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European Space Agency's Mars Express (MEX) has been orbiting Mars for 20 years and its instruments have provided a plethora of observations of atmospheric dust and clouds. These observations have been analysed to produce many unique views of the processes leading to dust lifting and cloud formation, and a full picture of the climatologies of dust and clouds has emerged. Moreover, the orbit of MEX enables viewing the planet at many local times, giving a unique access to the diurnal variations of the atmosphere. This article provides an overview of the observations of dust and clouds on Mars by MEX, complemented by the Trace Gas Orbiter that has been accompanying MEX on orbit for some years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, prominent dust source areas are identified along with their plume extent using high temporal frequency satellite observations. Hourly dust plume observations of the Dust Belt from geostationary‐orbit satellites are analyzed for the 2017‐12–2022‐11 period. To identify dust source areas and their extents, we back‐track plumes to their source, assessing source areas in terms of emission frequency, contribution, and plume extent patterns. This method advances over traditional source allocation techniques that rely on polar‐orbiting satellites based on a few daily passes and meteorological wind fields for backtracking. Our findings indicate that Boreal summer is the most intense season for most sources, except in the Southern Sahara, which experiences winterly winds. Our analysis also reveals significant contributions from regions within the Sahara that experience expansive but infrequent dust storms, highlighting the importance of considering both frequency and magnitude in understanding dust emissions. Plain Language Summary: This study focuses on the role of mineral dust, a significant climate constituent originating mainly from arid regions. Identifying where dust comes from and where it goes is essential for understanding how it affects the climate. To do so, we employ high temporal frequency satellite data to backtrack dust plumes to their sources, revealing key dust‐emitting regions and their seasonal variations. We also quantify each source area's frequency and magnitude of emissions and the spatial distribution of emanating dust plumes. Our findings show that summer is the peak season for most areas, except for the strongest dust sources, located in Southern Sahara, which peak in winter driven by seasonal winds. Additionally, some Saharan source areas exhibit severe storms but have been under‐emphasized because they were measured by the frequency of their storms. Key Points: High‐temporal‐resolution images from geostationary‐orbit satellites enable precise back‐tracking of dust source areasDust source areas are analyzed in terms of their emission frequency, contribution to the regional atmosphere, and corresponding plume extentSummer is the peak dust emission season for most sources in West Asia and Sahara and ephemeral lake beds are active during the dry season [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Atacama Desert is amongst the driest places on Earth yet large dust outbreaks seem rare. We present the first quantitative assessment of dust events in the Atacama for 1950–2021 based on station observations. A total of 1920 dust days were recorded with less than 10% being classified as dust storms. We calculated the wind speeds at 5%, 25% and 50% of the dust‐event frequency distribution. The mean wind speed for the threshold of 5% is 10.9 ± 1.6 ms−1 which is twice as large as the values in the Taklamakan, Western Sahel, and Sudan, and consistent with the perceptually infrequent dust activity despite the exceptional aridity. We see no overall long‐term trend but increased dust activity for 1970–1978, 1984–1988 and 2013–2017. A combination of changes in the wind speed statistics and soil conditions, possibly including anthropogenic land‐use changes have led to the variability in dust activity. Plain Language Summary: Little is known about the dust activity in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Our study provides the first assessment of dust events in the past 72 years using dust and meteorological observations from stations in the Atacama. Dust activity is low but we found three periods in the past with more dust activity than today, possibly linked to past changes in soil conditions. The minimum wind speeds required for dust events are much higher than those previously determined for North African and East Asian Deserts, consistent with the rareness of large dust outbreaks from the Atacama. Key Points: Dust activity is rare with dust reports on 1,920 days in 72 yearsThere is no long‐term trend but enhanced activity during three periods, dominated by dust reports from the station Chañaral, is foundMean threshold wind speeds for dust‐event occurrence is 10.9 ± 1.6 ms−1, and is higher than that for North African and East Asian Deserts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The source of dust in the global atmosphere is an important factor to better understand the role of dust aerosols in the climate system. However, it is a difficult task to attribute the airborne dust over the remote land and ocean regions to their origins since dust from various sources are mixed during long‐range transport. Recently, a multi‐model experiment, namely the AeroCom‐III Dust Source Attribution (DUSA), has been conducted to estimate the relative contribution of dust in various locations from different sources with tagged simulations from seven participating global models. The BASE run and a series of runs with nine tagged regions were made to estimate the contribution of dust emitted in East‐ and West‐Africa, Middle East, Central‐ and East‐Asia, North America, the Southern Hemisphere, and the prominent dust hot spots of the Bodélé and Taklimakan Deserts. The models generally agree in large scale mean dust distributions, however models show large diversity in dust source attribution. The inter‐model differences are significant with the global model dust diversity in 30%–50%, but the differences in regional and seasonal scales are even larger. The multi‐model analysis estimates that North Africa contributes 60% of global atmospheric dust loading, followed by Middle East and Central Asia sources (24%). Southern hemispheric sources account for 10% of global dust loading, however it contributes more than 70% of dust over the Southern Hemisphere. The study provides quantitative estimates of the impact of dust emitted from different source regions on the globe and various receptor regions including remote land, ocean, and the polar regions synthesized from the seven models. Plain Language Summary: As the most abundant aerosol type in the Earth's atmosphere, mineral dust plays an important role in global climate by interacting with incoming and outgoing radiation, providing liquid and ice cloud nuclei, and affecting atmospheric stability. The global dust sources are relatively well characterized by the remote sensing and modeling studies as the majority of dust is emitted from the so‐called dust belt which expands from North Africa to East Asia. However, it is challenging to attribute dust sources over the remote land and ocean regions, since dust is mixed during long‐range transport, where it experiences complex atmospheric processes, including horizontal and vertical‐advection, wet deposition, and dry deposition. Using the multi‐model simulations in the Aerocom/Dust Source Attribution experiment, the present study (a) examines the model diversity in dust source attribution and (b) estimates the contribution of dust sources to various receptor regions, including remote land/ocean and the polar regions in different altitudes, from the multi‐model statistics. Beyond dust sources, many remote land, ocean, and polar regions are affected by a mixture of dust from various sources around the globe. Key Points: Contributions of various dust sources are quantitatively estimated in a multi‐model experimentContributions of various sources have different horizontal and vertical distributions and seasonalityDust near source regions are dominated by dust emitted in the upwind source regions; however many remote land, ocean, and polar regions are affected by a mixture of dust from various sources around the globe [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work analyses 10 years (from 2009 to 2018) of long‐range Saharan dust advections (SDAs) and their correlation with the precipitation and radiative budget over the Central Mediterranean region. The identification of the SDAs is based on back‐trajectories (BTs) of air mass and complementary measurements of the dust deposited at the site of Monte Martano in Central Italy. The associated synoptic circulation weather types (CWT), precipitation and radiation variables have been estimated by using ERA5 and CAMS reanalysis, satellite data and raingauge observations. It is found that the 50% of all SDAs occur under a CWT characterized by an upper level trough over the Western Mediterranean and a high‐pressure system over the Eastern Mediterranean. Strong southerly winds, large vertical integral of water vapour transport and a positive anomaly of 2 m temperature are associated with dust uplift and transport. The effect of dust on rainfall intensity puts forward the important modulation of the aerosol effects on the radiative budget with a latitudinal dependence. On dusty days, intense rainfall increases over the northern Central Mediterranean and light rainfall is suppressed in the southern Central Mediterranean, pointing out a relevant correlation between dust and the intensification of extreme events. Other