Ground-based remote sensing observations of aerosols and clouds above a coastal site in the Central Mediterranean.

Aerosols affect clouds microphysical and macrophysical properties, precipitation efficiency and, ultimately, clouds radiative effects. Aerosol-Cloud Interactions (ACI) are not well quantified and modeled, representing one of the most uncertain contributions to the Earth's radiation budget. Ground-based remote sensing observations can contribute to improve ACI understanding and models representation because of their ability to observe co-occurring aerosols and clouds through the troposphere. Such an observational dataset was collected during the MESSA-DIN (MEditerranean Sea Salt And Dust Ice Nuclei) campaign, with a particular focus on the role of mineral dust and marine aerosol. The campaign, organized by the CNR-IMAA, was carried out at the coastal site of Soverato, in the Central Mediterranean. An overview of the campaign, involved instruments and data analysis is presented. Case studies on clouds formation in the presence of dust and marine aerosol are discussed, including the comparison of observational products with those of a regional atmospheric model coupled with transport models and heterogeneous ice nucleation parameterizations specific for both dust and marine aerosol.