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[1] We present aircraft measurements of dust aerosol during the Dust and Biomassburning Experiment (DABEX), a project affiliated with the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis. DABEX took place between 13 January and 3 February 2006 in Sahelian west Africa, with the aircraft based at Niamey, Niger. The data set is augmented with Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) data. A mineral dust layer below 1-2 km (sourced from the north) and an overlying biomass burning (BB) layer (sourced from anthropogenic fires to the south) was observed on all days, although variability was observed in both layers. There is evidence of ozone loss within the dust, but with CO levels between 140 and 170 ppbv some history of combustion has occurred. Size distribution of the dust is compared with that of the BB aerosol and with dust measured near Senegal, during the Dust Outflow and Deposition to the Ocean (DODO-1) experiment. For accurate representation of the optical properties, five log-normals to the size distribution across sizes 0.05-5 mm are required, although two log-normals are adequate. The single scattering albedo was almost purely scattering, with values of 0.99 ± 0.01. During the strongest dust events the dust contribution to the column optical depth was 75-80%, compared to a DABEX mean of 50%. The aircraft-derived optical depth varied between 0.19 and 1.07, with the dust-only contribution between 0.07 and 0.81. AERONET optical depth trends are in good agreement with aircraft during DABEX, albeit with a bias to higher aircraft values. Retrieved AERONET aerosol size distributions show variable agreement with the aircraft. Differences between Versions 1 and 2 of the AERONET algorithm are highlighted.

[1] Dust samples were collected onboard the UK community BAe-146 research aircraft of the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) operated over Niger during the winter Special Observation Period of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis project (AMMA SOP0/DABEX). Particle size, morphology, and composition were assessed using single-particle analysis by analytical scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The aerosol was found to be composed of externally mixed mineral dust and biomass burning particles. Mineral dust consists mainly of aluminosilicates in the form of illite and kaolinite and quartz, accounting for up to 80% of the aerosol number. Fe-rich particles (iron oxides) represented 4% of the particle number in the submicron fraction. Diatoms were found on all the samples, suggesting that emissions from the Bodélé depression were also contributing to the aerosol load. Satellite images confirm that the Bodélé source was active during the period of investigation. Biomass burning aerosols accounted for about 15% of the particle number of 0.1-0.6 mm diameter and were composed almost exclusively of particles containing potassium and sulfur. Soot particles were very rare. The aspect ratio AR is a measure of particle elongation. The upper limit of the AR value distribution is 5 and the median is 1.7, which suggests that mineral dust particles could be described as ellipsoids whose major axis never exceeds 1.9 Â D p (the spherical geometric diameter). This is consistent with other published values for mineral dust, including the recent Aerosol Robotic Network retrieval results of Dubovik et al. (2006).

[1] This paper investigates the properties of biomass burning aerosols over West Africa using data from the UK FAAM aircraft during the Dust and Biomass-burning Experiment (DABEX). Aged biomass burning aerosols were widespread across the region, often at altitudes up to 4 km. Fresh biomass burning aerosols were observed at low altitudes by flying through smoke plumes from agricultural fires. The aircraft measured aerosol size distributions, optical properties, and vertical distributions. Single scattering albedo varied from 0.73 to 0.93 (at 0.55 mm) in aerosol layers dominated by biomass burning aerosol. We attribute much of this variation to the variable proportion of mineral dust and biomass burning aerosol. We estimate the single scattering albedo of aged biomass burning aerosol to be around 0.81 with an instrumental uncertainty of ±0.05. External mixing, and possibly internal mixing, between the biomass burning aerosol and mineral dust presents an additional source of uncertainty in this estimate. The size distributions of biomass burning aerosols were dominated by particles with radii smaller than 0.35 mm. A 20% increase of count mean radius was observed when contrasting fresh and aged biomass burning aerosols, accompanied by changes in the shape of the size distribution. These changes suggest growth by coagulation and condensation. Extinction coefficients, asymmetry parameters, and Angstrom exponents are calculated from Mie theory, using the lognormal fits to the measured size distributions and assumed refractive indices.

[1] North African dust is important for climate through its direct radiative effect on solar and terrestrial radiation and its role in the biogeochemical system. The Dust Outflow and Deposition to the Ocean project (DODO) aimed to characterize the physical and optical properties of airborne North African dust in two seasons and to use these observations to constrain model simulations, with the ultimate aim of being able to quantify the deposition of iron to the North Atlantic Ocean. The in situ properties of dust from airborne campaigns measured during February and August 2006, based at Dakar, Senegal, are presented here. Average values of the single scattering albedo (0.99, 0.98), mass specific extinction (0.85 m 2 g À1 , 1.14 m 2 g À1 ), asymmetry parameter (0.68, 0.68), and refractive index (1.53-0.0005i, 1.53-0.0014i) for the accumulation mode were found to differ by varying degrees between the dry and wet season, respectively. It is hypothesized that these differences are due to different source regions and transport processes which also differ between the DODO campaigns. Elemental ratios of Ca/Al were found to differ between the dry and wet season (1.1 and 0.5, respectively). Differences in vertical profiles are found between seasons and between land and ocean locations and reflect the different dynamics of the seasons. Using measurements of the coarse mode size distribution and illustrative Mie calculations, the optical properties are found to be very sensitive to the presence and amount of coarse mode of mineral dust, and the importance of accurate measurements of the coarse mode of dust is highlighted.