than affecting rainfall intensity, the stronger surface heating over the southern Central Mediterranean, which is correlated to a higher dust optical depth, causes a local maximum of sea surface temperature (SST) and near‐surface temperature anomaly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dust direct radiative effect (DRE) depends strongly on the dust particle size distribution (PSD) and complex refractive index (CRI). Although recent studies constrained the dust PSD in the models, its CRI uncertainties are still large. As a result, whether dust warms or cools the climate system remains unclear. Here, we estimate the dust DRE by employing the regionally‐dependent dust CRI based on global measurements. We find that new dust CRI significantly enhances the scattering of dust in the shortwave while reduces its absorption in the longwave, which is opposite to that caused by increasing the coarse and giant dust fraction via constraining the PSD. Constraining both PSD and CRI ultimately leads to a net dust DRE of −0.68 W m−2, a cooling stronger than current model estimates. Plain Language Summary: Impacts of dust on the Earth's climate are sensitive to the size and composition of dust particles. Previous research found that dust composition varies among its source regions. Using a single dust complex refractive index by assuming a uniform dust particle composition is inadequate for accurate dust modeling. In this study, we develop a regionally‐dependent dust refractive index scheme based on global observations to represent the differences in dust composition among its source regions. We find that the optical and radiative properties of the modeled dust are much improved when compared with observations. Our results show an enhanced dust cooling effect when accounting for regional differences in the dust complex refractive index, which is opposite to that when increasing more large dust particles. As a result, the combined effect leads to a stronger dust cooling than our previous model estimate. This study emphasizes the need to constrain the dust size distribution and the refractive index in the model to more accurately quantify the impacts of dust on climate. Key Points: New dust simulations are constrained by a combination of observed dust size distributions and regionally‐dependent dust refractive indicesNew dust refractive indices increase dust scattering in the shortwave and reduce dust absorption in the longwaveNew dust refractive indices greatly enhance dust cooling and change the sign of the net dust direct radiative effect in its source regions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a compact, portable, and low-cost holographic microscope designed for the characterization of micrometric particles suspended in a liquid. This system is built around a commercial optical microscope by substituting its illumination source (a light-emitting diode) with a collimated laser beam. Similarly, a quartz flow cell replaces the microscope glass slide using a 3D-printed custom mount. With the hardware presented in this paper, the holographic imaging of the electromagnetic fields emitted by the particles that intercept the laser beam achieves a resolution close to that of optical microscopes but with a greater depth of field. Several morphological and optical features can be extracted from the holograms, including particle projected section, aspect ratio, and extinction cross-section. Additionally, we introduce a remote system control that enables users to process the acquired holograms on a remote computational device. This work provides a comprehensive description of the methodology of image processing in holographic microscopy and a series of validation measurements conducted using calibrated particles. This technique is suitable for the characterization of airborne particles found in snow, firn, and ice; here we report experimental results obtained from Alpine ice cores.

Abstract In this study, prominent dust source areas are identified along with their plume extent using high temporal frequency satellite observations. Hourly dust plume observations of the Dust Belt from geostationary‐orbit satellites are analyzed for the 2017‐12–2022‐11 period. To identify dust source areas and their extents, we back‐track plumes to their source, assessing source areas in terms of emission frequency, contribution, and plume extent patterns. This method advances over traditional source allocation techniques that rely on polar‐orbiting satellites based on a few daily passes and meteorological wind fields for backtracking. Our findings indicate that Boreal summer is the most intense season for most sources, except in the Southern Sahara, which experiences winterly winds. Our analysis also reveals significant contributions from regions within the Sahara that experience expansive but infrequent dust storms, highlighting the importance of considering both frequency and magnitude in understanding dust emissions.

Mineral dust, the most abundant atmospheric aerosol by mass, interacts with radiation directly and alters cloud properties indirectly. Many operational numerical weather prediction models account for aerosol direct effects by using climatological mean concentrations and neglect indirect effects. This simplification may lead to shortcomings in model forecasts during outbreaks of Saharan dust towards Europe, when climatological mean dust concentrations deviate strongly from actual concentrations. This study investigates errors in model analyses and short‐range forecasts during such events. We investigate a pronounced dust event in March 2021 using the pre‐operational ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic weather and climate model with Aerosols and Reactive Trace gases (ICON‐ART) with prognostic calculation of dust and the operational European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) model, which deploys a dust climatology. We compare model analysis and forecast with measurements from satellite and in situ instruments. We find that inclusion of prognostic aerosol and direct radiative effects from dust improves forecasts of surface radiation during clear‐sky conditions. However, dust‐induced cirrus clouds are strongly underestimated, highlighting the importance of representing indirect effects adequately. These findings are corroborated by systematic quantification of forecast errors against satellite measurements. For this we construct an event catalogue with 49 dust days over Central Europe between January 2018 and March 2022. We classify model cells by simulated and observed cloudiness and simulated dustiness in the total atmospheric column. We find significant overestimations of brightness temperature for cases with dust compared with cases without dust. For surface shortwave radiation, we find median overestimations of 6.2% during cloudy conditions with dust optical depth greater than 0.1, however these are not significant compared with cloudy conditions without dust. Our findings show that the pre‐operational ICON‐ART and the operational IFS model still do not reproduce cloudiness adequately during events with Saharan dust over Central Europe. Missing implementations of prognostic dust, particularly of indirect effects on cloud formation, lead to significant underestimations of cloudiness and potentially overestimations of surface radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonate radical anion (CO3.− ${\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}}^{.-}$) is generally overlooked in atmospheric chemistry. Our recent work emphasizes the important role of carbonate radicals produced on mineral dust surfaces in fast sulfate production under solar irradiation in the presence of CO2 at specifically low RH and light intensity. Yet so far how CO3.− ${\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}}^{.-}$ involves and affects secondary sulfate production under diverse RH, light intensity, and complex constituent matrix remains unknown, which essentially limits our comprehensive knowledge of CO3.− ${\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}}^{.-}$initiated SO2 oxidation scheme in the atmosphere. Herein, we explored the heterogeneous SO2 oxidation over both model and authentic dust and clays in the presence of CO2 at atmospheric relevant RHs and light intensities. Interestingly, we observe that CO2 promotes sulfate yield over authentic dust and clays at atmospheric‐relevant RH and light intensity. This observation relates to the favorable kinetic between SO2 oxidation and CO3.− ${\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}}^{.-}$ while auto‐quenching of these radical ions is largely minimized due to the sufficient sites of crustal constituents. Furthermore, employing a suite of authentic dust and machine learning strategies, we evaluated the relative importance of each constituent within airborne minerals or clays as well as environmental conditions including relative humidity, light intensity, and CO2 concentration in affecting SO2 uptake capability. On this basis, sulfate formation mediated by dust‐driven pathway, accounting for nearly ∼20.9% of overall contribution by the end of this century during some pollution episodes, even higher than gas‐phase ·OH $\cdot \text{OH}$ (∼16.9%), will be increased by 163% if CO2‐initiated SO2 oxidation scheme is incorporated. Plain Language Summary: How carbonate radical ions involve and affect sulfate formation under different RHs, light intensities, and complex component matrices remains an open question. Secondary sulfate production is facilitated by CO3.− ${\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}}^{.