Source-dependent optical and mineral signatures of dust outbreaks over the Mediterranean

Abstract. Dust events frequently affect the Mediterranean Basin, however, the evolution of their optical and microphysical properties during transport remains poorly characterized. This study examines four major dust outbreaks in 2021–2022 affecting the Mediterranean, originating from the Eastern, Western, and Central Sahara and the Middle East. Combining ground-based AERONET sun photometers (24 stations), satellite (IASI, MODIS MIDAS) dust optical depth (DOD) data, and HYSPLIT back-trajectories, we track these events across multiple Mediterranean sites. Results reveal clear regional differences in dust optical properties, such as aerosol optical depth, single scattering albedo, and asymmetry factor, arising from source regions and transport processes. Saharan events are dominated by coarse, scattering mineral dust, while the Middle East event featured finer, more absorbing particles, likely influenced by anthropogenic sources. MIDAS DOD-to-AOD ratios indicate that only one East-Central Saharan event maintained high dust fractions (DOD-to-AOD > 0.8), suggesting relatively pure dust, while other events exhibited stronger spatial variability, with the Middle East event showing the lowest ratios, reflecting enhanced mixing with anthropogenic or marine aerosols. A regional case study in Cyprus using in situ elemental and absorptionmeasurements shows that Middle East dust, despite lower mass concentrations, exhibits stronger absorption than Saharan dust.METAL-WRF mineralogical simulations indicate broadly similar dominant mineral fractions (silicates and calcium-rich minerals) across events, suggesting that optical variability was mainly driven by dust-to-total aerosol ratio and mixing state rather than mineralogy. UAV-based composition data further validate modeled variability, although discrepancies in aluminum and magnesium highlight limitations in current dust representations.

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Publication Details

Journal
Atmospheric chemistry and physics
Published
2026-09-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12395-2026
Primary Topic
Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Source-dependent optical and mineral signatures of dust outbreaks over the Mediterranean

Michail Mytilinaios, Sophie Vandenbussche, Maria Kezoudi, Christos Spyrou et al.
Atmospheric chemistry and physics
Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
article

Source-dependent optical and mineral signatures of dust outbreaks over the Mediterranean

Michail Mytilinaios, Sophie Vandenbussche, Maria Kezoudi, Christos Spyrou, Stavros Solomos, S. Yeşer Aslanoğlu, Rizos-Theodoros Chadoulis, Ilias Fountoulakis, Stelios Kazadzis, G Charalampous, Celia Herrero del Barrio, Vassilis Amiridis, Emmanouil Proestakis, Alkistis Papetta, Anna Moustaka, Dimitra Kouklaki, Franco Marenco, Jean Sciare, Antonis Gkikas, Sara Herrero-Anta, Michael Pikridas
article en

Abstract

Abstract. Dust events frequently affect the Mediterranean Basin, however, the evolution of their optical and microphysical properties during transport remains poorly characterized. This study examines four major dust outbreaks in 2021–2022 affecting the Mediterranean, originating from the Eastern, Western, and Central Sahara and the Middle East. Combining ground-based AERONET sun photometers (24 stations), satellite (IASI, MODIS MIDAS) dust optical depth (DOD) data, and HYSPLIT back-trajectories, we track these events across multiple Mediterranean sites. Results reveal clear regional differences in dust optical properties, such as aerosol optical depth, single scattering albedo, and asymmetry factor, arising from source regions and transport processes. Saharan events are dominated by coarse, scattering mineral dust, while the Middle East event featured finer, more absorbing particles, likely influenced by anthropogenic sources. MIDAS DOD-to-AOD ratios indicate that only one East-Central Saharan event maintained high dust fractions (DOD-to-AOD > 0.8), suggesting relatively pure dust, while other events exhibited stronger spatial variability, with the Middle East event showing the lowest ratios, reflecting enhanced mixing with anthropogenic or marine aerosols. A regional case study in Cyprus using in situ elemental and absorptionmeasurements shows that Middle East dust, despite lower mass concentrations, exhibits stronger absorption than Saharan dust.METAL-WRF mineralogical simulations indicate broadly similar dominant mineral fractions (silicates and calcium-rich minerals) across events, suggesting that optical variability was mainly driven by dust-to-total aerosol ratio and mixing state rather than mineralogy. UAV-based composition data further validate modeled variability, although discrepancies in aluminum and magnesium highlight limitations in current dust representations.

Atmospheric chemistry and physicsVol. 26(17)
Universidad de Valladolid (ES), Cyprus Institute (CY), Cyprus University of Technology (CY), Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BE), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR), Academy of Athens (GR), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR), National Research Council - Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis (IT), National Observatory of Athens (GR), Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos (CH), ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence (CY), Technical University of Crete (GR), Hacettepe University (TR)
European Space Agency, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, EU-CardioRNA, H2020 European Institute of Innovation and Technology, HORIZON EUROPE Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area, NextGenerationEU
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 52%
Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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