko Takemura, Qian Tan, Kostas Tsigaridis, Twan van Noije, David Winker, Bin Xie, Hua Zhang, Xindan Zhang, and Zhibo Zhang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4322, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4322, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
Winds carry vast amounts of Saharan dust across the Atlantic Ocean, influencing climate, air quality, and ocean ecosystems. Within the Aerosol Comparisons between Observations and Models (AeroCom) project, we evaluated 17 numerical models against observations. Models deposit dust too quickly, so too little reaches the Caribbean. Better simulations require emitting larger particles, treating their non-spherical shapes, and capturing processes that keep dust aloft during transport.
Yannis Gschwind, Kyriaki Papachristopoulou, Jason N. S. Cole, Alkiviadis F. Bais, and Stelios Kazadzis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4519, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4519, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
The EarthCARE satellite, launched in 2024, measures aerosol, cloud, and precipitation properties, serving as input for radiative transfer models. Given its recent launch, validation is crucial. In this analysis, we validate the resulting surface irradiance against ground-based measurements and compare with estimates from geostationary satellites. Our study indicates that EarthCARE slightly underestimates surface irradiance. These early tests provide essential context for EarthCARE data users.
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, and Maxime Hervo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 10801–10834, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-10801-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-10801-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
This article aims at providing details on the spectral 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 spectral aerosol properties.
William Wandji Nyamsi, Ville Leinonen, Antti Lipponen, Else van den Besselaar, Santtu Mikkonen, Arturo Sanchez-Lorenzo, Martin Wild, Doris Folini, Tero Mielonen, Harri Kokkola, Antti Kukkurainen, Neus Sabater, Rei Kudo, Ben Liley, Raghav Srinivasan, Bruce W. Forgan, Alexandru Dumitrescu, Grzegorz Urban, Michał K. Kowalewski, Márcia Akemi Yamasoe, Nilton Évora do Rosário, Dimitra Founda, Stelios Kazadzis, Veronica Manara, Derbetini A. Vondou, Christian Gueymard, Anders V. Lindfors, Atsumu Ohmura, and Antti Arola
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 10767–10788, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-10767-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-10767-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Worldwide reconstructed historical aerosol load reveals that during the period of:
- 1900–1959: the atmosphere became cleaner in most European cities;
- 1960–1985: anthropogenic aerosols were responsible for the dimming phenomenon in Europe. AOD increased over Southeast Brazil and decreased noticeably over Japan while a small negative trend was found over Oceania;
- 1986–2015: generally, the atmosphere has become much cleaner everywhere after the reversal trend around 1980s mainly observed in Europe.
Sophie Vandenbussche, Christodoulos Biskas, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Stelios Kazadzis, and Martine De Mazière
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 19, 4889–4922, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-4889-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-4889-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Mineral dust aerosols are tiny particles uplifted by winds from deserts, which may be transported for long distances. They are climate forcers and affect human health and socio-economic sectors, making near-real-time and long-term monitoring essential. Here, we use satellite observations to retrieve global 3D distributions of dust aerosols. We present an updated and improved algorithm and its long-term consistent data since late 2007, with high potential for climate analyses and alert systems.
Vijay P. Kanawade, Neha Deot, Mihai Ciobanu, Aliki Christodoulou, Marije van den Born, Chengfeng Liu, Alkistis Papetta, Rima Baalbaki, Michael Pikridas, Spyros Bezantakos, Anchal Garg, Chrysanthos Savvides, Efstratios Bourtsoukidis, George Biskos, Franco Marenco, Jean Sciare, and Tuija Jokinen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 8839–8854, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-8839-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-8839-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Only a small fraction of airborne particles acts as seeds for cloud droplets and influence climate, yet the processes controlling their abundance remain unclear. Field measurements in Cyprus reveal that particles smaller than 20 nanometers can rapidly shrink. This shrinkage was linked to dilution and possible evaporation of organic compounds, identifying a previously overlooked nanoparticle sink that may reduce cloud-forming particles and weaken aerosol-driven cooling.
Albert Ansmann, Julian Hofer, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Moritz Haarig, Holger Baars, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 19, 3801–3830, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-3801-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-3801-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Updated lidar and ceilometer conversion factors are presented. The conversion factors allow us to calculate microphyscial properties from measurned optical properties. One of the main goals is to support 355 nm space lidar observations.
Maria Kezoudi, Alkistis Papetta, Konrad Kandler, Claire L. Ryder, Andreas Leonidou, Christos Keleshis, Chris Stopford, Troy Thornberry, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Jean Sciare, and Franco Marenco
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 7361–7385, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-7361-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-7361-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
This study demonstrates a cost-efficient methodology using Uncrewed Aerial Systems for quantitative characterization of airborne dust. It enables high-resolution vertical profiling of microphysical properties of dust layers from the Middle East and North Africa over Cyprus, improving understanding of regional dust transport, source-dependent variability, and impacts on air quality, radiation, and climate.
Raphaël Lebrun, Yevgeny Derimian, François Ravetta, Jérôme Bureau, and Sergey Khaykin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2006, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2006, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Fueled by climate change, some recent extreme wildfires have been observed to inject unprecedented levels of aerosols in the stratosphere. Partly composed of carbon, these aerosols absorb solar light and change the energy balance of the atmosphere. Using observations and radiative modeling, we show the stratospheric aerosols from the 2020 Australian wildfire have warmed the atmosphere by 0.08 to 0.19 W.m−2 globally over a year, as they tend to reduce the albedo effect of underlying clouds.
Maria Tsichla, Konrad Kandler, Sudharaj Aryasree, Stavros Solomos, Christos Spyrou, Alexandra Tsekeri, Anna Kampouri, Anna Gialitaki, Eleni Drakaki, Thanasis Natsis, Maria Kezoudi, Alkistis Papetta, Franco Marenco, Jean Sciare, Eleni Marinou, Kalliopi Artemis Voudouri, Nikos Mihalopoulos, and Vassilis Amiridis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-921, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-921, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Desert dust plays an important role in the Earth–atmosphere system by affecting clouds, radiation, and ocean processes. Here, we determine the composition of desert dust over Cabo Verde using drones and microscopy analysis, and compare the measurements with model simulations. We find that the main dust mineral is illite, while the dominant element is silicon. Our results highlight the value of airborne in-situ observations for improving dust models and understanding dust–climate interactions.
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
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 4313–4339, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-4313-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-4313-2026, 2026
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.
Eleni Loulli, Silas Michaelides, and Diofantos G. Hadjimitsis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-445, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-445, 2026
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
Accurate rainfall measurement is essential for water management and hazard prevention, yet local weather radars often produce uncertain estimates. This study developed a two step computer learning approach that first improves radar measurements using satellite data and then estimates rainfall using ground based gauges. The method outperformed traditional techniques, showing that combining satellite, radar, and ground data can improve rainfall monitoring in regions with limited resources.
Anna Moustaka, Antonis Gkikas, Stavros-Andreas Logothetis, Johannes Flemming, Samuel Rémy, Melanie Ades, Angela Benedetti, Kleareti Tourpali, Vassilis Amiridis, and Stelios Kazadzis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1107, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1107, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
We examined how atmospheric aerosols have changed worldwide over the past two decades using a global atmospheric reanalysis together with ground-based observations. We found strong regional differences, with clear declines in some industrialized areas and increases in parts of South Asia and the Middle East. These long-term records help improve understanding of changes in climate and air quality.
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.
