Aerosol radiative forcing efficiency in the UV region over southeastern Mediterranean: VELETA2002 campaign

Atmospheric aerosol effects on spectral global UV irradiance were evaluated during the VELETA2002 field campaign between 8 and 19 July 2002 in southeast Spain. In the first stage, seven UV spectroradiometer and six CIMEL Sun photometer measurements were carried out simultaneously, allowing them to be calibrated and intercompared. The mean ratio obtained for the global irradiance between the spectroradiometers, with regards to a reference instrument, ranges from 0.98 up to 1.04 with standard deviations that oscillate between ±0.01 and ±0.17. In particular, the two spectroradiometers used to obtain the aerosol forcing efficiencies have a ratio of 1.000 ± 0.001. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) obtained with the CIMEL Sun photometers has a standard deviation of lower than ±0.01 for all the channels. Under clear sky conditions, the diurnal aerosol forcing efficiency (DDFe) and fractional diurnal forcing efficiency (DFDFe) was calculated for two Mediterranean stations: Armilla (691 m.a.s.l.) within the boundary layer and Sabinas (2200 m.a.s.l) on the lower limit of the free troposphere and 25 km away from the first station. The DDFe values obtained at Armilla range between _2.72 ± 0.45 W m_2/t380 and _2.88 ± 0.45 W m_2/t440 and between _3.22 ± 0.61 W m_2/t380 and _3.40 ± 0.62 W m_2/t440 at Sabinas station; the DFDFe values range from _8.0 ± 1.4%/t380 to _8.6 ± 1.3%/t440 and _12.0 ± 2.3%/t380 to _12.6 ± 2.3%/t440 at the two stations, respectively. Also, an experimental aerosol transmittance factor, CT, used to obtain UV satellite derived products was found as a result of the dependence of the global irradiance with the AOD, under cloudless conditions. The average aerosol attenuation factor, h, obtained from the CT, is 6 ± 2% under weakly absorbing aerosols, with a negligible spectral dependence.This work was supported by CICYT–MCYT through the coordinated projects CGL2004-05984-C07-05 and CGL2005-03428-C04-02

Extreme, wintertime Saharan dust intrusion in the Iberian Peninsula: Lidar monitoring and evaluation of dust forecast models during the February 2017 event

The research leading to these results has received funding from the H2020 program from the European Union (grant agreement no. 654109, 778349) and also from the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Economy and Competitiviness (MINECO, ref. CGL2013-45410-R, CGL2016-81092-R, CGL2017-85344-R, TEC2015-63832-P), the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (ref. CGL2017-90884-REDT); the CommSensLab "Maria de Maeztu" Unity of Excellence (ref. MDM-2016-0600) financed by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación. Co-funding was also provided by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ref. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007690, ALT20-03-0145-FEDER-000004, ALT20-03-0145-FEDER-000011); by the Andalusia Regional Government (ref. P12-RNM-2409); by the Madrid Regional Government (projects TIGAS-CM, ref. Y2018/EMT-5177 and AIRTEC-CM, ref. P2018/EMT4329); by the University of Granada through “Plan Propio. Programa 9 Convocatoria 2013” and by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and national funding (ref. SFRH/BSAB/143164/2019). The BSC-DREAM8b and NNMB/BSC-Dust (now NMMB-MONARCH) model simulations were performed by the Mare Nostrum supercomputer hosted by the Barcelona Supercomputer Center (BSC). S. Basart acknowledges the AXA Research Fund for supporting aerosol research at the BSC through the AXA Chair on Sand and Dust Storms Fund, as well as the InDust project (COST Action CA16202). The authors gratefully acknowledge the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model and/or READY website (http://www.ready.noaa.gov) used in this publication.An unprecedented extreme Saharan dust event was registered in winter time from 20 to 23 February 2017 over the Iberian Peninsula (IP). We report on aerosol optical properties observed under this extreme dust intrusion through passive and active remote sensing techniques. For that, AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) and EARLINET (European Aerosol Research LIdar NETwork) databases are used. The sites considered are: Barcelona (41.38°N, 2.17°E), Burjassot (39.51°N, 0.42°W), Cabo da Roca (38.78°N, 9.50°W), Évora (38.57°N, 7.91°W), Granada (37.16°N, 3.61°W) and Madrid (40.45°N, 3.72°W). Large aerosol optical depths (AOD) and low Ångström exponents (AE) are observed. An AOD of 2.0 at 675 nm is reached in several stations. A maximum peak of 2.5 is registered in Évora. During and around the peak of AOD, AEs close to 0 and even slightly negative are measured. With regard to vertically-resolved aerosol optical properties, particle backscatter coefficients as high as 15 Mm−1 sr−1 at 355 nm are recorded at the lidar stations. Layer-mean lidar ratios are found in the range 40–55 sr at 355 nm and 34–61 sr at 532 nm during the event. The particle depolarization ratios are found to be constant inside the dust layer, and consistent from one site to another. Layer-mean values vary in the range 0.19–0.31. Another remarkable aspect of the event is the limited vertical distribution of the dust plume which never exceeds 5 km. The extreme aspect of the event also presented a nice case for testing the ability of two dust forecast models, BSC-DREAM8b and NMMB/BSC-Dust, to reproduce the arrival, the vertical distribution and the intensity of the dust plume over a long-range transport region. In the particular case of the February 2017 dust event, we found a large underestimation in the forecast of the extinction coefficient provided by BSC-DREAM8b at all heights independently of the site. In contrast NMMB/BSC-Dust forecasts presented a better agreement with the observations, especially in southwestern part of the IP. With regard to the forecast skill as a function of lead time, no clear degradation of the prognostic is appreciated at 24, 48 and 72 h for Évora and Granada stations (South). However the prognostic does degrade (bias increases and/or correlation decreases) for Barcelona (North), which is attributed to the fact that Barcelona is at a greater distance from the source region and to the singularity of the event.Funding from the H2020 program from the European Union (grant agreement no. 654109, 778349)Spanish Ministry of Industry, Economy and Competitiviness (MINECO, ref. CGL2013-45410-R, CGL2016-81092-R, CGL2017-85344-R, TEC2015-63832-P)Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (ref. CGL2017-90884-REDT)CommSensLab "Maria de Maeztu" Unity of Excellence (ref. MDM-2016-0600) financed by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de InvestigaciónCo-funding was also provided by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ref. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007690, ALT20-03-0145-FEDER-000004, ALT20-03-0145-FEDER-000011)Andalusia Regional Government (ref. P12-RNM-2409); by the Madrid Regional Government (projects TIGAS-CM, ref. Y2018/EMT-5177 and AIRTEC-CM, ref. P2018/EMT4329)Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and national funding (ref. SFRH/BSAB/143164/2019

