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AMT, 13, 4461–4477, 2020
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4461–4477, 2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4461-2020
Special issue: CHemistry and AeRosols Mediterranean EXperiments (ChArMEx)...
Aerosol optical properties as observed from an ultralight aircraft over the Strait of Gibraltar
Aerosol optical properties as observed from an ultralight aircraft over the Strait of Gibraltar Aerosol optical properties as observed from an ultralight aircraft over the Strait of Gibraltar Patrick Chazette
Patrick Chazette Patrick Chazette Patrick Chazette
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), Laboratoire mixte CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, UMR 1572, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Correspondence: Patrick Chazette (patrick.chazette@lsce.ipsl.fr)
Received: 03 Apr 2020 – Discussion started: 22 Apr 2020 – Revised: 30 Jun 2020 – Accepted: 09 Jul 2020 – Published: 18 Aug 2020
An unprecedented scientific flight was conducted over the Strait of Gibraltar to study the optical properties of the atmospheric aerosols from the sea surface to the lower free troposphere within the framework of the southern Spain experiment for spaceborne mission validation (SUSIE). A Rayleigh–Mie lidar was installed on an ultralight aircraft (ULA) for vertical (nadir) and horizontal line-of-sight measurements. This experiment took place on 13 August 2011 in parallel with continuous observations with a N2-Raman lidar from the coastal site of San Pedro Alcantara (∼ 50 km north-east of Gibraltar). Significant differences were observed between the optical properties of the aerosol layers sampled over the Strait of Gibraltar and San Pedro Alcantara. These differences are related to the surface–atmosphere interface in the planetary boundary layer and the origins and transport processes in the lower free troposphere. A significant contribution of terrigenous aerosols originating from the Iberian Peninsula is highlighted over the two areas. These polluted dusts are identified with lidar ratios (LRs) ∼45±8 sr higher than those of Saharan aerosols sampled during the same period (<34 sr) at 355 nm. Furthermore, the particle depolarization ratio is derived with values of ∼ 10 %–15 % for the polluted dust and >20 % for the Saharan dusts. The difference in LRs is the opposite of what is usually assumed for these two types of aerosols and highlights the need to update the classification of aerosols in terms of LR to be used in the inversion of vertical profiles from future spaceborne missions embedding a lidar operating at 355 nm.
Chazette, P.: Aerosol optical properties as observed from an ultralight aircraft over the Strait of Gibraltar, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4461–4477, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4461-2020, 2020.
Very little data exist on the aerosol characterization above the Strait of Gibraltar and its surrounding area where the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea meet. The temperature difference between these two water surfaces inevitably induces a specific atmospheric circulation within the lower troposphere associated with the well-known low-pressure corridor from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. The vertical distribution of aerosols can therefore be very heterogeneous against time and space in this region and is an exciting source of study. In addition to this, the Mediterranean region is identified as one of the "hotspots" in projections of future climate change (Giorgi and Lionello, 2008), in which direct and semi-direct effects of aerosol are not properly taken into account in global climate change simulations (IPCC, 2014). Indeed, the presence of aerosols in the lower and middle troposphere have a significant impact on sea surface temperature, evaporation, and precipitation at the regional scale (e.g. Nabat et al., 2015). This impact is mainly felt through a probable positive feedback on the trend for future dryer and thus more atmospherically turbid Mediterranean summers.
In order to characterize the vertical distribution of aerosols over a long period, from mid-June to the end of August 2011, a ground-based remote sensing station was therefore installed in southern Spain in the municipality of San Pedro Alcantara (36∘29′11′′ N, 4∘59′33′′ W) near Marbella in Andalusia. This installation was one of the components of the Fennec programme which was conducted from June to July 2011 (Ryder et al., 2013) and was specifically extended by the southern Spain experiment for spaceborne mission validation (SUSIE) to support an airborne experiment planned in August 2011 over the Strait of Gibraltar. This airborne experiment was funded by the Centre National d'Etude Spatiales (CNES) and the Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA). Its main goal was the preparation of the validation campaign for 355 nm wavelength Earth observation space missions such as the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission Aeolus (ADM-AEOLUS), which was launched in August 2018 (Stoffelen et al., 2005; Andersson et al., 2008). It is also a powerful tool for the preparation of the future Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer mission (EarthCARE; Illingworth et al., 2015), which is part of the Living Planet Programme of the European Space Agency (ESA) and for which upstream studies based on simulations (e.g. Chazette et al., 2001, 1998) have been conducted in the past to prepare the ATmospheric LIDar (ATLID) planned to be embedded on board the EarthCARE satellite. Therefore, it appeared necessary to rely on actual observations of different scientifically relevant atmospheric environments to build a robust database of vertical lidar profiles at 355 nm in order to conduct further realistic link budget studies. The SUSIE experiment is part of this objective and preceded the CHemistry and AeRosols Mediterranean EXperiments (ChArMEx; http://charmex.lsce.ipsl.fr, last access: 14 August 2020) which took place in the western Mediterranean in 2013–2014 (Mallet et al., 2016) over the Balearic Islands (Ancellet et al., 2016; Chazette et al., 2016), Lampedusa island (e.g. Meloni et al., 2018), and the French Riviera (Chazette et al., 2019). It differs from ChArMEx by its location which is at the far west of the Mediterranean Sea in connection with the Atlantic Ocean.
The choice of the Strait of Gibraltar and Andalusia to conduct this field campaign was dictated by the high variability in optical thicknesses and aerosol types that can be encountered over this geographical area, as shown by Rodríguez et al. (2001) via ground measurements. This variability is closely linked to the diversity of sources but also to highly variable meteorological conditions over time (Gallero et al., 2006). The objective of this paper is to present the original results obtained from this field experiment. It brings a piece of information towards the understanding of the variability in the lower troposphere of both the optical properties and origins of observed aerosols. We will see that this is not as predictable as one might expect.
In Sect. 2, we present the instrumental configuration. The methods used to derive the optical properties of aerosols from the lidar profiles are explained in Sect. 3. The analysis of the observations is carried out in Sect. 4, and Sect. 5 presents the origin of the aerosols observed over Gibraltar during the airborne experiment. In Sect. 6, we summarize and conclude.
2 Instrumental set-up and strategy
Two observational platforms are used in this work, one is airborne and the other one is positioned at ground level. Hereafter, we present the instruments which compose those platforms.
2.1 Airborne measurements
Airborne measurements over the Strait of Gibraltar were performed using an ultralight aircraft (ULA) equipped with an active remote sensing device. In this subsection, the ULA scientific payload is presented as the flight plane used during the experiment.
2.1.1 Payload
The ULA/Tanarg-installed eye-safe lidar system ULICE (Ultraviolet LIdar for Canopy Experiment) (Shang et al., 2016) was used to study the lower troposphere (between ∼ 0.15 and 3 km above mean sea level, a.m.s.l.) over the Strait of Gibraltar. The lidar and the ULA's flights close to Gibraltar are represented in Fig. 1. The Tanarg 912 XS was built by the company Air Création (http://www.aircreation.fr/, last access: 14 August 2020) and offers a maximum total payload of ∼ 250 kg including a scientific payload of ∼ 120 kg with a maximum autonomy of ∼ 3 h. The cruise speed is around 85–90 km h−1 and the maximum flight altitude is ∼ 6 km a.m.s.l. (Chazette et al., 2007). The ULA is also equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) and an attitude and heading reference system (AHRS), which are part of the MTi-G components from Xsens (https://www.xsens.com/, last access: 14 August 2020).
Figure 1Ultralight aircraft (ULA) above the Strait of Gibraltar. The lidar is located on the left side of the ULA in nadir-shooting position. The aerosol layer can be seen in ochre on the horizon of the photo.
The data acquisition was performed by averaging 1000 laser shots at 100 Hz pulse repetition frequency, leading to a temporal sampling close to 10 s. The lidar is controlled by a custom LabVIEW software on a PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation (PXI) computer (National Instruments, http://www.ni.com, last access: 14 August 2020). The ULA payload is autonomous with power supplied by an alternator associated with the propeller. It can deliver the required 600–700 W.
2.1.2 Flight plan
The flight plan allowed a maximum number of lidar profiles during the flight over the Strait of Gibraltar. There were two phases during the flight: a first phase where the lidar line of sight was horizontal and a second phase where the lidar shots were made with nadir sighting (Fig. 2). It was during the ascent and descent that the lidar's line of sight was horizontal to allow the vertical profile of the aerosol extinction coefficient to be reconstructed without assumptions about aerosol types, as shown by Chazette et al. (2007). After take-off from a private field aerodrome (Tahavilla, Spain; 36∘11′17.8′′ N, 5∘45′23.2′′ W), the ceiling for the flight was reached between 2.5 and 3 km a.m.s.l. in agreement with the Spanish and British aviation authorities. The flight remained confined to Spanish and British airspaces.
