Variability of mineral dust concentrations over West Africa monitored by the Sahelian Dust Transect

The “Sahelian belt” is known as a region where mineral dust content is among the highest in the world. In the framework of the AMMA international Program, a transect of three ground based stations, the “Sahelian Dust Transect” (SDT), has been deployed in order to obtain quantitative information on the mineral dust content over the Sahel. These three stations: Banizoumbou (Niger), Cinzana (Mali) and M'Bour (Senegal) are aligned at 13°N along the east–west main pathway of the Saharan and Sahelian dust toward the Atlantic Ocean. The SDT provides a set of aerosol measurements and local meteorological parameters to describe and understand the mechanisms that control the temporal and regional variability of mineral dust content in these regions. In this work we analyze the seasonal and diurnal variability of the dust concentrations over the period 2006–2010. The analysis of the dust concentrations measured between 2006 and 2010 confirmed a regional seasonal cycle characterized by a maximum in the dry season, with median concentration ranging from 205 μg m− 3 at Banizoumbou to 144 μg m− 3 at M'Bour, and a minimum (11–32 μg m− 3) in the wet season. The five year data set allowed the quantification of the variability of the monthly concentrations. The range between the percentiles 75 and 25 varies linearly with the median concentration: it is of the same order than the median value in M'Bour, 17% slightly higher in Cinzana and 50% higher in Banizoumbou. The range between the accepted maximum and minimum is also correlated with the median value, with slopes ranging from 14 in Banizoumbou to 7 in M'Bour. Part of the variability of the concentration at the monthly scale is due to interannual variability. Extremely high or low monthly concentration can be recorded that significantly impacts the five year median concentration and its range. Compared to the 3-year data set analyzed by Marticorena et al. (2010), the two additional years used in this work appear as the less dusty year (2009) and one of the dustier years (2010). The sampling time step and the high recovery rates of the measurement stations allowed to investigate the diurnal cycle of the dust concentration for the first time. During the dry season, the hourly median concentrations range from 80 to 100 μg m− 3 during the night to 100–160 μg m− 3 during the day-time maximum. The diurnal cycle of the PM10 concentrations is phased with the diurnal cycle of the surface wind speed and thus modulated by the interactions between the nocturnal lower level jet (NLLJ) and the surface boundary layer. The NLLJ appears as a major agent to transport Saharan dust toward the Sahel. During the wet season, the median PM10 concentrations are maximum at night-time (< 50 μg m− 3). The night-time concentrations are associated with a large range of variability and coincide with the periods of higher occurrence of meso-scale convective systems. The amplitude of the diurnal cycle is of the order of 60 μg m− 3 in the dry season and 20 μg m− 3 in the wet season. Both in the dry and in the wet season, despite a month to month variability of the daily dust concentration, a typical diurnal pattern has been established suggesting that this temporal pattern is mainly driven by local meteorological conditions.