| Summary: | Every year, large-scale African dust outbreaks frequently pass over the Canary Islands (Spain). Here we describe the seasonal evolution of atmospheric aerosol extinction and meteorological vertical profiles at Tenerife over the period 2007–2018 using long-term Micropulse Lidar (MPL-3) and radiosondes observations. These measurements are used to categorise the different patterns of dust transport over the subtropical North Atlantic and, for the first time, to robustly describe the dust vertical distribution in the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) over this region. Three atmospheric scenarios dominate the aerosol climatology: dust-free (clean) conditions, the summer-Saharan scenario (Summer-SAL) and the winter-Saharan scenario (Winter-SAL). A relatively well-mixed marine boundary layer (MBL) was observed in the case of clean (dust-free) conditions; it was associated with lidar extinction coefficients (α) ∼ 0.030 km−1 with minimum α (< 0.022 km−1) in the free troposphere (FT). The Summer-SAL has been characterised as a dust-laden layer strongly affecting both the MBL (∆α = 48 % relative to clean conditions) and the free troposphere. The Summer-SAL appears as a well-stratified layer, relatively dry at lower levels but more humid at higher levels compared with clean FT (CFT) conditions (∆r ∼ −44 % at the SAL’s base and ∆r ∼ +332 % at 5.3 km, where is the water vapour mixing ratio), with a peak of α > 0.066 km−1 at ∼ 2.5 km. Desert dust is present up to ∼ 6.0 km, the SAL top based on the altitude of SAL’s temperature inversion (STI). In the Winter-SAL scenario, the dust layer is confined to lower levels, below 2 km altitude. This layer is characterized by a dry anomaly at lower levels (∆r ∼ −38 % in comparison to the clean scenario) and a dust peak at ∼ 1.3 km height. CFT conditions were found above 2.3 km. Our results reveal the important role that both dust and water vapour play in the radiative balance within the Summer- and Winter-SAL. The dominant dust-induced shortwave (SW) radiative warming in summer (heating ...
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