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Overview

The HygrA-CD campaign has been planned in the Greater Athens Area (GAA) during May-June 2014, when air mass convection is very likely to take place, as the atmosphere is still not totally dry. At this specific period of the year, we are expecting to have Saharan dust outbreak events over Athens (i.e. Southern winds), but also air masses carrying mixtures of urban/continental and marine aerosols, due to the influence of the etesian winds to the wind circulation in GAA (North-eastern winds).

Objectives

The scientific objectives of the HygrA-CD campaign have been set as follows:

• Study the dynamics of the Planetary Boundary Layer-PBL (i.e., characterize updrafts and downdrafts) using both an aerosol lidar and a Doppler lidar.
• Classification of aerosols properties: as hydrophobic and hygroscropic in relation to their size growth with RH versus height.
• Evaluate aerosols’ ability to act as CCNs on the ground and try to link this information at the PBL height.
• Aerosols influence on the formation of cloud droplets when shallow to deep convection occurs.

The methodology to achieve the objectives of the HygrA-CD campaign is based on the synergy between in-situ and remote sensing instruments within a well-mixed PBL.

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