Microphysical and optical properties of dust and tropical biomass burning aerosol layers in the Cape Verde region - an overview of the airborne in situ and lidar measurements during SAMUM-2

In the framework of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar and in situ measurements of the particle size, aerosol mixing state and absorption coefficient were conducted. Here, the properties of mineral dust and tropical biomass burning layers in the Cape Verde region in January/February 2008 are investigated and compared with the properties of fresh dust observed in May/June 2006 close the Sahara. In the Cape Verde area, we found a complex stratification with dust layers covering the altitude range below 2 km and biomass burning layers aloft. The aerosol type of the individual layers was classified based on depolarization and lidar ratios and, in addition, on in situ measured Ångström exponents of absorption åap. The dust layers had a depth of 1.3 ± 0.4 km and showed a median åap of 3.95. The median effective diameter Deff was 2.5 μm and the dust layers over Cape Verde yielded clear signals of aging: large particles were depleted due to gravitational settling and the accumulation mode diameter was shifted towards larger sizes as a result of coagulation. The tropical biomass layers had a depth of 2.0 ± 1.1 km and were characterized by a median åap of 1.34. They always contained a certain amount of large dust particles and showed a median Deff of 1.1 μm and a fine mode Deff,fine of 0.33. The dust and biomass burning layers had a median aerosol optical depth (AOD) of 0.23 and 0.09, respectively. The median contributions to the AOD of the total atmospheric column below 10 km were 75 and 37%, respectively

Composition and drivers of energy prices and costs: Case studies in selected energy-intensive industries. Final Report. CEPS Special Report, January 2017

Researchers at CEPS, in cooperation with researchers at Ecofys and Economisti Associati, have carried out a comprehensive examination of energy prices in selected EU industries, commissioned by DG Grow of the European Commission. The 309-page study concentrates on three sectors and two sub-sectors of the ceramics industry: Steel Aluminium (primary & downstream) Wall and floor tiles Bricks and roof tiles Refineries For each of these five (sub-)sectors, the study provides an overview of energy price developments, with particular attention paid to i) energy price levels and ii) the structure of energy prices, i.e. the components of energy bills. The analysis was conducted between December 2015 and June 2016, with the primary information collected between February and March 2016 via a questionnaire sent to the selected plants. The questionnaire contains (inter alia) questions on production levels, financial data and energy costs and consumption

Composition and drivers of energy prices and costs: Case studies in selected energy-intensive industries. Final Report. CEPS Special Report.

Researchers at CEPS, in cooperation with researchers at Ecofys and Economisti Associati, have carried out a comprehensive examination of energy prices in selected EU industries, commissioned by DG Grow of the European Commission. The 309-page study concentrates on three sectors and two sub-sectors of the ceramics industry: Steel Aluminium (primary & downstream) Wall and floor tiles Bricks and roof tiles Refineries For each of these five (sub-)sectors, the study provides an overview of energy price developments, with particular attention paid to i) energy price levels and ii) the structure of energy prices, i.e. the components of energy bills. The analysis was conducted between December 2015 and June 2016, with the primary information collected between February and March 2016 via a questionnaire sent to the selected plants. The questionnaire contains (inter alia) questions on production levels, financial data and energy costs and consumption

The Saharan Aerosol Long-Range Transport and Aerosol-Cloud-Interaction Experiment: Overview and Selected Highlights

North Africa is the world’s largest source of dust, a large part of which is transported across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and beyond where it can impact radiation and clouds. Many aspects of this transport and its climate effects remain speculative. The Saharan Aerosol Long-Range Transport and Aerosol–Cloud-Interaction Experiment (SALTRACE; www.pa.op.dlr.de/saltrace) linked ground-based and airborne measurements with remote sensing and modeling techniques to address these issues in a program that took place in 2013/14. Specific objectives were to 1) characterize the chemical, microphysical, and optical properties of dust in the Caribbean, 2) quantify the impact of physical and chemical changes (“aging”) on the radiation budget and cloud microphysical processes, 3) investigate the meteorological context of transatlantic dust transport, and 4) assess the roles of removal processes during transport. SALTRACE was a German-led initiative involving scientists from Europe, Cabo Verde, the Caribbean, and the United States. The Falcon research aircraft of the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), equipped with a comprehensive aerosol and wind lidar payload, played a central role. Several major dust outbreaks were studied with 86 h of flight time under different conditions, making it by far the most extensive investigation on long-range transported dust ever made. This article presents an overview of SALTRACE and highlights selected results including data from transatlantic flights in coherent air masses separated by more than 4,000-km distance that enabled measurements of transport effects on dust properties. SALTRACE will improve our knowledge on the role of mineral dust in the climate system and provide data for studies on dust interactions with clouds, radiation, and health

Microphysical and optical properties of dust and tropical biomass burning aerosol layers in the Cape Verde region-an overview of the airborne in situ and lidar measurements during SAMUM-2

In the framework of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar and in situ measurements of the particle size, aerosol mixing state and absorption coefficient were conducted. Here, the properties of mineral dust and tropical biomass burning layers in the Cape Verde region in January/February 2008 are investigated and compared with the properties of fresh dust observed in May/June 2006 close the Sahara. In the Cape Verde area, we found a complex stratification with dust layers covering the altitude range below 2 km and biomass burning layers aloft. The aerosol type of the individual layers was classified based on depolarization and lidar ratios and, in addition, on in situ measured Ångström exponents of absorption åap. The dust layers had a depth of 1.3 ± 0.4 km and showed a median åap of 3.95. The median effective diameter Deff was 2.5 μm and the dust layers over Cape Verde yielded clear signals of aging: large particles were depleted due to gravitational settling and the accumulation mode diameter was shifted towards larger sizes as a result of coagulation. The tropical biomass layers had a depth of 2.0 ± 1.1 km and were characterized by a median åap of 1.34. They always contained a certain amount of large dust particles and showed a median Deff of 1.1 μm and a fine mode Deff, fine of 0.33. The dust and biomass burning layers had a median aerosol optical depth (AOD) of 0.23 and 0.09, respectively. The median contributions to the AOD of the total atmospheric column below 10 km were 75 and 37%, respectively.Peer reviewe