Sessions

Gorden Videen | USA | gorden.videen@gmail.com
Olga Munoz | ES | olga@iaa.es
Karri Muinonen | FI | karri.muinonen@helsinki.fi

This session is devoted to the characterization and remote sensing of dust particles using elastic and inelastic light-scattering techniques. Contributions include, but are not limited to theory, modeling and experimental works describing light-scattering properties of dust, as well as lidar, satellite, and ground-based remote-sensing techniques.

Sandra De Iaco | IT | sandra.deiaco@unisalento.it
Donato Posa | ITA | donato.posa@unisalento.it
Monica Palma | ITA | monica.palma@unisalento.it

In various application contexts of environmental sciences, the definition of models suitable for describing the spatio-temporal evolution of the variables of interest is essential for the analysis and monitoring of environmental sustainability. In this context, techniques for the analysis of geo-referenced data provide tools for measuring and predicting the environmental conditions that characterize the area of interest. Innovative approaches are proposed for the assessment of environmental quality and its impact on climate change, through the integration of georeferenced data from different sources and the use of advanced techniques for the analysis of spatio-temporal data with a multivariate structure.
On the basis of these considerations, the objectives materialize in the transfer of advanced skills for the analysis and prediction of environmental variables with a spatial or spatio-temporal structure, indispensable in the environmental risk assessment processes, as well as in the identification of strategic intervention measures for environmental sustainability.

This session focuses on new observations of dust events on sub-km, and sub-diurnal scales enabled by active and passive optical remote sensing (lidar and multispectral satellite imagers) methodologies. Contributions describing original research results from ground-based, airborne, and space-based observational vantage points are solicited. In particular, geometrical and optical properties of dust layers are essential in climate, radiation budget, and cirrus cloud formation research. One of the session's goals is to survey the state-of-the-art remote sensing techniques for determining the vertical and horizontal distribution of clouds and aerosols (mainly dust) throughout the atmospheric column. Another topic that benefits greatly from those techniques is elucidating chemical and physical processes that occur in moderately and heavily dust-polluted environments. For this application, it is necessary to accurately describe the planetary boundary layer dynamics and depth evolution (a field in which lidar techniques excel). Other topics of interest for this session include: Process studies related to atmospheric composition, pollution, transport, dynamics and convective storm development.

In-situ characterization of dust properties. Measurements, methods, and instrumentation related to the characterization of dust aerosol particles in a contact/collection-free manner

Ash emissions and dust outbreaks strongly affect both environment and climate and may pose a serious threat to human health. Volcanic ash may also represent an important cause of air traffic disruptions. An efficient identification, monitoring and characterization of ash/dust plumes is then crucial to quantify and mitigate their impact on social and economic human activities. Satellite remote sensing provides an important contribution in this direction, through the full exploitation of data from satellite platforms orbiting around Earth. This session deals with present methods and procedures focusing on early, accurate identification and continuous tracking of ash/dust clouds from space. Abstracts addressing: (i) state-of-the-art satellite-based techniques and retrieval methods, (ii) artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities, (iii) data and procedure from recent and next generation satellite systems, are encouraged

This session intends to bring together the scientific communities of air pollution modelling and atmospheric observations focusing on Saharan dust. The main aim of the proposed session is to evaluate the state-of the-art (recent results and current problems) related to the investigation of desert dust advection over the Mediterranean basin and of the impact these natural particles have on the PMx concentrations measured at ground level, from the regional to the local scale. Presentations covering the research area of air pollution modelling and observational techniques (including sensors development) are welcome. In this session, we invite contributions regarding the atmospheric processes taking place in the planetary boundary layer in the presence of mineral particles advected from the Sahara desert.

Asian Dust is often understood as large amounts of lofted mineral dust above Asia. But its sources and sinks are not necessarily only in Asia: the dust may also be advected from far away sources like the Saharan desert. Hence, Asian dust is more than a regional phenomenon. After the dust is lofted into the atmosphere, it will be transported and mixed with other atmospheric particle types. Its optical and chemical properties may be changed by aging on its way through the atmosphere. Asian Dust affects not only the atmospheric radiation budget, but also human health, and even economics. Thus, the Asian Dust needs a multiple-dimensional approach into several directions and scientists of different disciplines are working on this phenomenon. A comprehensive study of Asian Dust in the atmosphere is only possible with a combination of ground-based, airborne and space-borne measurements with additional regional and global modelling approaches. The goal of the proposed session is to bring scientists together and to gain more insight into the different aspects of Asian Dust: its properties, its sources, its transport mechanisms and processes, its effects on humans, and finally on its sinks.

