This paper presents a review of recently acquired knowledge on the physico-chemical properties of mineral dust from Africa and Asia based on data presented and discussed during the Third International Dust Workshop, held in Leipzig (Germany) in September 2008. <br></br> Various regional field experiments have been conducted in the last few years, mostly close to source regions or after short-range transport. Although significant progress has been made in characterising the regional variability of dust properties close to source regions, in particular the mineralogy of iron and the description of particle shape and mixing state, difficulties remain in estimating the range of variability of those properties within one given source region. As consequence, the impact of these parameters on aerosol properties like optical properties, solubility, hygroscopicity, etc. – determining the dust impact on climate – is only partly understood. Long-term datasets in remote regions such as the dust source regions remain a major desideratum. <br></br> Future work should also focus on the evolution of dust properties during transport. In particular, the prediction of the mineral dust size distribution at emission and their evolution during transport should be considered as a high-priority. <br></br> From the methodological point of view, a critical assessment and standardisation of the experimental and analytical techniques is highly recommended. Techniques to characterize the internal state of mixing of dust particles, particularly with organic material, should be further developed

[1] The physical and optical properties of Saharan dust aerosol measured by the Met Office C-130 during the Saharan Dust Experiment (SHADE) are presented. Additional radiation measurements enable the determination of the aerosol optical depth, t aerl , and the direct radiative effect (DRE) of the mineral dust. The results suggest that the absorption by Saharan dust is significantly overestimated in the solar spectrum if standard refractive indices are used. Our measurements suggest an imaginary part of the refractive index of 0.0015i is appropriate at a wavelength l of 0.55 mm. Different methods for determining t aerl=0.55 are presented, and the accuracy of each retrieval method is assessed. The value t aerl=0.55 is estimated as 1.48 ± 0.05 during the period of heaviest dust loading, which is derived from an instantaneous DRE of approximately À129 ± 5 Wm À2 or an enhancement of the local planetary albedo over ocean of a factor of 2.7 ± 0.1. A comparison of the DRE derived from the C-130 instrumentation and from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite is presented; the results generally showing agreement to within a factor of 1.2. The results suggest that Saharan dust aerosol exerts the largest local and global DRE of all aerosol species and should be considered explicitly in global radiation budget studies.

[1] Instrumentation on the Met Office C-130 aircraft measured aerosol physical and optical properties during the Southern African Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI 2000) in September 2002 while flying from Windhoek, Namibia. Filter measurements of aged regional haze suggest a ratio of apparent elemental carbon (EC a ) to organic carbon (OC) of 0.12 ± 0.02 and mass fractions of 5% EC a , 25% inorganic compounds, and 70% organic matter (OC plus associated elements). The submicron size distribution of aged regional haze may be fitted with three lognormal distributions with geometric mean radii (r n ) of 0.12 ± 0.01, 0.26 ± 0.01, and 0.80 ± 0.01 mm and geometric standard deviations (s) of 1.3 ± 0.1, 1.5 ± 0.1, and 1.9 ± 0.4. Measurements over 2500 km from the emission region show similar r n and s for the smallest two modes, while the third mode is absent presumably as a result of sedimentation. At a wavelength (l) of 0.55 mm, effective medium approximations suggest a refractive index of 1.54 À 0.018i for aged regional haze aerosol. The single scattering albedo (w ol ) derived using this refractive index and measured size distributions are consistent with those from the nephelometer and Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP). The optical parameters for aged regional haze a few days old are specific extinction coefficient (k el=0.55 ) of 5.0 ± 0.8 m 2 g À1, asymmetry factor (g l=0.55 ) of 0.59 ± 0.02, and w ol=0.55 of 0.91 ± 0.04. Measurements of fresh biomass burning aerosol a few minutes old show smaller more absorbing particles. Vertical profiles of carbon monoxide, aerosol concentration, and aerosol scattering show a good correlation. Over land, aerosols become well mixed in the vertical from the surface to approximately 500 hPa. Over ocean, the aerosols can be separated from underlying stratocumulus cloud by a clear gap and a strong inversion, which may limit the indirect effect.

[1] Dust samples were collected onboard the UK community BAe-146 research aircraft of the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) operated over Niger during the winter Special Observation Period of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis project (AMMA SOP0/DABEX). Particle size, morphology, and composition were assessed using single-particle analysis by analytical scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The aerosol was found to be composed of externally mixed mineral dust and biomass burning particles. Mineral dust consists mainly of aluminosilicates in the form of illite and kaolinite and quartz, accounting for up to 80% of the aerosol number. Fe-rich particles (iron oxides) represented 4% of the particle number in the submicron fraction. Diatoms were found on all the samples, suggesting that emissions from the Bodélé depression were also contributing to the aerosol load. Satellite images confirm that the Bodélé source was active during the period of investigation. Biomass burning aerosols accounted for about 15% of the particle number of 0.1-0.6 mm diameter and were composed almost exclusively of particles containing potassium and sulfur. Soot particles were very rare. The aspect ratio AR is a measure of particle elongation. The upper limit of the AR value distribution is 5 and the median is 1.7, which suggests that mineral dust particles could be described as ellipsoids whose major axis never exceeds 1.9 Â D p (the spherical geometric diameter). This is consistent with other published values for mineral dust, including the recent Aerosol Robotic Network retrieval results of Dubovik et al. (2006).