Anna Moustaka, Nikolaos Siomos, Stelios Kazadzis, Emmanouil Proestakis, Kalliopi Artemis Voudouri, Anton Lopatin, Oleg Dubovik, Kleareti Tourpali, Christos Zerefos, Vassilis Amiridis, and Antonis Gkikas
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 19, 1201–1225, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-1201-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-1201-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
North Africa and the Middle East are home to the world’s most active dust sources, but accurately monitoring airborne dust remains challenging. We combine active and passive satellite aerosol products to dynamically estimate dust lidar ratios over a 12-year period. The results reveal pronounced and physically meaningful regional variability, improving aerosol characterization and supporting climate and air-quality applications.
Alkistis Papetta, Maria Kezoudi, Holger Baars, Athina Floutsi, Eleni Drakaki, Konrad Kandler, Sudharaj Aryasree, Elena Louca, Theodoros Christoudias, Eleni Marinou, Chris Stopford, Troy Thornberry, Vassilis Amiridis, Jean Sciare, and Franco Marenco
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 2055–2082, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-2055-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-2055-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Dust in the atmosphere affects air quality, weather, and climate, but measuring it is challenging. We used drones and ground-based instruments to study how dust particles interact with light and relate this to their mass. Current methods often underestimate large dust particles, leading to errors in dust quantity. Our results show that regional differences in dust must be considered to improve climate models and satellite observations.
David Mateos, Carlos Toledano, Abel Calle, Roberto Román, Marcos Herreras-Giralda, Ramiro González, Sara Herrero-Anta, Daniel González-Fernández, Celia Herrero-del Barrio, Argyro Nisantzi, Rodanthi E. Mamouri, Silke Groß, Victoria E. Cachorro, Ángel M. de Frutos, and Bernadett Weinzierl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 1993–2005, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-1993-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-1993-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
A field experiment deployed in Cyprus included two sun photometers of Aerosol Robotic Network in two different sites. Mineral dust was predominant during the experiment, with Saharan and Arabian dust showing distinct optical properties, in particular, the Angstrom Exponent in the near-infrarred range and Volume Efficiency factor. Both magnitudes can served as a reliable proxy for mineral dust typing. No significant black carbon presence was detected.
Simone Pulimeno, Angelo Lupi, Vito Vitale, Claudia Frangipani, Carlos Toledano, Stelios Kazadzis, Natalia Kouremeti, Christoph Ritter, Sandra Graßl, Kerstin Stebel, Vitali Fioletov, Ihab Abboud, Sandra Blindheim, Lynn Ma, Norm O'Neill, Piotr Sobolewski, Pawan Gupta, Elena Lind, Thomas F. Eck, Antti Hyvärinen, Veijo Aaltonen, Rigel Kivi, Janae Csavina, Dmitry Kabanov, Sergey M. Sakerin, Olga R. Sidorova, Robert S. Stone, Hagen Telg, Laura Riihimaki, Raul R. Cordero, Martin Radenz, Ronny Engelmann, Michel Van Roozendal, Anatoli Chaikovsky, Philippe Goloub, Junji Hisamitsu, and Mauro Mazzola
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 1809–1846, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-1809-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-1809-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
This study analyzed aerosols optical properties over the Arctic and Antarctic to measure them even during long periods of darkness. It found that pollution in the Arctic is decreasing, likely due to European emission regulations, while wildfires are becoming a more important source of particles. In Antarctica, particle levels are higher near the coast than inland, and vary by season. These results help us better understand how air pollution and climate are changing at the Earth’s poles.
Sara Herrero-Anta, Sabine Eckhardt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Stefania Gilardoni, Sandra Graßl, Dominic Heslin-Rees, Stelios Kazadzis, Natalia Kouremeti, Radovan Krejci, David Mateos, Mauro Mazzola, Christoph Ritter, Roberto Román, Kerstin Stebel, and Tymon Zielinski
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 1435–1457, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-1435-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-1435-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
In summer 2019, unusually high aerosol concentrations were measured in the Arctic, extending through the troposphere and stratosphere up to 16 km. Using multiple instruments and models, aerosol particles were linked to wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and anthropogenic pollution. The aerosol consisted of spherical, fine-mode, weakly absorbing particles, which significantly reduced direct solar radiation. This combined approach improves understanding of Arctic aerosol events and climate processes.
Christos Spyrou, Ilias Fountoulakis, Stavros Solomos, Nikolaos Papadimitriou, Alkiviadis Bais, Julian Gröbner, Daniela Meloni, and Christos Zerefos
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 7717–7734, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7717-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7717-2025, 2025
Short summary
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.
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.
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.
Xinyuan Hou, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 4543–4557, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4543-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4543-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We analyzed aerosol ground measurements and model based aerosol optical depth (AOD) forecasts to study variations in AOD at different global sites. We compared day-ahead AOD forecast methods and assessed their impact on forecasting clear-sky direct normal irradiance (DNI). While none of the methods accurately forecast DNI within 5 %, most sites showed a DNI deviation within 20 %, especially at sites with urban-industrial aerosols.
Marios Tzouvaras, Constantinos Panagiotou, Nicholas Kyriakides, Maria Prodromou, Panagiotis Vasiliou, Marina Doukanari, Kyriaki Fotiou, and Diofantos Hadjimitsis
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-G-2025, 1485–1491, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-1485-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-1485-2025, 2025
Maria Prodromou, Marios Tzouvaras, Christodoulos Mettas, Andreas Konstantinidis, Andreas Pamboris, Iasonas Iasonos, and Diofantos Hadjimitsis
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-G-2025, 1215–1222, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-1215-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-1215-2025, 2025
Hossein Panahifar, Maria Poutli, George Kotsias, Argyro Nisantzi, Silas Michaelides, Diofantos Hadjimitsis, Patric Seifert, Albert Ansmann, and Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-G-2025, 1153–1158, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-1153-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-1153-2025, 2025
Konstantinos Christofi, Charalambos Chrysostomou, Iason Tsardanidis, Michalis Mavrovouniotis, Giorgia Guerrisi, Charalampos Kontoes, and Diofantos G. Hadjimitsis
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-G-2025, 295–300, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-295-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-295-2025, 2025
Eleftheria Kalogirou, Konstantinos Christofi, Despoina Makri, Muhammad Amjad Iqbal, Valeria La Pegna, Marios Tzouvaras, Christodoulos Mettas, and Diofantos Hadjimitsis
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-G-2025, 757–764, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-757-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-G-2025-757-2025, 2025
Christos Theocharidis, Marinos Eliades, Kyriacos Themistocleous, Kyriacos Neocleous, Charalampos Kontoes, and Diofantos Hadjimitsis
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., X-G-2025, 879–884, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-G-2025-879-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-G-2025-879-2025, 2025
Neha Deot, Vijay P. Kanawade, Alkistis Papetta, Rima Baalbaki, Michael Pikridas, Franco Marenco, Markku Kulmala, Jean Sciare, Katrianne Lehtipalo, and Tuija Jokinen
Aerosol Research, 3, 139–154, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-139-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-139-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We studied how nanoparticles form in the atmosphere at two different altitudes in Cyprus, focusing on how meteorology impacts this process. Using data from two sites, we found that air from lower regions carries particles up to higher areas, affecting air quality and potentially climate. Our findings help improve understanding of how particles form and grow in the air, which is important for predicting changes in climate and air pollution in the future.
Silke Groß, Volker Freudenthaler, Moritz Haarig, Albert Ansmann, Carlos Toledano, David Mateos, Petra Seibert, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Argyro Nisantzi, Josef Gasteiger, Maximilian Dollner, Anne Tipka, Manuel Schöberl, Marilena Teri, and Bernadett Weinzierl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3191–3211, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3191-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3191-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosols contribute to the largest uncertainties in climate change predictions. The eastern Mediterranean is a hotspot for aerosols with natural and anthropogenic contributions. We present lidar measurements performed during A-LIFE (Absorbing aerosol layers in a changing climate: aging, lifetime and dynamics) to characterize aerosols and aerosol mixtures. We extend current lidar classification and separation schemes and compare them to classification schemes using different methods.
