Aerosol particles are a major component of the atmosphere, influencing weather and climate on our planet. Their impact on cloud formation, precipitation, and the radiation budget of the planet is the subject of current research. The IPCC report [IPCC, 2013] separates two pathways of interaction of aerosols with climate, the direct and indirect aerosol (e ect). Aerosol particles scatter and absorb incoming solar and outgoing terrestrial radiation (direct e_ect).
Aerosol particles are required in the cloud formation process by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Their ability to partly serve as ice nucleating particles (INP) influences ice formation and precipitation and the hydrological cycle.
What does this mean and why is it important? Mineral dust and sea salt are the most abundant aerosol types (by mass) dominating the natural aerosol load on earth, and aerosol distribution is highly variable in time and space, both horizontally and vertically. The Sahara contributes 70% to the total global dust emission, as wind systems transport Saharan dust out of Africa, influencing weather, visibility, and air quality around the globe. Most of the dust moves toward North and South America, and the Caribbean. The Saharan dust measurements were performed in the framework of the Saharan Aerosol Long-Range Transport and Aerosol Cloud-Interaction Experiment (SALTRACE) during three campaigns in Barbados. The successful implementation of the depolarization-ratio measurement at 1064 nm and application during the three SALTRACE campaigns motivated the expansion of the wavelength range towards 1064 nm also in the case of particle extinction and lidar-ratio measurements. This development is an important contribution to the advance of aerosol lidar technology.
The Meteorological impact in Barbados is significant as it is the eastern-most island of the Caribbean, with its neighboring islands on the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The climate in the eastern Caribbean is controlled by the trade winds, with principal wind directions from northeast, east and southeast. The patterns of air masses arriving at Barbados are related to the shift of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). In summer months, the ITCZ is shifted northwards, so that air masses arriving at Barbados originate primarily from North Africa. Being a more remote island, Barbados is ideal in studying these conditions.
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