Saharan dust and atmospheric smoke in Neptunes´ realm.

At the beginning of the week we then finally saw dust signals in the instruments. Our atmospheric scientists were very enthusiastic and studied the instrument output intensely. It was clearly dust which they were now seeing. Up until then we had been travelling through the north eastern Trade Wind zone with the typical cumulus and stratus clouds alternating with the otherwise clear blue sky.

Actually one regularly sees extensive dust clouds resulting from dust storms in the Sahara which reach the Americas, but each time it’s a little different. We measured the vertical distribution of the dust in the atmosphere. Different radiometers were used to measure the dimming of the sunlight by the dust. A microwave radiometer was used to measure the amount of water which was in the clouds of the atmosphere, and the temperature measured.

We have many questions which need answers. These include: Does the dust affect the characteristics of the clouds? Does the dust absorb sunlight and thus, heat up the middle troposphere? Was it desert dust or are soot particles from all the wood-fired stoves in the Sahel zone mixed through it? (Fig 1).