Angelos Karanikolas, Natalia Kouremeti, Monica Campanelli, Victor Estellés, Masahiro Momoi, Gaurav Kumar, Stephan Nyeki, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6085–6105, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6085-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6085-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Different sun photometer networks use different instruments, post-processing algorithms and calibration protocols for aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieval. Such differences can affect the homogeneity and comparability of their measurements. In this study, we assess the homogeneity between the sun photometer networks GAW-PFR and SKYNET, analysing common measurements during three campaigns between 2017–2021, and investigate the main cause of the differences.
Akriti Masoom, Stelios Kazadzis, Masimo Valeri, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Gabrielle Brizzi, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Francesca Barnaba, Stefano Casadio, Axel Kreuter, and Fabrizio Niro
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5525–5549, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5525-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5525-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosols, which have a wide impact on climate, radiative forcing, and human health, are widely represented by aerosol optical depth (AOD). AOD retrievals require Rayleigh scattering and atmospheric absorption (ozone, NO2, etc.) corrections. We analysed the NO2 (which has a high spatiotemporal variation) uncertainty impact on AOD retrievals using the synergy of co-located ground-based instruments with a long-term dataset at worldwide sites and found significant AOD over- or underestimations.
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.
Emmanouil Proestakis, Antonis Gkikas, Thanasis Georgiou, Anna Kampouri, Eleni Drakaki, Claire L. Ryder, Franco Marenco, Eleni Marinou, and Vassilis Amiridis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3625–3667, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3625-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3625-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A new four-dimensional, multiyear, and near-global climate data record of the fine-mode (submicrometer diameter) and coarse-mode (supermicrometer diameter) components of atmospheric pure dust is presented. The dataset is considered unique with respect to a wide range of potential applications, including climatological, time series, and trend analysis over extensive geographical domains and temporal periods, validation of atmospheric dust models and datasets, and air quality.
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.
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.
Alkistis Papetta, Franco Marenco, Maria Kezoudi, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Argyro Nisantzi, Holger Baars, Ioana Elisabeta Popovici, Philippe Goloub, Stéphane Victori, and Jean Sciare
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1721–1738, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1721-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1721-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a method to determine depolarization parameters using observations from a reference instrument at a nearby location, needed for systems where a priori knowledge of cross-talk parameters is not available. It uses three-parameter equations to compare VDR between two co-located lidars at dust and molecular layers. It can be applied retrospectively to existing data acquired during campaigns. Its application to Cimel CE376 corrected VDR bias at high- and low-depolarizing layers.
Antonio Fernando Almansa, África Barreto, Natalia Kouremeti, Ramiro González, Akriti Masoom, Carlos Toledano, Julian Gröbner, Rosa Delia García, Yenny González, Stelios Kazadzis, Stéphane Victori, Óscar Álvarez, 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.
Alexandra Tsekeri, Anna Gialitaki, Marco Di Paolantonio, Davide Dionisi, Gian Luigi Liberti, Alnilam Fernandes, Artur Szkop, Aleksander Pietruczuk, Daniel Pérez-Ramírez, Maria J. Granados Muñoz, Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, Diego Bermejo Pantaleón, Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda, Anna Kampouri, Eleni Marinou, Vassilis Amiridis, Michael Sicard, Adolfo Comerón, Constantino Muñoz-Porcar, Alejandro Rodríguez-Gómez, Salvatore Romano, Maria Rita Perrone, Xiaoxia Shang, Mika Komppula, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Argyro Nisantzi, Diofantos Hadjimitsis, Francisco Navas-Guzmán, Alexander Haefele, Dominika Szczepanik, Artur Tomczak, Iwona S. Stachlewska, Livio Belegante, Doina Nicolae, Kalliopi Artemis Voudouri, Dimitris Balis, Athena A. Floutsi, Holger Baars, Linda Miladi, Nicolas Pascal, Oleg Dubovik, and Anton Lopatin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 6025–6050, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-6025-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-6025-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
EARLINET/ACTRIS organized an intensive observational campaign in May 2020, with the objective of monitoring the atmospheric state over Europe during the COVID-19 lockdown and relaxation period. The work presented herein focuses on deriving a common methodology for applying a synergistic retrieval that utilizes the network's ground-based passive and active remote sensing measurements and deriving the aerosols from anthropogenic activities over Europe.
M. Tzouvaras, S. Alatza, M. Prodromou, C. Theocharidis, K. Fotiou, A. Argyriou, C. Loupasakis, A. Apostolakis, Z. Pittaki, M. Kaskara, C. Kontoes, and D. Hadjimitsis
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-1-W2-2023, 1581–1587, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-1-W2-2023-1581-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-1-W2-2023-1581-2023, 2023
G. Giannarakis, I. Tsoumas, S. Neophytides, C. Papoutsa, C. Kontoes, and D. Hadjimitsis
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-1-W2-2023, 1379–1384, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-1-W2-2023-1379-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-1-W2-2023-1379-2023, 2023
Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Albert Ansmann, Kevin Ohneiser, Daniel A. Knopf, Argyro Nisantzi, Johannes Bühl, Ronny Engelmann, Annett Skupin, Patric Seifert, Holger Baars, Dragos Ene, Ulla Wandinger, and Diofantos Hadjimitsis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14097–14114, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14097-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14097-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
For the first time, rather clear evidence is found that wildfire smoke particles can trigger strong cirrus formation. This finding is of importance because intensive and large wildfires may occur increasingly often in the future as climate change proceeds. Based on lidar observations in Cyprus in autumn 2020, we provide detailed insight into the cirrus formation at the tropopause in the presence of aged wildfire smoke (here, 8–9 day old Californian wildfire smoke).
Óscar Alvárez, África Barreto, Omaira E. García, Frank Hase, Rosa D. García, 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.
Julian Gröbner, Natalia Kouremeti, Gregor Hülsen, Ralf Zuber, Mario Ribnitzky, Saulius Nevas, Peter Sperfeld, Kerstin Schwind, Philipp Schneider, Stelios Kazadzis, África 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.
Vasiliki Daskalopoulou, Panagiotis I. Raptis, Alexandra Tsekeri, Vassilis Amiridis, Stelios Kazadzis, Zbigniew Ulanowski, Vassilis Charmandaris, Konstantinos Tassis, and William Martin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4529–4550, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4529-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4529-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric dust particles may present a preferential alignment due to their shape on long range transport. Since dust is abundant and plays a key role to global climate, the elusive observation of orientation will be a game changer to existing measurement techniques and the representation of particles in climate models. We utilize a specifically designed instrument, SolPol, and target the Sun from the ground for large polarization values under dusty conditions, a clear sign of orientation.
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.
Jianyu Zheng, Zhibo Zhang, Hongbin Yu, Anne Garnier, Qianqian Song, Chenxi Wang, Claudia Di Biagio, Jasper F. Kok, Yevgeny Derimian, and Claire Ryder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8271–8304, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8271-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8271-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a multi-year satellite-based retrieval of dust optical depth at 10 µm and the coarse-mode dust effective diameter over global oceans. It reveals climatological coarse-mode dust transport patterns and regional differences over the North Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and the North Pacific.
Theano Drosoglou, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Massimo Valeri, Stefano Casadio, Francesca Barnaba, Marcos Herreras-Giralda, Anton Lopatin, Oleg Dubovik, Gabriele Brizzi, Fabrizio Niro, Monica Campanelli, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2989–3014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2989-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2989-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol optical properties derived from sun photometers depend on the optical depth of trace gases absorbing solar radiation at specific spectral ranges. Various networks use satellite-based climatologies to account for this or neglect their effect. In this work, we evaluate the effect of NO2 absorption in aerosol retrievals from AERONET and SKYNET over two stations in Rome, Italy, with relatively high NO2 spatiotemporal variations, using NO2 data from the Pandora network and the TROPOMI sensor.
