The transport history of two Saharan dust events archived in an Alpine ice core
Résumé
For the October event, the trajectory analysis indicated that dust deposition took place during 13?15 October 2000. Mobilisation areas of dust were mainly identified in the Algerian and Libyan deserts. A combination of an upper-level potential vorticity streamer and a midlevel jet across Algeria first brought moist Atlantic air and later mixed air from the tropics and Saharan desert across the Mediterranean towards the Alps. The March event consisted of two different deposition phases which took place during 17?19 and 23?25 March 2000. The first phase was associated with an exceptional transport pathway past Iceland and towards the Alps from northerly directions. The second phase was similar to the October event. A significant peak of methanesulphonic acid associated with the March dust event was most likely caused by incorporation of biogenic aerosol while passing through the marine boundary layer of the western Mediterranean during a local phytoplankton bloom. From this study, we conclude that for a detailed understanding of the chemical signal recorded in dust events at Piz Zupó, it is essential to consider the whole transport sequence of mineral aerosol, consisting of dust mobilisation, transport, and deposition at the glacier.