Volcanic ash is a major product of explosive volcanic eruptions posing a range of hazards over widely varying spatial and temporal scales. Like mineral dust, during its transport and deposition from the atmosphere, ash undergoes various physicochemical processes that can influence its impacts on the receiving natural and human environments. We welcome submission of abstracts from a broad range of disciplines relating to volcanic ash and mineral dust cloud processes, effects, detection, and early warnings, including field, laboratory, remote sensing, and modelling studies. We especially encourage submission of studies involving close cooperation between ash and dust researchers.

Muntasir Abdalla ibrahim | SD | muntasirmsc@yahoo.com
Osama Abdelgani Khalafalla | SD | abdelganiosama@gmail.com
Mudathir Abdalla Adam | mudathiradam@gmail.com

The atmospheric composition of the air quality satellite data has been focused in this study are the aerosol optical depth (AOD), particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). The study focused on the analysis of monthly data for the period January 2017 to December 2024 using remote sensing technology and through satellite data products for NASA's Earth navigation satellite Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD). The results obtained from the mentioned period will be compared with the results that were published for the period from Jan 2003 to December 2016 (Ibrahim et al 2020). The overall objectives of this work are: (1) to identify sites with the highest levels of pollution and (2) to use time series analysis to identify sites that have statistically significant trends and to determine the size of trends. The tools used are MODIS (Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrophotometer), MISR (Multi-angle Imaging Spectrophotometer), and MERRA-2 Model (Retrospective Analysis of Modern Times for Research and Applications, Version 2). In Sudan the most air pollutant is dust during summer months and that due to the dust storms, Dust resulting from artisanal mining operations in northern and eastern Sudan, and grassland fires in southern Sudan.

Jose Centeno | USA | jacenteno@comcast.net
Saverio Fiore | IT | saverio@aipea.it

There are several studies documenting that natural and anthropogenic atmospheric particles are significant vehicles for microbial dispersal. Areal distribution and diversity of airborne microbial communities are influenced not only by source locations (dry/cold deserts, seas, lakes, inner land, peninsulas, etc-) and seasonal related changes but also by lithology of source areas. Also transport, that may take place over very long distances, impacts on microbial communities due to the environments over which the air mass is traveling. At a smallest scale, household dust may be a vehicle of microbes able to spread antibiotic resistance. And particulate matter, which ever its origin, could be also able to influence pandemic incidence rates. This session welcome contributions for discussing associations between viruses, bacteria, and organic/inorganic and natural/anthropogenic dust.

The session looks at the impact of dust deposition on the geochemistry of soils, snow, and ice, and even lacustrine environments. Papers applying to this session could also deal with the impact of albedo change and melting of snow and ice and the consequences of dust import on vegetative growth and ecosystem development. A major focus will be the on the geochemistry and mineralogy of dust input and how it can affect the geochemistry and biogeochemistry of these systems.

Dust laden nutrients deposited in surface waters affect phytoplankton with impact for their primary productivity, biomass and biodiversity. Primary productivity is a critical step for climate regulation. Given that iron limits primary productivity in up to 30 % of the ocean and that most of the dust being deposited bear a significant amount of iron, its solubility, reactivity and bioavailability are actively studied. Such research goals are part of the GEOTRACES international science program. In order to improve our understanding of the links between continental dust, the ocean and the carbon cycle, this session welcomes contributions on the fate of elements delivered by atmospheric dust to the ocean, their bioavailability and their implication for the primary productivity. As the consequences from global change on dust deposition and atmospheric processing remain unknown, contributions on the global impact of dust oceanic deposition nowadays but also in the future are also welcome.

Heterogeneous physical and chemical processes occur at the surface of atmospheric dusts of any origins (desert, oceans, volcanoes…). The uptake and the possible reactions of atmospheric gases on dust surface can affect first the composition of the atmosphere, and second the surface properties of the dust. These aspects can be addressed through (i) laboratory experiments, (ii) field campaigns and (iii) modelling. This session welcomes inputs about interactions of atmospheric trace gases (VOCs, NOx, SOx, HOx, O3, H2O, radicals…) with dusts, to addresses the impact of surface processes on: atmosphere composition, dust ageing, optical and hygroscopic properties of dusts.