Athena Augusta Floutsi, Holger Baars, Ronny Engelmann, Dietrich Althausen, Albert Ansmann, Stephanie Bohlmann, Birgit Heese, Julian Hofer, Thomas Kanitz, Moritz Haarig, Kevin Ohneiser, Martin Radenz, Patric Seifert, Annett Skupin, Zhenping Yin, Sabur F. Abdullaev, Mika Komppula, Maria Filioglou, Elina Giannakaki, Iwona S. Stachlewska, Lucja Janicka, Daniele Bortoli, Eleni Marinou, Vassilis Amiridis, Anna Gialitaki, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Boris Barja, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2353–2379, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2353-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2353-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
DeLiAn is a collection of lidar-derived aerosol intensive optical properties for several aerosol types, namely the particle linear depolarization ratio, the extinction-to-backscatter ratio (lidar ratio) and the Ångström exponent. The data collection is based on globally distributed, long-term, ground-based, multiwavelength, Raman and polarization lidar measurements and currently covers two wavelengths, 355 and 532 nm, for 13 aerosol categories ranging from basic aerosol types to mixtures.
M. Prodromou, D. Cerra, K. Themistocleous, G. Schreier, T. Krauss, and D. Hadjimitsis
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-M-1-2023, 263–269, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-1-2023-263-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-1-2023-263-2023, 2023
Konstantinos Michailidis, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Dimitris Balis, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Martin de Graaf, Lucia Mona, Nikolaos Papagianopoulos, Gesolmina Pappalardo, Ioanna Tsikoudi, Vassilis Amiridis, Eleni Marinou, Anna Gialitaki, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Argyro Nisantzi, Daniele Bortoli, Maria João Costa, Vanda Salgueiro, Alexandros Papayannis, Maria Mylonaki, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, Salvatore Romano, Maria Rita Perrone, and Holger Baars
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1919–1940, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1919-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1919-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Comparisons with ground-based correlative lidar measurements constitute a key component in the validation of satellite aerosol products. This paper presents the validation of the TROPOMI aerosol layer height (ALH) product, using archived quality assured ground-based data from lidar stations that belong to the EARLINET network. Comparisons between the TROPOMI ALH and co-located EARLINET measurements show good agreement over the ocean.
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.
Lei Li, Yevgeny Derimian, Cheng Chen, Xindan Zhang, Huizheng Che, Gregory L. Schuster, David Fuertes, Pavel Litvinov, Tatyana Lapyonok, Anton Lopatin, Christian Matar, Fabrice Ducos, Yana Karol, Benjamin Torres, Ke Gui, Yu Zheng, Yuanxin Liang, Yadong Lei, Jibiao Zhu, Lei Zhang, Junting Zhong, Xiaoye Zhang, and Oleg Dubovik
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3439–3469, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3439-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3439-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A climatology of aerosol composition concentration derived from POLDER-3 observations using GRASP/Component is presented. The conceptual specifics of the GRASP/Component approach are in the direct retrieval of aerosol speciation without intermediate retrievals of aerosol optical characteristics. The dataset of satellite-derived components represents scarce but imperative information for validation and potential adjustment of chemical transport models.
Antonis Gkikas, Emmanouil Proestakis, Vassilis Amiridis, Stelios Kazadzis, Enza Di Tomaso, Eleni Marinou, Nikos Hatzianastassiou, Jasper F. Kok, and Carlos Pérez García-Pando
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3553–3578, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3553-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3553-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present a comprehensive climatological analysis of dust optical depth (DOD) relying on the MIDAS dataset. MIDAS provides columnar mid-visible (550 nm) DOD at fine spatial resolution (0.1° × 0.1°) over a 15-year period (2003–2017). In the current study, the analysis is performed at various spatial (from regional to global) and temporal (from months to years) scales. More specifically, focus is given to specific regions hosting the major dust sources as well as downwind areas of the planet.
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.
Martin J. Osborne, Johannes de Leeuw, Claire Witham, Anja Schmidt, Frances Beckett, Nina Kristiansen, Joelle Buxmann, Cameron Saint, Ellsworth J. Welton, Javier Fochesatto, Ana R. Gomes, Ulrich Bundke, Andreas Petzold, Franco Marenco, and Jim Haywood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2975–2997, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2975-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2975-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Using the Met Office NAME dispersion model, supported by satellite- and ground-based remote-sensing observations, we describe the dispersion of aerosols from the 2019 Raikoke eruption and the concurrent wildfires in Alberta Canada. We show how the synergy of dispersion modelling and multiple observation sources allowed observers in the London VAAC to arrive at a more complete picture of the aerosol loading at altitudes commonly used by aviation.
Jerónimo Escribano, Enza Di Tomaso, Oriol Jorba, Martina Klose, Maria Gonçalves Ageitos, Francesca Macchia, Vassilis Amiridis, Holger Baars, Eleni Marinou, Emmanouil Proestakis, Claudia Urbanneck, Dietrich Althausen, Johannes Bühl, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, and Carlos Pérez García-Pando
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 535–560, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-535-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-535-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We explore the benefits and consistency in adding lidar dust observations in a dust optical depth assimilation. We show that adding lidar data to a dust optical depth assimilation has valuable benefits and the dust analysis improves. We discuss the impact of the narrow satellite footprint of the lidar dust observations on the assimilation.
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).
Martin Radenz, Johannes Bühl, Patric Seifert, Holger Baars, Ronny Engelmann, Boris Barja González, Rodanthi-Elisabeth Mamouri, Félix Zamorano, and Albert Ansmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17969–17994, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17969-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17969-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study brings together long-term ground-based remote-sensing observations of mixed-phase clouds at three key locations of aerosol–cloud interactions in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere midlatitudes. The findings contribute several new aspects on the nature of the excess of supercooled liquid clouds in the Southern Hemisphere, such as a long-term lidar-based estimate of ice-nucleating particle profiles as well as the effects of boundary layer coupling and gravity waves on ice formation.
Stavros-Andreas Logothetis, Vasileios Salamalikis, Antonis Gkikas, Stelios Kazadzis, Vassilis Amiridis, and Andreas Kazantzidis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16499–16529, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16499-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16499-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the temporal trends of dust optical depth (DOD; 550 nm) on global, regional and seasonal scales over a 15-year period (2003–2017) using the MIDAS (ModIs Dust AeroSol) dataset. The findings of this study revealed that the DOD was increased across the central Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula, with opposite trends over the eastern and western Sahara, the Thar and Gobi deserts, in the Bodélé Depression, and in the southern Mediterranean.
Xinyuan Hou, Martin Wild, Doris Folini, Stelios Kazadzis, and Jan Wohland
Earth Syst. Dynam., 12, 1099–1113, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-1099-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-1099-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Solar photovoltaics (PV) matters for the carbon neutrality goal. We use climate scenarios to quantify climate risk for PV in Europe and find higher PV potential. The seasonal cycle of PV generation changes in most places. We find an increase in the spatial correlations of daily PV production, implying that PV power balancing through redistribution will be more difficult in the future. Thus, changes in the spatiotemporal structure of PV generation should be included in power system design.
Cited articles
Achilleos, S., Mouzourides, P., Kalivitis, N., Katra, I., Kloog, I., Kouis, P., Middleton, N., Mihalopoulos, N., Neophytou, M., Panayiotou, A., Papatheodorou, S., Savvides, C., Tymvios, F., Vasiliadou, E., Yiallouros, P., and Koutrakis, P.: Spatio-temporal variability of desert dust storms in Eastern Mediterranean (Crete, Cyprus, Israel) between 2006 and 2017 using a uniform methodology, Sci. Total Environ., 714, 136693, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136693, 2020.