Figure 2Flight plan of the ULA above the Strait of Gibraltar on 13 August 2011. The colour bar represents the angle of the line of sight (with respect to the true horizon). The broken blue line corresponds to both the ascent and the descent and the broken yellow line to the ULA's flight ceiling. The view from the ULA in Fig. 1 is also highlighted. DEM stands for digital elevation model.
As the ULA is not an aircraft, it cannot take off in strong winds or rainy conditions. It was therefore necessary to wait until the weather conditions were suitable for take-off, i.e. with winds between 10 and 15 m s−1 at ground level. The wind conditions also had to be associated with the presence of significant aerosol layers above the area of Gibraltar that was the subject of this airborne experiment. Between 1 and 22 August, when the ULA was available, only Saturday 13 August in the late afternoon (19:50–21:20 local time, LT) met these conditions.
2.2 Ground-based tools
The sea shore site of San Pedro Alcantara (see Fig. 2; ∼ 50 km north-east of Gibraltar) was equipped with the first version of Lidar for Automatic Atmospheric Surveys using Raman Scattering (LAASURS; Chazette et al., 2017, 2019), described in Royer et al. (2011). LAASURS is an N2-Raman lidar dedicated to research activities. It comprises three channels for the parallel and perpendicular polarizations with respect to the laser emission and the inelastic nitrogen vibrational Raman line of the laser-induced atmospheric backscattered signal. The version used during this field campaign includes a Nd:YAG laser (Ultra® manufactured by Lumibird/Quantel) emitting 16 mJ at 355 nm collimated to fulfil eye-safety requirements. On the same site, a sun photometer was installed and linked to the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) that distributes the data (https://aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov/, last access: 14 August 2020).
Figure 3Temporal evolution in local time (LT) of both the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and Ångström exponent between 380 and 500 nm. The flight period is highlighted by the grey area.
The ground-based site was operational from 25 June to 23 August 2011. Within the framework of this study, which focuses on the ULA flight, the interest is on the period from 11 to 14 August when significant aerosol optical thicknesses (AOTs) were observed, as shown in Fig. 3. These AOTs may correspond to a mix of different aerosol types throughout the time period when considering the Ångström exponent range (∼ 0.3 to 1.3) also given in Fig. 3.
3 Data processing for lidar measurements
Whether for airborne observations (horizontal or nadir sightings) or from ground level, after the background correction, the range-corrected lidar signal, also called the apparent backscatter coefficient (ABC), S is written for the distance s from the emitter as (Ansmann et al., 1992)
(1) S ( s ) = C ⋅ β π ( s ) ⋅ F ( s ) ⋅ exp - ∫ 0 s 1 + λ R λ E - 4 ⋅ α m ( s ′ ) + 1 + λ R λ E - A ( s ′ ) ⋅ L R ( s ′ ) ⋅ β π a ( s ′ ) ⋅ d s ′ .
C is the system constant and F is the overlap function. The backscatter coefficient βπ is the sum of the molecular and aerosol βπa backscatter coefficients for the emitted wavelength λE or the Raman backscatter coefficient for the N2-Raman wavelength λR. The molecular extinction αm is given at the emitted wavelength λE. It is worth noting that for the airborne lidar and the elastic channel of the N2-Raman lidar, λR equals λE, whereas for the N2-Channel of LAASURS, the wavelengths are different and it is necessary to take into account the Ångström exponent A derived from the sun photometer. The extinction to backscatter ratio (lidar ratio, LR) is given at the wavelength λE, and it can depend on the altitude.
3.1 Airborne lidar
The inversion of airborne lidar data is performed in two successive steps using the flight plan configuration that mixes horizontal and nadir sights. This approach was first used by Chazette et al. (2007), where it is discussed. As a reminder, the aerosol extinction coefficient αa (AEC) is calculated using horizontal sighting measurements (the angle of the line of sight with respect to the true horizon is here at ±10∘), assuming that the aerosol optical properties do not change along the line of sight between two distances s. During this flight, the lowest variability is obtained for s between 0.7 and 1.2 km, which allows us to get as far as possible from a residual effect of the overlap factor. Hence, for a flight altitude zf, the AEC is given by
(2) α a z f = 1 2 ∂ L n S s , z f ∂ s - α m z f .
An estimate of the LR can then be calculated by adjusting the inversion (Klett, 1981) of the nadir-looking lidar profiles to the AEC profile. There are several independent measurements to differentiate two aerosol layers against the altitude and to evaluate their respective LRs. The separation altitude z0 between the two layers is also evaluated, and the continuity of the LR is ensured via a sigmoid function defined against the altitude z expressed in kilometres as
(3) 1 LR ( z ) = 1 LR l + 1 LR u - 1 LR l / 1 + e z - z 0 2.5 .
LRl and LRu correspond to the LRs for the lower and upper aerosol layers, respectively. The ULICE system also allows us to evaluate the volume depolarization ratio (VDR) and then the linear particle depolarization ratio (PDR), as presented in Chazette et al. (2012).
Figure 4Lidar profiles derived from ULICE on board the ULA above the Strait of Gibraltar: (a) the apparent backscatter coefficient and (b) the volume depolarization ratio (VDR). DEM stands for digital elevation model.
Figure 4 shows the vertical profiles in nadir sighting for the ABC and VDR. They are obtained in the middle of the Strait of Gibraltar. They show the presence of the two aerosol layers between the sea surface and z0∼1 km a.m.s.l., a transition to a less scattering and also low depolarizing layer, and then a second layer at an altitude above 2 km a.m.s.l. The ULA flew within the last aerosol layer, and we do not see its vertical extension that stretches beyond 3 km a.m.s.l. This layer appears more marked because the associated backscattered signal is less attenuated being close to the flight altitude. The red layer in Fig. 4, close to the sea level (∼ 200 m a.m.s.l.), corresponds to the marine boundary layer (MBL). The VDR is lower due to spherical aerosol presence. Unlike the evolution of VDR profiles along the ULA path, the layered structure of the ABC evolves significantly. The upper aerosol layer is more intense in the western part than in the eastern part of the strait of Gibraltar. There also appears to be more aerosol around 1 km a.m.s.l. on the west side.
3.2 N2-Raman lidar
The retrieval of aerosol optical properties from the N2-Raman lidar is based on the approach previously presented in various papers and used both the synergy with the sun photometer and the coupling between the elastic and N2-Raman channels of LAASURS (e.g. Chazette et al., 2016; Royer et al., 2011). The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the daytime lidar profiles is insufficient to use the N2-Raman channel to reach the upper aerosol layers above 3 km a.m.s.l. and makes it difficult to identify different LR values. For this study, the inversions are performed with 30 min time averages in order to evaluate an equivalent LR value between 0.4 (excluding the residual effect of the overlap factor) and 3 km a.m.s.l. During the day, photometric data are also used assuming a constant extinction value between the ground and 0.4 km a.m.s.l. For special cases, a "two-layers" type inversion is performed as in Dieudonné et al. (2017) in order to verify that an equivalent LR does not induce significant uncertainties on the other optical parameters. As for airborne measurements, the PDR is also calculated for each lidar profile following Chazette et al. (2012).
The main sources of uncertainty for this ground-based lidar are discussed in Royer et al. (2011). The uncertainty in the determination of the equivalent LRs is in the range of 10–15 sr. The SNR limits the exploitable range of the lidar profile, as shown in Table 2 of Dieudonné et al. (2017). The relative uncertainties on the PDR are close to 10 % for the AOTs encountered at 355 nm (AOT >0.2; Fig. 3).
3.3 Cross-calibration
Apart from the overlap factor, which is determined based on horizontal sighting, it is necessary to check the calibration of the parallel and perpendicular (via the VDR) channels between the two lidars so that the derived products can be compared. VDR calibrations are carried out independently of each other according to the procedure presented in Chazette et al. (2012). They should result in identical vertical profiles for both instruments. The cross-comparison experiment was performed at the San Pedro Alcantara site on 6 August 2011 a few days before the flight. The results are shown in Fig. 5. The different vertical structures are coherent. The ABC profiles (Fig. 5a) match very well with good agreement considering the molecular signal above the aerosol layer (>4 km a.m.s.l.). The absolute deviation on the VDR is less than 0.2 % (Fig. 5b), leading to an absolute error of less than 2 % on the PDR for the aerosol layers encountered during the experiment.
Figure 5Vertical profiles of the (a) apparent backscatter coefficient (ABC) and (b) volume depolarization ratio (VDR) derived from the ground-based N2-Raman lidar LAASURS and the lidar ULICE placed at ground level in zenith sighting.
4 Vertical profiles of aerosol optical properties
The lidar observations will be analysed in two stages. In the first stage, the aerosol layers over the Strait of Gibraltar and their associated optical properties will be studied. The link with ground-based lidar measurements at San Pedro Alcantara will be discussed in the second stage.
