Atelier ADAM Workshop

The Impact of African Dust Across the Mediterranean

Oristano (Sardaigne, Italy) - 4-8 October 1995

Over 60 researchers from 17 countries all over the world came together in Oristano,to attend the ADAM meeting. It proved to be a most interesting week, serving to highlight just how much work is being carried out in this important research area and bring those involved together.

The 54 contributions to the meeting covered a number of multidisciplinary themes, from modelling of dust transport and deposition, to the chemical composition of the dusts and aerosols, chemical interactions and the geology and mineralogy of African dusts, to the transport of pollen, fungal spores and other biological particles of desert origin and culminating in a round-table discussion on implications for climate change.

The large number of researchers working in this field was apparent, however these were urged to better co-ordinate their studies, through the creation of a data centre to make data more easily available, intercomparison of instrumentation and the possible culmination in a large scale synoptic study in the Mediterranean basin over a complete season.

While most work has focused on transport modelling and chemical processes, more work on dust deposition, such as improved dry deposition estimates and modelling of deposition processes to ground surfaces (aquatic and terrestrial) was recommended, as well as on the effects of dust inputs to Mediter-ranean ecosystems.

Despite its close proximity to the Saharan area, the Mediterranean has been little considered in modelling estimates for global dust transport. It was suggested to extend the existent North Atlantic sampling network to include Mediterranean sites, thus incorporating this important sink area into a global model.

The climatological implications of dust storm frequencies was discussed and the need for better quantification of these in order to improve GCMs and LAMs in the Mediterranean area was agreed. With regard to heat flux estimates, data on aerosol variability over remote areas must be verified.

Finally, we would like to think at the Oristano Meeting like "bridging the Mediterranean". This term has several meanings. In particular we hope draw attention to the Europe/ Africa relationships and the surrounding Mediterranean countries, bridging the knowledge gap that exists across a region divided by political boundaries and language but sharing a common oceanographic, geologic and historical framework. Bridging the Mediterranean also addresses the need to develop a closer link between technology and the science of atmosphere. Finally we view the island of Sardinia, as well as all islands of Mediterranean, as a laboratory where the long-term effects of humans on the environment can be examined.

A book of proceedings of the meeting will be published by Kluwer Academic Publishers next summer.