Adebiyi, A. A. and Kok, J. F.: Climate models miss most of the coarse dust in the atmosphere, Sci. Adv., 6, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz9507, 2020.
Almazroui, M. and Awad, A. M.: Synoptic regimes associated with the eastern Mediterranean wet season cyclone tracks, Atmos. Res., 180, 92–118, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2016.05.015, 2016.
Anderson, G., Clough, S., Kneizys, F., Chetwynd, J., and Shettle, E.: AFGL atmospheric constituent profiles (0–120km), Tech. Rep. AFGL-TR-86-0110, Air Force Geophys. Lab., Hanscom Air Force Base, Bedford, Mass., https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235054307_AFGL_Atmospheric_Constituent_Profiles_0120km (last access: 1 September 2026), 1986.
Ångström, A.: On the atmospheric transmission of sun radiation and on dust in the air, Geogr. Ann., 11, 156–166, https://doi.org/10.2307/519399, 1929.
Ansmann, A. and Müller, D.: Lidar and Atmospheric Aerosol Particles, in: Lidar, Springer-Verlag, 105–141, https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-25101-4_4, 2005.
Ansmann, A., Seifert, P., Tesche, M., and Wandinger, U.: Profiling of fine and coarse particle mass: case studies of Saharan dust and Eyjafjallajökull/Grimsvötn volcanic plumes, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 9399–9415, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-9399-2012, 2012.
Ansmann, A., Mamouri, R.-E., Bühl, J., Seifert, P., Engelmann, R., Hofer, J., Nisantzi, A., Atkinson, J. D., Kanji, Z. A., Sierau, B., Vrekoussis, M., and Sciare, J.: Ice-nucleating particle versus ice crystal number concentrationin altocumulus and cirrus layers embedded in Saharan dust:a closure study, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15087–15115, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15087-2019, 2019.
Baalbaki, R., Pikridas, M., Jokinen, T., Laurila, T., Dada, L., Bezantakos, S., Ahonen, L., Neitola, K., Maisser, A., Bimenyimana, E., Christodoulou, A., Unga, F., Savvides, C., Lehtipalo, K., Kangasluoma, J., Biskos, G., Petäjä, T., Kerminen, V.-M., Sciare, J., and Kulmala, M.: Towards understanding the characteristics of new particle formation in the Eastern Mediterranean, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9223–9251, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9223-2021, 2021.
Baars, H., Kanitz, T., Engelmann, R., Althausen, D., Heese, B., Komppula, M., Preißler, J., Tesche, M., Ansmann, A., Wandinger, U., Lim, J.-H., Ahn, J. Y., Stachlewska, I. S., Amiridis, V., Marinou, E., Seifert, P., Hofer, J., Skupin, A., Schneider, F., Bohlmann, S., Foth, A., Bley, S., Pfüller, A., Giannakaki, E., Lihavainen, H., Viisanen, Y., Hooda, R. K., Pereira, S. N., Bortoli, D., Wagner, F., Mattis, I., Janicka, L., Markowicz, K. M., Achtert, P., Artaxo, P., Pauliquevis, T., Souza, R. A. F., Sharma, V. P., van Zyl, P. G., Beukes, J. P., Sun, J., Rohwer, E. G., Deng, R., Mamouri, R.-E., and Zamorano, F.: An overview of the first decade of PollyNET: an emerging network of automated Raman-polarization lidars for continuous aerosol profiling, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5111–5137, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5111-2016, 2016.
Barkan, J., Alpert, P., Kutiel, H., and Kishcha, P.: Synoptics of dust transportation days from Africa toward Italy and central Europe, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 110, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD005222, 2005.
Barnes, W. L., Xiong, X., and Salomonson, V. V.: Status of terra MODIS and aqua modis, Adv. Space Res., 32, 2099–2106, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0273-1177(03)90529-1, 2003.
Bellouin, N., Davies, W., Shine, K. P., Quaas, J., Mülmenstädt, J., Forster, P. M., Smith, C., Lee, L., Regayre, L., Brasseur, G., Sudarchikova, N., Bouarar, I., Boucher, O., and Myhre, G.: Radiative forcing of climate change from the Copernicus reanalysis of atmospheric composition, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 1649–1677, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1649-2020, 2020.
Boucher, O.: Atmospheric Aerosols, in: Atmospheric Aerosols, Springer Netherlands, 9–24, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9649-1_2, 2015.
Boucher, O. D., Randall, P., Artaxo, C., Bretherton, G., Feingold, P., Forster, V.-M., Kerminen, Y., Kondo, H., Liao, U., Lohmann, P., Rasch, S. K., Satheesh, S., Sherwood, B., Stevens B., and Zhang, X. Y.: Clouds and Aerosols, in: Climate Change 2013 – The Physical Science Basis, Cambridge University Press, 571–658, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.016, 2014.
Bühl, J., Seifert, P., Wandinger, U., Baars, H., Kanitz, T., Schmidt, J., Myagkov, A., Engelmann, R., Skupin, A., Heese, B., Klepel, A., Althausen, D., and Ansmann, A.: LACROS: the Leipzig Aerosol and Cloud Remote Observations System, edited by: Comeron, A., Kassianov, E. I., Schäfer, K., Stein, K., and Gonglewski, J. D., P. SPIE, 8890, 889002, https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2030911, 2013.
Bühl, J., Seifert, P., Myagkov, A., and Ansmann, A.: Measuring ice- and liquid-water properties in mixed-phase cloud layers at the Leipzig Cloudnet station, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 10609–10620, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10609-2016, 2016.
Charalampous, G., Fragkos, K., Fountoulakis, I., Papachristopoulou, K., Nisantzi, A., Mamouri, R.-E., Hadjimitsis, D., and Kazadzis, S.: Direct Radiative Effects of Dust Events over Limassol, Cyprus in 2024 Using Ground-Based Measurements and Modelling, COMECAP 2025, 77, https://doi.org/10.3390/eesp2025035077, 2025.
Cuevas-Agulló, E., Barriopedro, D., García, R. D., Alonso-Pérez, S., González-Alemán, J. J., Werner, E., Suárez, D., Bustos, J. J., García-Castrillo, G., García, O., Barreto, Á., and Basart, S.: Sharp increase in Saharan dust intrusions over the western Euro-Mediterranean in February–March 2020–2022 and associated atmospheric circulation, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4083–4104, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4083-2024, 2024.
Dayan, U., Heffter, J., Miller, J., and Gutman, G.: Dust Intrusion Events into the Mediterranean Basin, J. Appl. Meteorol., 30, 1185–1199, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1991)030<1185:DIEITM>2.0.CO;2, 1991.
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.-Atmos., 111, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006549, 2006.
Di Biagio, C., di Sarra, A., Meloni, D., Monteleone, F., Piacentino, S., and Sferlazzo, D.: Measurements of Mediterranean aerosol radiative forcing and influence of the single scattering albedo, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD011037, 2009.
Di Biagio, C., di Sarra, A., and Meloni, D.: Large atmospheric shortwave radiative forcing by Mediterranean aerosols derived from simultaneous ground-based and spaceborne observations and dependence on the aerosol type and single scattering albedo, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 115, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD012697, 2010.
Di Sarra, A., di Biagio, C., Meloni, D., Monteleone, F., Pace, G., Pugnaghi, S., and Sferlazzo, D.: Shortwave and longwave radiative effects of the intense Saharan dust event of 25–26 March 2010 at Lampedusa (Mediterranean Sea), J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 116, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016238, 2011.
Draxler, R. R.: An Overview of the HYSPLIT_4 Modelling System for Trajectories, Dispersion, and Deposition, Australian Meteorological Magazine 47, https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:42834712 (last access: 1 September 2026), 1998.