4.1 Aerosol optical properties from the airborne lidar
In Fig. 6a, the vertical profile of the AEC retrieved from horizontal sighting is shown for the flight between 19:50 and 21:20 LT on 13 August 2011. A very close profile has been derived using nadir sighting when considering an LR ∼26±2 sr below 1 km a.m.s.l. and an LR ∼45±10 sr above this altitude. The first corresponds to what is expected for marine aerosols (e.g. Chazette et al., 2019; Flamant et al., 2000), while the second corresponds more to Saharan dust aerosols (e.g. Papayannis et al., 2008; Soupiona et al., 2018). Using both the LRs and AEC, Fig. 6b shows the corresponding vertical profile of the PDR. The two profiles match very well with a lower PDR value (∼ 5 %) within the MBL, as expected. The MBL presents a higher variability of the AEC, which may not be linked only to the heterogeneity of the wind field in the Strait of Gibraltar but also to strong maritime activity with the presence of numerous tankers. The PDR at 355 nm is between 10 % and 15 % within the dust layer, which appears low for a potential layer of Saharan aerosols for which one would expect values between 20 % and 30 % (e.g. Freudenthaler et al., 2009). Note that lower values have been reported by Papayannis et al. (2008) and Chazette et al. (2016) (∼10 %–27 %), as well as by Soupiona et al. (2019) (11±1 %–34±2 %).
Figure 6Vertical profiles of (a) the aerosol extinction coefficient (AEC) derived from the airborne lidar for horizontal and nadir sightings, (b) the particle depolarization ratio (PDR) derived from the airborne lidar for horizontal and nadir sightings, (c) the AEC derived from the ground-based lidar, and (d) the PDR derived from the ground-based lidar. The ground-based profiles correspond to an average between 19:00 and 22:00 LT on 13 August 2011. The aerosol optical thickness (AOT) is also given in Fig. 6c. In the figure, rms stands for root mean square.
4.2 Link with the ground-based lidar
Only ground-based lidar observations between 11 and 15 August will be considered here. This period allows the framing of the airborne measurements by showing the atmospheric conditions before and after the flight. Figure 7 shows the temporal evolution of the AEC and PDR profiles, the equivalent LR in the aerosol column, and the AOT. A first event can be identified on 11 August with AOTs ∼ 0.5 at 355 nm. It appears to diminish on 12 August and to start again on 13 August. The presence of depolarizing particles is shown from the PDR to ∼ 6 km a.m.s.l. on 11 and 13 August. It is this presence, with a favourable weather forecast, that triggered the flight of 13 August in the late afternoon with an AOT ∼ 0.35 at 355 nm.
Figure 7Ground-based lidar-derived temporal evolution of the vertical profiles of (a) the aerosol extinction coefficient (AEC), the particle depolarization ratio (PDR), and (c) the lidar ratio (LR). In panel (c), the aerosol optical thickness (AOT), as derived from both the ground-based lidar and sun photometer, are also shown. The time location of the ULA flight over the Strait of Gibraltar is highlighted by the light-red area and is around 20:30 LT on 13 August 2011.
The mean AEC and PDR profiles derived from the ground-based lidar during the flight period are shown in Fig. 6c and d, respectively. Even if the shape of the AEC profile is similar to that retrieved from the airborne measurements between 0 and 3 km a.m.s.l., the amplitude is lower by a factor of more than 2. The PDR nevertheless appears consistent between the airborne and ground-based measurements in the dust-like layers with values close to 15 % in the layer between 2 and 3 km a.m.s.l. Near the surface, high PDR values (>15 %) are observed over San Pedro Alcantara. These values may be associated with local uprisings of dust aerosols (reported by visual observations at the site), which were less present before the afternoon of 13 August (Fig. 7b). In the late afternoon of 13 August, the LR value is intermediate (36±5 sr) compared to those of the two layers identified from airborne measurements (from 26±2 to 45±8 sr). Figure 8 shows the inversion of the average profile in Fig. 6c using a two-layer distribution of the LR similar to that considered for vertical profiles from ULICE. The adjustment leads to similar LR values for the upper layer (34±4 sr) compared to an inversion with a constant LR. The discrepancy with the vertical profiles retrieved above the Strait of Gibraltar is mainly in the lower layer, where the value of 45±6 sr is more in favour of the presence of dust-like aerosols than marine aerosols for San Pedro Alcantara. Nevertheless, we note the presence of aerosols of marine origin below 1 km a.m.s.l. before noon on 13 August. During the day on 12 August, low-layer structures are observed in Fig. 7b, which can suggest mixtures between marine and dust aerosols. The values of the LR can then go below 35 sr and can drop to ∼ 25 sr.
Figure 8Mean vertical profiles derived from the ground-based lidar between 19:00 and 22:00 LT on 13 August 2011: aerosol extinction coefficient (AEC), particle depolarization ratio (PDR), and lidar ratio (LR).
Since the two lidars are consistent when measuring at the same site, the observed differences are therefore related to different local emissions for the lower layers and different transport processes for the upper layers, although the distance between the two measurement points is only about 50 km. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the range of LR values found in the literature for dusts is quite wide, ranging from 28 sr (Soupiona et al., 2019) to 80 sr (Papayannis et al., 2008). Intermediate values are reported in the Aegean Sea by Giannakaki et al. (2010) (52±18 sr) and Siomos et al. (2018) (Spring ∼47±13 sr, Summer ∼60±17 sr, Autumn ∼47±15 sr). Over the Iberian Peninsula, Fernández et al. (2019) report LRs between 44 and 55 sr corresponding to an extreme Saharan dust event intrusion. Chazette et al. (2007) reported values in the order of 40 sr for pure dust aerosols above Niger. Such variability may make the LR indiscriminate in the identification of atmospheric aerosols. Veselovskii et al. (2020) explained that the lidar ratio of dust aerosols at 355 nm above Senegal strongly depends on the imaginary part of the refractive index and that such low values of LRs observed in this work may indicate an imaginary part that is too low.
5 Origin of aerosols observed over Gibraltar
Desert dust from northern Africa is one of the main sources of aerosols over the Gibraltar area. Their transport is linked to large-scale meteorological conditions. On the decadal time scale, it has already been shown that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index can play a significant role in the occurrences of desert dust transport over the western Mediterranean (Moulin et al., 1997) with higher mean optical thicknesses during periods of positive NAO. The NAO index was negative over the period of the experiment, as shown in Fig. 9 plotted from data recorded at the site https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu/climate-data/hurrell-north-atlantic-oscillation-nao-index-station-based (last access: 14 August 2020; Hurrell et al., 2004; Hurrell and Deser, 2010). Nonetheless, it is still somewhat higher than those encountered during most summer situations in the decade including the period of the experiment. This intermediate regime therefore does not provide a clear view of the specificity of summer 2011 in terms of the occurrence of dust transport events over southern Spain.
Figure 9Temporal evolution of the monthly average North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index. The data are those of the site https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu/climate-data/hurrell-north-atlantic-oscillation-nao-index-station-based. The grey area highlights summer 2011 when the SUSIE field campaign took place.
From a local perspective, the particles influencing mainly the planetary boundary layer (PBL) close to the Gibraltar area are related to marine emissions but also to industrial activities, as shown by Gallero et al. (2006). The region of Gibraltar, near Algeciras, is indeed significantly industrialized with a refinery, a petrochemical factory, a steel factory, a coal power plant, a heavy fuel oil power plant, and a paper factory, all of which emit particles and aerosol precursors.
5.1 Meteorological situation
During the period of the airborne experiment, the Azores high was moving strongly northward (Fig. 10) leading to a blockage in the flow from the African coast and even the establishment of a north–south circulation at 850 hPa over the Strait of Gibraltar. On 13 August 2011 (Fig. 10a), the air masses arriving over the Strait of Gibraltar were coming from the north-west, passing over the Iberian Peninsula. This type of circulation is obviously not favourable for the transport of dust from a Saharan origin. It was different on 11 August when a small depression was present west of the Strait of Gibraltar, facilitating the transport of aerosols from Morocco (Fig. 10b). These two contrasting weather patterns may explain the evolution of the LR in the upper aerosol layer between 11 and 13 August.
Figure 10Geopotential altitude at 850 hPa on (a) 13 August 2011 at 18:00 UTC and (b) 11 August 2011 at 18:00 UTC. The wind fields at the same pressure level are superimposed. The ERA5 reanalyses (https://www.ecmwf.int/en/forecasts/datasets/archive-datasets/reanalysis-datasets/era5, last access: 14 August 2020) with a horizontal resolution of 0.25∘ are used.
Figure 11Aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 550 nm derived from MODIS on (a) 13 August 2011 and (b) 11 August 2011.
