Control of atmospheric export of dust from North Africa by the North Atlantic Oscillation

Moulin, C.; Lambert, C. E.; Dulac, François; Dayan, Uri

doi:10.1038/42679

Cited by 671 publications

(510 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Its negative phase results in colder winters over northern Europe and a more frequent passage of winter storms over the MB, which enhances dust over the Negev. We obtained a negative correlation, of −0.66, between them, which is, apparently, inconsistent with Moulin et al (1997), who found positive correlation between the NAO and dust over the entire MB. This disagreement stems from two reasons: (1) our study region (Figure 1) occupies only a small portion of their research domain and (2) the timing of the 'high dust season'.…”

Section: Discussion and Summarycontrasting

confidence: 45%

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Suspended dust over southeastern Mediterranean and its relation to atmospheric circulations

Dayan

Ziv

Shoob

et al. 2007

Intl Journal of Climatology

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143

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ABSTRACT:The Middle East deserts are often subjected to dust, which reduces horizontal visibility to 5 km, and sometimes even to <1 km. The present study examines the annual and inter-annual occurrences of dust events based on 37 years of visibility observations from Hazerim (near Beer Sheba) correlated with PM 10 dust concentration. The visibility data was converted to PM 10 dust concentration, using concurrent data for three years. We then analyse the linkage between dust and synoptic-to global-scale weather systems.The monthly data indicate that the dust season starts in October and ends in May, with a maximum in March. More than 89% of the total annual dust is accumulated between December and May, the 'high dust season'. The annual totals vary as much as an order of magnitude from year to year.The synoptic system that produces the majority of the dust over the northern Negev is the Cyprus Low, contributing 2/3 of both the total yearly dust yield and of the number of dust observations. This suggests that a positive relationship exists between the dust in the Negev and rainfall in north Israel, both of which are generated by Cyprus Lows. Indeed, a significant (at 0.05 level) correlation of +0.30 was found between the two. Correlation maps evidence that in dustrich years the cyclonic activity over the Mediterranean is abnormally high and in poor-dust years it is low. A highly significant negative correlation (−0.66) was found between the dust yield and the intensity of the North Atlantic oscillation (NAO), which modulates the cyclonic activity over Europe and the northern Mediterranean. This may also imply that periods in which more dust accumulated as loess in the northern Negev may indicate the existence of negative NAO phase, and concurrently, warmer conditions over the Sahara, colder conditions over Europe and enhanced rainfall over the Mediterranean Basin.

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Section: Discussion and Summarycontrasting

confidence: 45%

“…This disagreement stems from two reasons: (1) our study region (Figure 1) occupies only a small portion of their research domain and (2) the timing of the 'high dust season'. We identified the winter as the 'high season', which was poorly documented by Moulin et al (1997) due to frequent cloud masking in this season.…”

Section: Discussion and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Suspended dust over southeastern Mediterranean and its relation to atmospheric circulations

Dayan

Ziv

Shoob

et al. 2007

Intl Journal of Climatology

Self Cite

143

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“…In this regard, note that the highest monthly mean dust concentrations in Miami were obtained in 1983, the year after the onset of one of the most intense El Niño events in recent history; a similar sharp increase in dust also was observed on Barbados (35). The longer-term variability of dust transport could be linked in a complex way to other climate variables, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (40). Size Distributions.…”

Section: African Dust Transport To Miami: An Example Of Possible Airmentioning

confidence: 96%

Long-range transport of mineral dust in the global atmosphere: Impact of African dust on the environment of the southeastern United States

Prospero

1999

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

517

379

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Soil dust is a major constituent of airborne particles in the global atmosphere. Dust plumes frequently cover huge areas of the earth; they are one of the most prominent and commonly visible features in satellite imagery. Dust is believed to play a role in many biogeochemical processes, but the importance of dust in these processes is not well understood because of the dearth of information about the global distribution of dust and its physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties. This paper describes some features of the large-scale distribution of dust and identifies some of the geological characteristics of important source areas. The transport of dust from North Africa is presented as an example of possible long-range dust effects, and the impact of African dust on environmental processes in the western North Atlantic and the southeastern United States is assessed. Dust transported over long distances usually has a mass median diameter <10 m. Small wind-borne soil particles show signs of extensive weathering; consequently, the physical and chemical properties of the particles will greatly depend on the weathering history in the source region and on the subsequent modifications that occur during transit in the atmosphere (typically a period of a week or more). To fully understand the role of dust in the environment and in human health, mineralogists will have to work closely with scientists in other disciplines to characterize the properties of mineral particles as an ensemble and as individual particles especially with regard to surface characteristics.

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“…Aeolian inputs are also highly spatially variable: about half the global aeolian input enters the North Pacific Ocean, originating from mainland Asia, and another third is deposited into the North Atlantic from the Sahara (Duce and Tindale, 1991;Jickells and Spokes, 2001). Layers of dust from the Sahara desert are entrained into the atmosphere at heights of 1-5 km (Carlson and Prospero, 1972;Maring et al, 2000) and transported westwards under the prevailing weather systems (Moulin et al, 1997). Dust concentrations over the South Atlantic are much lower than over the (sub)-tropical North Atlantic (V .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric iron deposition and sea-surface dissolved iron concentrations in the eastern Atlantic Ocean

Sarthou¹,

Baker²,

Blain³

et al. 2003

Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers

184

145

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Atmospheric iron and underway sea-surface dissolved (o0.2 mm) iron (DFe) concentrations were investigated along a north-south transect in the eastern Atlantic Ocean (27 N/16 W-19 S/5 E). Fe concentrations in aerosols and dry deposition fluxes of soluble Fe were at least two orders of magnitude higher in the Saharan dust plume than at the equator or at the extreme south of the transect. A weaker source of atmospheric Fe was also observed in the South Atlantic, possibly originating in southern Africa via the north-easterly outflow of the Angolan plume. Estimations of total atmospheric deposition fluxes (dry plus wet) of soluble Fe suggested that wet deposition dominated in the intertropical convergence zone, due to the very high amount of precipitation and to the fact that a substantial part of Fe was delivered in dissolved form. On the other hand, dry deposition dominated in the other regions of the transect (73-97%), where rainfall rates were much lower. Underway sea-surface DFe concentrations ranged 0.02-1.1 nM. Such low values (0.02 nM) are reported for the first time in the Atlantic Ocean and may be (co)-limiting for primary production. A significant correlation (Spearman's rho=0.862, po0:01) was observed between mean DFe concentrations and total atmospheric deposition fluxes, confirming the importance of atmospheric deposition on the iron cycle in the Atlantic. Residence time of DFe in the surface waters relative to atmospheric inputs were estimated in the northern part of our study area (1778 to 28716 d). These values confirmed the rapid removal of Fe from the surface waters, possibly by colloidal aggregation. r

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Control of atmospheric export of dust from North Africa by the North Atlantic Oscillation

Cited by 671 publications

References 18 publications

Suspended dust over southeastern Mediterranean and its relation to atmospheric circulations

Suspended dust over southeastern Mediterranean and its relation to atmospheric circulations

Long-range transport of mineral dust in the global atmosphere: Impact of African dust on the environment of the southeastern United States

Atmospheric iron deposition and sea-surface dissolved iron concentrations in the eastern Atlantic Ocean

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