[1] The physical and optical properties of Saharan dust aerosol measured by the Met Office C-130 during the Saharan Dust Experiment (SHADE) are presented. Additional radiation measurements enable the determination of the aerosol optical depth, t aerl , and the direct radiative effect (DRE) of the mineral dust. The results suggest that the absorption by Saharan dust is significantly overestimated in the solar spectrum if standard refractive indices are used. Our measurements suggest an imaginary part of the refractive index of 0.0015i is appropriate at a wavelength l of 0.55 mm. Different methods for determining t aerl=0.55 are presented, and the accuracy of each retrieval method is assessed. The value t aerl=0.55 is estimated as 1.48 ± 0.05 during the period of heaviest dust loading, which is derived from an instantaneous DRE of approximately À129 ± 5 Wm À2 or an enhancement of the local planetary albedo over ocean of a factor of 2.7 ± 0.1. A comparison of the DRE derived from the C-130 instrumentation and from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite is presented; the results generally showing agreement to within a factor of 1.2. The results suggest that Saharan dust aerosol exerts the largest local and global DRE of all aerosol species and should be considered explicitly in global radiation budget studies.

[1] Instrumentation on the Met Office C-130 aircraft measured aerosol physical and optical properties during the Southern African Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI 2000) in September 2002 while flying from Windhoek, Namibia. Filter measurements of aged regional haze suggest a ratio of apparent elemental carbon (EC a ) to organic carbon (OC) of 0.12 ± 0.02 and mass fractions of 5% EC a , 25% inorganic compounds, and 70% organic matter (OC plus associated elements). The submicron size distribution of aged regional haze may be fitted with three lognormal distributions with geometric mean radii (r n ) of 0.12 ± 0.01, 0.26 ± 0.01, and 0.80 ± 0.01 mm and geometric standard deviations (s) of 1.3 ± 0.1, 1.5 ± 0.1, and 1.9 ± 0.4. Measurements over 2500 km from the emission region show similar r n and s for the smallest two modes, while the third mode is absent presumably as a result of sedimentation. At a wavelength (l) of 0.55 mm, effective medium approximations suggest a refractive index of 1.54 À 0.018i for aged regional haze aerosol. The single scattering albedo (w ol ) derived using this refractive index and measured size distributions are consistent with those from the nephelometer and Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP). The optical parameters for aged regional haze a few days old are specific extinction coefficient (k el=0.55 ) of 5.0 ± 0.8 m 2 g À1, asymmetry factor (g l=0.55 ) of 0.59 ± 0.02, and w ol=0.55 of 0.91 ± 0.04. Measurements of fresh biomass burning aerosol a few minutes old show smaller more absorbing particles. Vertical profiles of carbon monoxide, aerosol concentration, and aerosol scattering show a good correlation. Over land, aerosols become well mixed in the vertical from the surface to approximately 500 hPa. Over ocean, the aerosols can be separated from underlying stratocumulus cloud by a clear gap and a strong inversion, which may limit the indirect effect.

[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.

[1] The African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) is a major international campaign investigating far-reaching aspects of the African monsoon, climate and the hydrological cycle. A special observing period was established for the dry season (SOP0) with a focus on aerosol and radiation measurements. SOP0 took place during January and February 2006 and involved several ground-based measurement sites across west Africa. These were augmented by aircraft measurements made by the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) aircraft during the Dust and Biomass-burning Experiment (DABEX), measurements from an ultralight aircraft, and dedicated modeling efforts. We provide an overview of these measurement and modeling studies together with an analysis of the meteorological conditions that determined the aerosol transport and link the results together to provide a balanced synthesis. The biomass burning aerosol was significantly more absorbing than that measured in other areas and, unlike industrial areas, the ratio of excess carbon monoxide to organic carbon was invariant, which may be owing to interaction between the organic carbon and mineral dust aerosol. The mineral dust aerosol in situ filter measurements close to Niamey reveals very little absorption, while other measurements and remote sensing inversions suggest significantly more absorption. The influence of both mineral dust and biomass burning aerosol on the radiation budget is significant throughout the period, implying that meteorological models should include their radiative effects for accurate weather forecasts and climate simulations. Generally, the operational meteorological models that simulate the production and transport of mineral dust show skill at lead times of 5 days or more. Climate models that need to accurately simulate the vertical profiles of both anthropogenic and natural aerosols to accurately represent the direct and indirect effects of aerosols appear to do a reasonable job, although the magnitude of the aerosol scattering is strongly dependent upon the emission data set.

[1] We collected filter samples of the atmospheric aerosol during the Southern African Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI 2000) experiment onboard the UK Met Office C-130 aircraft. The main operational area was the Atlantic Ocean offshore of Namibia and Angola, where biomass-smoke haze at least 1-2 days old was widespread. The size-fractionated aerosol samples were analyzed for the major inorganic ions, carbonaceous material (elemental and organic carbon), and elements with atomic numbers between 11 (Na) and 82 (Pb). The regional haze aerosol was composed mostly of carbonaceous aerosols (on the average, 81% of the submicron mass), with secondary inorganic aerosols (sulfate, ammonium, and nitrate) accounting for another 14%. K + and Cl À , typical pyrogenic species, constituted only 2% of the mass. The aerosol chemical data were used to estimate mass emission fluxes for various aerosol components. For African savanna/grassland burning, the estimated emission flux of carbonaceous particles ( particulate organic matter plus elemental carbon) is 14 ± 1 Tg yr À1 , and that of the nitrogen species (nitrate and ammonium) is 2 ± 2 Tg yr À1 . For the flight segments in regional haze, the mean particle scattering coefficient at 550 nm was s s = 101 ± 56 Mm À1 and the mean particle absorption coefficient s a at 565 nm averaged 8 ± 5 Mm À1 (mean single scattering albedo of 0.93 ± 0.06 at 550 nm). The dry mass scattering efficiency a s , calculated from the linear regression of the mean scattering versus the estimated submicron mass, is estimated to be between 4.2 ± and 4.6 ± 0.6 m 2 g À1 , depending on the assumptions made in calculating the aerosol mass. The dependence of the scattering enhancement ratios Ás s /ÁCO on the distance from the burning regions suggests that the evolution of particle size with time influences the light scattering efficiency. Fresh smoke was sampled during a dedicated flight in the proximity and within the plume of an active biomass burning fire. Here the enhancement ratio with respect to CO of particles in the Aitken-size range (5-100 nm diameter) was ÁN Aitken /ÁCO $25 cm À3 (STP) ppb À1 . These particles were removed rapidly after emission, and they were not detectable in the regional haze. The enhancement ratio for accumulation mode particles (0.1-1 mm diameter) ÁN Acc /ÁCO was $26-30 cm À3 (STP) ppb À1 in young smoke, and 16 ± 3 cm À3 (STP) ppb À1 in aged haze, suggesting that the number concentration of accumulation mode particles was reduced by about 41% during aging.