5.2 Spaceborne observations
The location of aerosol plumes can be highlighted by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the polar-orbiting platforms Terra and Aqua (King et al., 1992; Salmonson et al., 1989). The level-2 products are provided with a spatial horizontal resolution of 10 km×10 km (http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov, last access: 14 August 2020). The uncertainty on the AOT is ±0.15±0.05 AOT over land and ±0.05±0.03 AOT over ocean (Chu et al., 2002). A combination of the AOT at 550 nm derived from the two satellites is given in Fig. 11. On 13 August 2011 (Fig. 11a), a significant contrast is observed between the west and east of the Strait of Gibraltar with a higher AOT (∼ 0.4) at 550 nm to the west. This is consistent with what was inferred from the airborne lidar observations compared to those made from the ground-based lidar at San Pedro Alcantara. In contrast, on 11 August, similar AOTs (>0.6) are observed over the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea (Fig. 11b). The higher AOTs are consistent with those retrieved from the ground-based lidar. The continuity of the aerosol plume between the Moroccan coast and the Strait of Gibraltar is more pronounced than on 13 August.
Figure 12CALIOP-derived (a) aerosol extinction coefficient at 532 nm and (b) aerosol typing. Two orbits are plotted on 13 August 2011, the first one during nighttime at ∼ 02:40 UTC (westernmost over northern Africa) and the second one during daytime at ∼ 13:40 UTC (easternmost over northern Africa). DEM stands for digital elevation model.
Complementing the data from MODIS, the vertical profiles of the aerosol layers are derived from the Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) on board Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO; http://www-calipso.larc.nasa.gov, last access: 14 August 2020; Winker et al., 2007). The 4.10 version of CALIOP level-2 data is used, whose aerosol typing has been improved (Burton et al., 2015). A night orbit (∼ 02:40 UTC) over the Atlantic and a day orbit (∼ 12:40 UTC) just over the Strait of Gibraltar were used for 13 August. They both show aerosol layers up to ∼ 4 km a.m.s.l. for the studied area (Fig. 12a). These layers are mainly identified as dusts and polluted dusts (Fig. 12b). Over Gibraltar (daytime orbit), polluted dusts are predominant. They are also preponderant over the Iberian Peninsula with even elevated smoke over land. This is therefore consistent with what has been found as a vertical structure and LR via the airborne lidar. At this stage, the upper aerosol layer that was sampled by the airborne lidar does not appear to be pure dusts but a mix that can be associated with air masses of different origins.
5.3 Air mass origins
In order to better identify the origin of the aerosols observed during the field campaign, back trajectory studies were performed. For this, the Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT; Stein et al., 2015) model was used. It was initialized according to lidar observations over the Strait of Gibraltar and San Pedro Alcantara. The wind fields used were taken from the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS; http://www.ncep.noaa.gov/, last access: 14 August 2020) at the horizontal resolution of 0.5∘. HYSPLIT operated in ensemble mode; i.e. 27 back trajectories are computed for each end location and for different altitude ranges with a vertical sampling of 250 m.
Figure 13Bi-dimensional histogram derived from back trajectories computed using HYSPLIT on (a) 13 August 21:00 UTC over the flight location, (b) 13 August 03:00 UTC at the central position of CALIOP ground track off Gibraltar, (c) 13 August 21:00 UTC over San Pedro Alcantara, and (d) 12 August 00:00 UTC over San Pedro Alcantara. The aerosol transport altitudes are indicated for each main trajectory.
Most of the aerosol layers observed by the airborne lidar and daytime orbit of CALIOP are located below 2.5 km a.m.s.l. As shown in Fig. 13a, the air mass comes very clearly from the Iberian Peninsula for these altitudes. The aerosol type is reminiscent of local uptakes of terrigenous dusts that may be mixed with pollution aerosols. Above 2.5 km a.m.s.l., the air mass comes from the tropical Atlantic and may have trapped Saharan dust aerosols. For CALIOP's night orbit on 13 August (∼ 02:40 UTC), although the trajectories are significantly different, the origin is also the Iberian Peninsula (Fig. 13b), and the same type of aerosol is likely to be observed over the Atlantic off Gibraltar until 4 km a.m.s.l. Further north, a contribution from forest fires cannot be excluded, but no satellite observations clearly identify them. Above San Pedro Alcantara, at 21:00 UTC (Fig. 13c), similar trajectories are observed as the ones over Gibraltar. The LR is nevertheless quite different because its calculation integrates layers not accessible to the airborne experiment above 2.5 km a.m.s.l. It should be noted that the back trajectories below 500 m a.m.s.l. are not taken into consideration as they are not significant with regard to the topography of the Spanish coast. The back trajectories in Fig. 13d are calculated on 11 August and show that the differences in LR and PDR observed between 11 and 13 August 2011 over San Pedro Alcantara are explained by very different origins of the air masses. On 11 August, the probable source of the aerosols is located in Morocco. This conclusion can be supported using the brightness temperature anomaly (BTA) calculated over the month of August 2011 from the 10.8 µm channel of the Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI; Schmetz et al., 2002) following an approach similar to that proposed by Legrand et al. (1992). The BTA on 11 August is given in Fig. 14. It reveals very clearly the presence of dust aerosols north-east of Agadir, Morocco, in the way the back trajectories are plotted in Fig. 13d. It should be noted that no active source is detectable by the same approach on 13 August 2011.
Figure 14Brightness temperature anomaly (BTA) on 11 August 2011 at 12:00 UTC. The cloud mask has been applied in grey.
6 Conclusion
The western end of the Mediterranean, which connects with the Atlantic Ocean, is one of the areas most subject to the transport of terrigenous aerosols. This can be explained by the passage of lows, which, together with the Azores high, favours the transport of desert aerosols through the Strait of Gibraltar towards the Iberian Peninsula and along an inverse path towards north-west Africa. Nevertheless, there have been few studies on the characterization of the vertical distribution of aerosols over this region. Although punctual in time, like many other studies, the SUSIE experiment has provided useful information on vertical profiles of aerosol optical properties. The profiles were obtained from airborne lidar observations over Gibraltar and ground-based N2-Raman lidar measurements near Gibraltar at San Pedro Alcantara located ∼ 50 km east of Gibraltar. Over the Strait of Gibraltar, the aerosol extinction coefficient (AEC), particle depolarization ratio (PDR), and lidar ratio (LR) were derived from a flight plan that allowed separate retrievals of the aerosol extinction and backscatter properties. Although the distance between the two measurement sites is small, the optical properties of the aerosols proved to be significantly different. The planetary boundary layer was more influenced by terrigenous aerosols over San Pedro Alcantara, whereas the marine aerosols were dominant over Gibraltar. In the lower free troposphere, the difference between the LRs, 45±8 sr for Gibraltar and 34±4 sr for San Pedro Alcantara, is somewhat less noticeable and can be attributed to a higher weighting of the upper atmospheric layers as sampled by the ground-based lidar. The back trajectories show a dichotomy between the air masses below and above 2.5 km a.m.s.l. and thus a possible mix between continental and Saharan aerosols, respectively. This would lead one to think that the continental terrigenous aerosols would have an LR of about 45 sr, while the Saharan aerosols would have an LR of about 34 sr. This is also what is found in Fig. 7 during the Saharan aerosol event of Moroccan origin on 11 August 2011. For such low values, there may be a mixture of marine particles in the upper aerosol layer. It may be generated by a recirculation at altitude above the PBL top of a certain quantity of marine aerosols above the coastal site (e.g. Chazette et al., 2019), but since no strong argument is available to claim this, that statement therefore remains speculative. As a result, we can infer that a mixture of different types of particles is likely, to which pollution or biomass burning aerosols in varying quantities may be added. All this can explain the range of variation of the LR at 355 nm that is deduced from the scientific literature.
The use of LR look-up tables for the inversion of satellite lidar measurements can therefore lead to biased results in situations such as those encountered during SUSIE. Using the CALIOP classification in the context of this work, polluted dusts should be classified with an LR ∼ 45 sr and Saharan dusts with an LR ∼ 34 sr for the wavelength of 355 nm. It is worth noting that there are numerous other Raman lidar measurements in Africa bringing an LR at 355 nm well above 40 sr (e.g. the experiments SAMUM, Ansmann et al., 2011, and SHADOW, Veselovskii et al., 2020). Here, the LR variation is inversed compared to what is considered for CALIOP (44 sr for dusts and 55 sr for polluted dust at 532 nm) and even for the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS; Yorks et al., 2016), for which the LR equals 45 sr for dusts and 35 sr for polluted dusts at 532 nm. It therefore appears important to update the classifications in the perspective of the analysis of lidar profiles from the ADM-AEOLUS mission and also from the future EarthCARE mission.
The sun photometer products were provided by the AERONET network (https://aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov/, last access: 14 August 2020, Giles et al., 2019). MODIS data were provided by NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Sciences Data Center (https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/dataprod/, last access: 14 August 2020, e.g. Levy and Hsu, 2015a, b). CALIPSO data were provided by NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS; https://www-calipso.larc.nasa.gov/products/, last access: 14 August 2020, Vaughan et al., 2004). The ERA5 dataset is provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) integrated forecast system developed through the Copernicus Climate Change Service (https://climate.copernicus.eu/, last access: 14 August 2020, Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2018).