-}$ over authentic dust particles in atmospheric relevant RH and light intensity. More importantly, this research emphasizes that CO2 is not an inert greenhouse gas that rarely participates in atmospheric chemistry but a strong oxidant precursor that will produce CO3.− ${\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}}^{.-}$ and subsequently trigger quick SO2 oxidation via chain reactions. This dust‐driven reaction channel mediated by CO3.− ${\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}}^{.-}$ potentially contributes to nearly ∼1/5 of secondary sulfate production during some pollution hours if the growing intensive anthropogenic activities continue. Key Points: Carbonate radical‐initiated SO2 heterogeneous oxidation is sensitive to RH, CO2 concentration, light intensity, and dust constituentsCarbonate radicals promote atmospheric sulfate production on authentic dust and clay particles at haze‐relevant conditionsThis previously unrecognized scheme will account for ∼20.9% of overall atmospheric sulfate formation by the end of this century [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The dust direct radiative effect (DRE) depends strongly on the dust particle size distribution (PSD) and complex refractive index (CRI). Although recent studies constrained the dust PSD in the models, its CRI uncertainties are still large. As a result, whether dust warms or cools the climate system remains unclear. Here, we estimate the dust DRE by employing the regionally‐dependent dust CRI based on global measurements. We find that new dust CRI significantly enhances the scattering of dust in the shortwave while reduces its absorption in the longwave, which is opposite to that caused by increasing the coarse and giant dust fraction via constraining the PSD. Constraining both PSD and CRI ultimately leads to a net dust DRE of −0.68 W m−2, a cooling stronger than current model estimates.

Mineral dust is one of the most abundant types of ice nucleating particles in the atmosphere. During atmospheric transport, mineral dust particles can become coated with inorganic and organic solutes, which can impact their ice nucleation activity. Aminium cations formed from amines are one type of organic solute that can coat mineral dust particles in the atmosphere, but their effects on the ice nucleation activity of mineral dust have not been studied. We investigated the effects of primary, secondary, and tertiary aminium cations with methyl and ethyl groups, as well as ammonium cations, on the ice nucleation activity of K‐feldspar, an important type of mineral dust, in the immersion freezing mode at low cation concentrations (0.2–20 mM) using a droplet‐freezing apparatus. Ammonium cations substantially increased the ice nucleation activity of K‐feldspar, consistent with previous studies. In contrast, primary aminium cations significantly reduced K‐feldspar ice nucleation activity, and secondary and tertiary aminium cations had no significant effect (the effect was less than the uncertainty of our measurements). Our combined results are consistent with the following mechanisms: ammonium cations undergo ion exchange with K‐feldspar, providing exposed N–H groups for hydrogen bonding with ice; primary aminium cations undergo ion exchange with K‐feldspar, exposing a hydrophobic tail that is not effective at nucleating ice; secondary and tertiary aminium cations do not undergo ion exchange with K‐feldspar due to steric effects caused by the multiple hydrophobic groups on the cation. Plain Language Summary: Ice nucleating particles are particles in the atmosphere that can initiate the formation of ice in liquid clouds, impacting cloud properties, precipitation, and climate. Mineral dust is a dominant type of ice nucleating particles in the atmosphere. During atmospheric transport, aminium cations, formed from amine gases which can be abundant in the atmosphere, can coat mineral dust particles altering their ability to nucleate ice. However, the effect of aminium cations on the ice nucleation ability of mineral dust particles has not been studied. We investigated the effects of aminium and ammonium cations on the ice nucleation ability of K‐feldspar, an important type of mineral dust and ice nucleating particles in the atmosphere. Our results show that secondary and tertiary aminium cations have no effect on the ice nucleating ability of K‐feldspar, but primary aminium cations greatly reduce the ice nucleating ability of K‐feldspar. This has possible implications for predicting cloud formation in the atmosphere. We also present a mechanism related to ion exchange that can explain our ice nucleation results. Key Points: Ammonium cations significantly increased the ice nucleation activity of K‐feldsparPrimary aminium cations substantially reduced the ice nucleation activity of K‐feldsparSecondary and tertiary aminium had limited effects on the ice nucleation activity of K‐feldspar due to their inability for ion exchange [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The data of 17 air quality monitoring stations of Greater Cairo are used to perform a statistical analysis aiming to detect any heterogeneous surface effects of mineral dust on the distribution of reactive trace gases (SO2 NO2, and ozone) in. After a thorough quality check, the methodology consisted of i) selecting representative stations by agglomerative hierarchical clustering, ii) identifying dust events based on PM10 measurements, remote sensing observations, and meteorology, and iii) applying the non-parametric Kruskal Wallis (KW) hypothesis test to compare (at the 95% confidence level) trace gas concentrations during dust and non-dust events. The representative stations display either a background-like or a bimodal variability with concentrations (even that of the secondary product NO2) peaking at traffic rush hours but during dust storms all stations capture the signal of mineral dust advection. Eight wintertime and springtime dust cases are retained for the study. After the role of the confounding factors (i.e., ventilation index, relative humidity, and photolysis) has been carefully discussed and taken into account, the KW test shows that there is no significant reduction of the SO2, NO2 and ozone concentrations attributable to dust during 7 of the 8 events. The drop of the concentrations coinciding with the advection of dry dust-laden Saharan air masses is rather an effect of the dilution resulting from the combination of large wind speed and mixing layer height than of the heterogeneous uptake of these gases on the mineral dust surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Characteristics of PM 2.5 components, VOCs during the haze and dust period were investigated. • SOC were estimated by EC tracer method. • SOA formation were enhanced during dust episode. • Photochemical reactions were responsible for the enhanced SOA formation. To investigate the effect of frequently occurring mineral dust on the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), 106 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), trace gas pollutants and chemical components of PM 2.5 were measured continuously in January 2021 in Wuhan, Central China. The observation period was divided into two stages that included a haze period and a following dust period, based on the ratio of PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentrations. The average ratio of secondary organic carbon (SOC) to elemental carbon (EC) was 1.98 during the dust period, which was higher than that during the haze period (0.69). The contribution of SOA to PM 2.5 also increased from 2.75% to 8.64%. The analysis of the relationships between the SOA and relative humidity (RH) and the odd oxygen (e.g., O X = O 3 + NO 2) levels suggested that photochemical reactions played a more important role in the enhancement of SOA production during the dust period than the aqueous-phase reactions. The heterogeneous photochemical production of OH radicals in the presence of metal oxides during the dust period was believed to be enhanced. Meanwhile, the ratios of trans-2-butene to cis-2-butene and m-/p-xylene to ethylbenzene (X/E) dropped significantly, confirming that stronger photochemical reactions occurred and SOA precursors formed efficiently. These results verified the laboratory findings that metal oxides in mineral dust could catalyse the oxidation of VOCs and induce higher SOA production. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desert dust exposure is associated with adverse respiratory health effects. Desert dust is a complex pollutant mixtures that includes respirable crystalline and amorphous particles, metals, and microbial constituents. Given the health effects of desert dust and its heterogeneity, as yet unidentified harmful biological pathways may be triggered. Therefore, we exposed human in vitro air–liquid interface co-cultures of alveolar epithelial A549 cells and THP-1 macrophages to Saharan dust (SD). For comparison, we used the known pulmonary toxicant DQ12 quartz dust. Via RNA sequencing, we identified that SD but not DQ12 increased the gene expression of granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GMCSF) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF). These findings were confirmed by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR. SD dose-dependently upregulated GMCSF and GCSF expression with significant 7 and 9-fold changes, respectively, at the highest tested concentration of 31 µg/cm2. Furthermore, we observed that SD significantly enhanced the secretion of GM-CSF and G-CSF by 2-fold. Both cytokines have previously been associated with lung diseases such as asthma and fibrosis. Hence, we present two molecular messengers that may contribute to the adverse health effects of desert dust and might serve as drug targets for this globally relevant non-anthropogenic air pollutant.

