Absorbing mediterranean aerosols lead to a large reduction in the solar radiation at the surface

[1] We present direct radiometric observations of aerosol radiative forcing taken during the MINOS experiment (2001) at Finokalia Sampling Station located on North-Eastern shores of Crete, Greece. The mean value of aerosol optical thickness was 0.21 at 500 nm. Aerosols, mostly of anthropogenic origin, lead to a diurnal average reduction of 17.9 W m(-2) in the surface solar radiation, an increase of 11.3 W m(-2) in the atmospheric solar absorption, and an increase of 6.6 W m(-2) in the reflected solar radiation at the top-of-the atmosphere. Thus, the present data gives observational proof for the large role of absorbing aerosols in the Mediterranean. The negative surface forcing and large positive atmospheric forcing values observed for the Mediterranean aerosols is nearly identical to the highly absorbing south Asian haze observed over the Arabian Sea.