The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.
Special issue statement
This article is part of the special issue "CHemistry and AeRosols Mediterranean EXperiments (ChArMEx) (ACP/AMT inter-journal SI)". It is not associated with a conference.
Joseph Sanak is thanked for his help during the field experiment. The ULA flights were performed by Santi Font. The author would like to thank the AERONET network for sun photometer products (at https://aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov/, last access: 14 August 2020), the MODIS Science, Processing and Data Support Teams for producing and providing level 2 MODIS data (at https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/dataprod/, last access: 14 August 2020), and the NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Sciences Data Center for the data processing and distribution of CALIPSO products (level 4.10, at https://www-calipso.larc.nasa.gov/products/, last access: 14 August 2020). The NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) is thanked for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model and READY website (http://www.ready.noaa.gov, last access: 14 August 2020) used in this paper. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is thanked for the provision of the ERA5 dataset.
This research has been supported by the Centre National d'Etude Spatiales (CNES) and the Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA).
This paper was edited by Oleg Dubovik and reviewed by two anonymous referees.
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Stein, A. F., Draxler, R. R., Rolph, G. D., Stunder, B. J. B. B., Cohen, M. D., Ngan, F., Stein, A. F., Draxler, R. R., Rolph, G. D., Stunder, B. J. B. B., Cohen, M. D., and Ngan, F.: NOAA's HYSPLIT Atmospheric Transport and Dispersion Modeling System, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 96, 2059–2077, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00110.1, 2015.
Stoffelen, A., Pailleux, J., Källén, E., Vaughan, J. M., Isaksen, L., Flamant, P., Wergen, W., Andersson, E., Schyberg, H., Culoma, A., Meynart, R., Endemann, M., and Ingmann, P.: The atmospheric dynamics mission for global wind field measurement, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 86, 73–87, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-86-1-73, 2005.
Vaughan, A., Young, S. A., Winker, D. M., Powell, K. A., Omar, A. H., Liu, Z., Hu, Y., and Hostetler, C. A.: Fully automated analysis of space-based lidar data: an overview of the CALIPSO retrieval algorithms and data products, Laser Radar Techniques for Atmospheric Sensing, Proc. SPIE 5575, https://doi.org/10.1117/12.572024, 2004 (data available at: https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/dataprod/, last access: 14 August 2020).
Veselovskii, I., Hu, Q., Goloub, P., Podvin, T., Korenskiy, M., Derimian, Y., Legrand, M., and Castellanos, P.: Variability in lidar-derived particle properties over West Africa due to changes in absorption: towards an understanding, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 6563–6581, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6563-2020, 2020.
Winker, D. M., Hunt, W. H., and McGill, M. J.: Initial performance assessment of CALIOP, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L19803, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL030135, 2007.
Yorks, J. E., McGill, M. J., Palm, S. P., Hlavka, D. L., Selmer, P. A., Nowottnick, E. P., Vaughan, M. A., Rodier, S. D., and Hart, W. D.: An overview of the CATS level 1 processing algorithms and data products, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 4632–4639, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068006, 2016.
Instrumental set-up and strategy
Data processing for lidar measurements
Vertical profiles of aerosol optical properties
Origin of aerosols observed over Gibraltar
CHemistry and AeRosols Mediterranean EXperiments (ChArMEx)...
By coupling lidar on board a ULA and ground-based lidar measurements, this paper highlights aerosol transport over the Strait of Gibraltar. It shows that the lidar-derived aerosol optical properties can be different from what is commonly accepted. It presents unprecedented vertical profiles over this region and relates them to the origin of air masses. The results are based on ground, airborne, and spaceborne observations, as well as multiple retro-trajectory analyses.
By coupling lidar on board a ULA and ground-based lidar measurements, this paper highlights...


For more information and to book your wedding event at Kimpton Hotel Monaco Seattle, contact Adela Lee or call us at (206) 516-5048.
Two become one with our "Marry Me" package. You and your better half will get an overnight deluxe room, a bottle of champagne, complimentary valet parking, and credit on your hotel bill when you show us your Washington marriage license.


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HomeCraighead CountyJonesboro sports grill may have committed a foul with ABC board
Jonesboro sports grill may have committed a foul with ABC board
Jan 23, 2018 NEA Report Craighead County, Money, Top Story 1
Photo shows topless woman dancing on strip pole in front of live music
The Office Sports Grill does not have a permit for pole dancing or live music, ABC administrator says
JONESBORO, Ark. – A local sports bar with a private club permit may have violated the terms of their liquor license after a photo showing topless dancer in front of a live band on Saturday, Jan. 20, surfaced online. It may not be just one violation, either.
Photo blurred. To see the uncensored photo, click here.
Keith Hendrix owns The Office Sports Grill. He confirmed the photo was taken on Saturday in his establishment during an interview with NEA Report on Tuesday. However, Hendrix claims the photo, which appears to capture a topless woman pole dancing, does not capture the full story.
"It was Saturday night in the club, here, we had a band here," Hendrix said. "Somebody had a birthday party. They had a girl dancing for them and somebody snapped the back of her top and pulled it off."
As Hendrix described the incident, the above photo was taken at the precise moment after someone pulled her top off but before both were removed from the club. He said as soon as it happened, the person who pulled her top off was removed. He said the woman dancing was also removed from the location.
Source: The Office Sports Grill Facebook page; Dated 2012
Hendrix said it was the birthday party which got out of hand but he then shifted to blaming the situation on his competitors.
"And now it's just the competitors and people who are jealous and assume, "Hendrix began by saying. "We had a band. They were up there, singing and playing. We always have a band."
However, this marks a new problem for Hendrix: his private club permit does not include for or allow live bands, dancers, or anything of the such. ABC Administration Director Mary Robin Casteel confirmed this to NEA Report on Tuesday.
"Unless it was noted and they called and specifically asked if that could be added to the permit," it would not have been allowed for live music to be performed at the grill, Casteel said.
"Arkansas Law requires that a private club must exist for some reason other than the consumption of alcoholic beverages. On this sheet of paper, which is part of your verified application, you are to describe, in complete detail, what entertainment (live bands, dancers, food service, etc.), social functions, or other recreational events will be available at this club for the members." – The precise text from one of the documents which was submitted with the private club permit application. See below.
Not only does the entertainment requirement give specific examples for live bands and dancers, but the next line on the paper says, "if you are in doubt about whether to list an item, you are urged to include it."
There was no mention of live music or dancing on the application.
"There just appears to be a description of the charitable partnerships of the business," said Casteel. "They don't list any of the things we would normally classify as entertainment."
We told Hendrix this immediately after his previous quote stating he "always" had a band performing.
"I didn't know that," Hendrix said, his voice sounding panicked. "I thought…We do have…Every place in Jonesboro…I've never been questioned about it or a fees. I just get the brunt of everything."
Hendrix then went from saying his establishment, "always" had a band to saying it just recently began hosting live music.
"The band just started in the past two or three weeks," Hendrix said.
An expansion request filed in June, 2012, allowed The Office to add a game room. Still, Casteel said permit-holders must specifically request any additions or changes to the existence of the permit or it is a violation.
"It does appear they might have added some provisions for televisions and maybe some Foosball and video games but I still don't see anything for live music and especially not dancing," Casteel said.
Courtesy ABC Administration
Any material change in the business operations proposed in the original application or in the manner the business has historically operated per above, without prior approval of the Director, shall be grounds for the revocation of any such permit. Section 1.34, ABC Rules and Regulations
Another violation could be from having the stripper pole. Hendrix said it was part of the establishment. He described it as something used by some dance classes which perform aerobic exercises on the cylindrical object.
"We have a pole over beside our bar," Hendrix said. "We have had one for years."
This could conflict with the strict rules under which the Office received their permit since nothing in the design shows any sort of pole for dancing. In addition to not being specifically approved, Casteel said requirements for having a permit and a strip pole can be very complicated.
"We do have very specific rules for establishments that have to be approved for that type of dancing, strip poles and that," Casteel said. "This particular establishment does not have anything like that approved."
Another issue exists if it is found the topless pole dancing was more than accidental/incidental. If the business was found to have allowed it to go on, they could be in trouble with the City of Jonesboro.
Assistant City Attorney Jessica Thomason said for a sexually oriented business to operate within the City of Jonesboro, one has to get a conditional use permit – which they have not applied for, as of 5 PM on Tuesday. In addition, the business could not be within 2000 feet of a school, church, and daycare.
Douglas MacArthur Junior High School and the Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School are both about 1,200 feet to the southwest of their location (the magnet school is not marked on the map below).
As for who was responsible for the behavior, Thomason said the business couldn't blame the birthday partiers so easily.
"Under ABC rules, the establishment itself is responsible for the people who come in and out and making sure the follow the rules and regulations of ABC," Thomason said.
Hendrix asserts his business did everything it could during the debacle to manage the situation. He did say he was not at the club on Saturday night when it happened.
