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Sub-Hourly Multi-Layer AOD Estimations for Europe During the Saharan Dust Event (07:12–16:12, March 18, 2022)

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Sub-Hourly Multi-Layer AOD Estimations for Europe During the Saharan Dust Event (07:12–16:12, March 18, 2022)
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CC Attribution 3.0 Germany:
You are free to use, adapt and copy, distribute and transmit the work or content in adapted or unchanged form for any legal purpose as long as the work is attributed to the author in the manner specified by the author or licensor.
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Production Year2022
Production PlaceEurpean

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Abstract
On March 13, at 13:42 UTC, the event is characterized by concentrated aerosol presence at 1.5 km over southern Europe, particularly Spain, Italy, and the Mediterranean, with progressive dispersion at higher altitudes reaching central Europe. By March 14 at 14:42 UTC, the dust plume expands further into central and northern Europe at 1.5 km, while mid-altitudes (AOD_3 and AOD_5) show notable aerosol presence over the Iberian Peninsula and central Europe, reflecting the dust's horizontal transport. At 10 km, concentrations remain low, indicating limited vertical penetration. Comparing these two days reveals a clear intensification and northward progression of the plume. On March 15, at 10:12 UTC, AOD_1.5 shows sustained high concentrations over southern Europe, with increased impact in southeastern Europe, including the Balkans. At mid-levels, the plume spreads further into central and eastern Europe, reaching countries like Germany and Poland, while at 10 km, faint concentrations persist over parts of southern and central Europe. By March 16 at 09:57 UTC, the plume shows signs of dissipation, with reduced intensity at 1.5 km across Spain, Greece, and the Mediterranean, and weaker signals at mid-altitudes over central Europe. On March 17 at 08:27 UTC, the dust plume is confined mainly to southern Europe at lower altitudes, while mid-altitudes exhibit limited spread and intensity, and 10 km shows negligible influence. Finally, the spatial distributions on March 18 at 14:42 UTC, as shown in the figure, reveal a significant reduction in aerosol concentrations at all altitudes. At 1.5 km, the AOD values remain notable over southern Spain and the western Mediterranean, but are much weaker compared to earlier days. At 3 km, the dust plume is localized over the Iberian Peninsula, with faint traces extending towards southeastern Europe. Higher altitudes, represented by AOD_5 and AOD_10, exhibit very low concentrations, indicating minimal vertical transport of the dust on the final day of the event. This vertical behaviour, compared to earlier days, reflects the dissipation phase of the Saharan dust plume, as atmospheric processes like mixing, dilution, and deposition progressively weaken its intensity. Additionally, during the Saharan dust event, sub-hourly estimated multi-layer AOD values for the European continent (from 07:12 to 16:12 daily on March 18, 2022) were compiled into an animation that includes 37 SEVIRI scenes over Europe, as shown in Supplementary Video S1.
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