{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,27]],"date-time":"2025-11-27T10:51:23Z","timestamp":1764240683150,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":131,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,1]],"date-time":"2023-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1690848000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Education and Science","award":["KP-06-N28\/10\/2018","871115","F22KI-035"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KP-06-N28\/10\/2018","871115","F22KI-035"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003336","name":"Bulgarian National Science Fund","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["KP-06-N28\/10\/2018","871115","F22KI-035"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KP-06-N28\/10\/2018","871115","F22KI-035"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003336","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"European Commission","award":["KP-06-N28\/10\/2018","871115","F22KI-035"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KP-06-N28\/10\/2018","871115","F22KI-035"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007595","name":"Belarusian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["KP-06-N28\/10\/2018","871115","F22KI-035"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KP-06-N28\/10\/2018","871115","F22KI-035"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007595","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The wintertime outbreaks of Saharan dust, increasing in intensity and frequency over the last decade, have become an important component of the global dust cycle and a challenging issue in elucidating its feedback to the ongoing climate change. For their adequate monitoring and characterization, systematic multi-instrument observations and multi-aspect analyses of the distribution and properties of desert aerosols are required, covering the full duration of dust events. In this paper, we present observations of Saharan dust in the atmosphere above Sofia, Bulgaria, during a strong dust episode over the whole of Europe in February 2021, conditioned by a persistent blocking weather pattern over the Mediterranean basin, providing clear skies and constant measurement conditions. This study was accomplished using different remote sensing (lidar, satellite, and radiometric), in situ (particle analyzing), and modeling\/forecasting methods and resources, using real measurements and data (re)analysis. A wide range of columnar and range\/time-resolved optical, microphysical, physical, topological, and dynamical characteristics of the detected aerosols dominated by desert dust are obtained and profiled with increased accuracy and reliability by combining the applied approaches and instruments in terms of complementarity, calibration, and normalization. Vertical profiles of the aerosol\/dust total and mode volume concentrations are presented and analyzed using the LIRIC-2 inversion code joining lidar and sun-photometer data. The results show that interactive combining and use of various relevant approaches, instruments, and data have a significant synergistic effect and potential for verifying and improving theoretical models aimed at complete aerosol\/dust characterization.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs15153833","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,1]],"date-time":"2023-08-01T09:32:35Z","timestamp":1690882355000},"page":"3833","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Combined Characterization of Airborne Saharan Dust above Sofia, Bulgaria, during Blocking-Pattern Conditioned Dust Episode in February 2021"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Zahari","family":"Peshev","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko Chaussee Blvd, 1784 Sofia, Bulgaria"}]},{"given":"Anatoli","family":"Chaikovsky","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"I. Stepanov Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 68-2 Nezavisimosti Av., 220072 Minsk, Belarus"}]},{"given":"Tsvetina","family":"Evgenieva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko Chaussee Blvd, 1784 Sofia, Bulgaria"}]},{"given":"Vladislav","family":"Pescherenkov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"I. Stepanov Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 68-2 Nezavisimosti Av., 220072 Minsk, Belarus"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9699-7850","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Liliya","family":"Vulkova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko Chaussee Blvd, 1784 Sofia, Bulgaria"}]},{"given":"Atanaska","family":"Deleva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko Chaussee Blvd, 1784 Sofia, Bulgaria"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3730-0405","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tanja","family":"Dreischuh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko Chaussee Blvd, 1784 Sofia, Bulgaria"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"165","DOI":"10.1111\/1475-5661.00013","article-title":"Saharan Dust: Sources and Trajectories","volume":"26","author":"Middleton","year":"2002","journal-title":"Trans. Inst. Brit. Geogr."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1002","DOI":"10.1029\/2000RG000095","article-title":"Environmental characterization of global sources of atmospheric soil dust identified with the Nimbus 7 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) absorbing aerosol products","volume":"40","author":"Prospero","year":"2002","journal-title":"Rev. Geophys."