A new method, called ElEx, is proposed for the estimation of extinction coefficient lidar profiles using only the information provided by the elastic and polarization channels of a lidar system. The method is applicable to lidar measurements both during daytime and nighttime under well-defined aerosol mixtures. Comparisons with both Raman lidar profiles during nightime and sun photometer daytime aerosol optical depth observations demonstrate the potential of the ElEx methodology.

The Generalized Aerosol Retrieval from Radiometer and Lidar Combined data algorithm (GARRLiC) and the LIdar-Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) provide the opportunity to study the aerosol vertical distribution by combining ground-based lidar and sun-photometric measurements. Here, we utilize the capabilities of both algorithms for the characterization of Saharan dust and marine particles, along with their mixtures, in the south-eastern Mediterranean.

This study examined the contribution of two natural sources (long-range transport of African dust and sea salt) to the airborne particulate matter concentrations, in 5 southern European cities (Porto, Barcelona, Milan, Florence, Athens). The results demonstrated that natural sources are often expressed with high-intensity events, leading even to exceedances of the EU air quality standards. This effect was more pronounced in the case of African dust intrusions in the eastern Mediterranean area.