Aerosol Dynamics and Radiative Effects in the Mediterranean Atmosphere
Summary
The Mediterranean basin is a climatic and chemical nexus where mineral dust from the Sahara, biomass‐burning smoke from regional wildfires and anthropogenic pollutants interact with marine aerosols in a confined sea–land environment. Seasonal circulation patterns, notably southerly flows in spring and summer, drive episodic intrusions of Saharan dust that elevate aerosol optical depth and modify the vertical aerosol distribution, influencing surface and top‐of‐atmosphere radiative balance. Fine‐mode smoke particles from heat‐wave‐driven wildfires contribute to strong wavelength‐dependent attenuation of solar radiation, whereas coarse dust particles exert both shortwave cooling and longwave warming at the surface. These effects are quantified by changes in global horizontal irradiance, photosynthetically active radiation and ultraviolet fluxes, with implications for regional climate, human health, agriculture and solar energy yield. Advances in in situ and remote sensing observations, coupled with radiative transfer and regional climate modelling, now permit detailed characterisation of aerosol radiative forcing, feedbacks on atmospheric circulation and projected impacts on Mediterranean energy systems and ecosystems.
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Aerosol Dynamics and Radiative Effects in the Mediterranean Atmosphere publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in aerosol dynamics and radiative effects in the mediterranean atmosphere across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Aerosol optical depth (AOD): A dimensionless measure of the column‐integrated extinction of solar radiation by airborne particles.
Single scattering albedo (SSA): The ratio of scattering to total extinction (scattering + absorption) by aerosols at a given wavelength.
Ångström exponent (AE): A parameter describing the wavelength dependence of aerosol optical depth, indicative of particle size distribution.
Global horizontal irradiance (GHI): The total solar radiation received per unit area on a horizontal surface, including direct and diffuse components.
Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR): The portion of the solar spectrum (400–700 nm) available for photosynthesis in plants and phytoplankton.
References
- Investigation of the effects of the Greek extreme wildfires of August 2021 on air quality and spectral solar irradiance. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (2023).
- The impact of extreme dust storms on the national photovoltaic energy supply. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments (2024).
- Validation of photosynthetically active radiation by OLCI on Sentinel-3 against ground-based measurements in the central Mediterranean and possible aerosol effects. European Journal of Remote Sensing (2024).
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