Abstract Mineral dust is one of the most abundant atmospheric aerosol species and has various far‐reaching effects on the climate system and adverse impacts on air quality. Satellite observations can provide spatio‐temporal information on dust emission and transport pathways. However, satellite observations of dust plumes are frequently obscured by clouds. We use a method based on established, machine‐learning‐based image in‐painting techniques to restore the spatial extent of dust plumes for the first time. We train an artificial neural net (ANN) on modern reanalysis data paired with satellite‐derived cloud masks. The trained ANN is applied to cloud‐masked, gray‐scaled images, which were derived from false color images indicating elevated dust plumes in bright magenta. The images were obtained from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager instrument onboard the Meteosat Second Generation satellite. We find up to 15% of summertime observations in West Africa and 10% of summertime observations in Nubia by satellite images miss dust plumes due to cloud cover. We use the new dust‐plume data to demonstrate a novel approach for validating spatial patterns of the operational forecasts provided by the World Meteorological Organization Dust Regional Center in Barcelona. The comparison elucidates often similar dust plume patterns in the forecasts and the satellite‐based reconstruction, but once trained, the reconstruction is computationally inexpensive. Our proposed reconstruction provides a new opportunity for validating dust aerosol transport in numerical weather models and Earth system models. It can be adapted to other aerosol species and trace gases.

This study presents the results of the long-term monitoring of PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations using a low-cost particle sensor installed in a suburban environment in the Canary Islands. A laser-scattering Nova Fitness SDS011 sensor was operated continuously for approximately three and a half years, which is longer than most other studies using this type of sensor. The impact of African dust outbreaks on the aerosol concentrations was assessed, showing a significant increase in both PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations during the outbreaks. Additionally, a good correlation was found with a nearby reference instrument of the air quality network of the Canary Islands' government. The correlation between the PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations, the effect of relative humidity, and the stability of the sensor were also investigated. This study highlights the potential of this kind of sensor for long-term air quality monitoring with a view to developing extensive and dense low-cost air quality networks that are complementary to official air quality networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the snow albedo changes in Colombian tropical glaciers, namely, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM), Sierra Nevada del Cocuy (NSC), Nevado del Ruíz (NDR), Nevado Santa Isabel (NDS), Nevado del Tolima (NDT), and Nevado del Huila (NDH). They are associated with the possible mineral dust deposition from the Sahara Desert during the June and July months using snow albedo (SA), snow cover (SC), and land surface temperature (LST) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. And mineral dust (MD) from The Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), both of them during 2000–2020. Results show the largest snow albedo reductions were observed at 39.39%, 32.1%, and 30.58% in SNC, SNSM, and NDR, respectively. Meanwhile, a multiple correlation showed that the glaciers where MD contributed the most to SA behavior were 35.4%, 24%, and 21.4% in NDS, NDC, and NDR. Results also display an increasing trend of dust deposition on Colombian tropical glaciers between 2.81 × 10−3 µg·m−2·year−1 and 6.58 × 10−3 µg·m−2·year−1. The results may help recognize the influence of Saharan dust on reducing snow albedo in tropical glaciers in Colombia. The findings from this study also have the potential to be utilized as input for both regional and global climate models. This could enhance our comprehension of how tropical glaciers are impacted by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical processing of reactive nitrogen species, especially of NOx (= NO + NO2) and nitrous acid (HONO), determines the photochemical ozone production and oxidation capacity in the troposphere. However, sources of HONO and NOx in the remote marine atmosphere are still poorly understood. In this work, the multiphase chemistry mechanism CAPRAM in the model framework SPACCIM was used to study HONO formation at Cape Verde (CVAO) in October 2017, adopted with the input of current parameterizations for various HONO sources. Three simulations were performed that adequately reproduced ambient HONO levels and its diurnal pattern. The model performance for NOx and O3 improves significantly when considering dust‐surface‐photocatalytic conversions of reactive nitrogen compounds with high correlation coefficients up to 0.93, 0.56, and 0.89 for NO, NO2, and O3, respectively. Photocatalytic conversion of the adsorbed HNO3 on dust is modeled to be the predominant contributor for daytime HONO at CVAO, that is, accounting for about 62% of the chemical formation rate at noontime. In contrast, the ocean‐surface‐mediated conversion of NO2 to HONO and other discussed pathways are less important. The average OH levels at midday (9:00–16:00) modeled for cluster trajectory 1, 2, and 3 are 5.2, 5.1, and 5.2 × 106 molecules cm−3, respectively. Main OH formation is driven by O3 photolysis with a contribution of 74.6% to the total source rate, while HONO photolysis is negligible (∼1.8%). In summary, this study highlights the key role of dust aerosols for HONO formation and NOx cycling at CVAO and possibly in other dust‐affected regions, urgently calling for further investigations using field and model studies. Plain Language Summary: Chemical processing of NOx (= NO + NO2) and nitrous acid (HONO) is important for the tropospheric O3 budget and oxidation capacity. However, the sources of HONO and cycling of NOx in the remote marine atmosphere are still poorly explored. A detailed multiphase chemistry model simulation showed a better performance of HONO, NOx and O3 when considering dust‐surface‐photocatalytic conversions of reactive nitrogen compounds, especially the photocatalytic conversion of the adsorbed HNO3 on dust. The simulations demonstrated that OH formation is mainly driven by the O3 photolysis, while HONO photolysis is a negligible OH radical source due to its low concentration levels at Cape Verde. The study highlights the key role of dust aerosols for HONO and NOx chemistry in the remote marine boundary layer. Key Points: The sources of HONO and NOx at Cape Verde are well modeled with CAPRAMPhotocatalytic conversion of adsorbed HNO3 on dust is the predominant contributor for daytime HONOPhotolysis of O3 is the prevailing source of OH radical at Cape Verde, while HONO photolysis is a negligible OH radical source [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mineral dust is the largest contributor to elemental iron in the atmosphere, and, by deposition, to the oceans, where elemental iron is the main limiting nutrient. Southern Africa is an important source at the regional scale, and for the Southern Ocean, however limited knowledge is currently available about the fractional solubility of iron from those sources, as well as on the atmospheric processes conditioning its dissolution during deposition. This paper presents the first investigation of the solubility of iron in mineral dust aerosols from 176 filter samples collected at the Henties Bay Aerosol Observatory (HBAO), in Namibia, from April to December 2017. During the study period, 10 intense dust events occurred. Elemental iron reached peak concentrations as high as 1.5 µg m-3, significantly higher than background levels. These events are attributed to wind erosion of natural soils from the surrounding gravel plains of the Namib desert. The composition of the sampled dust is found to be overall similar to that of aerosols from northern Africa, but characterised by persistent and high concentrations of fluorine, which are attributed to fugi-tive dust from mining activities and soil labouring for construction. The fractional solubility of Fe (%SFe) for both the identified dust episodes and background conditions ranged between 1.3 to 20 %, in the range of values previously observed in the remote Southern