PNNL

Abstract

A detailed analysis of the microphysical and radiative columnar aerosol parameters has been carried out for data collected during the “El Arenosillo 2004” summer campaign. These data are derived from a Cimel sun-photometer, as part of the PHOTONS-AERONET network at the El Arenosillo site in south-western Spain, over the period 1 June to 31 October 2004. The aim of this campaign was to obtain a more complete set of data on aerosol microphysical, optical/radiative, and chemical properties for use in closure studies. Previous papers addressed the climatology of the AOD-alpha parameters at this site. In this paper, we focus on the characterization of the particle size distribution and associated microphysical parameters, such as volume concentration, effective radius, etc., in order to define the features and ranges of these physical parameters associated with both fine and coarse particle modes. The requirement of high AOD values for using the optical inversion technique puts significant constraints on the estimation of these parameters and, thus, necessitates great care in the analysis. As a result, only the characterizations for desert dust events are considered reliable. Moreover, summer 2004 had the most frequent desert dust intrusions, including the most intense event, ever recorded at the El Arensillo site. We summarize the results for the intensive summer campaign in terms of the range of values of the physical and optical parameters of the mixed aerosol types present in this area of Spain.