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.-Atmos., 105, 20673–20696, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900282, 2000.
Dubovik, O., Holben, B., Eck, T. F., Smirnov, A., Kaufman, Y. J., King, M. D., Tanré, D., and Slutsker, I.: Variability of Absorption and Optical Properties of Key Aerosol Types Observed in Worldwide Locations, J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 590–608, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2002)059<0590:VOAAOP>2.0.CO;2, 2002.
Emde, C., Buras-Schnell, R., Kylling, A., Mayer, B., Gasteiger, J., Hamann, U., Kylling, J., Richter, B., Pause, C., Dowling, T., and Bugliaro, L.: The libRadtran software package for radiative transfer calculations (version 2.0.1), Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 1647–1672, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-1647-2016, 2016.
Ene, D., Poutli, M., Mettas, C., Michaelides, S., Mamouri, R.-E., Nisantzi, A., Papoutsa, C., Hadjimitsis, D., Bühl, J., Seifert, P., Baars, H., and Ansmann, A.: Aerosol and Cloud Remote Sensing Observation in Limassol, Cyprus, IGARSS 2024 – 2024 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 3111–3114, https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS53475.2024.10641486, 2024.
Engelmann, R., Kanitz, T., Baars, H., Heese, B., Althausen, D., Skupin, A., Wandinger, U., Komppula, M., Stachlewska, I. S., Amiridis, V., Marinou, E., Mattis, I., Linné, H., and Ansmann, A.: The automated multiwavelength Raman polarization and water-vapor lidar PollyXT: the neXT generation, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1767–1784, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1767-2016, 2016.
Flaounas, E., Kotroni, V., Lagouvardos, K., Kazadzis, S., Gkikas, A., and Hatzianastassiou, N.: Cyclone contribution to dust transport over the Mediterranean region, Atmos. Sci. Lett., 16, 473–478, https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.584, 2015.
Floutsi, A. A., Baars, H., Engelmann, R., Althausen, D., Ansmann, A., Bohlmann, S., Heese, B., Hofer, J., Kanitz, T., Haarig, M., Ohneiser, K., Radenz, M., Seifert, P., Skupin, A., Yin, Z., Abdullaev, S. F., Komppula, M., Filioglou, M., Giannakaki, E., Stachlewska, I. S., Janicka, L., Bortoli, D., Marinou, E., Amiridis, V., Gialitaki, A., Mamouri, R.-E., Barja, B., and Wandinger, U.: DeLiAn – a growing collection of depolarization ratio, lidar ratio and Ångström exponent for different aerosol types and mixtures from ground-based lidar observations, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2353–2379, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2353-2023, 2023.
Formenti, P., Schütz, L., Balkanski, Y., Desboeufs, K., Ebert, M., Kandler, K., Petzold, A., Scheuvens, D., Weinbruch, S., and Zhang, D.: Recent progress in understanding physical and chemical properties of African and Asian mineral dust, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 8231–8256, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-8231-2011, 2011.
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.
Fragkos, K., Antonescu, B., Giles, D. M., Ene, D., Boldeanu, M., Efstathiou, G. A., Belegante, L., and Nicolae, D.: Assessment of the total precipitable water from a sun photometer, microwave radiometer and radiosondes at a continental site in southeastern Europe, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1979–1997, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1979-2019, 2019.
Fragkos, K., Fountoulakis, I., Charalampous, G., Papachristopoulou, K., Nisantzi, A., Hadjimitsis, D., and Kazadzis, S.: Twenty-Year Climatology of Solar UV and PAR in Cyprus: Integrating Satellite Earth Observations with Radiative Transfer Modeling, Remote Sens., 16, 1878, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16111878, 2024.
García, O. E., Díaz, A. M., Expósito, F. J., Díaz, J. P., Dubovik, O., Dubuisson, P., Roger, J.-C., Eck, T. F., Sinyuk, A., Derimian, Y., Dutton, E. G., Schafer, J. S., Holben, B. N., and García, C. A.: Validation of AERONET estimates of atmospheric solar fluxes and aerosol radiative forcing by ground-based broadband measurements, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 113, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD010211, 2008.
García, O. E., Díaz, J. P., Expósito, F. J., Díaz, A. M., Dubovik, O., Derimian, Y., Dubuisson, P., and Roger, J.-C.: Shortwave radiative forcing and efficiency of key aerosol types using AERONET data, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 5129–5145, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-5129-2012, 2012.
Gasteiger, J., Emde, C., Mayer, B., Buras, R., Buehler, S. A., and Lemke, O.: Representative wavelengths absorption parameterization applied to satellite channels and spectral bands, J. Quant. Spectrosc. Ra., 148, 99–115, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2014.06.024, 2014.
Giannakaki, E., van Zyl, P. G., Müller, D., Balis, D., and Komppula, M.: Optical and microphysical characterization of aerosol layers over South Africa by means of multi-wavelength depolarization and Raman lidar measurements, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8109–8123, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8109-2016, 2016.
Gil-Díaz, C., Sicard, M., Sourdeval, O., Saiprakash, A., Muñoz-Porcar, C., Comerón, A., Rodríguez-Gómez, A., and Oliveira, D. C. F. D. S.: Study of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effects of high-altitude cirrus clouds in Barcelona, Spain, with 4 years of lidar measurements, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3445–3464, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3445-2025, 2025.
Gkikas, A., Hatzianastassiou, N., Mihalopoulos, N., Katsoulis, V., Kazadzis, S., Pey, J., Querol, X., and Torres, O.: The regime of intense desert dust episodes in the Mediterranean based on contemporary satellite observations and ground measurements, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 12135–12154, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12135-2013, 2013.
Gkikas, A., Basart, S., Hatzianastassiou, N., Marinou, E., Amiridis, V., Kazadzis, S., Pey, J., Querol, X., Jorba, O., Gassó, S., and Baldasano, J. M.: Mediterranean intense desert dust outbreaks and their vertical structure based on remote sensing data, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8609–8642, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8609-2016, 2016.
Gkikas, A., Obiso, V., Pérez García-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.
Gobbi, G. P., Kaufman, Y. J., Koren, I., and Eck, T. F.: Classification of aerosol properties derived from AERONET direct sun data, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 453–458, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-7-453-2007, 2007.
Goudie, A. S. and Middleton, N. J.: Saharan dust storms: nature and consequences, Earth-Sci. Rev., 56, 179–204, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-8252(01)00067-8, 2001.
Gryspeerdt, E., Glassmeier, F., Feingold, G., Hoffmann, F., and Murray-Watson, R. J.: Observing short-timescale cloud development to constrain aerosol–cloud interactions, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11727–11738, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11727-2022, 2022.
Hansen, J., Sato, M., and Ruedy, R.: Radiative forcing and climate response, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 102, 6831–6864, https://doi.org/10.1029/96JD03436, 1997.
Hansen, J. E., Sato, M., Lacis, A., Ruedy, R., Tegen, I., and Matthews, E.: Climate forcings in the Industrial era, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 95, 12753–12758, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.95.22.12753, 1998.
Hatzianastassiou, N., Gkikas, A., Mihalopoulos, N., Torres, O., and Katsoulis, B. D.: Natural versus anthropogenic aerosols in the eastern Mediterranean basin derived from multiyear TOMS and MODIS satellite data, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD011982, 2009.
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., Chatenet, B., Lavenue, F., Kaufman, Y., Vande Castle, J., Setzer, A., Markham, B., Clark, D., Frouin, R., Halthore, R., Karnieli, A., O'Neill, N. T., Pietras, C., Pinker, R. T., Voss, K., and Zibordi, G.: An emerging ground-based aerosol climatology: Aerosol optical depth from AERONET, J. Geophys. Res., 106, 12067–12097, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD900014, 2001.