"We did everything in our power to stop it," Hendrix said. "It's just one of those deals that, when it happens, you have to stop it immediately."
It was a sentiment the ABC Administration Director agreed with.
"The proper protocol is for this to go to ABC Enforcement," Casteel said. "They would conduct an investigation and if they found what they see as violations, they would report that to ABC for adjudication, fines, actions against the permit, and that's when I would get involved. But obviously, based on what you're telling me, I will be getting in touch with ABC Enforcement."
New trail at Craighead Forest Park completed
64-year-old suspected weed dealer arrested Monday in Harrisburg
WBC Hosts Welcome Back Concert with a Purpose
Aug 4, 2017 NEA Report Lawrence County 0
WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. – The fall semester is fast approaching for Williams Baptist College, and WBC is set to kick off the new school year by hosting a welcome back concert with a purpose. The […]
Police seek daycare thief in Jonesboro
Jan 23, 2020 NEA Report Craighead County, Crime, Email, Top Story 0
When identified, he will be charged with Commercial Burglary, Theft of $1000 or less, and Criminal mischief in the 1st degree, said JPD in a release. […]
Independence County sheriff's deputy suspended without pay over actions in controversial video
Jun 26, 2020 Stan Morris Crime, Email, Independence County, Top Story 2
The deputy seen in a tense video posted early Monday will keep his job but be required to go through additional training, a statement from the sheriff's office said Friday. […]
Probation for The Office following stripper incident - NEA Report

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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'Fantastic Beasts' Star Eddie Redmayne Passionately Defends 'Harry Potter' House Hufflepuff
By The Movie God | @ | November 18th, 2016 at 11:00 am
When it comes to the Harry Potter franchise's four Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry houses, most of the attention goes to Gryffindor and Slytherin. Fellow houses Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw always seem to take a backseat to the main two.
But the first movie in the Harry Potter spinoff series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in theaters today, and star Eddie Redmayne is having none of this second-rate house nonsense. The actor made a public service announcement video recently, in which he passionately defends the Hufflepuff name, even using a couple of naughty words which would no doubt make Fat Friar blush.
See what Redmayne had to say in the video below.
Topics: Because Awesome, Movies, News, Videos
Tags: Eddie Redmayne, Fantastic Beasts, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Harry Potter, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff


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Inter-American Investment Corporation
Home > Projects > Project Disclosures > Lirio Blanco
For inquiries and comments to IIC, contact:
IIC's Communications Group
E-mail: divulgacionpublica@iadb.org
For project inquiries, including environmental and social questions related to an IDB Invest investment, please contact the client or IDB Invest using the contact information provided above. As a last resort, affected communities have access to the IDB Invest Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism.
Tel:+1 (202) 623-3952
Address: 1300 New York Ave. NW Washington, DC. USA. 20577
E-mail: mecanismo@iadb.org or MICI@iadb.org
Project Number:
UR3828A-01
Expected Consideration Date by the Board:
Lirio Blanco S.A.
Financing Requested:
Loan for up to US$2.2 million
EN_COUNTRY_UY-Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas
Scope Objective:
The IIC loan for up to US$2.2 million will be used primarily to finance the procurement of two tugboats for seagoing vessels.
Lirio Blanco would provide towage support services for seagoing vessels entering the port of Punta Pereira, in Colonia Department, for the Montes del Plata project under an exclusive five-year contract beginning January 2013, renewable for two additional years, as well as towage support services for ships and barges entering the port of Nueva Palmira, in Soriano Department.
The Montes del Plata project involves the construction of a cellulose pulp mill for processing eucalyptus from commercial tree farms. It encompasses the construction and operation of a cellulose mill producing on the order of 1.3 million metric tons of cellulose per year; a 160-megawatt biomass power generation facility; a river port terminal; barge terminals with wood storage yards; and a wood chipping plant. The cellulose mill will use elemental chlorine free (ECF) technology. The industrial facilities will be constructed in a free trade zone in Punta Pereira, some 190 kilometers west of Montevideo. Montes del Plata is the largest foreign investment in the history of Uruguay. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is currently studying how to structure its financing.
Environmental Review:
Environmental and Labor Issues:
This is a Category III project according to the IIC's environmental and labor review procedure because it could produce certain effects that may be avoided or mitigated by following generally recognized performance standards, guidelines, and design criteria. The main environmental and labor issues associated with the project involve the risk of river pollution due to oil spills or other hazardous substances, liquid effluent management, air emissions, solid waste management, personnel safety, and emergency response.
Maritime and riverine navigation is governed by implementing regulations issued under the River Transportation Agreement for the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway (between Puerto Cáceres and the port of Nueva Palmira), known as the Santa Cruz de la Sierra Agreement, approved by the Intergovernmental Waterway Committee (Comité Intergubernamental de la Hidrovía). The Uruguayan Coast Guard (Prefectura Nacional Naval – PNN) is tasked with implementing International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions. Accordingly, Lirio Blanco will be required to meet environmental pollution standards under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78) and the navigation safety standards established by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).
In order to operate, Lirio Blanco must register its tugboats as Uruguayan-flag vessels with the PNN and the Merchant Marine Office (Dirección de Marina Mercante – DMM). This formality requires the fulfillment of certain obligations with respect to:
navigation security;
vessel seaworthiness/structural integrity; and
fitness for service of machinery and equipment.
Risk of river pollution from oil spills and other hazardous substances: Accidental or deliberate spills of oil or other harmful substances into waterways pose a risk of water and coastal pollution. Discharges of any such pollutants are strictly controlled by the aforementioned international and local regulations. For example, ballast water discharged into rivers must contain fewer than 15 parts per million of oil. Bilge water and any discharges containing oil residues are to be offloaded in ports equipped with licensed treatment facilities.
Lirio Blanco will develop a safety management system (SMS) in keeping with international recommendations under the International Safety Management (ISM) Code and domestic guidelines establishing instructions and procedures for ensuring the safe operation of ships and protecting the environment.
Liquid effluent management: Liquid effluents generated by ship crews categorized as sewage must be treated aboard prior to being discharged into rivers, or offloaded in ports equipped with licensed treatment facilities.
Air emissions: All engines, including tugboat propulsion engines and generators, are fueled by marine diesel oil. Lirio Blanco agrees to properly maintain the engines so as to ensure the most efficient combustion possible, thus reducing fuel consumption and air pollution.
Solid waste management: Solid waste from ships must be classified and offloaded by licensed operators and only in ports equipped specifically for this purpose. International standards require that all movements of wastes be recorded.
Personal safety and emergency response: The SMS will establish safety measures and procedures for shipboard jobs addressing areas such as navigation safety, the handling of fuel and flammable substances, contingency and emergency management procedures, and required personal protective gear and equipment for job performance.
The tugboats will need to be equipped with fire-fighting systems. Ship crews will undergo safety training covering topics such as fire-fighting, safe abandon ship procedures, evacuation and survival, first aid, cargo handling, and occupational accident prevention.
Labor practices: Lirio Blanco is in compliance with Uruguayan labor legislation. Mandatory core labor standards include legally-mandated benefits, freedom of association, organization of workers' unions, prohibition of forced labor and exploitative and abusive child labor, nondiscrimination in the workplace, health insurance coverage, and workers' compensation insurance. The company will not employ workers under the age of 18 years.
Monitoring and reporting: Lirio Blanco will be required to furnish the IIC with proof of current registration certificates for its entire fleet of vessels. The company will also draw up an Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) to ensure compliance with IIC environmental and workplace safety and health requirements. Activities under the ESAP are to include implementation of the SMS. The company will present the IIC with annual progress reports on implementation of the ESAP.
Projects Approved
Project Disclosures
IIC Procurement
Integrity in IIC Projects
Environmental and Social Management for the Financial Sector - Speakers
Gestión medioambiental y social para el sector financiero - Presentadores
Sust week 2015 - Agenda 1 ES
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Despite Oprah and Disney Dazzle, 'A Wrinkle in Time' Disappoints
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Also, sometimes, the road to the local movie theater. There is probably no film this year that will have a bigger, warmer heart than Ava DuVernay's adaptation of "A Wrinkle in Time." With "Selma" (and then her documentary on the criminal justice system, "13th,") DuVernay immediately established herself as a smart, socially conscious filmmaker – and then leveraged that power to become a leading force for inclusion and empowerment. Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 novel, meanwhile – with its proto-nerdy 13-year-old heroine, Meg, all unruly hair and glasses and calm conviction that physics is cool – has been a template for decades of modern, femme-oriented adventures in which girls did a lot more than just waiting around to be rescued. (As well as providing an early STEM-friendly, career-positive message: Both Meg's parents were scientists.) So why is DuVernay's "Wrinkle" such a disappointment? It's not because of what DuVernay (and screenwriters Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell) did immediately and almost instinctively – create a racially diverse cast of characters. That's not out of keeping with L'Engle's original novel (which told us Meg had brown hair, and her mother had red hair, and pretty much…
Family & Kids Film
post-title Despite Oprah and Disney Dazzle, 'A Wrinkle in Time' Disappoints
A Wrinkle in TimeAva DuVernayMindy KalingOprahOprah WinfreyReese WitherspoonStephen Whitty
Storm Reid is Meg Murry in Disney's A WRINKLE IN TIME, an epic adventure based on Madeleine L'Engle's timeless classis.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Also, sometimes, the road to the local movie theater.
