Suchergebnisse

This paper establishes the relationship between the signal of a lidar system corrected for the incomplete overlap effect and the signal of another lidar system or a ceilometer for which the overlap function is unknown. Simple mathematical relationships permit the estimation of the overlap function of the second system as well as the associated error. Several overlap functions have been retrieved with this method over a period of 1.5 years with two lidar systems of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. The error when the overlap function reaches 1 is usually less than 7%. The temporal variability estimated over a period of 1.5 years is less than 11% in the first 1.5 km from the surface and peaks at 18% at heights between 1.7 and 2.4 km. The use of a non-appropriate overlap function in the retrieval of the backscatter coefficient yield errors up to 60% in the first 0.5 km and up to 20% above. ; This research was funded by the H2020 program from the European Union (GA no. 654109, 778349), the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (ref. CGL2017-90884-REDT), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (ref. PID2019-103886RB-I00), and the Unity of Excellence "María de Maeztu" (ref. MDM-2016-0600) financed by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI). The MPLNET project is funded by the NASA Radiation Sciences Program and Earth Observing System. ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (published version)

This paper aims to quantify the improvement obtained with a purely rotational Raman (PRR) channel over a vibro-rotational Raman (VRR) channel, used in an aerosol lidar with elastic and Raman channels, in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), effective vertical resolution, and absolute and relative uncertainties associated to the retrieved aerosol optical (extinction and backscatter) coefficients. Measurements were made with the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network/Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (EARLINET/UPC) multi-wavelength lidar system enabling a PRR channel at 353.9 nm, together with an already existing VRR (386.7 nm) and an elastic (354.7 nm) channels. Inversions were performed with the EARLINET Single Calculus Chain (SCC). When using PRR instead of VRR, the measurements show a gain in SNR of a factor 2.8 and about 7.6 for 3-h nighttime and daytime measurements, respectively. For 3-h nighttime (daytime) measurements the effective vertical resolution is reduced by 17% (20%), the absolute uncertainty (associated to the extinction) is divided by 2 (10) and the relative uncertainty is divided by 3 (7). During daytime, VRR extinction coefficient is retrieved in a limited height range (<2.2 km) preventing the SCC from finding a suitable calibration range in the search height range. So the advantage of using PRR instead of VRR is particularly evidenced in daytime conditions. For nighttime measurements, decreasing the time resolution from 3 to 1 h has nearly no effect on the relative performances of PRR vs. VRR. ; The research leading to these results has received funding from the H2020 program from the European Union (grant agreement no. 654109, 778349, 871115), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (ref. PID2019-103886RB-I00), the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (ref. CGL2017-90884-REDT), and the Unit of Excellence Maria de Maeztu (ref. MDM-2016-0600) financed by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI). ; Peer Reviewed ; Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::13 - Acció per al Clima ; Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::16 - Pau, Justícia i Institucions Sòlides ; Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::5 - Igualtat de Gènere ; Postprint (published version)

The short-wave (SW) direct radiative effect (DRE) during the summer 2019 heatwave produced partly by a moderate, long-lasting Saharan dust outbreak over Europe is analysed in this study. Two European sites (periods) are considered: Barcelona, Spain (23–30 June), and Leipzig, Germany (29 and 30 June), 1350 km apart from each other. Major data are obtained from AERONET and polarised Micro-Pulse Lidar (P-MPL) observations. Modelling is used to describe the different dust pathways, as observed at both sites. The coarse dust (Dc) and fine dust (Df) components (with total dust, DD = Dc + Df) are identified in the profiles of the total particle backscatter coefficient using the POLIPHON (POlarisation LIdar PHOtometer Networking) method in synergy with P-MPL measurements. This information is used to calculate the relative mass loading and the centre-of-mass height, as well as the contribution of each dust mode to the total dust DRE. Several aspects of the ageing of dust are put forward. The mean dust optical depth and its Df/DD ratios are, respectively, 0.153 and 24 % in Barcelona and 0.039 and 38 % in Leipzig; this Df increase in Leipzig is attributed to a longer dust transport path in comparison to Barcelona. The dust produced a cooling effect on the surface with a mean daily DRE of −9.1 and −2.5 Wm−2, respectively, in Barcelona and Leipzig, but the Df/DD DRE ratio is larger for Leipzig (52 %) than for Barcelona (37 %). Cooling is also observed at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), although less intense than on the surface. However, the Df/DD DRE ratio at the TOA is even higher (45 % and 60 %, respectively, in Barcelona and Leipzig) than on the surface. Despite the predominance of Dc particles under dusty conditions, the SW radiative impact of Df particles can be comparable to, even higher than, that induced by the Dc ones. In particular, the Df/DD DRE ratio in Barcelona increases by +2.4 % d−1 (surface) and +2.9 % d−1 (TOA) during the dusty period. This study is completed by a second paper about the long-wave and net radiative effects. These results are especially relevant for the next ESA EarthCARE mission (planned in 2022) as it is devoted to aerosol–cloud–radiation interaction research. ; This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (CGL2017-90884-REDT and PRX18/00137 "Salvador de Madariaga" programme), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-104205GB-C21 and PID2019-103886RB-I00), the H2020 programme from the European Union (ACTRIS, GA no. 654109, 778349, and 871115), and the Unity of Excellence "María de Maeztu" (MDM-2016-0600) financed by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI). MPZ has been partially funded by the AEI (Unity of Excellence "María de Maeztu" - Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), MDM-2017-0737). MALC is supported by the INTA predoctoral contract programme. ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (published version)

