GERBILS
The Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget Intercomparison of Longwave and Shortwave radiation (GERBILS) experiment, whose full rationale and operating details are described in Haywood et al. (2011), consisted in ten research flights onboard the FAAM BAe-146 performed between Nouakchott (18.10�N, 15.94�W, Mauritania) and Niamey (13.48�N, 2.18�E, Niger) on an almost standard route along the 18�N meridian. Flights were performed between 18 and 29 June 2007, in a period characterised by a persistent and widespread dust load. Satellite images, air mass dispersion and aerosol optical depth model calculations showed that dust was persistent in the area. Dust originated mostly from the south of Algeria/north of Mali areas, but also from north of Niger. The contribution of these different sources was evaluated on a case-by-case basis by a combination of observational data from the campaign, back-trajectory analysis and satellite imagery (Klaver et al., 2011).