Dust is an important component of the Earth’s climate system. However, many of its impacts on climate, such as radiative interactions, dust-cloud interactions and interactions with the biosphere are dependent on particle composition, size and shape. These properties may vary regionally and also be modified during atmospheric transport. All these properties also control the spectral optical properties of mineral dust, which are critical in determining how they interact with radiation through the direct and semi-direct radiative effects. This session will focus on understanding and quantifying composition, size and shape distributions of mineral dust aerosols and their role in affecting the shortwave and longwave optical properties and radiative effects of dust. We welcome contributions from laboratory experiments, fieldwork, remote sensing and modelling studies, both from local to global scales, and we also especially encourage contributions reporting on the combinations of different approaches.

Mineral dust is a major component of the global atmospheric aerosol load. Dust emissions are influenced by climate change, and dust, in turn, can affect climate and biogeochemical cycles. Spatial and temporal variability of dust emissions and transport, as well as uncertainties in the particle size distributions and size-dependent physical and chemical properties, render dust an uncertain component of the climate system. Climate archives constitute natural dust samplers, and preserve precious information about past variability in the dust cycle. Under opportune circumstances, climate archives provide us with quantitative reconstructions of dust mass accumulation rates; when paired with additional information, such as measurements of particle size distributions, they have a great potential for reconstructing the global dust cycle. We invite contributions aimed at building up a quantitative observational reference framework from paleodust archives, as well as contributions from the modeling community with the potential to constrain and validate Earth System Models.

Rosa Caggiano | IT | rosa.caggiano@cnr.it

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a key determinant of human health, as individuals spend around 90 per cent of their time indoors, mainly at home or in the workplace. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, IAQ has become an essential reference for scientists and experts, as it has a direct impact on the health, comfort, productivity and general well-being of occupants. As emphasised by the World Health Organization (2010), maintaining good indoor environmental quality is essential to create healthy conditions that promote occupants' well-being and functionality. The relationship between indoor air quality and human health, particularly in vulnerable populations, is influenced by different sources of indoor pollutants and associated health effects. Indoor air quality is related to the concentration of the main indoor pollutants, which include inorganic and organic chemical compounds (e.g., PMx, VOCs, CO), physical and biological agents (e.g., heat, ionising radiations, microorganisms, moulds, mites) .Approximately 60 per cent of domestic pollutants come from external sources (e.g. air pollution and pollen), and enter through open windows, doors and seepage, negatively impacting the indoor environment and posing a risk to human health. In addition to external sources, indoor air pollutants are also determined by internal sources (e.g. combustion, air conditioning systems, building materials, furniture, cleaning, room maintenance products). This session intends to contribute to this context and aims to gather inputs researchers and experts involved in the study of indoor air quality (IAQ). We welcome original research, case studies, and methodological advances that provide insights into the complex interactions between indoor air quality, pollution sources, and human health.

Recent researches has outlined the harmful effect of trace elements into atmospheric dust on human health. This session focuses on harmful impact of trace elements of dust from natural environment on human health.

The session welcome contributions related to new analytical approaches to address health effects caused by dusts with a special emphasis to fine and ultrafine dusts.

Daniele Contini | IT | daniele.contini@cnr.it
Antonio Pennetta | IT | antonio.pennetta@cnr.it

Nowadays, it is becoming more and more important to address the problem of investigating the impact of natural and anthropogenic sources of dust to chemical or cellular indicators of their health-related effects. This implies a change of paradigm moving from the apportionment of the contributions of sources to measured concentrations towards the apportion of the contributions to toxicity or to metrics that are toxicity-related. Such information will allow the possibility to develop targeted mitigation strategy for air quality at different scales. In this session, we propose to collect contributions dealing with: (i) the estimation of the impacts of sources to health; (ii) the investigation of advanced and new metrics to characterise air quality and health; (iii) the application of advanced source apportionment approaches.

