Atmosphere (Jun 2024)
Natural Aerosols, Gaseous Precursors and Their Impacts in Greece: A Review from the Remote Sensing Perspective
- Vassilis Amiridis,
- Stelios Kazadzis,
- Antonis Gkikas,
- Kalliopi Artemis Voudouri,
- Dimitra Kouklaki,
- Maria-Elissavet Koukouli,
- Katerina Garane,
- Aristeidis K. Georgoulias,
- Stavros Solomos,
- George Varlas,
- Anna Kampouri,
- Dimitra Founda,
- Basil E. Psiloglou,
- Petros Katsafados,
- Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou,
- Ilias Fountoulakis,
- Panagiotis-Ioannis Raptis,
- Thanasis Georgiou,
- Anna Gialitaki,
- Emmanouil Proestakis,
- Alexandra Tsekeri,
- Eleni Drakaki,
- Eleni Marinou,
- Elina Giannakaki,
- Stergios Misios,
- John Kapsomenakis,
- Kostas Eleftheratos,
- Nikos Hatzianastassiou,
- Pavlos Kalabokas,
- Prodromos Zanis,
- Mihalis Vrekoussis,
- Alexandros Papayannis,
- Andreas Kazantzidis,
- Konstantinos Kourtidis,
- Dimitris Balis,
- Alkiviadis F. Bais,
- Christos Zerefos
Affiliations
- Vassilis Amiridis
- Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Stelios Kazadzis
- Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Center, Dorfstrasse 33, Davos, 7260 Dorf, Switzerland
- Antonis Gkikas
- Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 106 79 Athens, Greece
- Kalliopi Artemis Voudouri
- Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Dimitra Kouklaki
- Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Maria-Elissavet Koukouli
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, School of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Katerina Garane
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, School of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Aristeidis K. Georgoulias
- Department of Meteorology and Climatology, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Stavros Solomos
- Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 106 79 Athens, Greece
- George Varlas
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, 46.7 km of Athens-Sounio Ave., 190 13 Anavissos, Greece
- Anna Kampouri
- Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Dimitra Founda
- Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Palaia Penteli, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Basil E. Psiloglou
- Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Palaia Penteli, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Petros Katsafados
- Department of Geography, Harokopio University of Athens, 176 76 Athens, Greece
- Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou
- Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Ilias Fountoulakis
- Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Panagiotis-Ioannis Raptis
- Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Palaia Penteli, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Thanasis Georgiou
- Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Anna Gialitaki
- Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Emmanouil Proestakis
- Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Alexandra Tsekeri
- Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Eleni Drakaki
- Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Eleni Marinou
- Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, 152 36 Athens, Greece
- Elina Giannakaki
- Department of Environmental Physics and Meteorology, Faculty of Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece
- Stergios Misios
- Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 106 79 Athens, Greece
- John Kapsomenakis
- Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 106 79 Athens, Greece
- Kostas Eleftheratos
- Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 115 27 Athens, Greece
- Nikos Hatzianastassiou
- Laboratory of Meteorology, Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, 451 10 Ioannina, Greece
- Pavlos Kalabokas
- Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 106 79 Athens, Greece
- Prodromos Zanis
- Department of Meteorology and Climatology, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Mihalis Vrekoussis
- Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP), University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
- Alexandros Papayannis
- Laser Remote Sensing Unit (LRSU), Physics Department, National Technical University of Athens, 157 80 Zografou, Greece
- Andreas Kazantzidis
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Department of Physics, University of Patras, 265 00 Patras, Greece
- Konstantinos Kourtidis
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, 671 00 Xanthi, Greece
- Dimitris Balis
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, School of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Alkiviadis F. Bais
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, School of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Christos Zerefos
- Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 106 79 Athens, Greece
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15070753
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 15,
no. 7
p. 753
Abstract
The Mediterranean, and particularly its Eastern basin, is a crossroad of air masses advected from Europe, Asia and Africa. Anthropogenic emissions from its megacities meet over the Eastern Mediterranean, with natural emissions from the Saharan and Middle East deserts, smoke from frequent forest fires, background marine and pollen particles emitted from ocean and vegetation, respectively. This mixture of natural aerosols and gaseous precursors (Short-Lived Climate Forcers—SLCFs in IPCC has short atmospheric residence times but strongly affects radiation and cloud formation, contributing the largest uncertainty to estimates and interpretations of the changing cloud and precipitation patterns across the basin. The SLCFs’ global forcing is comparable in magnitude to that of the long-lived greenhouse gases; however, the local forcing by SLCFs can far exceed those of the long-lived gases, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Monitoring the spatiotemporal distribution of SLCFs using remote sensing techniques is important for understanding their properties along with aging processes and impacts on radiation, clouds, weather and climate. This article reviews the current state of scientific know-how on the properties and trends of SLCFs in the Eastern Mediterranean along with their regional interactions and impacts, depicted by ground- and space-based remote sensing techniques.
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