This paper investigates the mechanisms involved in the dispersion, structure, and mixing in the vertical column of atmospheric pollen. The methodology used employs observations of pollen concentration obtained from Hirst samplers (we will refer to this as surface pollen) and vertical distribution (polarization-sensitive lidar), as well as nested numerical simulations with an atmospheric transport model and a simplified pollen module developed especially for this study. The study focuses on the predominant pollen type, Pinus, of the intense pollination event which occurred in the region of Barcelona, Catalonia, NE Spain, during 27–31 March 2015. First, conversion formulas are expressed to convert lidar-derived total backscatter coefficient and model-derived mass concentration into pollen grains concentration, the magnitude measured at the surface by means of aerobiological methods, and, for the first time ever, a relationship between optical and mass properties of atmospheric pollen through the estimation of the so-called specific extinction cross section is quantified in ambient conditions. Second, the model horizontal representativeness is assessed through a comparison between nested pollen simulations at 9, 3, and 1 km horizontal resolution and observed meteorological and aerobiological variables at seven sites around Catalonia. Finally, hourly observations of surface and column concentration in Barcelona are analyzed with the different numerical simulations at increasing horizontal resolution and varying sedimentation/deposition parameters. We find that the 9 or 3 km simulations are less sensitive to the meteorology errors; hence, they should be preferred for specific forecasting applications. The largest discrepancies between measured surface (Hirst) and column (lidar) concentrations occur during nighttime, where only residual pollen is detected in the column, whereas it is also present at the surface. The main reason is related to the lidar characteristics which have the lowest useful range bin at ∼ 225 m, above the usually very thin nocturnal stable boundary layer. At the hour of the day of maximum insolation, the pollen layer does not extend up to the top of the planetary boundary layer, according to the observations (lidar), probably because of gravity effects; however, the model simulates the pollen plume up to the top of the planetary boundary layer, resulting in an overestimation of the pollen load. Besides the large size and weight of Pinus grains, sedimentation/deposition processes have only a limited impact on the model vertical concentration in contrast to the emission processes. For further modeling research, emphasis is put on the accurate knowledge of plant/tree spatial distribution, density, and type, as well as on the establishment of reliable phenology functions. ; The lidar data analysis has been supported by funding from the H2020 program from the European Union (grant nos. 654109, 778349, and 871115), the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (grant no. CGL2017-90884- REDT), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant no. PID2019-103886RB-I00), and the Unity of Excellence "María de Maeztu" financed by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (grant no. MDM-2016-0600). Modeling activities have been supported by funding from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, as part of the BROWNING project (grant no. RTI2018-099894-BI00) and ACTRIS-España (grant no. CGL2017-90884-REDT). Airborne pollen data sampling and analyzing have been supported by funding from sponsors of the Catalan Aerobiological Network (LETI Pharma, Diputació de Tarragona, Servei Meteorològic de Catalunya, Diputació de Lleida, Sociedad Española de Alergología e Inmunología Clínica (SEAIC), Societat Catalana d'Al·lèrgia i Immunologia Clínica (SCAIC), and J Uriach y Compañía, S.A.), and from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness (grant nos. CGL2012- 39523-C02-01, CTM2017-89565-C2-1-P, and CTM2017-89565- C2-2-P). This work is contributing to the ICTA "Unit of Excellence" (MinECo; grant no. MDM2015-0552). ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (published version)