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"297","DOI":"10.1111\/1467-8306.9302003","article-title":"Dust-storm source areas determined by the total ozone monitoring spectrometer and surface observations","volume":"93","author":"Washington","year":"2003","journal-title":"Ann. Assoc. Am. Geogr."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"88","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gloplacha.2006.02.002","article-title":"A numerical study of the contributions of dust source regions to the global dust budget","volume":"52","author":"Tanaka","year":"2006","journal-title":"Glob. Planet. Chang."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"73","DOI":"10.1016\/j.earscirev.2006.06.004","article-title":"North African dust emissions and transport","volume":"79","author":"Engelstaedter","year":"2006","journal-title":"Earth-Sci. Rev."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"GB4025","DOI":"10.1029\/2004GB002402","article-title":"Atmospheric global dust cycle and iron inputs to the ocean","volume":"19","author":"Mahowald","year":"2005","journal-title":"Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"181","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aeolia.2011.02.001","article-title":"Dust cycle: An emerging core theme in Earth system science","volume":"2","author":"Shao","year":"2011","journal-title":"Aeolian Res."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8127","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-21-8127-2021","article-title":"Improved representation of the global dust cycle using observational constraints on dust properties and abundance","volume":"21","author":"Kok","year":"2021","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6114","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-022-10017-1","article-title":"Investigation of June 2020 giant Saharan dust storm using remote sensing observations and model reanalysis","volume":"12","author":"Asutosh","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"493","DOI":"10.1038\/nature17149","article-title":"The past, present and future of African dust","volume":"531","author":"Evan","year":"2016","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11535","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-16-11535-2016","article-title":"Saharan dust contribution to the Caribbean summertime boundary layer\u2014A lidar study during SALTRACE","volume":"16","author":"Gasteiger","year":"2016","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1293","DOI":"10.1016\/S1352-2310(99)00179-X","article-title":"An illustration of the transport and deposition of mineral dust onto the eastern Mediterranean","volume":"34","author":"Kubilay","year":"2000","journal-title":"Atmos. Environ."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D10204","DOI":"10.1029\/2007JD009028","article-title":"Systematic lidar observations of Saharan dust over Europe in the frame of EARLINET (2000\u20132002)","volume":"113","author":"Papayannis","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5893","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-17-5893-2017","article-title":"Three-dimensional evolution of Saharan dust transport towards Europe based on a 9-year EARLINET-optimized CALIPSO dataset","volume":"17","author":"Marinou","year":"2017","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"34","DOI":"10.1038\/s41612-022-00256-4","article-title":"Increasing atmospheric dust transport towards the western Mediterranean over 1948\u20132020","volume":"5","author":"Salvador","year":"2022","journal-title":"NPJ Clim. Atmos. Sci."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4783","DOI":"10.1029\/2003JD003757","article-title":"Long-range transport of Saharan dust to northern Europe: The 11\u201316 October 2001 outbreak observed with EARLINET","volume":"108","author":"Ansmann","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"208","DOI":"10.1002\/wea.503","article-title":"Synoptic analysis of a rare event of Saharan dust reaching the Arctic region","volume":"65","author":"Barkan","year":"2010","journal-title":"Weather"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Knippertz, P., and Stuut, J.-B.W. (2014). Mineral Dust: A Key Player in the Earth System, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-94-017-8978-3"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"152","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atmosres.2013.11.007","article-title":"The global distribution of mineral dust and its impacts on the climate system: A review","volume":"138","author":"Choobari","year":"2014","journal-title":"Atmos. Res."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aeolia.2016.12.001","article-title":"Desert dust hazards: A global review","volume":"24","author":"Middleton","year":"2017","journal-title":"Aeolian Res."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Schepanski, K. (2018). Transport of Mineral Dust and Its Impact on Climate. Geosciences, 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/geosciences8050151"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10875","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-10-10875-2010","article-title":"Observed 20th century desert dust variability: Impact on climate and biogeochemistry","volume":"10","author":"Mahowald","year":"2010","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D13208","DOI":"10.1029\/2006JD007444","article-title":"On the direct and semidirect effects of Saharan dust over Europe: A modeling study","volume":"112","author":"Helmert","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1038\/s43017-022-00379-5","article-title":"Mineral dust aerosol impacts on global climate and climate change","volume":"4","author":"Kok","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Earth Environ."