Long term observations of desert dust at CIAO, the atmospheric observatory of Potenza

At the Istituto di Metodologie per l'Analisi Ambientale of the Italian National Research Council (CNR-IMAA) an advanced atmospheric observatory, named CIAO, is operative. CIAO is equipped with the state-of-the-art instruments for the ground-based remote sensing of aerosol, water vapour and clouds including active and passive sensors (like lidars, ceilometers, radiometers and radar). CIAO main scientific objective is the long term measurements for aerosols and clouds climatology and allows to carry out aerosol studies exploiting the synergy among several instruments and techniques. Sited in the central part of the Mediterranean region, this site is particularly appealing for the Saharan dust study. Systematic lidar observations have been performing within EARLINET since its beginning on May 2000. In particular a suitable observing methodology has been established within the network for Saharan dust monitoring over Europe. Based on this schedule, one of the largest database of vertical profiles of Saharan dust optical properties from ground-based instruments has been collected at CIAO. This extended database permits the identification of case studies and Saharan dust climatological studies. Case studies provide an opportunity to investigate, for example, dust modification processes during transport from the source region, mixing with other aerosol types, and dust/cloud interactions. The comparison with CALIOP, the first satellite borne lidar for aerosol study, data permitted the identification of potential improvements in the CALIOP retrieval. The 12-year Saharan dust observations database permits climatological study of the occurrence in Southern Italy of desert dust, of the altitude they are observed and of their optical properties. In addition, lidar measurements used in conjunction with transport models allowed the identification of source region of the observed Saharan dust particles. Finally, a quantitative evaluation of the DREAM dust-modeled profiles was carried long term database of dust profiles collected at CIAO.