There is probably no film this year that will have a bigger, warmer heart than Ava DuVernay's adaptation of "A Wrinkle in Time." With "Selma" (and then her documentary on the criminal justice system, "13th,") DuVernay immediately established herself as a smart, socially conscious filmmaker – and then leveraged that power to become a leading force for inclusion and empowerment.
Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 novel, meanwhile – with its proto-nerdy 13-year-old heroine, Meg, all unruly hair and glasses and calm conviction that physics is cool – has been a template for decades of modern, femme-oriented adventures in which girls did a lot more than just waiting around to be rescued. (As well as providing an early STEM-friendly, career-positive message: Both Meg's parents were scientists.)
So why is DuVernay's "Wrinkle" such a disappointment?
It's not because of what DuVernay (and screenwriters Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell) did immediately and almost instinctively – create a racially diverse cast of characters. That's not out of keeping with L'Engle's original novel (which told us Meg had brown hair, and her mother had red hair, and pretty much left its descriptions at that) and it feels not only correct but comfortable.
Oprah Winfrey in A Winkle In Time (Disney Productions)
So Meg is now played by the bi-racial actress Storm Reid; her adopted brother is Filipino-American newcomer Deric McCabe. And the three comic guides who lead Meg, her brother and their friend on an intergalactic search for Meg's missing father are played by Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling and Reese Witherspoon. (Another change – one of the book's more metaphysical villains, The Black Thing, has now, quite understandably, been renamed.)
A few other changes are less defensible – it's a shame that L'Engle's strong Christian faith has been de-emphasized, and I miss Aunt Beast — but all-in-all, this is not a script that's been hijacked by the PC Police. It's simply an adaptation that took a text which asked readers to use their imaginations, and then took it at its word.
It's DuVernay's own imagination as a director that falters. Although many will give her and the film the benefit of the doubt — I expect chiropractors to be overwhelmed by critics who hurt themselves bending over backwards – "Wrinkle" really doesn't work.
Although DuVernay broke through with "Selma" in 2014, she's been busy as a director for a dozen years now, doing features, documentaries, shorts and TV episodes. But what she doesn't have any experience in is outright fantasy. She's honed her skills working on movies based on the messy details of everyday life (and, sometimes, on films based on real lives).
That talent, and comfort level, shows in "Wrinkle" in the scenes before the magic and the mystery. The way Chris Pine, as Meg's father, interacts tenderly with her in his cluttered home lab. The way Pine and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, playing Meg's mother, believably relate to each other as utterly devoted, and occasionally exasperated, partners. Shot mostly in closeup with a handheld camera, these scenes feel immediate and intimate and real.
But then the cosmic helpers arrive to speed Meg on her journey – Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Which. And DuVernay's imagination fails her. Called upon to visualize these magical mentors (who, in L'Engle's book, came across as delightful, rather sloppy matrons), she suddenly slathers on the glitz, with shiny metallic makeup, high heels and outré couture. She even, briefly, makes Oprah literally the size of a house (but then, Oprah always looms large in pop culture).
It's not just that it's distractingly flashy; it's that, unlike the rest of the movie's changes, it seems to contradict the meaning of the book. In the novel, these magical characters wrapped themselves in borrowed sheets and stomped around in old boots; the not-unimportant point was that appearances don't matter. But that's lost when you have a pontificating 30-foot Oprah dripping in glitter, or Kaling and Witherspooon changing costumes and hairstyles with every adventure.
A Wrinkle in Time (Disney Productions
If the glamorization of Who, Whatsit and Which feels like a crucial mistake, the rest of the film's special effects seem more like a simple disappointment. An extended sequence, when Witherspoon's character turns into a giant flying leaf, doesn't merely add nothing to the narrative – it's badly animated. Some fantasy sequences – typically, those set in more recognizable locales like a quiet suburb, or a crowded beach — work fine, and play to DuVernay's strengths. But others are just fake fantasy landscapes and garish washes of color. There's no sense of wonder.
Apart from Winfrey – who swans through the film in beautiful gowns and an equally lavish sense of self-importance – the performances are terrific. Particularly wonderful are Storm Reid as our plucky heroine and the extraordinary Deric McCabe as her preternaturally smart younger brother. Some welcome moments of humor come from Witherspoon, as the occasionally sharp-tongued Whatsit, and Zach Galifianakis as the Happy Medium or, as he describes himself, "some weirdo with a beard living in a cave."
But in the end, there's far too much Disney dazzle in this overdone yet ultimately underwhelming film. Yes, it has plenty of eyecandy. But unlike the book, it gives you little to chew on.


CBGB Stuff – Patti Smith, Dictators, tickets, etc..
Tickets go on sale Sunday for the final CBGB show featuring Patti Smith (33 years, 33 dollars). Lenny Kaye will be playing guitar. Lenny Kaye wrote a eulogy (is that the right word?) to CBGB in the Village Voice (the same issue that had the Continental article).


Kicks off at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 16, at Wood and Oak streets in downtown Palatine and continues west on Wood to Smith and north to Colfax. The fun includes a scavenger hunt from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Participants can register on the website or at the American Legion, 122 W. Palatine Road. Stick around for entertainment and food specials at local restaurants. stpatspalatine.com.


My husband and I travel A LOT. We both have different ideas of what makes a good piece of luggage, though. So, when I had the opportunity to check out Standard's Carry-on backpack, I thought it would be a good idea to have both of us try it out and really give a thorough review of this carry-on luggage!
Typically, when I'm traveling with my carry-on luggage, my biggest concern is how to protect my camera equipment and bring along my 17-inch laptop for photo editing…and of course, having enough space for my clothing. Bonus points if it looks stylish as well! I'm usually using it for long international journeys, and want to be able to fit as much stuff in it as possible. I'm not terribly picky about my luggage.
However, my husband is a business traveler. Before we moved to Moscow, he was jumping on a plane early Monday morning to get to work and then flying out late Thursday to come back home. His biggest concern is being as organized as possible (he wants all the pockets and organization compartments to make him as efficient as possible). It's also really important for him to not have to gate check his bag. When we fly out of our regional airport in Appleton, a typical carry-on bag gets gate checked because it won't fit in the overhead compartment. You may wait 10 more minutes to get your bag when you reach Chicago, then – this could make or break my husband's Monday morning connection flight. Therefore, he needs a bag that can fit in the overhead compartment on the small, regional planes. He is VERY picky about his luggage.
*Side note – we did totally match on this travel day. Dork alert!
What's So Special About Standard's Carry-on Backpack?
It's a 3-in-1 travel backpack, suitcase, and shoulder bag. It has hideaway backpack straps, a full perimeter zip, hip-belt, and a dedicated laptop sleeve. You can even change the orange zip pulls on the bags to blue. It also has a roll-aboard strap, water bottle pocket, lockable zips, smart organization compartments….plus, it comes with a safety whistle and rain cover.
*We both preferred using it as a backpack for these trips.
Wow! This is the first bag that I've ever needed to read the instruction manual in order to use it! Haha. There are so many different features – it's incredible!
*The Organization – I am a really disorganized person (just ask my husband). However, this bag forces me to put some thought into my packing vs. just shoving it all in the bag and calling it good. There's a compartment and slot for everything!
*The Ergonomics – The older you get, the more you care about this one! Hauling a bag for a day of traveling in my 30s has to be comfortable. And I was shocked by how comfortable this bag was to carry – even with all my clothing, toiletries & my bulky laptop! It's just as good as our hiking backpacks.
You can change the coloring right down to the little "Standard" tag on the front!
*It Fits My 17-inch Laptop – When I bought my laptop over 3 years ago, I had initially thought I would be doing more video editing than I actually do. So, I got a great big gaming laptop – that works wonderfully, but it is an absolute PAIN to travel with. Fortunately, this bag fits it comfortably, and it even has a nice little sleeve to protect it!
I love this sleeve for my huge laptop!
I honestly don't have anything negative to say about the bag itself. However, I do have a few points to bring up just from my personal preferences – which I understand are not a problem for the average traveler.
*Camera equipment – Don't get me wrong, I understand that I am getting really nitpicky here. But, when I'm traveling, I'm usually traveling somewhere to take photos, and I need to bring my camera and 2-3 heavy lenses. I can fit my camera in this bag, but it's not the ideal situation. I carried a separate bag with my camera + lenses in it. So, it's difficult for this to be the only bag I take for an international journey.