Relative humidity (RH) profiling using Raman lidars requires simultaneous range-resolved temperature and pressure data that are not always available. We propose and assess a method based on the use of a locally retrieved atmospheric model to estimate the temperature and pressure profiles. This model relies on the data from daily radiosonde launches at Barcelona during a five-year-long period (2015-2019). We have computed the range-resolved error of the model compared with the radiosonde ``true'' temperature profiles. Then, we have calculated the induced uncertainty in the recalculated RH profiles, finding that the standard deviation at 5 km is <15% for more than 80% of the radiosoundings. We have applied the method to a set of lidar measurements. We have first compared the resulting profiles with lidar retrievals using radiosonde temperatures, and we found differences that are compatible with the previous statistical analysis. We also compared them with in situ radiosonde humidity measurements, finding, in this case, bigger differences due to additional sources of error. Uncertainty analysis shows that the temperature model is the most significant error source below 4-5 km. For higher altitudes, the noise of the Raman signals may become the main contribution. We show that the resulting uncertainty (commonly <15% below 5 km) is compatible with the statistical analysis of the model and comparable with the ones obtained using other instruments for temperature profiling. We show that this method permits nocturnal lidar-based RH profiling with uncertainty estimation without the need for measured atmospheric profiles. ; This work was supported by the European Union H2020 program (grant agreement no. 654109, 778349), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (ref. TEC2015- 63832-P), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (ref. PID2019- 103886RB-I00, CGL2017-90884-REDT), the Department of Economy and Knowledge of the Catalan autonomous government (grant 2014 SGR583), the Unity of Excellence Maria de Maeztu (ref. MDM-2016-0600), which is financed by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and the Juan de la Cierva-Formación Program (grant FJCI-2015-23904). ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (author's final draft)

Systematic measurements of dust concentration profiles at a continental scale were recently made possible by the development of synergistic retrieval algorithms using combined lidar and sun photometer data and the establishment of robust remote-sensing networks in the framework of Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network (ACTRIS)/European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET). We present a methodology for using these capabilities as a tool for examining the performance of dust transport models. The methodology includes considerations for the selection of a suitable data set and appropriate metrics for the exploration of the results. The approach is demonstrated for four regional dust transport models (BSC-DREAM8b v2, NMMB/BSC-DUST, DREAMABOL, DREAM8-NMME-MACC) using dust observations performed at 10 ACTRIS/EARLINET stations. The observations, which include coincident multi-wavelength lidar and sun photometer measurements, were processed with the Lidar-Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) to retrieve aerosol concentration profiles. The methodology proposed here shows advantages when compared to traditional evaluation techniques that utilize separately the available measurements such as separating the contribution of dust from other aerosol types on the lidar profiles and avoiding model assumptions related to the conversion of concentration fields to aerosol extinction values. When compared to LIRIC retrievals, the simulated dust vertical structures were found to be in good agreement for all models with correlation values between 0.5 and 0.7 in the 1–6 km range, where most dust is typically observed. The absolute dust concentration was typically underestimated with mean bias values of -40 to -20 µg m-3 at 2 km, the altitude of maximum mean concentration. The reported differences among the models found in this comparison indicate the benefit of the systematic use of the proposed approach in future dust model evaluation studies ; The financial support of the ACTRIS Re- search Infrastructure Project supported by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 262254 is gratefully acknowledged. This project has also received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 289923 – ITaRS. S. Basart and J. M. Baldasano acknowledge the CICYT project (CGL2010-19652 and CGL2013-46736) and Severo Ochoa (SEV-2011-00067) programme of the Spanish Government. This program has received funding from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia through project III43007. BSC-DREAM8b and NMMB/BSC-Dust simulations were performed on the Mare Nostrum supercomputer hosted by Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS). We thank the AERONET PI's and their staff for establishing and main-taining the 10 sites used in this investigation. The authors gratefully acknowledge the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model used in this publication. The authors would like to acknowledge the use of Google maps for the images used for realizing Fig. 2. We would also like to thank Slobodan Nickovic for his support and comments during the preparation of this manuscript. We would like to thank the editor and the reviewers for their contribution to the final version of this manuscript. ; Postprint (published version)

