An integrated approach to characterize long-range transported dust

An integrated approach, combining columnar and in-situ measurements was used to characterize optical and micro-physical properties of atmospheric aerosols under the advection of Saharan dust airmasses in a site in South Italy. Background and dust-affected radiometric measurements were compared to study their radiative properties. Starting from these radiometric measurements, a source identification technique based on the aerosol components from OPAC (Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds) model revealed that mineral dust, soot, water soluble, sea-salt accumulation and sea-salt coarse contribute in a similar way to the solar radiation attenuation. SEM analysis on atmospheric particulate collected at the ground pointed out that crustal elements characterize particles on both fine and coarse stages. Dust particles embedded in soot chains and traces of industrial particles were also detected.