An Overview of the ASKOS Campaign in Cabo Verde

• Published in: 16th International Conference on Meteorology, Climatology and Atmospheric Physics—COMECAP 2023
• Main Authors: Eleni Marinou, Peristera Paschou, Ioanna Tsikoudi, Alexandra Tsekeri, Vasiliki Daskalopoulou, Dimitra Kouklaki, Nikos Siomos, Vasileios Spanakis-Misirlis, Kalliopi Artemis Voudouri, Thanasis Georgiou, Eleni Drakaki, Anna Kampouri, Kyriaki Papachristopoulou, Ioanna Mavropoulou, Sotiris Mallios, Emmanouil Proestakis, Antonis Gkikas, Iliana Koutsoupi, Ioannis Panagiotis Raptis, Stelios Kazadzis, Holger Baars, Athina Floutsi, Razvan Pirloaga, Anca Nemuc, Franco Marenco, Maria Kezoudi, Alkistis Papetta, Grisa Močnik, Jesús Yus Díez, Claire L. Ryder, Natalie Ratcliffe, Konrad Kandler, Aryasree Sudharaj, Vassilis Amiridis
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2023
• Subjects: experimental campaign; remote sensing; lidar; radar; radiosondes; radiation; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Aeolus; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2023026200; https://doaj.org/article/cc95e1e18c1b48af8465b2b44057cb90

In the framework of the ESA-NASA Joint Aeolus Tropical Atlantic Campaign (JATAC), the ASKOS experiment was implemented during the summer and autumn of 2021 and 2022. ASKOS comprised roughly 9 weeks of measurements in the Saharan dust outflow towards the North Atlantic, with operations conducted from the Cabo Verde Islands. Through its unprecedented dataset of synergistic measurements in the region, ASKOS will allow for the calibration and validation of the aerosol/cloud product from Aeolus and the preparation of the terrain for EarthCARE cal/val activities. Moreover, ASKOS marks a turning point in our ability to study Saharan dust properties and the processes affecting its atmospheric transport, as well as the link to other components of the Earth’s system, such as the effect of dust particles on cloud formation over the Eastern Atlantic and the effect of large and giant particles on radiation. This is possible through the synergy of diverse observations acquired during the experiment, which include intense 24/7 ground-based aerosol, cloud, wind, and radiation remote sensing measurements, and UAV-based aerosol in situ measurements within the Saharan air layer, up to 5.3 km altitude, offering particle size-distributions up to 40 μm as well as sample collection for mineralogical analysis. We provide an outline of the novel measurements along with the main scientific objectives of ASKOS. The campaign data will be publicly available by September of 2023 through the EVDC portal (ESA Validation Data Center).