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"241","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-017-02620-y","article-title":"Global and regional importance of the direct dust-climate feedback","volume":"9","author":"Kok","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20","DOI":"10.1016\/j.dynatmoce.2014.07.002","article-title":"A global satellite view of the seasonal distribution of mineral dust and its correlation with atmospheric circulation","volume":"68","author":"Sturman","year":"2014","journal-title":"Dyn. Atmos. Ocean."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D03103","DOI":"10.1029\/2006JD007195","article-title":"Atmospheric controls on the annual cycle of North African dust","volume":"112","author":"Engelstaedter","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3041","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atmosenv.2006.12.001","article-title":"Seasonal behavior of Saharan dust events at the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in the period 1999\u20132005","volume":"41","author":"Meloni","year":"2007","journal-title":"Atmos. Environ."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1395","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-13-1395-2013","article-title":"African dust outbreaks over the Mediterranean Basin during 2001\u20132011: PM10 concentrations, phenomenology and trends, and its relation with synoptic and mesoscale meteorology","volume":"13","author":"Pey","year":"2013","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"333","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gloplacha.2012.11.007","article-title":"Analysis of Saharan dust intrusions into the Carpathian Basin (Central Europe) over the period of 1979\u20132011","volume":"100","author":"Varga","year":"2013","journal-title":"Glob. Planet. Chang."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137041","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2020.137041","article-title":"Saharan dust intrusions in the Iberian Peninsula: Predominant synoptic conditions","volume":"717","author":"Russo","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3611","DOI":"10.5194\/angeo-27-3611-2009","article-title":"Systematic lidar observations of Saharan dust layers over Athens, Greece in the frame of EARLINET project (2004\u20132006)","volume":"27","author":"Papayannis","year":"2009","journal-title":"Ann. Geophys."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"165","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atmosenv.2018.04.011","article-title":"Long-term systematic profiling of dust aerosol optical properties using the EOLE NTUA lidar system over Athens, Greece (2000\u20132016)","volume":"183","author":"Soupiona","year":"2018","journal-title":"Atmos. Environ."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105712","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envint.2020.105712","article-title":"Changing nature of Saharan dust deposition in the Carpathian Basin (Central Europe): 40 years of identified North African dust events (1979\u20132018)","volume":"139","author":"Varga","year":"2020","journal-title":"Environ. Int."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ajtai, N., Stefanie, H., Mereuta, A., Radovici, A., and Botezan, C. (2020). Multi-sensor observation of a Saharan dust outbreak over Transylvania, Romania in April 2019. Atmosphere, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/atmos11040364"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Peshev, Z., Deleva, A., Vulkova, L., and Dreischuh, T. (2022). Large-Scale Saharan Dust Episode in April 2019: Study of Desert Aerosol Loads over Sofia, Bulgaria, Using Remote Sensing, In Situ, and Modeling Resources. Atmosphere, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/atmos13060981"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"828301","DOI":"10.1155\/2012\/828301","article-title":"Meteorological patterns associated with intense Saharan dust outbreaks over Greece in winter","volume":"2012","author":"Nastos","year":"2012","journal-title":"Adv. Meteorol."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1002\/wea.2334","article-title":"Unusual Saharan dust events in the Carpathian Basin (Central Europe) in 2013 and early 2014","volume":"69","author":"Varga","year":"2014","journal-title":"Weather"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4052","DOI":"10.1002\/2016JD026252","article-title":"Spatiotemporal evolution of a severe winter dust event in the western Mediterranean: Aerosol optical and physical properties","volume":"122","author":"Titos","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"223","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atmosres.2019.06.007","article-title":"Extreme, wintertime Saharan dust intrusion in the Iberian Peninsula: Lidar monitoring and evaluation of dust forecast models during the February 2017 event","volume":"228","author":"Sicard","year":"2019","journal-title":"Atmos. Res."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116828","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atmosenv.2019.116828","article-title":"Performance of a dust model to predict the vertical mass concentration of an extreme Saharan dust event in the Iberian Peninsula: Comparison with continuous, elastic, polarization-sensitive lidars","volume":"214","author":"Sicard","year":"2019","journal-title":"Atmos. Environ."