Ocean. Even in background conditions, the iron fractional solubility was correlated to aluminium and silicon solubility. The solubility was lower between June and August, and increased from September onwards, during the austral spring months. The relation with measured concentrations of particulate MSA (methanesulfonic acid), solar irradiance and wind speed suggests a possible two-way interac-tion whereby marine biogenic emissions from the coastal Benguela upwelling to the atmosphere would increase the solubility of iron-bearing dust, according to the photo-reduction processes pro-posed by Johansen and Key (2006). The subsequent deposition of soluble iron could act to further enhance marine biogenic emissions. This first investigation points to the west coast of southern Africa as a complex and dynamic environment with multiple processes and active exchanges between the atmosphere and the Atlantic Ocean, requiring further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneous reaction of NO 2 with mineral dust aerosol may play important roles in troposphere chemistry, and has been investigated by a number of laboratory studies. However, the influence of mineralogy on this reaction has not been well understood, and its impact on aerosol hygroscopicity is not yet clear. This work investigated heterogeneous reactions of NO 2 (∼10 ppmv) with K-feldspar, illite, kaolinite, montmorillonite and Arizona Test Dust (ATD) at room temperature as a function of relative humidity (<1% to 80%) and reaction time (up to 24 hr). Heterogeneous reactivity towards NO 2 was low for illite, kaolinite, montmorillonite and ATD, and uptake coefficients of NO 2 , γ (NO 2), were determined to be around or smaller than 1×10−8; K-feldspar exhibited higher reactivity towards NO 2 , and CaCO 3 is most reactive among the nine mineral dust samples considered in this and previous work. After heterogeneous reaction with NO 2 for 24 hr, increase in hygroscopicity was nearly insignificant for illite, kaolinite and montmorillonite, and small but significant for K-feldspar; in addition, large increase in hygroscopicity was observed for ATD, although the increase in hygroscopicity was still smaller than CaCO 3. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mineral dust affects health, climate, and ecosystems in various ways. East Asia is one of the major sources of mineral dust worldwide. This study examines the year-to-year variability of dust deposition over Japan in April from the perspective of large-scale atmospheric circulations using atmospheric and aerosol reanalysis datasets for the period from 2011 to 2017. The increased dust deposition in Japan is explained by the intensified dust transport from the Mongolian Plateau by the anomalous westerly winds associated with a deepened trough over the East Asian continent toward the northwest of the Japanese islands in the middle to lower troposphere. The enhanced dust emission over the Gobi Desert and the intensified extratropical cyclone activity are consistent with the largerthan-normal dust amount in East Asia. Comparing the dust depositions over western and northern Japan, it is suggested that the slightly different anomalous trough positions may determine whether or not a large amount of dust is carried. A further analysis using the long-term (1967 - 2022) observation data of dust in Japan supports the importance of the intensified trough over the East Asian continent. Dust flux decomposed into cyclonic and anticyclonic components showed that both vortices contribute to the eastward dust transport in East Asia. These results suggest that Japanese dust events and their variability are affected by the stationary circulation anomaly as well as the baroclinic instability waves including transient cyclones and anticyclones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article movement trajectory of the particles in dust-arrester intended for cleaning of perfected air in technological process of cotton cleaning industry was given. It is known that the composition of perfected air in cotton-cleaning industry is directly connected with efficiency of its cleaning. The percent mineral and organic material in the composition of cotton passion depends on the technological processes. Revision productivity using any vacuum cleaner instrument depends on the specifics of passion, not review their types. It is possible to say that, it depends on morphological characteristic of passion, on the form, chemical composition, density, comparative surface, adhesion, spilt and poring and moisture it. In existing technological process of primary cotton processing the perfected air with various components of dust particles is allocated. The air speed admitted info the camera of dust-arrester signifies in the cleaning process of dusty air. In details, the correlation between the speed of particle eddy and movement trajectory of these particles in the aggregate is not completely researched. In this regard, air purification from fibrous impurities is relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A droplet-freezing apparatus was developed to investigate ice nucleation activities of atmospheric particles. • Heterogeneous uptake of NO 2 led to significant decrease in ice nucleation activities of feldspar and ATD. • The impacts of NO 2 uptake on ice nucleation activities were more significant for feldspar than ATD. Mineral dust is an important type of ice nucleating particles in the troposphere; however, the effects of heterogeneous reactions on ice nucleation (IN) activities of mineral dust remain to be elucidated. A droplet-freezing apparatus (Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry Ice Nucleation Apparatus, GIGINA) was developed in this work to measure IN activities of atmospheric particles in the immersion freezing mode, and its performance was validated by a series of experimental characterizations. This apparatus was then employed to measure IN activities of feldspar and Arizona Test Dust (ATD) particles before and after heterogeneous reaction with NO 2 (10±0.5 ppmv) at 40% relative humidity. The surface coverage of nitrate, θ (NO 3 −), increased to 3.1±0.2 for feldspar after reaction with NO 2 for 6 hr, and meanwhile the active site density per unit surface area (n s) at -20°C was reduced from 92±5 to <1.0 cm−2 by about two orders of magnitude; however, no changes in nitrate content or IN activities were observed for further increase in reaction time (up to 24 hr). Both nitrate content and IN activities changed continuously with reaction time (up to 24 hr) for ATD particles; after reaction with NO 2 for 24 hr, θ (NO 3 −) increased to 1.4±0.1 and n s at -20°C was reduced from 20±4 to 9.7±1.9 cm−2 by a factor of ∼2. Our work suggests that heterogeneous reaction with NO 2 , an abundant reactive nitrogen species in the troposphere, may significantly reduce IN activities of mineral dust in the immersion freezing mode. Graphical Abstract [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generation and transport of mineral dust is strongly related to climate on seasonal, year-to-year, and glacial-interglacial timescales. The modern dust cycle is influenced by soil moisture, which is partly a function of drought duration and severity. The production and transport of dust can therefore be amplified by global and regional droughts, thereby moderating ecosystem vulnerability to disturbance through the influence of dust on nutrient delivery to ecosystems. In this work, we use strontium and neodymium isotopes in combination with trace element concentrations in modern dust samples collected in 2015 to quantify the role of regionally versus globally supplied dust in nutrient delivery to a montane ecosystem. The study sites lie along an elevational transect in the southern Sierra Nevada, USA, with samples spanning the dry seasons of 2014 (Aciego et al., 2017) and 2015 (this study), when the region was experiencing a historic drought. The goal of our research was to quantify the spatial and temporal variability and sensitivity of the dust cycle to short term changes at nutrient-limited sites. We find that, during the dry season of 2015, Asian sources contributed between 10 and 40% of dust to sites located along this elevational transect, and importantly increased in importance during the summer growing season compared to regional dust sources. These changes are likely related to the prolonged drought in Asia in 2015, highlighting both the sensitivity of dust production and transport to drought and the teleconnections of dust transport in terrestrial ecosystems.

