Aerosol optical depth measurements over Barbados acquired through the AERONET network are analyzed. Optical depth shows a pronounced seasonal pattern, with a maximum observed during summer. The temporal trends of the sunphotometry data were similar to those of ground-based dust concentration measurements. A simple linear regression relationship has been established between mean monthly values of aerosol optical depth and dust concentrations (correlation coefficient r=0.93), which allows the estimation of optical depth for any specific time period when dust concentration measurements are available. The robustness of the regression was validated with an independent data set. ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union