Extraordinary lightning episode during 12th and 13th of August 2015 in Canary region, was it the effect of dust aerosols?

Póster presentado en: 9th International Workshop on Sand and Dust Storm and Associated Dustfall celebrado en La Laguna (Tenerife) del 22 al 24 de mayo de 2018

Column-integrated aerosol microphysical properties from AERONET Sun photometer over southwestern Spain

The aim of the present work is to carry out a detailed analysis of columnar microphysical properties obtained from Cimel sun-photometer measurements in the Southwest of Spain within the frame of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) – Iberian Network for aerosol measurements (RIMA). AERONET level 2 inversion products are analysed, in particular the particle size distribution together with their associated microphysical parameters for both fine and coarse modes: volume concentration, effective radius and the fine mode volume fraction. This work complements previous works based on aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the Ångström exponent (AE) for a global characterization of atmospheric aerosol in this area of southwestern Spain.Financial support from the Spanish MICINN (projects of ref. CGL2008-05939-CO3-01/CLI and CGL2009- 09740 and “Acci´on Complementaria” CGL2010-09480-E) are gratefully acknowledged

Caracterización de las intrusiones de polvo en Canarias

En el capítulo 1 de esta nota técnica se exponen generalidades y conceptos básicos del polvo mineral atmosférico. En el capítulo 2 se desarrolla la metodología utilizada y se describen la red de observación y las series históricas de PM10, a la vez que se explica detalladamente el procedimiento para determinar si ha tenido lugar o no una intrusión de polvo desértico sobre el archipiélago canario. En el capítulo 3 se presentan los resultados de la caracterización de las intrusiones de polvo desértico en Canarias que incluyen datos relevantes sobre la duración de los eventos, el efecto de las intrusiones en la calidad del aire y la caracterización de los valores PM10 de fondo. En el capítulo 4 se exponen varios casos de estudio que muestran distintos tipos de eventos de intrusión de polvo en Canarias. El capítulo 5 recoge las conclusiones principales de este trabajo. El capítulo 6 incluye una guía básica que pretende servir de ayuda a la hora de afrontar un posible evento de intrusión de polvo desértico. La nota técnica concluye con dos anexos: el primero, con información adicional sobre las estaciones de la Red de Calidad del Aire del Gobierno de Canarias; y el segundo con una relación de los episodios de intrusión destacados y utilizados en los cálculos del capítulo 2

Guía de actuación ante niveles altos de contaminación volcánica. Observatorio Atmosférico de Izaña

El propósito de esta guía es presentar las bases para el establecimiento de protocolos de control y prevención, para mitigar el impacto en la salud de la exposición a la contaminación del aire de origen volcánico, y su aplicación en el Observatorio Atmosférico de Izaña (OAI). La guía se ha desarrollado a partir del protocolo que se elaboró de urgencia en el OAI para dar una respuesta rápida a los posibles problemas asociados a los efectos de la erupción del volcán de La Palma en Septiembre de 2021 sobre el Observatorio, aportando una explicación motivada a los umbrales y acciones descritas en la misma, ya que no existía material en castellano que aglutinara dicha información. Para ello se han consultado guías internacionales publicadas principalmente por departamentos de salud de zonas habitualmente expuestas a este tipo de contaminación (Hawaii, Islandia, etc.), así como información de la “International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (IVHHN)” (Red Internacional de Riesgos Volcánicos para la Salud)

Assessing the response of continuous PMx monitors TEOM and BETA to aerosol dust within the Saharan Air Layer

Póster presentado en: 9th International Workshop on Sand and Dust Storm and Associated Dustfall celebrado en La Laguna (Tenerife) del 22 al 24 de mayo de 2018.This study is part of the project AEROATLAN (CGL2015-66299-P), funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

