27.04.2016

Everyone did a good job today by removing and packing their instruments, tools and spare parts. The container got more and more empty and quit. Also the heavy high-volume sampler found its way back to the ground, even if the workers from the forest department had to help.

26.04.2016-Last coupling experiment between FINCH and IN-PCVI

During the last 4.5 weeks we performed around 40 of these coupling experiments. Some of us were a bit sentimental and counting down the last seconds of the last coupling experimentJ. The measurements at PM1 and PM10 inlet continue until tomorrow morning. Then we will pack and prepare everything for our departure.

26.04.2016

Moving forward to the end of the campaign, the graph below summarizes the OPC concentration at PM10 inlet from April, 3 until April, 24. Higher particle concentration at sizes greater than 1 µm around April, 10 and April, 16 point out the two dust events measured during the campaign.

25.04.2016

Monday morning started as usual with a meeting at the Cyprus Institute discussing recent preliminary data from different groups and instruments. During the last days, dust did not show up again. 

23.4.2016

Also horses enjoy the nice weather on Cyprus during the drive. J

22.4.2016

Back to work and at station Agia Marina, measurements continue but the PM10 concentration is still quite low with 7-8 ug/m^3. We hope to get again higher concentrations within the next days. ALABAMA did not measure today due to a change of our ablation laser head. 

21.4.2016- Day off

Today we had again a really nice and funny day off at the beach and in the old town of Nicosia.  

19.4.2016

Today we were alarmed because of an unusual noise from the FINCH. One of the cooling systems broke down which is less bad than we thought in the first moment. Besides that, the measurements are still going on. And ladies lying on the floor during work also proceeds with Franzi's arrival ;-). The air temperature is still increasing und the dust concentration is still decreasing which suggests that we should have a second day off tomorrow ;-).

17.4.2016

Time to say goodbye to this very nice place. Today's my last day, but the project will continue until April 28 (right before the orthodox Easter holidays).
The view is still beautiful:

But the INUIT crew is working highly concentrated:

16.4.2016

Nothing spectacular. Measurements continue as usual, moderately low dust concentrations. Still some issues with the combined experiment of FINCH - IN-PCVI - ALABAMA/ESEM. Weather nice and sunny.

15.4.2016

It's about half-time of the campaign, and there are some changes in the personnel. Two persons left today, and two new arrived. Also tomorrow and on Sunday will be some arrivals and departures. Measurements continued as usual, but we observed no dust and therefore low concentrations of INP (ice nucleating particles).

I still have to add yesterday's group picture of "The Beach Group":

(c) unknown tourist using S. Mertes' camera

14.4.2016 - Day Off

Today we had a really nice day off, with a visit to a beautiful beach in the South-East of the island, near Agia Napa:

 

 After that we followed the coast line until we arrived at Cape Greco:

And in the evening we went to the old town of Nikosia and visited the turkish part of the city:

 

 

This picture shows the Selimiye Mosque ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selimiye_Mosque,_Nicosia

)

.

13.4.2016

Another cold day (the third in a row) without dust and with very low concentrations of ice nucleating particles (INP) in the air.
But at least we had a beautiful sunset:

Tomorrow we plan to take a day off. That will be the first day off for the teams of FINCH, CVI, and ALABAMA since 15 days (since the beginning of the campaign). The weather is expected to be warm and sunny:

12.4.2016 - After the rain

It has rained during the night both at Nikosia and at the field site. So the dust has been washed out of the air. In the two pictures (facing approximately into the same direction ) you can see the difference between a dust day and a clear day:

Dust day.

Clear day.

Surprisingly, at Nikosia there was also a hailstorm during the day. Pictures will follow.

11.4.2016 - The dust event is over

Although still predicted by the forecast, there was not much dust in the air today. The weather has changed a bit, it became markdly colder with some strong winds in the afternoon. Also for the next days the forecasts see no dust. Here's a forecast example:

On our way to the station we like to stop at our favourite supermarket (open all days) for some fresh fruit:

10.4.2016 - Group Picture at Agia Marina Xyliatou

Yesterday we took a group picture of the crew working at the Agia Marina Xyliatou site:

(c) Nicole Savage

I received also some pictures from the Polly lidar:

The laser beam at night.

This is a construction that was needed to keep the lidar at constant temperature during the hot days.

09.4.2016 - More dust

Today we had even more dust then yesterday. The OPS (optical particle sizer) at the PM10 inlet displayed more than 70 µg/m3:

So everyone was eager to look at the instruments to see how they performed:

To sample as much IN as possible during the dust event, we stayed at field the site until 9:20 pm, and were back at the hotel at 10 pm, just in time not to miss dinner!

08.4.2016

Yes, as the lidar group wrote, the dust has arrived. The sky has turned from clear blue to a shady yellow. But there is still more to come, according to the forecast.

Hazy sky

In the evening, we had a small adventure: Stephan, who left the station a few minutes before we did, damaged a tire. But since we (Hans-Christian and myself) were just a few minutes behind him (and took the same road) we were able to help him changing the tire (in the dark):

Changing a tire in the dark.

This is the metal piece still sticking in the tire.

Dust in the wind ♫

Finally some pure dust!! These are the Lidar observations from the beginning of the campaign.

07.4.2016

We get a daily forecast about the weather development and the expected dust concentration. Now it seems to be interesting for the next days, with maxium concentrations reached in Sunday. On Monday, though, the forecast predicts some rain!

Expected dust mas concentration, with moderate values for tomorrow (April 8) but high values for Sunday (April 10).

Southern Europe will be under the influence of desert dust for the next days.