Abstract. Aerosol size distribution is, among others, a key property of atmospheric aerosols when trying to establish the uncertainties related to aerosol-radiation (ARI) and aerosol-clouds (ACI) interactions. These interactions ultimately depend on the size distribution through optical properties as aerosol optical depth (AOD) or cloud microphysical properties. Hence, the main objective of this work is to study the impact of the representation of aerosol size distribution on aerosol optical properties over Central Europe, and particularly over the Mediterranean Basin during a summertime aerosol episode. To fulfill this objective, a sensitivity test has been carried out using the WRF-Chem on-line model. The test consisted on modifying the parameters which define a log-normal size distribution (the geometric diameter, from now on DG, and the standard deviation, SG) by 10, 20 and 50 %. Results reveal that the reduction in the SG of the accumulation mode leads to the largest impacts in the AOD representation due to a transfer of particles from the accumulation mode to the coarse mode. A reduction in the DG of the accumulation mode has also an influence on AOD representation since particles in this mode are assumed to be smaller. In addition, an increase in the DG of the coarse mode produces a redistribution through the total size distribution by relocating particles from the finer modes to the coarse.
Spatio-Temporal Identification of Areas Suitable for West Nile Disease in the Mediterranean Basin and Central Europe