Kaskaoutis, D. G., Dumka, U. C., Rashki, A., Psiloglou, B. E., Gavriil, A., Mofidi, A., Petrinoli, K., Karagiannis, D., and Kambezidis, H. D.: Analysis of intense dust storms over the eastern Mediterranean in March 2018: Impact on radiative forcing and Athens air quality, Atmos. Environ., 209, 23–39, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2019.04.025, 2019.
Kazadzis, S., Raptis, P., Kouremeti, N., Amiridis, V., Arola, A., Gerasopoulos, E., and Schuster, G. L.: Aerosol absorption retrieval at ultraviolet wavelengths in a complex environment, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 5997–6011, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-5997-2016, 2016.
Kok, J. F., Storelvmo, T., Karydis, V. A., Adebiyi, A. A., Mahowald, N. M., Evan, A. T., He, C., and Leung, D. M.: Mineral dust aerosol impacts on global climate and climate change, Nat. Rev. Earth Environ., 4, 71–86, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00379-5, 2023.
Kosmopoulos, P., Kazadzis, S., El-Askary, H., Taylor, M., Gkikas, A., Proestakis, E., Kontoes, C., and El-Khayat, 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.
Kosmopoulos, P. G., Kazadzis, S., Taylor, M., Athanasopoulou, E., Speyer, O., Raptis, P. I., Marinou, E., Proestakis, E., Solomos, S., Gerasopoulos, E., Amiridis, V., Bais, A., and Kontoes, C.: Dust impact on surface solar irradiance assessed with model simulations, satellite observations and ground-based measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 2435–2453, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2435-2017, 2017.
Kurucz, R. L., Rabin, D. M., and Jefferies, J. T.: Synthetic infrared spectra, in: Proceedings of the IAU Symposium on Infrared Solar Physics, Norwell, MA, USA, 2–5 March 1992, Kluwer Academic, ISBN 9789401119269, 1992.
Levelt, P. F., Joiner, J., Tamminen, J., Veefkind, J. P., Bhartia, P. K., Stein Zweers, D. C., Duncan, B. N., Streets, D. G., Eskes, H., van der A, R., McLinden, C., Fioletov, V., Carn, S., de Laat, J., DeLand, M., Marchenko, S., McPeters, R., Ziemke, J., Fu, D., Liu, X., Pickering, K., Apituley, A., González Abad, G., Arola, A., Boersma, F., Chan Miller, C., Chance, K., de Graaf, M., Hakkarainen, J., Hassinen, S., Ialongo, I., Kleipool, Q., Krotkov, N., Li, C., Lamsal, L., Newman, P., Nowlan, C., Suleiman, R., Tilstra, L. G., Torres, O., Wang, H., and Wargan, K.: The Ozone Monitoring Instrument: overview of 14 years in space, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5699–5745, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5699-2018, 2018.
Logothetis, S.-A., Salamalikis, V., and Kazantzidis, A.: Aerosol classification in Europe, Middle East, North Africa and Arabian Peninsula based on AERONET Version 3, Atmos. Res., 239, 104893, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2020.104893, 2020.
Logothetis, S.-A., Salamalikis, V., Gkikas, A., Kazadzis, S., Amiridis, V., and Kazantzidis, A.: 15-year variability of desert dust optical depth on global and regional scales, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16499–16529, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16499-2021, 2021.
Mahowald, N. M., Kloster, S., Engelstaedter, S., Moore, J. K., Mukhopadhyay, S., McConnell, J. R., Albani, S., Doney, S. C., Bhattacharya, A., Curran, M. A. J., Flanner, M. G., Hoffman, F. M., Lawrence, D. M., Lindsay, K., Mayewski, P. A., Neff, J., Rothenberg, D., Thomas, E., Thornton, P. E., and Zender, C. S.: Observed 20th century desert dust variability: impact on climate and biogeochemistry, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 10875–10893, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-10875-2010, 2010.
Mamouri, R. E. and Ansmann, A.: Fine and coarse dust separation with polarization lidar, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 3717–3735, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3717-2014, 2014.
Mamouri, R.-E. and Ansmann, A.: Potential of polarization/Raman lidar to separate fine dust, coarse dust, maritime, and anthropogenic aerosol profiles, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3403–3427, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3403-2017, 2017.
Mamouri, R.-E., Ansmann, A., Nisantzi, A., Solomos, S., Kallos, G., and Hadjimitsis, D. G.: Extreme dust storm over the eastern Mediterranean in September 2015: satellite, lidar, and surface observations in the Cyprus region, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13711–13724, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13711-2016, 2016.
Mamouri, R.-E., Ansmann, A., Ohneiser, K., Knopf, D. A., Nisantzi, A., Bühl, J., Engelmann, R., Skupin, A., Seifert, P., Baars, H., Ene, D., Wandinger, U., and Hadjimitsis, D.: Wildfire smoke triggers cirrus formation: lidar observations over the eastern Mediterranean, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14097–14114, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14097-2023, 2023.
Mamouri, R.-E., Nisantzi, A., Savva, A., Poutli, M., Baars, H., Ansmann, A., Ene, D., and Hadjimitsis, D.: Aerosol layers characterization in the Eastern Mediterranean: Long-term lidar observations over Limassol, Cyprus, EPJ Web Conf., 362, 02016, https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202636202016, 2026.
Mateos, D., Antón, M., Toledano, C., Cachorro, V. E., Alados-Arboledas, L., Sorribas, M., Costa, M. J., and Baldasano, J. M.: Aerosol radiative effects in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared spectral ranges using long-term aerosol data series over the Iberian Peninsula, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 13497–13514, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13497-2014, 2014.
Mayer, B. and Kylling, A.: Technical note: The libRadtran software package for radiative transfer calculations – description and examples of use, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 5, 1855–1877, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-5-1855-2005, 2005.
Meloni, D., di Sarra, A., Brogniez, G., Denjean, C., De Silvestri, L., Di Iorio, T., Formenti, P., Gómez-Amo, J. L., Gröbner, J., Kouremeti, N., Liuzzi, G., Mallet, M., Pace, G., and Sferlazzo, D. M.: Determining the infrared radiative effects of Saharan dust: a radiative transfer modelling study based on vertically resolved measurements at Lampedusa, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4377–4401, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4377-2018, 2018.
Miller, R. L., Knippertz, P., Pérez García-Pando, C., Perlwitz, J. P., and Tegen, I.: Impact of Dust Radiative Forcing upon Climate, in: Mineral Dust, Springer Netherlands, 327–357, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8978-3_13, 2014.
Moulin, C., Lambert, C. E., Dayan, U., Masson, V., Ramonet, M., Bousquet, P., Legrand, M., Balkanski, Y. J., Guelle, W., Marticorena, B., Bergametti, G., and Dulac, F.: Satellite climatology of African dust transport in the Mediterranean atmosphere, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 103, 13137–13144, https://doi.org/10.1029/98JD00171, 1998.
Moustaka, A., Korras-Carraca, M.-B., Papachristopoulou, K., Fountoulakis, I., Kazadzis, S., Proestakis, E., Amiridis, V., Tourpali, K., and Gkikas, A.: Assessment of Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization–Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations Retrievals towards Estimating the Aerosol Direct Impact on the Shortwave Radiation Budgets in North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, 16th International Conference on Meteorology, Climatology and Atmospheric Physics – COMECAP 2023, 139, https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2023026139, 2023.
Moustaka, A., Korras-Carraca, M.-B., Papachristopoulou, K., Stamatis, M., Fountoulakis, I., Kazadzis, S., Proestakis, E., Amiridis, V., Tourpali, K., Georgiou, T., Solomos, S., Spyrou, C., Zerefos, C., and Gkikas, A.: Assessing Lidar Ratio Impact on CALIPSO Retrievals Utilized for the Estimation of Aerosol SW Radiative Effects across North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, Remote Sens., 16, 1689, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16101689, 2024.
