Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4162
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4162
03 Sep 2025
 | 03 Sep 2025
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).

Detection and climatology of Saharan dust frequency and mass at the Jungfraujoch (3580 m asl, Switzerland)

Martine Collaud Coen, Benjamin Tobias Brem, Martin Gysel-Beer, Robin Modini, Stephan Henne, Martin Steinbacher, Davide Putero, Maria I. Gini, and Kostantinos Eleftheriadis

Abstract. Saharan dust (SD) can be transported over long distances by large-scale atmospheric circulation. SD events (SDE) occur 30 to 150 times each year at the high-altitude station of the Jungfraujoch (JFJ) in the Swiss Alps. The SD detection method, applied since 2001, is based on the inversion of the single scattering albedo wavelength dependence caused by the higher coarse-mode fraction and the chemical composition of dust. Here, the reproducibility of the SD detection by different types of nephelometers and absorption photometers is first investigated and is then compared to detections based on the observed concentration of coarse-mode aerosol, source sensitivities simulated with FLEXPART as well as to the dust index provided by the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service. The difference in SD detection are stronger for various nephelometer types than for various absorption photometers. Each detection method has advantages and weakness and no one can be considered as reference. The climatology of the 23-year time series of dust hours and dust mass at the JFJ shows that the temporal influence of dust is strongest from February to June, and in October and November, whereas the dust mass is higher in spring than in fall. The SDEs detected by a high coarse-mode particle concentration have different sources and pathways to Europe than the ones detected by the optical method. The inhomogeneity in the SD time series and the high inter-annual variability restrain the evaluation of long-term trends.

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Martine Collaud Coen, Benjamin Tobias Brem, Martin Gysel-Beer, Robin Modini, Stephan Henne, Martin Steinbacher, Davide Putero, Maria I. Gini, and Kostantinos Eleftheriadis

Status: open (until 15 Oct 2025)

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Martine Collaud Coen, Benjamin Tobias Brem, Martin Gysel-Beer, Robin Modini, Stephan Henne, Martin Steinbacher, Davide Putero, Maria I. Gini, and Kostantinos Eleftheriadis
Martine Collaud Coen, Benjamin Tobias Brem, Martin Gysel-Beer, Robin Modini, Stephan Henne, Martin Steinbacher, Davide Putero, Maria I. Gini, and Kostantinos Eleftheriadis
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Short summary
Saharan dust is transported over long distances by large-scale atmospheric circulation and it reaches 30 to 150 times per year the Jungfraujoch high-altitude station. The study analyzes the influence of the instrument types on SD detected by the single scattering albedo spectral dependence. This method is then compared to detection methods based on the size distribution and the back-trajectories. A source sensitivity and a 23-year climatology of the dust frequency and mass are also performed.
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