We explored spectral diversity in infrared (IR, 4–25 μm) imaginary (k) and real (n) indices of refraction (optical constants) for 26 surface soils that originated from global dust entrainment regions. The k spectra were derived from optical transmission spectra of KBr pellets containing dispersed dust and the n spectra were estimated with the subtractive Kramers–Kronig (SKK) method. We compared k and n obtained by this study with previously published values. Our optical constants from the KBr technique are comparable in magnitude and spectral shape to those from previous studies that used dust aerosols re-suspended in a chamber. This suggests that the SKK method can offer a reliable mechanism for measuring IR spectra of both optical constants for soils. The soils used here exhibit additional spectral variability compared with past studies. We note that the appearance and the shift in positions of the strongest absorption peaks are due to combinations of silicates with overlapping absorption, rather than being related to a single mineral. We note that all dust optical constants have substantially lower magnitudes compared to those of pure minerals. Our results can improve estimates of mineral dust radiative effects and support quantification of surface mineral estimates using satellite and ground-based remote sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a supervised machine learning (ML) approach to improve the accuracy of the regional horizontal distribution of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) simulated by the CHIMERE chemistry transport model over North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) AOD satellite observations. Our method produces daily AOD maps with enhanced precision and full spatial domain coverage, which is particularly relevant for regions with a high aerosol abundance, such as the Sahara Desert, where there is a dramatic lack of ground-based measurements for validating chemistry transport simulations. We use satellite observations and some geophysical variables to train four popular regression models, namely multiple linear regression (MLR), random forests (RF), gradient boosting (XGB), and artificial neural networks (NN). We evaluate their performances against satellite and independent ground-based AOD observations. The results indicate that all models perform similarly, with RF exhibiting fewer spatial artifacts. While the regression slightly overcorrects extreme AODs, it remarkably reduces biases and absolute errors and significantly improves linear correlations with respect to the independent observations. We analyze a case study to illustrate the importance of the geophysical input variables and demonstrate the regional significance of some of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding post‐depositional processes altering the layer sequence in ice cores is especially needed to avoid misinterpretation of the oldest and most highly thinned layers. The record of soluble and insoluble impurities represents an important part of the paleoclimate proxies in ice cores but is known to be affected through interaction with the ice matrix, diffusion, and chemical reactions. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) has been recognized for its micron‐scale resolution and micro‐destructiveness in ice core impurity analysis. Employing LA‐ICP‐MS for 2D chemical imaging has already revealed a close relationship between the ice grain boundary network and impurity signals with a significant soluble component, such as Na and Mg. Here we show the latest improvements in chemical imaging with LA‐ICP‐MS, by increasing the spatial resolution to 20 μm and extending the simultaneous analysis to also mostly insoluble impurities, such as Al and Fe. All analytes reveal signals of dispersed spots in a sample of an East Greenland ice core. Based on their average size around 50–60 times larger than an average particle and their heterogeneous elemental ratios these spots are interpreted as particle clusters. To distinguish their origin, a simple colocalization classification reveals elemental ratios consistent with marine and mineral dust aerosol. Based on already existing data from cryo‐Raman spectroscopy, we discuss potential ways to integrate the two methods in a future comparison. Such a combined approach may help constraining post‐depositional changes to the dust‐related insoluble impurity components, such as cluster formation and chemical reactions at grain boundaries. Plain Language Summary: Aerosols of marine and terrestrial origin delivered to the polar ice sheets are archived in the ice and can be studied via the analysis of ice cores. The chemical composition and size of mineral dust can deliver important information about past climatic changes and atmospheric transport. However, it has already been shown that this insoluble material is not always passively archived in the ice but can undergo changes in its chemical composition and size, for example, by forming particle aggregates. To investigate these processes, it is preferable to study the chemical composition of insoluble particles and their localization within the ice matrix. Here we show how this can be done by a new chemical imaging method for ice using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. In a sample of a Greenland ice core we find clear signals of particle clusters, 50–60 times larger than a single particle. Based on their chemical composition, it is possible to differentiate between marine and terrestrial material. We discuss the results against findings previously obtained for the same sample from a different method, cryo‐Raman spectroscopy. Bringing together several methods may provide important added value for a more comprehensive understanding of these important indicators of past climate. Key Points: Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry imaging investigates the geochemical composition and localization of particles in samples of the East Greenland Ice Core Project ice core, East GreenlandThe maps reveal clusters of insoluble particles 50–60 times larger than an average particle, at intra‐grain locations and grain boundariesGeochemical signals of the particles are consistent with cryo‐Raman spectroscopy and with known dust sources and sea salt aerosol [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Understanding post‐depositional processes altering the layer sequence in ice cores is especially needed to avoid misinterpretation of the oldest and most highly thinned layers. The record of soluble and insoluble impurities represents an important part of the paleoclimate proxies in ice cores but is known to be affected through interaction with the ice matrix, diffusion, and chemical reactions. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) has been recognized for its micron‐scale resolution and micro‐destructiveness in ice core impurity analysis. Employing LA‐ICP‐MS for 2D chemical imaging has already revealed a close relationship between the ice grain boundary network and impurity signals with a significant soluble component, such as Na and Mg. Here we show the latest improvements in chemical imaging with LA‐ICP‐MS, by increasing the spatial resolution to 20 μm and extending the simultaneous analysis to also mostly insoluble impurities, such as Al and Fe. All analytes reveal signals of dispersed spots in a sample of an East Greenland ice core. Based on their average size around 50–60 times larger than an average particle and their heterogeneous elemental ratios these spots are interpreted as particle clusters. To distinguish their origin, a simple colocalization classification reveals elemental ratios consistent with marine and mineral dust aerosol. Based on already existing data from cryo‐Raman spectroscopy, we discuss potential ways to integrate the two methods in a future comparison. Such a combined approach may help constraining post‐depositional changes to the dust‐related insoluble impurity components, such as cluster formation and chemical reactions at grain boundaries.