Moustaka, A., Siomos, N., Kazadzis, S., Proestakis, E., Voudouri, K. A., Lopatin, A., Dubovik, O., Tourpali, K., Zerefos, C., Amiridis, V., and Gkikas, A.: Enhancing dust aerosols monitoring capabilities across North Africa and the Middle East using the A-Train satellite constellation, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 19, 1201–1225, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-1201-2026, 2026.
Napoli, A., Desbiolles, F., Parodi, A., and Pasquero, C.: Aerosol indirect effects in complex-orography areas: a numerical study over the Great Alpine Region, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3901–3909, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3901-2022, 2022.
Nisantzi, A., Mamouri, R. E., Ansmann, A., Schuster, G. L., and Hadjimitsis, D. G.: Middle East versus Saharan dust extinction-to-backscatter ratios, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 7071–7084, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7071-2015, 2015.
Osipov, S., Chowdhury, S., Crowley, J. N., Tadic, I., Drewnick, F., Borrmann, S., Eger, P., Fachinger, F., Fischer, H., Predybaylo, E., Fnais, M., Harder, H., Pikridas, M., Vouterakos, P., Pozzer, A., Sciare, J., Ukhov, A., Stenchikov, G. L., Williams, J., and Lelieveld, J.: Severe atmospheric pollution in the Middle East is attributable to anthropogenic sources, Commun. Earth Environ., 3, 203, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00514-6, 2022.
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.
Peletidou, G., Papetta, A., Kezoudi, M., Alvanou, P., Balis, D., and Marenco, F.: Lidar, Ceilometer and Drone-Borne Aerosol Profiling during the EVIAN 2022 Campaign in Cyprus, COMECAP 2023, 38, https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2023026038, 2023.
Pikridas, M., Vrekoussis, M., Sciare, J., Kleanthous, S., Vasiliadou, E., Kizas, C., Savvides, C., and Mihalopoulos, N.: Spatial and temporal (short and long-term) variability of submicron, fine and sub-10 µm particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10) in Cyprus, Atmos. Environ., 191, 79–93, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2018.07.048, 2018.
Proestakis, E., Gkikas, A., Georgiou, T., Kampouri, A., Drakaki, E., Ryder, C. L., Marenco, F., Marinou, E., and Amiridis, V.: A near-global multiyear climate data record of the fine-mode and coarse-mode components of atmospheric pure dust, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3625–3667, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3625-2024, 2024.
Rajeev, K. and Ramanathan, V.: Direct observations of clear-sky aerosol radiative forcing from space during the Indian Ocean Experiment, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 106, 17221–17235, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900723, 2001.
Rogozovsky, I., Ansmann, A., Baars, H., Engelmann, R., and Chudnovsky, A.: The challenge of identifying dust events in a highly polluted Eastern Mediterranean region, Sci. Total Environ., 953, 175920, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175920, 2024.
Rolph, G., Stein, A., and Stunder, B.: Real-time Environmental Applications and Display sYstem: READY, Environ. Model. Softw., 95, 210–228, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2017.06.025, 2017.
Satheesh, S. K.: Letter to the Editor – Aerosol radiative forcing over land: effect of surface and cloud reflection, Ann. Geophys., 20, 2105–2109, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-20-2105-2002, 2002.
Sekiguchi, M., Nakajima, T., Suzuki, K., Kawamoto, K., Higurashi, A., Rosenfeld, D., Sano, I., and Mukai, S.: A study of the direct and indirect effects of aerosols using global satellite data sets of aerosol and cloud parameters, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD003359, 2003.
Shettle, E. P.: Models of aerosols, clouds and precipitation for atmospheric propagation studies, paper presented at Conference on Atmospheric Propagation in the UV, Visible, IR and MM-Region and Related System Aspects, NATOAdv. Group for Aerosp. Res. and Dev., Copenhagen, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234312286_Models_of_aerosols_clouds_and_precipitation_for_atmospheric_propagation_studies (last access 1 September 2026), 1989.
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.
Sokolik, I. N., Winker, D. M., Bergametti, G., Gillette, D. A., Carmichael, G., Kaufman, Y. J., Gomes, L., Schuetz, L., and Penner, J. E.: Introduction to special section: Outstanding problems in quantifying the radiative impacts of mineral dust, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 106, 18015–18027, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900498, 2001.
Stamnes, K., Tsay, S.-C., Wiscombe, W., and Jayaweera, K.: Numerically stable algorithm for discrete-ordinate-method radiative transfer in multiple scattering and emitting layered media, Appl. Optics, 27, 2502, https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.27.002502, 1988.
Stamnes, K., Tsay, S.-C., Wiscombe, W., and Laszlo, I.: DISORT, a General-Purpose Fortran Program for Discrete-Ordinate-Method Radiative Transfer in Scattering and Emitting Layered Media, in: Documentation of Methodology, Tech. rep., Dept. of Physics and Engineering Physics, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, https://www.libradtran.org/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=disortreport1.1.pdf (last access: 1 September 2026), 2000.
Stein, A. F., Draxler, R. R., Rolph, G. D., Stunder, B. J. B., Cohen, M. D., and Ngan, F.: NOAA's HYSPLIT Atmospheric Transport and Dispersion Modeling System, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 96, 2059–2077, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00110.1, 2015.
Su, L., Yuan, Z., Fung, J. C. H., and Lau, A. K. H.: A comparison of HYSPLIT backward trajectories generated from two GDAS datasets, Sci. Total Environ., 506–507, 527–537, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.11.072, 2015.
Teri, M., Gasteiger, J., Heimerl, K., Dollner, M., Schöberl, M., Seibert, P., Tipka, A., Müller, T., Aryasree, S., Kandler, K., and Weinzierl, B.: Pollution affects Arabian and Saharan dust optical properties in the eastern Mediterranean, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6633–6662, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6633-2025, 2025.
Theocharidis, C., Eliades, M., Kolokoussis, P., Miltiadou, M., Danezis, C., Gitas, I., Kontoes, C., and Hadjimitsis, D.: Exploring Sentinel-1 Radar Polarisation and Landsat Series Data to Detect Forest Disturbance from Dust Events: A Case Study of the Paphos Forest in Cyprus, Remote Sens., 17, 876, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17050876, 2025.
Tian, L., Chen, L., Zhang, P., and Bi, L.: Estimating radiative forcing efficiency of dust aerosol based on direct satellite observations: case studies over the Sahara and Taklimakan Desert, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11669–11687, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11669-2021, 2021.
Ukhov, A., Mostamandi, S., da Silva, A., Flemming, J., Alshehri, Y., Shevchenko, I., and Stenchikov, G.: Assessment of natural and anthropogenic aerosol air pollution in the Middle East using MERRA-2, CAMS data assimilation products, and high-resolution WRF-Chem model simulations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 9281–9310, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9281-2020, 2020.
Valenzuela, A., Olmo, F. J., Lyamani, H., Antón, M., Quirantes, A., and Alados-Arboledas, L.: Aerosol radiative forcing during African desert dust events (2005–2010) over Southeastern Spain, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 10331–10351, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-10331-2012, 2012.
Short summary
This study analyses seven years of dust events over Cyprus to identify their origin and quantify their impact on surface solar radiation. Most events originated from the Sahara. Dust reduces surface solar radiation, leading to surface cooling, while also causing atmospheric heating and cooling at the top of the atmosphere. Surface reductions in solar radiation reach about 5 %–15 % on average, with effects mainly controlled by dust amount.
This study analyses seven years of dust events over Cyprus to identify their origin and quantify...
