Contribution of EARLINET/ACTRIS to the summer 2013 Special Observing Period of the ChArMEx project: monitoring of a Saharan dust event over the western and central Mediterranean

In the framework of the Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean
Experiment (ChArMEx; http://charmex.lsce.ipsl.fr/) initiative, a
field campaign took place in the western Mediterranean Basin
between 10 June and 5 July 2013 within the ADRIMED (Aerosol
Direct Radiative Impact on the regional climate in the
MEDiterranean region) project. The scientific objectives of
ADRIMED are the characterization of the most common
‘Mediterranean aerosols’ and their direct radiative forcing (column
closure and regional scale). During 15–24 June a multiintrusion
dust event took place over the western and central
Mediterranean Basin. Extra measurements were carried out by
some EARLINET/ACTRIS (European Aerosol Research Lidar
Network /Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research
InfraStructure Network, http://www.actris.net/) lidar stations in
Spain and Italy, in particular on 22 June in support to the flight
over southern Italy of the Falcon 20 aircraft involved in the
campaign. This article describes the physical and optical properties
of dust observed at the different lidar stations in terms ofdust plume centre of mass, optical depth, lidar ratio, and particle
depolarization ratio. To link the differences found in the
origin of dust plumes, the results are discussed on the basis
of back-trajectories and air- and space-borne lidars. This work
puts forward the collaboration between a European research
infrastructure (ACTRIS) and an international project (ChArMEx)
on topics of interest for both parties, and more generally for the
atmospheric community.