Articles | Volume 26, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-983-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-983-2026
Research article
 | 
21 Jan 2026
Research article |  | 21 Jan 2026

Transported African Dust in the Lower Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer is Internally Mixed with Sea Salt Contributing to Increased Hygroscopicity and a Lower Lidar Depolarization Ratio

Sujan Shrestha, Robert E. Holz, Willem J. Marais, Zachary Buckholtz, Ilya Razenkov, Edwin Eloranta, Jeffrey S. Reid, Hope E. Elliott, Nurun Nahar Lata, Zezhen Cheng, Swarup China, Edmund Blades, Albert D. Ortiz, Rebecca Chewitt-Lucas, Alyson Allen, Devon Blades, Ria Agrawal, Elizabeth A. Reid, Jesus Ruiz-Plancarte, Anthony Bucholtz, Ryan Yamaguchi, Qing Wang, Thomas Eck, Elena Lind, Mira L. Pöhlker, Andrew P. Ault, and Cassandra J. Gaston

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Cited articles

Adams, A. M., Prospero, J. M., and Zhang, C.: CALIPSO-Derived Three-Dimensional Structure of Aerosol over the Atlantic Basin and Adjacent Continents, J. Clim., 25, 6862–6879, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00672.1, 2012. 
Andreae, M. O., Charlson, R. J., Bruynseels, F., Storms, H., Van Grieken, R., and Maenhaut, W.: Internal Mixture of Sea Salt, Silicates, and Excess Sulfate in Marine Aerosols, Science, 232, 1620–1623, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.232.4758.1620, 1986. 
Ansmann, A., Seifert, P., Tesche, M., and Wandinger, U.: Profiling of fine and coarse particle mass: case studies of Saharan dust and Eyjafjallajökull/Grimsvötn volcanic plumes, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 9399–9415, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-9399-2012, 2012. 
Aryasree, S., Kandler, K., Benker, N., Walser, A., Tipka, A., Dollner, M., Seibert, P., and Weinzierl, B.: Vertical Variability in morphology, chemistry and optical properties of the transported Saharan air layer measured from Cape Verde and the Caribbean, R. Soc. Open Sci., 11, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231433, 2024. 
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Short summary
Coordinated observations from MAGPIE 2023 show that Saharan dust in the marine atmospheric boundary layer becomes internally mixed with sea spray. This mixing increases particle sphericity and hygroscopicity, likely leading to suppressed lidar linear depolarization ratios despite high dust concentrations. The findings have key implications for interpreting lidar-derived dust retrievals, estimating surface dust from satellite products, and improving dust representation in models.
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