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"024517","DOI":"10.1117\/1.JRS.15.024517","article-title":"Lidar study of unusual winter Saharan dust loads above Sofia, Bulgaria: Impacts on the local weather and troposphere","volume":"15","author":"Deleva","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Appl. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1373","DOI":"10.1007\/s00382-010-0767-5","article-title":"Application of blocking diagnosis methods to general circulation models. Part I: A novel detection scheme","volume":"35","author":"Barriopedro","year":"2010","journal-title":"Clim. Dyn."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1042","DOI":"10.1175\/JCLI3678.1","article-title":"A Climatology of Northern Hemisphere blocking","volume":"19","author":"Barriopedro","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"287","DOI":"10.1007\/s40641-018-0108-z","article-title":"Blocking and its response to climate change","volume":"4","author":"Woollings","year":"2018","journal-title":"Curr. Clim. Chang. Rep."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1111\/nyas.14557","article-title":"Atmospheric blocking events: A review","volume":"1504","author":"Lupo","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"305","DOI":"10.5194\/wcd-3-305-2022","article-title":"Atmospheric blocking and weather extremes over the Euro-Atlantic sector\u2013a review","volume":"3","author":"Kautz","year":"2022","journal-title":"Weather Clim. Dyn."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D15214","DOI":"10.1029\/2005JD006579","article-title":"A long Saharan dust event over the western Mediterranean: Lidar, Sun photometer observations, and regional dust modeling","volume":"111","author":"Nickovic","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2065","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-5-2065-2005","article-title":"Measurements of Saharan dust aerosols over the Eastern Mediterranean using elastic backscatter-Raman lidar, spectrophotometric and satellite observations in the frame of the EARLINET project","volume":"5","author":"Papayannis","year":"2005","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5685","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-12-5685-2019","article-title":"Aerosol measurements with a shipborne Sun\u2013sky\u2013lunar photometer and collocated multiwavelength Raman polarization lidar over the Atlantic Ocean","volume":"12","author":"Yin","year":"2019","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8496","DOI":"10.1029\/2002JD002297","article-title":"Coordinated airborne, spaceborne, and ground-based measurements of massive thick aerosol layers during the dry season in southern Africa","volume":"108","author":"Schmid","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"356265","DOI":"10.1155\/2012\/356265","article-title":"Lidar measurements for desert dust characterization: An overview","volume":"2012","author":"Mona","year":"2012","journal-title":"Adv. Meteorol."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Comer\u00f3n, A., Mu\u00f1oz-Porcar, C., Rocadenbosch, F., Rodr\u00edguez-G\u00f3mez, A., and Sicard, M. (2017). Current Research in Lidar Technology Used for the Remote Sensing of Atmospheric Aerosols. Sensors, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/s17061450"},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116824","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atmosenv.2019.116824","article-title":"Retrieval of optical and microphysical properties of transported Saharan dust over Athens and Granada based on multi-wavelength Raman lidar measurements: Study of the mixing processes","volume":"214","author":"Soupiona","year":"2019","journal-title":"Atmos. Environ."},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"014504","DOI":"10.1117\/1.JRS.14.014504","article-title":"Lidar observations of Saharan dust loads above Sofia, Bulgaria: Dust layers extending throughout the troposphere (a case study)","volume":"14","author":"Deleva","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Appl. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Volkov, K. (2016). Aerosols\u2014Science and Case Studies, IntechOpen. [1st ed.].","DOI":"10.5772\/62964"},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"131","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0889.2008.00394.x","article-title":"Spatial distribution and optical properties of Saharan dust observed by airborne high spectral resolution lidar during SAMUM 2006","volume":"61","author":"Esselborn","year":"2009","journal-title":"Tellus B"},{"key":"ref_58","first-page":"D7","article-title":"CALIPSO lidar observations of the optical properties of Saharan dust: A case study of long-range transport","volume":"113","author":"Liu","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"355","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-22-355-2022","article-title":"First triple-wavelength lidar observations of depolarization and extinction-to-backscatter ratios of Saharan dust","volume":"22","author":"Haarig","year":"2022","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"162","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atmosenv.2017.09.022","article-title":"Temporal variations in optical and microphysical properties of mineral dust and biomass burning aerosol derived from daytime Raman lidar observations over Warsaw, Poland","volume":"169","author":"Janicka","year":"2017","journal-title":"Atmos. Environ."