Systematic measurements of dust concentration profiles at a continental scale were recently made possible by the development of synergistic retrieval algorithms using combined lidar and sun photometer data and the establishment of robust remote-sensing networks in the framework of Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network (ACTRIS)/European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET). We present a methodology for using these capabilities as a tool for examining the performance of dust transport models. The methodology includes considerations for the selection of a suitable data set and appropriate metrics for the exploration of the results. The approach is demonstrated for four regional dust transport models (BSC-DREAM8b v2, NMMB/BSC-DUST, DREAMABOL, DREAM8-NMME-MACC) using dust observations performed at 10 ACTRIS/EARLINET stations. The observations, which include coincident multi-wavelength lidar and sun photometer measurements, were processed with the Lidar-Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) to retrieve aerosol concentration profiles. The methodology proposed here shows advantages when compared to traditional evaluation techniques that utilize separately the available measurements such as separating the contribution of dust from other aerosol types on the lidar profiles and avoiding model assumptions related to the conversion of concentration fields to aerosol extinction values. When compared to LIRIC retrievals, the simulated dust vertical structures were found to be in good agreement for all models with correlation values between 0.5 and 0.7 in the 1–6 km range, where most dust is typically observed. The absolute dust concentration was typically underestimated with mean bias values of -40 to -20 µg m-3 at 2 km, the altitude of maximum mean concentration. The reported differences among the models found in this comparison indicate the benefit of the systematic use of the proposed approach in future dust model evaluation studies ; The financial support of the ACTRIS Re- search Infrastructure Project supported by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 262254 is gratefully acknowledged. This project has also received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 289923 – ITaRS. S. Basart and J. M. Baldasano acknowledge the CICYT project (CGL2010-19652 and CGL2013-46736) and Severo Ochoa (SEV-2011-00067) programme of the Spanish Government. This program has received funding from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia through project III43007. BSC-DREAM8b and NMMB/BSC-Dust simulations were performed on the Mare Nostrum supercomputer hosted by Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS). We thank the AERONET PI's and their staff for establishing and main-taining the 10 sites used in this investigation. The authors gratefully acknowledge the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model used in this publication. The authors would like to acknowledge the use of Google maps for the images used for realizing Fig. 2. We would also like to thank Slobodan Nickovic for his support and comments during the preparation of this manuscript. We would like to thank the editor and the reviewers for their contribution to the final version of this manuscript. ; Postprint (published version)

It is known that the retrieval of aerosol extinction and backscatter coefficients from lidar data acquired through so-called total-power channels – intended to measure the backscattered power irrespective of the polarization – can be adversely affected by varying depolarization effects produced by the aerosol under measurement. This effect can be particularly noticeable in advanced multiwavelength systems, where different wavelengths are separated using a system of dichroic beam splitters, because in general the reflection and transmission coefficients of the beam splitters will be different for fields with polarization parallel or perpendicular to the incidence plane. Here we propose a setup for multiwavelength aerosol lidars alleviating diattenuation effects due to changing depolarization conditions while allowing measure linear depolarization. ; This work has been supported by the following projects and grants: European Union 7th Framework Programme grant agreement No. 262254 (ACTRIS), Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness grants TEC2012-34575 and UNPC10-4E-442, and by the Catalan Agency for Support to Universities and Research (AGAUR) grant 2014 SGR 583. ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (published version)