During abrupt climate changes of the last glacial period paleorecords show large amplitude changes in the dust cycle. We use Earth System model simulations to evaluate processes operating across these events. Idealized Heinrich stadial‐like simulations show a southwards migration of tropical rainfall that dries the Sahel and reduces wet deposition causing a widespread enhancement of tropical dust loading. However, several discrepancies with marine core dust deposition reconstructions are evident. Simulations with a more limited freshwater forcing (0.4 Sv instead of 1.0 Sv) and weaker cooling over the North Atlantic (less than 3°C) show a switch in sign of the stadial dust deposition anomaly in several regions, improving agreement with paleorecords. The simulated dust cycle therefore displays in places a non‐linear response to abrupt change. The global‐mean stadial dust radiative forcing in the more realistic simulations is around −0.2 to −0.6 W m−2 and so could represent an amplifying feedback during these events. Plain Language Summary: Mineral dust in the atmosphere is mostly sourced from arid regions like the Sahara desert. The amount and geographical spread of this dust in the atmosphere is sensitive to environmental conditions such as drought. Paleoclimate records show that rapid cooling events centered on the North Atlantic during the last ice‐age also saw large increases in the rate of dust deposited over the ocean. Earth System models are a computational tool that can be used to understand the links between climate and the dust cycle. Using a series of such simulations we found that abrupt cooling events in the North Atlantic can lead to a massive increase in dust over the equatorial (tropical) regions. However, the model's response is in many places non‐linear, meaning that the change in dust is very sensitive to the magnitude of the climate changes occurring. This non‐linearity is mostly due to interactions between changes in the water cycle and the dust. We show that a less severe cooling produces a more realistic dust response when evaluated against paleo‐dust records. Since dust scatters incoming sunlight, increased atmospheric dust during these events may have amplified and even extended the cold phases. Key Points: Freshwater hosing forcing increases tropical dust loading in Earth System model simulations of the last glacial maximumSimulated response is non‐linear with forcing in some regions, particularly North AfricaWeaker events improve agreement with data and emitted dust produces a self‐amplifying feedback [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aerosol optical property products of Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2) reanalysis dataset have been extensively investigated on a global or regional scale. However, the understanding of MERRA-2 aerosol component products on an extensive temporal and spatial scale is inadequate. Recently, the aerosol component products have been derived from the observations of Polarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances/Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectance for Atmospheric Science coupled with observations from a Lidar (POLDER/PARASOL). This study presents a quantitative evaluation of the MERRA-2 reanalysis dust and black carbon (BC) column concentration using independent satellite-based aerosol component concentration retrievals. Both GRASP/Component and MERRA-2 reanalysis products can capture well the temporal variation in dust column concentration over the dust emission resource and downwind dust-dominated regions with the correlation coefficient (R) varying from 0.80 to 0.98. MERRA-2 reanalysis dust products present higher column concentration than GRASP/Component dust retrievals with relative differences of about 20~70%, except in the Taklamakan Desert and Bay of Bengal, where the relative differences can be negative. The differences in dust column concentration over the African dust regions are larger than that over the Asian dust regions. Similar temporal variations in BC column concentration are characterized by both GRASP/Component BC retrievals and MERRA-2 BC products with R of about 0.70~0.90, except in the North China Plain region. We should pay more caution with the regional applicability of MERRA-2 component products when large differences and high correlation coefficients are obtained simultaneously. The results are favorable for identifying the behavior of MERRA-2 reanalysis component estimation in a new view and demonstrate a practical application of the satellite-based component retrievals, which could make more contributions to the improvement of model estimation in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A shallow cumulus cloud transition from a sugar to flower type of organization occurred under a layer of mineral dust on 2 February 2020, during the multinational Atlantic Tradewind Ocean‐Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign (ATOMIC) and the Elucidating the Role of Clouds‐Circulation Coupling in Climate (EUREC4A) campaigns. Lagrangian large eddy simulations following an airmass trajectory along the tradewinds are used to explore radiative impacts of the diel cycle and mineral dust on the sugar‐to‐flower (S2F) cloud transition. The large‐scale meteorological forcing is derived from the European Center for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis Fifth Generation and based on aerosol measurements from the U.S. Ronald H. Brown Research Vessel and the French ATR‐42 Research Aircraft during the field campaigns. A 12‐hr delay in the diel cycle accelerates the S2F transition at night, leading to more cloud liquid water and precipitation. The aggregated clouds generate more and stronger cold pools, which alter the original mechanism responsible for the organization. Although there is still mesoscale moisture convergence in the cloud layer, the near‐surface divergence associated with cold pools transports the subcloud moisture to the drier surrounding regions. New convection forms along the cold‐pool edges, generating new flower clouds. The modulation of the surface radiative budget by free‐tropospheric mineral dust poses a less dramatic effect on the S2F transition. Mineral dust releases longwave radiation, reducing the cloud amount at night, and absorbs shortwave radiation during the day, cooling the boundary‐layer temperature and increasing the overall cloud amount. Cloud‐top radiative heating because of more clouds strengthens the mesoscale organization, enlarging the aggregate areas, and increasing the cloud amount further. Plain Language Summary: During a joint field study called ATOMIC and EUREC4A, a transition between two cloud systems took place during the day on 2 February 2020. Very small and shallow clouds called "sugar" transitioned into deeper and wider cloud aggregates called "flowers." A dense mineral‐dust layer was also observed above the tradewind cumulus cloud field, likely modulating the radiation interacting with the clouds. High‐resolution simulations are applied to help understand the same cloud transition as if it had taken place at night, and to explore the impacts of mineral dust on the transition. A 12‐hr delay in the daily cycle such that the transition occurs at night affects the cloud transition more significantly than when the transition occurs during the day under a layer of mineral dust. The cloud transition that occurs at night produces more clouds and rain. The mineral dust blocks the solar radiation and cools the air beneath during the day, but does not change the cloud and rain amount as much. Key Points: The transition from sugar to flowers occurs more rapidly at night, producing more cloud and rain, with stronger organization and cold poolsPrecipitation and cold pools weaken the mechanism of cloud aggregation as they transport moisture to drier regions to form new convectionMineral dust above the clouds modulates radiative fluxes below leading to weaker mesoscale organization at night but stronger during the day [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of very fine atmospheric particles (submicron particulate matter; PM1) on visibility deterioration. Taking into consideration not only their entirely different physio-chemical properties in comparison to a well-recognized PM10 but also the origin and a growing environmental awareness of PM1, the main research problem has been solved in few steps. At first, the chemical composition of PM1 was determined in