},{"key":"ref_61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"144","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0889.2008.00390.x","article-title":"Vertical profiling of Saharan dust with Raman lidars and airborne HSRL in southern Morocco during SAMUM","volume":"61","author":"Tesche","year":"2009","journal-title":"Tellus B"},{"key":"ref_62","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2487","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-13-2487-2013","article-title":"Aerosol classification by airborne high spectral resolution lidar observations","volume":"13","author":"Esselborn","year":"2013","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_63","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envint.2012.06.012","article-title":"Health effects from Sahara dust episodes in Europe: Literature review and research gaps","volume":"47","author":"Karanasiou","year":"2012","journal-title":"Environ. Intern."},{"key":"ref_64","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1409","DOI":"10.1289\/ehp.1003026","article-title":"Saharan dust and associations between particulate matter and daily mortality in Rome, Italy","volume":"119","author":"Mallone","year":"2011","journal-title":"Environ. Health Perspect."},{"key":"ref_65","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117771","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atmosenv.2020.117771","article-title":"The impact of Sahara dust on air quality and public health in European countries","volume":"15","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Atmos. Environ."},{"key":"ref_66","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2389","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-7-2389-2014","article-title":"EARLINET: Towards an advanced sustainable European aerosol lidar network","volume":"7","author":"Pappalardo","year":"2014","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_67","unstructured":"(2023, March 21). Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases (ACTRIS) Research Infrastructure. Available online: https:\/\/www.actris.eu."},{"key":"ref_68","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"631","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-9-631-2016","article-title":"The new sun-sky-lunar Cimel CE318-T multiband photometer\u2014A comprehensive performance evaluation","volume":"9","author":"Barreto","year":"2016","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_69","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/S0034-4257(98)00031-5","article-title":"AERONET\u2014A federated instrument network and data archive for aerosol characterization","volume":"66","author":"Holben","year":"1998","journal-title":"Rem. Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_70","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1181","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-9-1181-2016","article-title":"Lidar-Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) for the retrieval of vertical aerosol properties from combined lidar\/radiometer data: Development and distribution in EARLINET","volume":"9","author":"Chaikovsky","year":"2016","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_71","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4995","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-10-4995-2017","article-title":"GARRLiC and LIRIC: Strengths and limitations for the characterization of dust and marine particles along with their mixtures","volume":"10","author":"Tsekeri","year":"2017","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_72","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3717","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-7-3717-2014","article-title":"Fine and coarse dust separation with polarization lidar","volume":"7","author":"Mamouri","year":"2014","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_73","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"706851","DOI":"10.3389\/frsen.2021.706851","article-title":"A Comprehensive Description of Multi-Term LSM for Applying Multiple a Priori Constraints in Problems of Atmospheric Remote Sensing: GRASP Algorithm, Concept, and Applications","volume":"2","author":"Dubovik","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_74","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"18251","DOI":"10.1029\/2000JD900749","article-title":"Satellite detection of dust using the IR imagery of Meteosat: 1. Infrared difference dust index","volume":"106","author":"Legrand","year":"2001","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_75","first-page":"D13210","article-title":"Global aerosol optical properties and application to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aerosol retrieval over land","volume":"112","author":"Levy","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_76","unstructured":"(2021, April 29). MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), Available online: https:\/\/modis.gsfc.nasa.gov\/."},{"key":"ref_77","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0889.2008.00397.x","article-title":"In situ measurements of optical properties at Tinfou (Morocco) during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment SAMUM 2006","volume":"61","author":"Schladitz","year":"2009","journal-title":"Tellus B"},{"key":"ref_78","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"55","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aeolia.2012.07.004","article-title":"A review of methods for long term in situ characterization of aerosol dust","volume":"6","author":"Rodriguez","year":"2012","journal-title":"Aeolian Res."