High variability of dust composition in the Saharan Air Layer

Poster presentado en: EcoDesert International Symposium, celebrado en Almería (España) del 20 al 22 de febrero de 2019.Every year, 1500-2000 Tg of dust are emitted from soil to the atmosphere. The resulting aerosol dust particles have a size ranging from sub-1 μm to tens of microns, and a lifetime from hours to two weeks. Aerosol dust impacts on climate and on biogeochemical cycles, and is involved in the Earth System. About 50 to 70% of global dust emissions occur in North Africa. Most of dust exports to the Atlantic occur in the so-called Saharan Air Layer, a warm, dry and dusty high-altitude air stream that reaches the Americas. At the Izaña Observatory, 2400 m.a.s.l. in Tenerife (Spain), we studied (i) the variability of dust composition in the Saharan Air Layer, (ii) the North African sources and (iii) the large-scale meteorology prompting the variability observed. For this purpose, we performed (i) one-hour resolution sampling of aerosols, followed by (ii) PIXE (Particle bombing Induced X Ray Emission) analysis, and (iii) further data interpretation with meteorological tools and satellite observations. During one-week dust events, we found that the ratios of some elements (e.g. Ca, Mg or K, among others) to Al (soil tracer) changed by a factor of about 2 in a few (5-7) hours. This high variability in dust points to a concatenation of the sources contributing to dust over the North Atlantic. By back-trajectory analysis, Median Ratios At Receptor plots and MODIS and MSG – SEVIRI satellite observations, we observed that the sources activated during the study period were located in topographical lows located in three main regions: NE Algeria – Tunisia (dust rich in Ca, Sr, Mg and K), W Algeria-E Morocco (Na and Cl) and N Mali-S Algeria (rich in Si and Fe). In a six-day period, there were seven concatenated impacts from the sources identified, which were traced by the variability in the ratios of the different elements to Al. These results provide a new and more complex view of the dust exported to the Atlantic, compared to the simplistic approach based on bulk-dust measurements and modelling. These results have implications of the impact and influence of dust on climate

Impact of instrumental line shape characterization on ozone monitoring by FTIR spectrometry

Retrieving high-precision concentrations of atmospheric trace gases from FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrometry requires a precise knowledge of the instrumental performance. In this context, this paper examines the impact on the ozone (O3) retrievals of several approaches used to characterize the instrumental line shape (ILS) function of ground-based FTIR spectrometers within NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change). The analysis has been carried out at the subtropical Izaña Observatory (IZO, Spain) by using the 20-year time series of the high-resolution FTIR solar absorption spectra acquired between 1999 and 2018. The theoretical quality assessment and the comparison to independent O3 observations available at IZO (Brewer O3 total columns and electrochemical concentration cell, ECC, sondes) reveal consistent findings. The inclusion of a simultaneous retrieval of the ILS parameters in the O3 retrieval strategy allows, on the one hand, a rough instrumental characterization to be obtained and, on the other hand, the precision of the FTIR O3 products to be slightly improved.The Izaña FTIR station has been supported by the German Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi) via the DLR under grant no. 50EE1711A and by the Helmholtz Association via the research programme ATMO. In addition, this research was funded by the European Research Council under FP7/(2007–2013)/ERC grant agreement no. 256961 (project MUSICA), by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for the project MOTIV (Geschäftszeichen SCHN 1126/2-1), the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain through the projects CGL2012-37505 (project NOVIA) and CGL2016-80688-P (project INMENSE), and EUMETSAT under its fellowship programme (project VALIASI)

Improved ozone monitoring by ground-based FTIR spectrometry

Accurate observations of atmospheric ozone (O3) are essential to monitor in detail its key role in atmospheric chemistry. The present paper examines the performance of different O3 retrieval strategies from FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrometry by using the 20-year time series of the high-resolution solar spectra acquired from 1999 to 2018 at the subtropical Izaña Observatory (IZO, Spain) within NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change). In particular, the effects of two of the most influential factors have been investigated: the inclusion of a simultaneous atmospheric temperature profile fit and the spectral O3 absorption lines used for the retrievals (the broad spectral region of 1000–1005 cm−1 and single microwindows between 991 and 1014 cm−1 ). Additionally, the water vapour (H2O) interference in O3 retrievals has been evaluated, with the aim of providing an improved O3 strategy that minimises its impact and, therefore, could be applied at any NDACC FTIR station under different humidity conditions. The theoretical and experimental quality assessments of the different FTIR O3 products (total column (TC) amounts and volume mixing ratio (VMR) profiles) provide consistent results.This research research has been supported by the European Research Council under FP7/(2007–2013)/ERC grant agreement no. 256961 (project MUSICA), by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for the project MOTIV (Geschäftszeichen SCHN 1126/2-1), by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain through the projects CGL2012-37505 (project NOVIA) and CGL2016-80688- P (project INMENSE), and by EUMETSAT under its fellowship programme (project VALIASI)