Aeolus winds impact on volcanic ash early warning systems for aviation.

Forecasting volcanic ash atmospheric pathways is of utmost importance for aviation. Volcanic ash can interfere with aircraft navigational instruments and can damage engine parts. Early warning systems, activated after volcanic eruptions can alleviate the impacts on aviation by providing forecasts of the volcanic ash plume dispersion.

Multi-sectoral impact assessment of an extreme African dust episode in the Eastern Mediterranean in March 2018.

In late March 2018, a large part of the Eastern Mediterranean experienced an extraordinary episode of African dust, one of the most intense in recent years, here referred to as the "Minoan Red" event. The episode mainly affected the Greek island of Crete, where the highest aerosol concentrations over the past 15 yeas were recorded, although impacts were also felt well beyond this core area. Our study fills a gap in dust research by assessing the multi-sectoral impacts of sand and dust storms and their socioeconomic implications.

Cloud icing by mineral dust and impacts to aviation safety.

Ice particles in high-altitude cold clouds can obstruct aircraft functioning. Over the last 20 years, there have been more than 150 recorded cases with engine power-loss and damage caused by tiny cloud ice crystals, which are difficult to detect with aircraft radars. Herein, we examine two aircraft accidents for which icing linked to convective weather conditions has been officially reported as the most likely reason for catastrophic consequences.

Cloud Aerosol Transport System (CATS) 1064 nm Calibration and Validation.

The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) lidar on board the International Space Station (ISS) operated from 10 February 2015 to 30 October 2017 providing range-resolved vertical backscatter profiles of Earth's atmosphere at 1064 and 532 nm. The CATS instrument design and ISS orbit lead to a higher 1064 nm signal-to-noise ratio than previous space-based lidars, allowing for direct atmospheric calibration of the 1064 nm signals. Nighttime CATS Version 3-00 data were calibrated by scaling the measured data to a model of the expected atmospheric backscatter between 22 and 26 km above mean sea level (AMSL).

Spatiotemporal variability and contribution of different aerosol types to the Aerosol Optical Depth over the Eastern Mediterranean.

This study characterizes the spatiotemporal variability and relative contribution of different types of aerosols to the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) over the Eastern Mediterranean as derived from MODIS Terra (3/2000-12/2012) and Aqua (7/2002-12/2012) satellite instruments. For this purpose, a 0.1° × 0.

Aerosol lidar intercomparison in the framework of the EARLINET project. 3. Raman lidar algorithm for aerosol extinction, backscatter, and lidar ratio.

An intercomparison of the algorithms used to retrieve aerosol extinction and backscatter starting from Raman lidar signals has been performed by 11 groups of lidar scientists involved in the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET). This intercomparison is part of an extended quality assurance program performed on aerosol lidars in the EARLINET. Lidar instruments and aerosol backscatter algorithms were tested separately.

Aerosol lidar intercomparison in the framework of the EARLINET project. 2. Aerosol backscatter algorithms.

An intercomparison of aerosol backscatter lidar algorithms was performed in 2001 within the framework of the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network to Establish an Aerosol Climatology (EARLINET). The objective of this research was to test the correctness of the algorithms and the influence of the lidar ratio used by the various lidar teams involved in the EARLINET for calculation of backscatter-coefficient profiles from the lidar signals. The exercise consisted of processing synthetic lidar signals of various degrees of difficulty.