},{"key":"ref_79","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2059","DOI":"10.1175\/BAMS-D-14-00110.1","article-title":"NOAA\u2019s HYSPLIT Atmospheric Transport and Dispersion Modeling System","volume":"96","author":"Stein","year":"2015","journal-title":"Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_80","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"210","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envsoft.2017.06.025","article-title":"Real-time environmental applications and display system: READY","volume":"95","author":"Rolph","year":"2017","journal-title":"Environ. Model. Softw."},{"key":"ref_81","unstructured":"Kallos, G., Nickovic, S., Papadopoulos, A., Jovic, D., Kakaliagou, O., Misirlis, N., Boukas, L., Mimikou, N., Sakellaridis, G., and Papageorgiou, J. (1997, January 15\u201317). The regional weather forecasting system SKIRON: An overview. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Regional Weather Prediction on Parallel Computer Environments, Athens, Greece."},{"key":"ref_82","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"18113","DOI":"10.1029\/2000JD900794","article-title":"A model for prediction of desert dust cycle in the atmosphere","volume":"106","author":"Nickovic","year":"2001","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_83","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13001","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-11-13001-2011","article-title":"An online mineral dust aerosol model for MESO to global scales: Model description, annual simulations and evaluation","volume":"11","author":"Haustein","year":"2011","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_84","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"18539","DOI":"10.3402\/tellusb.v64i0.18539","article-title":"Development and evaluation of the BSC-DREAM8b dust regional model over Northern Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East","volume":"64","author":"Basart","year":"2012","journal-title":"Tellus B"},{"key":"ref_85","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11367","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-16-11367-2016","article-title":"Cloud ice caused by atmospheric mineral dust\u2014Part 1: Parameterization of ice nuclei concentration in the NMME-DREAM model","volume":"16","author":"Nickovic","year":"2016","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_86","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6403","DOI":"10.5194\/gmd-14-6403-2021","article-title":"Mineral dust cycle in the Multiscale Online Nonhydrostatic AtmospheRe Chemistry model (MONARCH) version 2.0","volume":"14","author":"Klose","year":"2021","journal-title":"Geosci. Model Dev."},{"key":"ref_87","unstructured":"(2023, March 21). The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Available online: https:\/\/www.ecmwf.int\/."},{"key":"ref_88","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"437","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0477(1996)077<0437:TNYRP>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"The NCEP\/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project","volume":"77","author":"Kalnay","year":"1996","journal-title":"Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_89","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0477(2001)082<0247:TNNYRM>2.3.CO;2","article-title":"The NCEP\u2013NCAR 50-year reanalysis: Monthly means CD-ROM and documentation","volume":"82","author":"Kistler","year":"2001","journal-title":"Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_90","unstructured":"(2021, April 29). NOAA\/ESRL Physical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder Colorado, Daily Mean Composites Website, Available online: https:\/\/psl.noaa.gov\/data\/composites\/day."},{"key":"ref_91","unstructured":"University of Wyoming (2022, February 01). Upperair Air Data. Available online: http:\/\/weather.uwyo.edu\/upperair\/sounding.html."},{"key":"ref_92","unstructured":"Hoshyaripour, A. (2021, April 29). February 2021: A Dusty Month for Europe, Blog of the Atmospheric Sciences (AS) Division of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). Available online: https:\/\/blogs.egu.eu\/divisions\/as\/2021\/04\/03\/february-2021-a-dusty-month-for-europe."},{"key":"ref_93","unstructured":"(2022, March 15). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information, The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Climate Normals, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Station Number: 15614, Available online: https:\/\/www.ncei.noaa.gov\/products\/wmo-climate-normals."},{"key":"ref_94","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"211","DOI":"10.1364\/AO.20.000211","article-title":"Stable analytical inversion solution for processing lidar returns","volume":"20","author":"Klett","year":"1981","journal-title":"Appl. Opt."},{"key":"ref_95","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"652","DOI":"10.1364\/AO.23.000652","article-title":"Analysis of atmospheric lidar observations: Some comments","volume":"23","author":"Fernald","year":"1984","journal-title":"Appl. Opt."},{"key":"ref_96","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Freudenthaler, V., Linn\u00e9, H., Chaikovski, A., Rabus, D., and Gro\u00df, S. (2018). EARLINET LiDAR quality assurance tools. Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., preprint.","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-2017-395"},{"key":"ref_97","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6331","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-19-6331-2019","article-title":"A 10-year characterization of the Saharan Air Layer lidar ratio in the subtropical North Atlantic","volume":"19","author":"Barreto","year":"2019","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_98","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"036009","DOI":"10.1117\/1.JRS.10.036009","article-title":"Lidar observations of long-range transported Saharan dust over Sofia, Bulgaria: A case study of dust mixed with local aerosols","volume":"10","author":"Peshev","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Appl. