Quantifying turbulent coarse particle transport over drylands of Southeastern Iberia using a stand-alone Doppler lidar methodology Abril Gago, Jesús Ortiz Amezcua, Pablo Kowalski, Andrew Bravo-Aranda, Juan Antonio Granados-Muñoz, María José Andújar-Maqueda, Juana Alados-Arboledas, Lucas Guerrero Rascado, Juan Luis Aerosol particles Particle fluxes Doppler lidar Drylands Particle emissions This work was supported by the project INTEGRATYON3 (PID2020-117825GB-C21 and PID2020-117825GB-C22) funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, and by University of Granada Plan Propio through Excellence Research Unit Earth Science and Singular Laboratory AGORA (LS2022-1) program, by the European Union‘s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through project ACTRIS.IMP (grant agreement No 871115) and the strategic network ACTRIS-España (RED2022-134824-E), by Junta de Andalucía through project MORADO (C-366-UGR23), and by University of Granada Plan Propio programs Visiting Scholars (PPVS2024-06), Excellence Research Unit Earth Science and Singular Laboratory AGORA (LS2022-1) and Project for Early-Career Researchers EMITE-EC (PPJIB-2024-12). This study is part of a project that is supported by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 – Research and Innovation Framework Programme, H2020-INFRAIA-2020-1, Grant Agreement number: 101008004. Jesús Abril-Gago received funding through the grants FPU21/01436 and EST24/00285 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada/CBUA. Using a methodology for the estimation of coarse particle exchanges via Doppler lidar, based on the eddy covariance technique, profiles of vertical transport velocities were derived and analyzed. The methodology was tested across diverse atmospheric conditions in two different Mediterranean dryland landscapes in Southeastern Spain, namely Guadiana-UGR (extensive, inland olive grove), and Aguamarga (shrubland with maritime influence). Firstly, study cases were analyzed and the main atmospheric mechanisms impacting particle transport were identified. Convective mixing within the boundary layer was found to be the primary driver of the upward particle transport. However, cloud cover was observed to attenuate the transport velocity, while significant deposition events were observed during a Saharan dust outbreak. Secondly, positive transport velocities were found during convective periods and lower, yet positive, values during non-convective periods. Higher transport velocities were observed during a drier period at Guadiana-UGR, likely due to drier soil conditions. Aguamarga exhibited notably lower transport velocities. Considering only the lowermost observational level (105 m above the ground), net emission of particles was observed. Footprint analysis supported the representativeness of the fluxes. Our findings provide novel insights into particle exchanges over Mediterranean drylands, quantifying the turbulent transport and identifying its atmospheric drivers. Additionally, the considered ecosystems were found to be net sources of particles during the study periods. These results highlight the role of drylands as emerging contributors to global dust emissions in the context of climate change. 2025-05-29T08:09:17Z 2025-05-29T08:09:17Z 2025-05-24 journal article J. Abril-Gago et al. Atmospheric Research 325 (2025) 108236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108236 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/104330 10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108236 eng info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/871115 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/RED2022-134824-E info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/101008004 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ open access Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Elsevier