Atmospheric Processes over the Broader Mediterranean Region: Effect of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation?

Author:

Kambezidis Harry D.12ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Emeritus Researcher, Atmospheric Research Team, Institute of Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, GR-11810 Athens, Greece

2. Research Associate, Laboratory of Soft Energies and Environmental Protection, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of West Attica, GR-12241 Athens, Greece

Abstract

The Mediterranean area is considered a hot spot on our planet because it represents the crossroads of various aerosols. Several studies have shown that the weather in the region is affected by the North-Atlantic Oscillation, which, in turn, is well connected with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. Nevertheless, no study has investigated the ENSO effect on the solar radiation and atmospheric aerosols in this region. The present study considers a greater area around the Mediterranean Sea over the period 1980–2022. The results show that there exists a loose but significant dependence, in some cases, of the optical properties of aerosols (aerosol optical depth, Ångström exponent, cloud optical depth) and solar radiation (net short-wave and net long-wave radiation, direct aerosol radiative forcing) on ENSO events. The results of this study provide motivation for further investigations, since such results can increase the accuracy of general circulation models that deal with climate change. Besides the ENSO effect, the enrichment of the Mediterranean atmosphere in suspended particles from great volcanic eruptions is shown. The inter-annual variation of the examined parameters is presented. A classification of the existing aerosols over the area is also provided.

Publisher

MDPI AG

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