The volcanic eruption of Cumbre Vieja (La Palma Island, Spain), started on 19 September 2021 and was declared terminated on 25 December 2021. A complete set of aerosol measurements were deployed around the volcano within the first month of the eruptive activity. This paper describes the results of the observations made at Tazacorte on the west bank of the island where a polarized micro-pulse lidar was deployed. The analyzed two-and-a-half months (16 October–31 December) reveal that the peak height of the lowermost and strongest volcanic plume did not exceed 3 km (the mean of the hourly values is 1.43 ± 0.45 km over the whole period) and was highly variable. The peak height of the lowermost volcanic plume steadily increased until week 11 after the eruption started (and 3 weeks before its end) and started decreasing afterward. The ash mass concentration was assessed with a method based on the polarization capability of the instrument. Two days with a high ash load were selected: The ash backscatter coefficient, aerosol optical depth, and the volume and particle depolarization ratios were, respectively, 3.6 (2.4) Mm−1sr−1, 0.52 (0.19), 0.13 (0.07) and 0.23 (0.13) on 18 October (15 November). Considering the limitation of current remote sensing techniques to detect large-to-giant particles, the ash mass concentration on the day with the highest ash load (18 October) was estimated to have peaked in the range of 800–3200 μg m−3 in the lowermost layer below 2.5 km. ; This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020- 118793GA-I00, PID2019-104205GB-C21, EQC2018-004686-P and PID2019-103886RB-I00), the H2020 program from the European Union (GA no. 19ENV04, 654109, 778349, 871115 and 101008004), and the Unit of Excellence "María de Maeztu" (MDM-2017-0737) financed by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI). The authors wish to thank ACTRIS, AEROSPAIN and Junta de Castilla y León (ref: VA227P20) for supporting the calibration of the AERONET sun photometers used in this publication, and also ...

The simultaneous analysis of aerosol microphysical properties profiles at different European stations is made in the framework of the ChArMEx/EMEP 2012 field campaign (9-11 July 2012). During and in support of this campaign, five lidar ground-based stations (Athens, Barcelona, Bucharest, A parts per thousand vora, and Granada) performed 72aEuro-h of continuous lidar measurements and collocated and coincident sun-photometer measurements. Therefore it was possible to retrieve volume concentration profiles with the Lidar Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC). Results indicated the presence of a mineral dust plume affecting the western Mediterranean region (mainly the Granada station), whereas a different aerosol plume was observed over the Balkans area. LIRIC profiles showed a predominance of coarse spheroid particles above Granada, as expected for mineral dust, and an aerosol plume composed mainly of fine and coarse spherical particles above Athens and Bucharest. Due to the exceptional characteristics of the ChArMEx database, the analysis of the microphysical properties profiles' temporal evolution was also possible. An in-depth analysis was performed mainly at the Granada station because of the availability of continuous lidar measurements and frequent AERONET inversion retrievals. The analysis at Granada was of special interest since the station was affected by mineral dust during the complete analyzed period. LIRIC was found to be a very useful tool for performing continuous monitoring of mineral dust, allowing for the analysis of the dynamics of the dust event in the vertical and temporal coordinates. Results obtained here illustrate the importance of having collocated and simultaneous advanced lidar and sun-photometer measurements in order to characterize the aerosol microphysical properties in both the vertical and temporal coordinates at a regional scale. In addition, this study revealed that the use of the depolarization information as input in LIRIC in the stations of Bucharest, A parts per thousand vora, and Granada was crucial for the characterization of the aerosol types and their distribution in the vertical column, whereas in stations lacking depolarization lidar channels, ancillary information was needed. Results obtained were also used for the validation of different mineral dust models. In general, the models better forecast the vertical distribution of the mineral dust than the column-integrated mass concentration, which was underestimated in most of the cases. ; This work was supported by the Andalusia Regional Government through projects P12-RNM-2409 and P10-RNM-6299, by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through projects TEC2012-34575, TEC2015-63832-P, CGL2013-45410-R, CGL2011-13580-E/CLI, CGL2011-16124-E, and CGL2013-46736-R; by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (project UNPC10-4E-442); the EU through the H2020 project ACTRIS2 (contract number 654109); by the University of Granada through the contract "Plan Propio. Programa 9. Convocatoria 2013"; and by the Department of Economy and Knowledge of the Catalan autonomous government (grant 2014 SGR 583). M. J. Granados-Muñoz was funded under grant AP2009-0552 from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. S. N. Pereira was funded under fellowship SFRH/BPD/81132/2011 and projects FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-029212 (PTDC/GEO-MET/4222/2012 from the Portuguese Government). S. Basart and J. M. Baldasano acknowledge the CICYT project (CGL2010-19652 and CGL2013-46736) and Severo Ochoa Programme (SEV-2011-00067) of the Spanish Government. BSC-DREAM8b and NMMB/BSC-Dust simulations were performed on the Mare Nostrum supercomputer hosted by Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS). This paper was realized also as a part of the project III43007 financed by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia within the framework of integrated and interdisciplinary research for the period 2011–2015. It has also received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development, and demonstration under grant agreement no. 289923 – ITaRS. The CIMEL calibration was performed at the AERONET-EUROPE calibration center, supported by ACTRIS-2 (EUH2020 grant agreement no. 654109. The authors express gratitude to the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory for the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model; the ICARE Data and Services Center the MODIS team; and the ChArMEx project of the MISTRALS (Mediterranean Integrated Studies at Regional And Local Scales; http://www.mistrals-home.org) multidisciplinary research programme. ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (published version)