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_99","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D16203","DOI":"10.1029\/2005JD006569","article-title":"Saharan dust intrusions in the Mediterranean area: Three years of Raman lidar measurements","volume":"111","author":"Mona","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_100","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2853","DOI":"10.1016\/S1352-2310(02)00136-X","article-title":"Daily cycles in urban aerosols observed in Florence (Italy) by means of an automatic 532\u20131064 nm LIDAR","volume":"36","year":"2002","journal-title":"Atmos. Environ."},{"key":"ref_101","unstructured":"Cimel (2022, April 01). Multiband photometer CE318\u2013T, User\u2019s Manual (Revision V4.10 October 2021). Available online: https:\/\/www.cimel.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/CE318_T_Photometer_UserManual_V4.10.pdf."},{"key":"ref_102","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Evgenieva, T., Gurdev, L., Toncheva, E., and Dreischuh, T. (2022). Optical and Microphysical Properties of the Aerosol Field over Sofia, Bulgaria, Based on AERONET Sun-Photometer Measurements. Atmosphere, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/atmos13060884"},{"key":"ref_103","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4559","DOI":"10.1029\/2002JD002975","article-title":"Spectral discrimination of coarse and fine mode optical depth","volume":"108","author":"Eck","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_104","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9787","DOI":"10.1029\/2000JD900245","article-title":"Bimodal size distribution influences on the variation of Angstrom derivatives in spectral and optical depth space","volume":"106","author":"Eck","year":"2001","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_105","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20673","DOI":"10.1029\/2000JD900282","article-title":"A flexible inversion algorithm for retrieval of aerosol optical properties from Sun and sky radiance measurements","volume":"105","author":"Dubovik","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_106","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9791","DOI":"10.1029\/2000JD900040","article-title":"Accuracy assessments of aerosol optical properties retrieved from AERONET sun and sky-radiometric measurements","volume":"105","author":"Dubovik","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_107","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D11208","DOI":"10.1029\/2005JD006619","article-title":"Application of spheroid models to account for aerosol particle nonsphericity in remote sensing of desert dust","volume":"111","author":"Dubovik","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_108","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-12-169-2019","article-title":"Advancements in the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Version 3 database\u2014Automated near-real-time quality control algorithm with improved cloud screening for Sunphotometer aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements","volume":"12","author":"Giles","year":"2019","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_109","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3375","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-13-3375-2020","article-title":"The AERONET Version 3 aerosol retrieval algorithm, associated uncertainties and comparisons to Version 2","volume":"13","author":"Sinyuk","year":"2020","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_110","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D10S12","DOI":"10.1029\/2003JD004436","article-title":"Dust transport and deposition observed from the Terra-Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) spacecraft over the Atlantic Ocean","volume":"110","author":"Kaufman","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_111","unstructured":"(2021, May 07). Executive Environment Agency (ExEA), Ministry of Environment and Water\u2014Bulgaria, National System for Environmental Monitoring, Available online: http:\/\/www.eea.government.bg\/kav\/."},{"key":"ref_112","unstructured":"Evgenieva, T., Tatarov, B., Kolev, N., Iliev, I., Savov, P., Kaprielov, B., and Kolev, I. (2008, January 23\u201327). One year measurements of aerosol optical depth during development of the atmospheric boundary layer over urban area (Sofia, Bulgaria). Proceedings of the 24th International Laser Radar Conference 2008 (ILRC 24), International Coordination Group on Laser Atmospheric Studies (ICLAS), Boulder, CO, USA."},{"key":"ref_113","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6381","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160902865764","article-title":"Lidar and spectroradiometer measurements of atmospheric aerosol optical characteristics over an urban area in Sofia, Bulgaria","volume":"30","author":"Evgenieva","year":"2009","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_114","unstructured":"(2023, March 21). Barcelona Dust Regional Center\u2014The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Sand and Dust Storms Warning Advisory and Assessment System (SDS-WAS) Regional Center for Northern Africa, Middle East and Europe. Available online: https:\/\/dust.aemet.es."