Utilidad de la técnica de «chimenea» en el tratamiento de urgencia de aneurismas de aorta abdominal con anatomía desfavorable

Los aneurismas de aorta yuxtarrenales representan entre 10-15% de los aneurismas de aorta abdominal, disponiendo de tratamiento con endoprótesis ramificadas y fenestradas. Su principal limitación implica un período de manufactura no aplicable en el tratamiento urgente, siendo la «técnica de chimenea» (Ch-EVAR) una alternativa endovascular, mediante la colocación de endoprótesis convencional sobre stents recubiertos, con el fin de obtener una zona adecuada de sellado proximal y mantener la permeabilidad de las arterias viscerales. Presentamos el caso de un varón de 82 años que acude a urgencias con dolor abdominal lancinante, inestabilidad hemodinámica y tensiones no controlables con medicación. En la exploración se palpó una masa pulsátil centro-abdominal, con pulsos en todas las extremidades. En la angio-TC se confirmó un aneurisma de aorta yuxtarrenal de 81,5 × 80 mm de diámetro. Dado el alto riesgo quirúrgico, las características anatómicas y la necesidad de un tratamiento precoz, se planteó un abordaje mediante exclusión endovascular con técnica Ch-EVAR. El paciente evolucionó de forma favorable con disfunción renal aguda que se corrigió sin incidencias. El control angiográfico evidenció un buen resultado morfológico del procedimiento. Concluimos que un 30-40% de los aneurismas de aorta abdominal complicados de urgencia no cumplen los criterios anatómicos para tratamiento endovascular convencional, siendo el cuello proximal corto la principal limitación. La técnica Ch-EVAR supone una alternativa posible en pacientes con alto riesgo quirúrgico, anatomía desfavorable y necesidad de tratamiento urgente con una mortalidad a corto y medio plazo similar al tratamiento con endoprótesis fenestradas y ramificadas

Incidencia e impacto clínico de la estenosis del homoinjerto pulmonar tras el procedimiento de Ross

