First Ever Observations of Mineral Dust in Wintertime over Warsaw, Poland

Abstract

The long-range transport of desert dust over the area of the temperate climate zone is associated with the influx of hot air masses due to the location of the sources of this aerosol in the tropical climate zone. Between 24–26 February 2021, such an aerosol outbreak took place and reached Central Europe. The mean temperature of +11.7 °C was recorded during the event. A comparison of this value to the 20-year (2000–2020) average February temperature for Warsaw (−0.2 °C) indicates the uniqueness of the meteorological conditions. It was the first wintertime inflow of Saharan dust over Warsaw, the presence of which was confirmed by lidar and sun-photometer measurements. The properties of the desert dust layers were obtained; the mean values of the particle depolarization for the fully developed mineral dust layer were 13 ± 3% and 22 ± 4% for 355 and 532 nm, respectively. The aerosol optical thickness was high with average values >0.36 for all wavelengths smaller than 500 nm. The three-modal, aerosol size distribution was dominated by coarse-mode particles, with a visible contribution of accumulation-mode particles. It suggests the possible presence of other aerosol types.

Combined Characterization of Airborne Saharan Dust above Sofia, Bulgaria, during Blocking-Pattern Conditioned Dust Episode in February 2021

“…Other research groups have reported aerosol/dust optical and microphysical parameters, particularly BSC and (B)AE, with value ranges similar to the ones presented above, regarding the same dust episode [59,121].…”

“…This seriously impacted the air quality and seasonal climate conditions in the affected regions. These dust events were the subject of research interest and study, as reflected in the specialized scientific literature [59,[119][120][121]. Here, we present the results of experimental and model studies on the second of the two dust episodes noted.…”

“…These regions of the Sahara Desert are identified as the dust sources for the considered dust episode also in Refs. [59,121]. The backward trajectories relating to the first two days of lidar measurements, 22 and 23 February (Figure 8a,b), pass mainly over the Northwestern Sahara at altitudes from the middle and upper parts of the desert ABL.…”

Identification of Saharan-Dust Intrusions over Sofia, Bulgaria, Using Near-Ground PM10 and PM2.5 Mass Concentration Measurements

“…The above-discussed characteristic parameters and environmental conditions concerning the aerosol field over Sofia on 26 February 2021 reveal a mixed aerosol situation with MA and SD making up the coarse-particle-rich aerosol component. Let us note that 25 and 26 February 2021 were days of a dust flow drop in the middle of a period of a massive transport to Europe of Saharan dust (Hoshyaripour, 2021;Szczepanik et al, 2022;Peshev et al, 2023), whose influence on the aerosol situation and especially on the concentration of PM10 through sedimentation was noticeable.…”

Predicting Modified Fournier Index by Using Artificial Neural Network in Central Europe

“…In Europe, where a humid climate dominates, water-induced soil erosion is the main form of erosion, which poses a serious environmental concern in many European countries [ 6 ]. Furthermore, soil erosion by wind and dust storms is one of the challenges in European countries [ 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”