two selected urban areas in Poland. Measurements of meteorological parameters, i.e., air temperature and humidity, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, and visibility, were also conducted. The next step of the work was the analysis of (1) seasonal changes of the concentration of PM1 and its main components, (2) the influence of chemical components of PM1 on light extinction, and (3) the influence of PM1 and humidity on visibility. Hierarchical cluster analysis, correlation matrixes and a heat map, and classification and regression tree analysis were used. The light extinction coefficient is influenced mainly by coarse mass of PM, and PM1-bound ammonium nitrate, organic matter, and by Rayleigh scattering. The less important in the light extinction coefficient shaping has PM1-bound ammonium sulfate, elemental carbon, and soil. In this way, the secondary origin PM1 components were proved to most significantly influence the visibility. The obtained results confirmed the possibility of the use of statistical agglomeration techniques to identify ranges of variation of visibility, including independent variables adopted to analyses (meteorological conditions, chemical composition of PM1, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central Asia's arid climate and growing population make it susceptible to air pollution from mineral dust and anthropogenic sources. To assess the impact of these pollution sources on local air quality, the chemical composition of PM 10 aerosol particles was collected within a year at Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Primary sources of the pollutants, their impact on PM 10 composition, and their seasonal trends were assessed. The measurement approach employed analysis of trace metals, ions, organic compounds, laboratory investigations, diagnostic ratio calculations, all complemented by positive matrix factor analysis. The results reveal that for about 70% of the year, PM 10 levels (80 ± 55 μg m−3 as the annual average) in Dushanbe were higher than the WHO limits, with varying levels during the seasons. Summer concentrations peaked up to 434 μg m−3 due to a combined mineral and road dust influence. Interestingly, winter concentrations reached 152 μg m−3 due to strong contributions (about 64%) from residential heating and fossil fuel combustion, often triggered during sub-10 °C temperatures. Mineral dust events were associated with elevated concentrations of trace metals, including Zn and Pb, alongside organic carbon and high-chain n - alkanes. During such events, Ca/Fe, Ca/Al ratios exceeded those of Saharan dust, suggesting a high salt content in Asian dust, potentially influenced by dried-off lake emissions. It was striking to observe that winter periods exhibited concerning levels of carcinogenic PAHs, such as benzo(b)fluoranthene (<25 ng m−3) and benzo[a]pyrene (<12 ng m−3, BaP), with average values of 4.1 ± 5.9 ng m−3 (BaP) that significantly exceed WHO recommendations. The high PM 10 and PAH exposure could pose severe health risks, necessitating collective attention from the local authorities in developing new mitigation strategies concerning the reduction of emissions from residential heating of coal and wood in winter to curb combustion emissions and reduce exposure. [Display omitted] • Dushanbe's PM10 levels breach WHO guidelines for 70% of the year (mean 80 μg m−3). • Ca/Fe ratios hint at higher Asian dust salt content to Saharan dust due to dried-off lakes. • Residential heating and fossil fuel combustion contribute 64% of winter PM10 values. • Sub-10 °C temperatures heightened PM10 levels harboring carcinogenic PAHs in Winter. • Mineral and road dust controls 74% of summer air pollution (434 μg m−3). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light absorbing particles (LAPs) present high absorbance and contribute to reducing the snow albedo when deposited on snow surfaces. This deposition can be caused by aerosols transported from natural or anthropogenic, either distant or nearby sources. In this study, snow was artificially contaminated with soil samples collected in the Central Andes (near El Yeso dam) to simulate the most common nearby source of Mineral Dust (MD) deposition onto snow surface. Andean soil samples previously conditioned were characterized through Single Particle Optical Sizing (SPOS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for the determination of optical properties. Spectral snow albedo was measured in situ with a spectroradiometric system. To evaluate the heterogeneity of the particle distribution over the snow surface, aerial photographs were taken with a drone to apply a visual color segmentation of the surface and to determine the equivalent MD concentration. Experimental snow albedo was compared with theoretical values obtained with the OptiPar radiative transfer model. Inputs for the model were: the MD refractive index (calculated from the mineralogical composition and morphology of MD) and particle size, cloudiness, snow density, surface roughness, snow grain size, and LAPs concentration (obtained from the snow samples collected during the experiments and analyzed in the laboratory). Small black carbon concentrations were found in natural snow and considered in the simulations. Spectral albedo measurements showed high albedo reductions in the UV and VIS range (300–800 nm), being less significant in the NIR range (800–1700 nm). A nonlinear behavior was observed in broadband albedo when increasing MD concentration. For lower values of MD concentration (lower than 1500 mg ⋅ kg−1), a significant albedo reduction rate of 0.1 units per 1000 mg ⋅ kg−1 was found, while at higher concentrations (¿ 3500 mg ⋅ kg−1), such reduction tends to the minimum. Simulated values with OptiPar are in agreement with measured albedo, but some differences are observed, probably due to the refractive index considered, the snow surface roughness, and the non-uniform MD concentration in snow. • Andean MD particles decrease snow spectral albedo mainly in UV/VIS wavelength range. • XRD and SEM classify Andean soil, matching local geology. • OptiPar radiative transfer model albedo simulations agree with experimental data. • A nonlinear behavior was observed broadband albedo decrease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a comprehensive investigation into the historical profiles of black carbon derived from ice cores, the spatial distributions of light-absorbing impurities in snowpit samples, and carbon isotopic compositions of black carbon in snowpit samples of the Third Pole, we have identified that due to barriers of the Himalayas and remove of wet deposition, local sources rather than those from seriously the polluted South Asia are main contributors of light-absorbing impurities in the inner part of the Third Pole. Therefore, reducing emissions from residents of the Third Pole themselves is a more effective way of protecting the glaciers of the inner Third Pole in terms of reducing concentrations of light-absorbing particles in the atmosphere and on glaciers. [Display omitted] • LAPs deposited on glaciers of the inner TP are primarily sourced from the TP itself. • The Himalayas serve as barrier of transport LAPs from South Asia into inner TP. • Atmosphere of the inner TP remains largely devoid of long-range transported LAPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the results of the long-term monitoring of PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations using a low-cost particle sensor installed in a suburban environment in the Canary Islands. A laser-scattering Nova Fitness SDS011 sensor was operated continuously for approximately three and a half years, which is longer than most other studies using this type of sensor. The impact of African dust outbreaks on the aerosol concentrations was assessed, showing a significant increase in both PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations during the outbreaks. Additionally, a good correlation was found with a nearby reference instrument of the air quality network of the Canary Islands’ government. The correlation between the PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations, the effect of relative humidity, and the stability of the sensor were also investigated. This study highlights the potential of this kind of sensor for long-term air quality monitoring with a view to developing extensive and dense low-cost air quality networks that are complementary to official air quality networks.