The simultaneous analysis of aerosol microphysical properties profiles at different European stations is made in the framework of the ChArMEx/EMEP 2012 field campaign (9-11 July 2012). During and in support of this campaign, five lidar ground-based stations (Athens, Barcelona, Bucharest, A parts per thousand vora, and Granada) performed 72aEuro-h of continuous lidar measurements and collocated and coincident sun-photometer measurements. Therefore it was possible to retrieve volume concentration profiles with the Lidar Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC). Results indicated the presence of a mineral dust plume affecting the western Mediterranean region (mainly the Granada station), whereas a different aerosol plume was observed over the Balkans area. LIRIC profiles showed a predominance of coarse spheroid particles above Granada, as expected for mineral dust, and an aerosol plume composed mainly of fine and coarse spherical particles above Athens and Bucharest. Due to the exceptional characteristics of the ChArMEx database, the analysis of the microphysical properties profiles' temporal evolution was also possible. An in-depth analysis was performed mainly at the Granada station because of the availability of continuous lidar measurements and frequent AERONET inversion retrievals. The analysis at Granada was of special interest since the station was affected by mineral dust during the complete analyzed period. LIRIC was found to be a very useful tool for performing continuous monitoring of mineral dust, allowing for the analysis of the dynamics of the dust event in the vertical and temporal coordinates. Results obtained here illustrate the importance of having collocated and simultaneous advanced lidar and sun-photometer measurements in order to characterize the aerosol microphysical properties in both the vertical and temporal coordinates at a regional scale. In addition, this study revealed that the use of the depolarization information as input in LIRIC in the stations of Bucharest, A parts per thousand vora, and Granada was crucial for the characterization of the aerosol types and their distribution in the vertical column, whereas in stations lacking depolarization lidar channels, ancillary information was needed. Results obtained were also used for the validation of different mineral dust models. In general, the models better forecast the vertical distribution of the mineral dust than the column-integrated mass concentration, which was underestimated in most of the cases. ; This work was supported by the Andalusia Regional Government through projects P12-RNM-2409 and P10-RNM-6299, by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through projects TEC2012-34575, TEC2015-63832-P, CGL2013-45410-R, CGL2011-13580-E/CLI, CGL2011-16124-E, and CGL2013-46736-R; by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (project UNPC10-4E-442); the EU through the H2020 project ACTRIS2 (contract number 654109); by the University of Granada through the contract "Plan Propio. Programa 9. Convocatoria 2013"; and by the Department of Economy and Knowledge of the Catalan autonomous government (grant 2014 SGR 583). M. J. Granados-Muñoz was funded under grant AP2009-0552 from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. S. N. Pereira was funded under fellowship SFRH/BPD/81132/2011 and projects FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-029212 (PTDC/GEO-MET/4222/2012 from the Portuguese Government). S. Basart and J. M. Baldasano acknowledge the CICYT project (CGL2010-19652 and CGL2013-46736) and Severo Ochoa Programme (SEV-2011-00067) of the Spanish Government. BSC-DREAM8b and NMMB/BSC-Dust simulations were performed on the Mare Nostrum supercomputer hosted by Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS). This paper was realized also as a part of the project III43007 financed by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia within the framework of integrated and interdisciplinary research for the period 2011–2015. It has also received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development, and demonstration under grant agreement no. 289923 – ITaRS. The CIMEL calibration was performed at the AERONET-EUROPE calibration center, supported by ACTRIS-2 (EUH2020 grant agreement no. 654109. The authors express gratitude to the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory for the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model; the ICARE Data and Services Center the MODIS team; and the ChArMEx project of the MISTRALS (Mediterranean Integrated Studies at Regional And Local Scales; http://www.mistrals-home.org) multidisciplinary research programme. ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (published version)

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. ; 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. ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (published version)