The A-LIFE field experiment in the Eastern Mediterranean - Overview and early results

  • Weinzierl, B. (Speaker)
  • Josef Gasteiger (Contributor)
  • Marilena Teri (Contributor)
  • Dollner, M. (Contributor)
  • Petra Seibert (Contributor)
  • Anne Philipp (Contributor)
  • Schöberl, M. (Contributor)
  • Katharina Heimerl (Contributor)
  • Heidi Huntrieser (Contributor)
  • Robert Wagner (Contributor)
  • Thomas Müller (Contributor)
  • Albert Ansmann (Contributor)
  • David Mateos (Contributor)
  • Carlos Toledano (Contributor)

Activity: Talks and presentations › Talk or oral contribution › Science to Science

Description

In spring 2017, the ERC-funded A-LIFE aircraft field experiment (Absorbing aerosol layers in a changing climate: aging, lifetime and dynamics; www.a-life.at) was conducted in the Eastern Mediterranean with the overall aim to investigate the properties of absorbing aerosols (in particular mineral dust – black carbon mixtures) and to study potential links between the presence of absorbing particles, aerosol layer lifetime and removal.

For A-LIFE, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) research aircraft Falcon was equipped with an extensive in-situ aerosol payload, a wind lidar and meteorological sensors. Between 3 and 29 April 2017, the Falcon was based in Cyprus and carried out measurements of the entire atmospheric column from the ground up to 12 km in the Mediterranean. The airborne measurements were complemented by ground-based in-situ and remote sensing observations in the region.

Altogether 22 research flights were conducted and several Saharan dust outbreaks, Arabian and Middle East dust, pollution, and dust-impacted clouds were studied. During several flights, coordinated observations during overflights of ground-based sites in Cyprus, Crete, and over Austria were performed.

Highlights during A-LIFE included a sequence of six flights between 19 and and 22 April 2017 which studied a Saharan dust outbreak and dust-impacted clouds between Malta, Crete and Cyprus as it moved eastwards across the Mediterranean. The event was also captured by the ground-based lidar and in-situ instrumentation. Another highlight was a sequence of four flights between 26 and 29 April 2017 which investigated Arabian/Middle East at altitudes below 4 km and Saharan dust aloft.
In our presentation, we will give an overview of the A-LIFE study, show early results covering profiles of dust microphysical and optical properties, and discuss similarities and differences between Saharan and Arabian/Middle East dust. We will also compare the A-LIFE observations with results from other dust field experiments over Africa, Cape Verde and in the Caribbean.
Period12 Apr 2018
Event titleEGU General Assembly 2018
Event typeSeminar/Workshop
LocationWien, AustriaShow on map