Introducción y objetivos. Estudiamos la incidencia, los factores de riesgo y el impacto clínico de la estenosis del homoinjerto pulmonar tras la intervención de Ross en nuestra serie clínica. Pacientes y método. El seguimiento se realizó a los 3, 6 y 12 meses, y después anualmente. Los pacientes con gradiente a través del homoinjerto pulmonar > 30 mmHg fueron sometidos a una resonancia magnética cardíaca. Resultados. De los 76 pacientes intervenidos, 9 (11,8%) presentaron un homoinjerto pulmonar > 30 mmHg una media de 15,3 meses después de la intervención. El gradiente medio fue de 19,8 ± 16,2 mmHg (rango, 2-100). Todos los pacientes se encontraban en grado funcional I de la New York Heart Association excepto 2, que estaban en grado funcional II con estenosis severa y fueron tratados percutáneamente con stents, sin necesidad de reoperación. No encontramos asociación con el sexo, la edad ni el diámetro del homoinjerto. El uso de hemoderivados (hematíes, plasma y plaquetas) fue mayor en el grupo afectado que en el de control, si bien no alcanzó significación estadística, a excepción del uso de plasma en cuidados intensivos (1,7 ± 3 frente a 5,5 ± 5,3 unidades; p < 0,05). El estudio con resonancia magnética cardíaca demostró afección eminentemente del cuerpo de homoinjerto, con aparato valvular competente. La repercusión en el ventrículo derecho fue muy leve-leve (n = 7) o moderada (n = 2). Conclusiones. La incidencia de disfunción del homoinjerto pulmonar no es desdeñable, si bien el impacto clínico parece ser muy discreto y los casos severos se controlan satisfactoriamente de forma percutánea. El uso de hemoderivados podría ser un factor de riesgo para el desarrollo de esta complicación

SPALINET: The Spanish and Portuguese aerosol lidar network

To extend and reinforce the action of the EARLINET-ASOS project, a network of Spanish and Portuguese aerosol lidars (SPALINET) was created. In the first three years of the project six out of the ten systems have been successfully intercompared, seven elastic algorithms have also been validated and six Raman algorithms are currently being validated. Now the network focuses on future scientific objectives aiming at performing coordinated measurements

SPALINET: The Spanish and Portuguese aerosol lidar network

To extend and reinforce the action of the European network EARLINET (supported by the EARLINET-ASOS European project), a network of Spanish and Portuguese aerosol lidars (SPALINET) was created. In the first three years of the project six out of the ten systems have been successfully intercompared, seven elastic algorithms and six Raman algorithms have also been validated. Now the network focuses on future scientific objectives aiming at performing coordinated measurements. This paper presents the scientific context and a description of the network, as well as the results from the first three years of activity.Postprint (published version

SPALINET: The Spanish and Portuguese aerosol lidar network

To extend and reinforce the action of the European network EARLINET (supported by the EARLINET-ASOS European project), a network of Spanish and Portuguese aerosol lidars (SPALINET) was created. In the first three years of the project six out of the ten systems have been successfully intercompared, seven elastic algorithms and six Raman algorithms have also been validated. Now the network focuses on future scientific objectives aiming at performing coordinated measurements. This paper presents the scientific context and a description of the network, as well as the results from the first three years of activity

The new sun-sky-lunar Cimel CE318-T multiband photometer-a comprehensive performance evaluation [Discussion paper]

This paper presents the new photometer CE318-T, able to perform daytime and night-time photometric measurements using the sun and the moon as light source. Therefore, this new device permits a complete cycle of diurnal aerosol and water vapour measurements valuable to enhance atmospheric monitoring to be extracted. In this study we have found significantly higher precision of triplets when comparing the CE318-T master instrument and the Cimel AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) master (CE318-AERONET) triplets as a result of the new CE318-T tracking system. Regarding the instrument calibration, two new methodologies to transfer the calibration from a reference instrument using only daytime measurements (Sun Ratio and Sun-Moon gain factor techniques) are presented and discussed.The AERONET sun photometers at Izaña have been calibrated within the AERONETEurope TNA, supported by the European Community-Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 ACTRIS grant agreement no. 262254. This work has also been supported by the Andalusia regional government through projects P12-RNM-2409 and P10-RNM-6299, by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology through project CGL2013-45410-R; and finally by the EU through ACTRIS project (EU INFRA-2010-1.1.16-262254)

SPALINET: The Spanish and Portuguese aerosol lidar network

To extend and reinforce the action of the European network EARLINET (supported by the EARLINET-ASOS European project), a network of Spanish and Portuguese aerosol lidars (SPALINET) was created. In the first three years of the project six out of the ten systems have been successfully intercompared, seven elastic algorithms and six Raman algorithms have also been validated. Now the network focuses on future scientific objectives aiming at performing coordinated measurements. This paper presents the scientific context and a description of the network, as well as the results from the first three years of activity