Mindelo (São Vicente). For five years now, a distinctive green laser beam has been shining at night up to 30 km above the harbour of the island’s capital. It forms part of a high-energy lidar with which the Leibniz Institute for Atmospheric Research (TROPOS) operates continuous aerosol and cloud measurements at the Ocean Science Centre Mindelo (OSCM).

The lidar is part of PollyNET, a global network of fixed and mobile lidar systems coordinated by TROPOS. This network enables the detection of airborne particles (aerosols) – such as desert dust, forest fire smoke, industrial pollution or even sea salt – as well as their trajectories across our planet. The remote sensing station in Mindelo complements the dust samples that have been collected of the island of São Vicente for almost 30 years in Calhau on the north-east coast.

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