Seriously, when he started packing this bag and realizing all of the features it had…he hollered to me from the bedroom, "This bag is so F'ing COOL!" I then proceeded to drop my coffee cup and faint. Alright, I might be exaggerating on that last part…but my husband's reaction is true! And again, in the 6+ years we have been married, I can only recall a few instances where he was genuinely excited about a product.
It Fits on a Regional Jet – He doesn't have to gate check this bag when using it. And because it's a backpack, no one ever questions him about taking it on a regional jet. (Note – if you pack this bag full and use its expansion zipper, it won't fit then. This is something I tend to do, though…not my husband!) This will likely come in handy, too, when we're traveling with airlines that make you weigh your carry-on bags – our experience with this is your backpacks never get weighed. So, pack that baby full!
ORGANIZATION – Again, my husband loves to be organized. And this bag more than satisfies his need for everything to have its place!
Quality – He is constantly remarking how well-made this bag is. This is incredible, as I can't remember the last time he told me he thought something was well-made.
Comfort – My husband's journey with this bag was a lot longer than mine, and he was still pleased with how comfortable this bag is…even after an 18-hour journey with it.
NONE. You read that right. NONE. I even have written proof of me confirming that he had nothing negative to say about this bag… if anyone wants to see it! Again, I realize this will mean more to people who know my husband personally. However, I hope I've emphasized how picky my husband is about products – especially travel products – so, for it to have his seal of approval is a big deal! He's already dropping hints that he wants to use it when we go to Egypt and Jordan in a couple weeks…and he's already asked if he can use it once he has to go back to his Monday-Thursday travel schedule for work. He really loves how well-suited this bag is for a business traveler.
*Click here to check out the Standard Luggage website, and click here to shop their carry-on backpack. You can also click here to shop this bag on Amazon.
I'm curious, would you ever be interested in a carry-on bag like this? And for those of you who know my husband, how shocked are you that he has NOTHING negative to say about this bag? Let me know in the comments!
*Thank you to Standard Luggage for sponsoring this blog post. As always, all opinions are my own, and I am never compensated for a positive review.
Posted by haveclotheswilltravel & filed under Outfits, Travel. This post has 16 comments.
Haha! So glad you enjoyed this post, Jodie!
I think you gave me a heart attach.. No CONS. Its impossible. Yep for anyone that knows my son ..your husband this review is a GOLDEN APPLE… This company should be elated with a review like this!!!!
Haha! Right?! I almost fell over!
Zac has nothing negative to say about it……mic drop! This seriously has to be the best backpack ever! I value Zacs opinion because I know he does his research!
Ditto! He is one heck of a shopper – especially when it comes to travel gear.
My husband is looking for a new travel bag! Thanks for this review…we will check it out!
Great review! I too like to have a bag that doesn't have to be gate checked at my home airport. So glad y'all liked it!
Thank you! Not having to gate check a bag is the BEST.
I really like that there's both yours and your husband's perspective. Whatever I get for myself, I tend to get for my husband so it's nice to know about a product from a few angles. You had me at organization. I'm not disorganized per se, but I definitely have OCD and about checking my bag 50x a day to make sure I have everything! It seems like the organization of this bag allows one to zip open, see that everything is as it should be, and zip closed. Some bags I have to rummage around for a while to check everything. Comfort is everything to me when I travel, so good to know you get the best of both worlds with this one! Great post.
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed reading this review. It sounds like you would enjoy this bag as well!
This is such a great review. Very stylish too. I need to look into one of these bags because I always hurt my shoulder by carrying too much.
Oh yes! Using this one as a backpack would be a great option, then. The ergonomics are fantastic.
Very cool! Will keep it in mind in case I need new luggage in the future. I like the versatility of it. And I was wondering how much it would be and not bad for something with such high reviews.
That is true! It's almost the same price as my basic, no frills roller bag. Thank you for reading!


Discovery Kids is for K-5th graders and each week we explore who God is, what His word says, and how the Gospel impacts our every day!
We're excited to announce our new K-1 classroom. Our younger kids will have the gospel contextualized specifically to their learning level while our older kids will continue with their Sunday classes & lessons.
On this date Kindergarteners and 1st graders will be begin checking in to their classroom: Room 301.
By this date, all grades will have transitioned to their incoming grade.
On Wednesday, we break into age-specific groups where we did deeper into the Bible as we learn together.
Want to stay informed on all Discovery Kids events and happenings? Subscribe to our calendar below!


text:
Aisect University Jharkhand
AISECT University of Jharkhand
All Indian Society for Electronics and Computer Technology (AISECT), was established with a novel concept 31 years back to spread computer literacy and technology training in rural mass in their mother tongue. The AISECT University of Jharkhand was established under State Universities Act on 16th May, 2016.
The outstanding contribution of AISECT has been appreciate by many national and international organizations. It has won prestigious awards year after year for its excellent work. These awards include Indian IT Innovation Award 2005, NASSCOM IT Innovation Award 2006, i4d Award 2007, Golden Icon in e-Governance Award, NASSCOM Emerge 50 Leader Award, TiE Lumis Partners Entrepreneurship Excellence Award, Schwab Social Entrepreneur Award 2010 and Financial Inclusion Award 2011, e-gov India Award 2011, Skoch Corporate Leadership Award 2013, Financial Inclusion and Payment Systems Award 2013, 27th amongst the fastest growing mid-size businesses in India 2013, Voted amongst the top 100 franchises in 2010 and 2013.
AISECT University of Jharkhand Programmes
B.Sc. (Agri.)
B. Lib.
BA(Hindi, English, Economics, Pol.Sc., Sociology, History)
B.Sc.(IT)
B. Com. (Hons.)
B.Sc. (Hon's)
MBA (Agri Bussiness Mgt.)
M. Lib.
MA (Hindi, English, Economics, Pol.Sc., Sociology, History)
MA (Geography)
M.Sc. (IT)
M. Com.
M.Sc. (Math)
P.G. Diploma Programs
PGDCA (General)
PGDRD
PG Diploma in Yoga & Naturopathy
Diploma in Mining Engg
Yoga Instructor's Course (YIC)
AISECT University of Jharkhand Admission Process
Admission to various courses are governed by respective ordinances and prospectus of the year. Candidates must fulfill fulfill eligibility conditions laid down by the ordinance for admission to any course.
For all the courses offered by the university admission notice will appear in the daily national New Paper/University website/Notice Board or any other publicity media.
Admission To Engineering Courses
Admission to BE courses in all five braches (CE, ME, EC, CS, EE) will be done either by university all India entrance test or by entrance procedure laid down by DTE Reaming seats will be filled by direct admission based on the merit on minimum eligibility criteria laid down in Ordinance no. 14. For PG admission Gate qualified will be given preference.
Admission To B.ED Courses
Admission will be based on the University Entrance Test, schedule for which will be notified in the news paper/university website. A merit list will be prepared on the basis of marks obtained in the Entrance Test. All the seats will be filled in order of merit.
Admission to PhD Courses
Admission will be based on the Entrance Test followed by PI. Admission and conduct of the course will be based on Ordinance no 16 and Ph D Information Brochure available at University Admission Cell.
Admission to all the courses except BE, B.ED & PhD
For all the courses other than BE, B Ed and Ph D admission will be based on the merit list made on the basis of marks obtained by the candidates in the minimum eligibility qualifying examination laid down by respective ordinances.
AISECT University of Jharkhand Contact Details
AISECT University, Matwari Chowk
Infront of Gandhi Nagar Maidan , Hazaribagh, Jharkhand
Email: info@aisectuniversityjharkhand.ac.in


What Have I Been Putting On My Face?
Around April and May, I started switching out my skincare products for new ones that i wanted to try, after conducting a fair amount of research. This kind of research- checking reviews and ingredients and prices- is one of my favorite things to do and I can quite happily do it for hours… with skincare, cosmetics, perfume, clothes, books, films…. I just love it.
Author ConstancePosted on July 11, 2017 Tags Amara Organics, Etude House, Eva Naturals, Face Mask, Giovanni, Innisfree, L'Oreal, Micellar Water, MISSHA, Moisturizer, Nature Republic, Neutrogena, Niacinimide, Nip+Fab, Rosewater, Scrub, Serum, Shea Butter, Skincare, SPF, St. Ives, Toner, Vitamin B, Vitamin CLeave a comment on What Have I Been Putting On My Face?
Please excuse my very temporary hiatus- it was caused by the need to spend my meagre writing talent on a certain research paper that I just finished (On the revenant Beloved as a bridge between the divided worlds caused by personal tragedy and the tragic legacy of slavery, ultimately serving to enable reconnection and eventual resolution).
I've so many interesting and exciting links (the wide world of the internet, what can you do?)- I haven't done a links post in a while. I hope everyone's week is off to a good start. Mine would be better if it weren't so chilly- I'm sitting on my radiator in my dorm room as I type this. Actually, I'm going to the library.