The session will deliver topics on different forms of emerging pollutants vehiculated by atmospheric particles. Specific attention will be placed on their possible health impact. Though the focus will be more on emerging pollutants, information and reports on known pollutants such as trace metals and PAHs can also be submitted for consideration. Efforts will be geared towards early life exposure and association with diseases. The session will also look at association between exposure to these pollutants and development of diseases in humans.

Rosa Sinisi | IT | rosa.sinisi@cnr.it
Maria Lacalamita | IT | maria.lacalamita@uniba.it

Particulate matter (PM) is a complex mixture of air-suspended solid and liquid particles having different physical and chemical properties (e.g., size distribution, chemical and mineralogical composition). The study of atmospheric particles is of growing interest because of the increasing awareness of the scientific community about the harmful effects of PM on human health, ecosystems and climate change. The PM quantity and composition depend on the presence and type of source including industrial activities, road traffic and residential heating (i.e. anthropic sources) and/or local soils, deserts, volcanoes, sea and forest fires (i..e. natural sources). With this in mind, this session welcomes contributions on the characterization of PMx (e.g., PM10, PM2.5, PM1) from a morphological, chemical and mineralogical point of view with the principal aim to provide new data and new research perspectives for a better PM monitoring and an in depth comprehension of atmospheric processes as well as to contribute to successful remediation actions.

Fabio Dioguardi | IT | fabio.dioguardi@uniba.it
Beatriz Montesinos | IT | beatriz.martinez@ingv.it
Silvia Massaro | IT | silvia.massaro@uniba.it

The emission of particles and gas species into the atmosphere, whether of natural (e.g., volcanic eruptions, forest fires) or human (e.g., industries, transport) origin are responsible for a wide range of impacts on human’s health (e.g., lung diseases, eyes irritation, heatstroke, etc.), the environment, air traffic, and infrastructures. Quantifying atmospheric transport and deposition is then fundamental for mitigating their environmental impact. This session welcomes contributions related to the observation and modelling of transport, dispersion and deposition of atmospheric pollutants and their impact, with an emphasis on recent technological and modelling advances.

This session aims at showcasing recent research progress and augmenting existing knowledge in the role of atmospheric dynamics in dust storms and the radiative impact of atmospheric dust aerosols. It will provide a setting to foster discussion and help identify gaps, tools, and studies that can be designed to address these open questions within the community. We invite contributions on all observational and numerical modelling aspects that address the links between atmospheric dynamics and the dust cycle. This may include studies of: - The meteorological aspects that cause dust storms at various places around the world. - The variability of the large-scale atmospheric circulation (such as polar jet, subtropical jet, troughs, heat lows) and impact on the dust activity and its variability, - The characteristics of dust storms. - The radiative impacts of atmospheric dust aerosols, - Teleconnections and climate indices and their role in atmospheric dust variability in the dust belt.

Mineral dust is one of the major aerosol types in a global context. Besides its direct climate impact, by indirect effects it modifies cloud processes and precipitation, serves as nutrient supply for marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and affects human health. After emission, dust may undergo considerable changes by atmospheric processes, such as modifications of the particles like chemical reactions and mechanical mixtures, but also modifications to the dust aerosol body, like selective removal of particles, dilution and admixture of non-dust particle types. As consequence, the impact of dust on the global system may change considerably, e. g. by modification of the radiative transfer due to size distribution changes or mobilization of trace compounds by chemical processing. This session calls for field observations and modeling studies on mineral dust aerosol atmospheric modification. Topics can include near-source modifications as well as ageing during long-range transport, anthropogenic as well as natural ones. Single-site and networked observations, large field campaigns and time series observations are equally welcome. Pure modeling studies, insitu and remote sensing observations and any combined approaches are invited.

Michael L. Kaplan | USA | michael.kaplan@dri.edu
Jose Antonio Garcia Orza | ES | ja.garcia@umh.es

The interaction between the polar jet and the Hadley cell modulates mid-latitude circulations and weather. The relevance of such interactions for dust storm genesis and transport is the session focus. An example of this strong extratropical-subtropical forcing is the penetration into North Africa of cold and high potential vorticity (PV) polar air because of Rossby wave breaking, which facilitates dust storm formation in deflatable areas. This is associated with strengthening upper-level ridges with the poleward transport of warm low PV subtropical air, thus blocking airflow downstream and deflecting it into North Africa or the Middle East