Analysis of the aerosol optical properties at a continental background site in the southern Pyrenees (El Montsec, 1574 m a.s.l.)

• Autores: Yolanda Sola Salvatierra, Alba Lorente, Jerónimo Lorente
• Localización: 2nd Iberian Meeting on Aerosol Science and Technology: Proceedings Book RICTA 2014 / coord. por Jordi Grifoll Taverna, Joan Rosell Llompart, 2014, ISBN 978-84-695-9978-5, págs. 27-31
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Aerosol optical properties from one year of AERONET Cimel sunphotometer measurements in a continental background site have been analyzed. The instrument was installed in El Montsec in the Southern Pyrenees at 1574 m a.s.l. The AOD shows a seasonal pattern with minimum values in winter when the stations is over the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and can be considered representative of the free troposphere, whereas maximum values of the AOD are detected in summer due to the long range transport of Saharan dust as well as regional recirculation. The annual average of the AOD at 0.08, although in winter is only 0.03. The Angstrom exponent is also similar to other continental background sites although it is lower, probably due to more frequent Saharan dust episodes as well as to a mixture of local coarse aerosols from regional recirculation. The volume size distribution also varies depending on the season, even on the considered month. In winter, the coarse mode is almost inexistent; whereas in summer fine and coarse mode are remarkable, especially the medium-size particles.