},{"key":"ref_115","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"08007","DOI":"10.1051\/epjconf\/201817608007","article-title":"Lidar&radiometer inversion code (LIRIC) for synergetic processing of Earlinet, Aeronet and Calipso lidar data","volume":"176","author":"Chaikovsky","year":"2018","journal-title":"EDJ Web Conf."},{"key":"ref_116","unstructured":"(2023, June 26). Sun-Sky Radiometer Observation NETwork (SONET). Available online: http:\/\/www.sonet.ac.cn\/en\/index.php."},{"key":"ref_117","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li, L., Li, Z., Li, K., Wang, Y., Tian, Q., Su, X., Yang, L., Ye, S., and Xu, H. (2020). Aerosol Direct Radiative Effects over China Based on Long-Term Observations within the Sun\u2013Sky Radiometer Observation Network (SONET). Remote Sens., 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs12203296"},{"key":"ref_118","unstructured":"(2021, June 26). San Francisco State University, Analyses of Jet Stream Positions. Available online: https:\/\/squall.sfsu.edu\/crws\/archive\/jet_arch.html."},{"key":"ref_119","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"L\u00f3pez-Caravaca, A., Casta\u00f1er, R., Clemente, A., Yubero, E., Galindo, N., Crespo, J., and Nicol\u00e1s, J.F. (2021). The Impact of Intense Winter Saharan Dust Events on PM and Optical Properties at Urban Sites in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Atmosphere, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/atmos12111469"},{"key":"ref_120","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105959","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atmosres.2021.105959","article-title":"Atmospheric rivers drive exceptional Saharan dust transport towards Europe","volume":"266","author":"Francis","year":"2022","journal-title":"Atmos. Res."},{"key":"ref_121","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Szczepanik, D.M., Ortiz-Amezcua, P., Heese, B., D\u2019Amico, G., and Stachlewska, I.S. (2022). First Ever Observations of Mineral Dust in Wintertime over Warsaw, Poland. Remote Sens., 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs14153788"},{"key":"ref_122","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"134","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atmosres.2007.10.007","article-title":"Seasonal transport patterns of intense Saharan dust events at the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in the period 1999\u20132005","volume":"88","author":"Meloni","year":"2008","journal-title":"Atmos. Res."},{"key":"ref_123","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15147","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-20-15147-2020","article-title":"EARLINET observations of Saharan dust intrusions over the northern Mediterranean region (2014\u20132017): Properties and impact on radiative forcing","volume":"20","author":"Soupiona","year":"2020","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_124","first-page":"279","article-title":"Background Concentration of Air Pollutants for Sofia City\u2013Analysis For Summer and Winter Months","volume":"22","author":"Kirova","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int. Multidiscip. Sci. GeoConf. SGEM"},{"key":"ref_125","unstructured":"(2022, February 03). Current & Forecast Meteorology\u2014Real-Time Environmental Applications and Display System (READY), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Air Resources Laboratory (ARL), Available online: https:\/\/www.ready.noaa.gov\/READYcmet.php."},{"key":"ref_126","unstructured":"United States Committee on Extension to the Standard Atmosphere (1976). U.S. Standard Atmosphere 1976, U.S. Government Printing Office."},{"key":"ref_127","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"012032","DOI":"10.1088\/1742-6596\/2240\/1\/012032","article-title":"Vertical and near-horizontal scanning lidar observations of aerosol loads over Sofia, Bulgaria, in the presence of Saharan dust","volume":"2240","author":"Peshev","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Phys. Conf. Ser."},{"key":"ref_128","unstructured":"(2023, June 28). AERONET Technical and Quality Assurance Documents, Available online: https:\/\/aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov\/new_web\/publications.html."},{"key":"ref_129","first-page":"201","article-title":"AERONET sunphotometer products and backscatter lidar data: Systematic intercomparison over the city of S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil","volume":"41","author":"Sawamura","year":"2008","journal-title":"Opt. Pura Apl."},{"key":"ref_130","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4025","DOI":"10.1029\/2001JD001277","article-title":"Scattering of light by large Saharan dust particles in a modified ray optics approximation","volume":"108","author":"Nousiainen","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_131","first-page":"D13215","article-title":"Scattering matrix of large Saharan dust particles: Experiments and computations","volume":"112","author":"Volten","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/15\/15\/3833\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T20:24:03Z","timestamp":1760127843000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/15\/15\/3833"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,1]]},"references-count":131,"journal-issue":{"issue":"15","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8]]}},"alternative-id":["rs15153833"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs15153833","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2072-4292"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,1]]}}}