Impact of atmospheric dust emission schemes on dust production and concentration over the Arabian Peninsula

Fountoukis, C.; Ackermann, Luis; Ayoub, M.; Gladich, Ivan; Hoehn, Ross D.; Skillern, Adam

doi:10.1007/s40808-016-0181-z

Cited by 34 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…A preliminary comparison between the DUST-GOCART/AFWA and the DUSTUOC-Shao (2001) (S01) schemes is discussed in Rizza et al (2016), showing that the GOCART/AFWA emission scheme produces an important over-prediction of the dust concentration. This is also in agreement with recent findings by Fountoukis et al (2016). This may in part be explained by the fact that the AFWA scheme considers vertical dust flux only related to the clay content, while the S01 scheme considers a more realistic soil texture type.…”

Section: Dust Emission Parameterizationsupporting

confidence: 92%

WRF-Chem model simulations of a dust outbreak over the central Mediterranean and comparison with multi-sensor desert dust observations

et al. 2017

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Abstract. In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting model with online coupled chemistry (WRF-Chem) is applied to simulate an intense Saharan dust outbreak event that took place over the Mediterranean in May 2014. Comparison of a simulation using a physics-based desert dust emission scheme with a numerical experiment using a simplified (minimal) emission scheme is included to highlight the advantages of the former. The model was found to reproduce well the synoptic meteorological conditions driving the dust outbreak: an omega-like pressure configuration associated with a cyclogenesis in the Atlantic coasts of Spain. The model performances in reproducing the atmospheric desert dust load were evaluated using a multi-platform observational dataset of aerosol and desert dust properties, including optical properties from satellite and ground-based sun photometers and lidars, plus in situ particulate matter mass concentration (PM) data. This comparison allowed us to investigate the model ability in reproducing both the horizontal and the vertical displacement of the dust plume, as well as its evolution in time.The comparison with satellite (MODIS-Terra) and sun photometers (AERONET) showed that the model is able to reproduce well the horizontal field of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) and its evolution in time (temporal correlation coefficient with AERONET of 0.85). On the vertical scale, the comparison with lidar data at a single site (Rome, Italy) confirms that the desert dust advection occurs in several, superimposed "pulses" as simulated by the model. Crossanalysis of the modeled AOD and desert dust emission fluxes further allowed for the source regions of the observed plumes to be inferred. The vertical displacement of the modeled dust plume was in rather good agreement with the lidar soundings, with correlation coefficients among aerosol extinction profiles up to 1 and mean discrepancy of about 50 %.The model-measurement comparison for PM 10 and PM 2.5 showed a good temporal matching, although it revealed a marked overestimation of PM 10 and PM 2.5 (of the order of 70 % during the dust peak). For PM 10 , it was also possible to investigate the accordance between the model-and the measurement-based dust PM 10 , this confirming the model PM 10 overestimation to be related to over-predicted dust mass up to a factor of 140 %. In all the model-measurement comparisons performed, the enhanced capabilities of the physics-based emission scheme with respect to its simplified, minimal version were evident and are documented.

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Section: Dust Emission Parameterizationsupporting

confidence: 92%

WRF-Chem model simulations of a dust outbreak over the central Mediterranean and comparison with multi-sensor desert dust observations

et al. 2017

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“…For the first time, a method for UVI forecasting has been developed for the dust-rich conditions of the Middle East that makes use of a three dimensional regional meteorology-chemistry model [7], [22] combined with surface solar radiation measurements from our monitoring stations in Doha, Qatar and NASA's OMI Aura satellite-retrieved data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

UV Index Forecasting under the Influence of Desert Dust: Evaluation against Surface and Satellite-Retrieved Data

et al. 2020

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Human exposure to healthy doses of UV radiation is required for vitamin D synthesis, but exposure to excessive UV irradiance leads to several harmful impacts ranging from premature wrinkles to dangerous skin cancer. However, for countries located in the global dust belt, accurate estimation of the UV irradiance is challenging due to a strong impact of desert dust on incoming solar radiation. In this work, a UV Index forecasting capability is presented, specifically developed for dust-rich environments, that combines the use of ground-based measurements of broadband irradiances UVA (320-400 nm) and UVB (280-315 nm), NASA OMI Aura satellite-retrieved data and the meteorology-chemistry mesoscale model WRF-Chem. The forecasting ability of the model is evaluated for clear sky days as well as during the influence of dust storms in Doha, Qatar. The contribution of UV radiation to the total incoming global horizontal irradiance (GHI) ranges between 5% and 7% for UVA and 0.1% and 0.22% for UVB. The UVI forecasting performance of the model is quite encouraging with an absolute average error of less than 6% and a correlation coefficient of 0.93. In agreement with observations, the model predicts that the UV Index at local noontime can drop from 10-11 on clear sky days to approximately 6-7 during typical dusty conditions in the Arabian Peninsula-an effect similar to the presence of extensive cloud cover.Atmosphere 2020, 11, 96 2 of 17 photokeratitis (inflammation of the cornea), and suppression of the immune system [1,[3][4][5]. Thus, it is important for people to control their exposure to UV radiation [1,6].The UV radiation on the Earth's surface is largely determined by the solar zenith angle, clouds, total ozone column, surface albedo, aerosols, earth-sun distance, and altitude [7]. Clouds poorly absorb UV radiation and in general, scatter UV radiation into the atmosphere [8,9]. Stratospheric ozone (ozone layer) predominantly absorbs UV radiation at wavelengths below 320 nm [10]. The extent of reflectivity from a surface affects UV surface irradiance with higher surface albedo enhancing the net UV surface irradiance due to multiple scattering of the reflected irradiance with the atmosphere. For example, a surface covered by snow (with albedo of 0.8) will increase UV irradiance at 320 nm by 1.5 times compared to snow-free, low albedo conditions [11]. Aerosols also affect the incoming UV irradiance. They usually decrease UV irradiance reaching the surface by scattering and absorption. A measurement campaign in Greece showed that UV irradiance decreased by 5-35% due to aerosols [12], and similar numbers of annual average aerosol attenuation of UV irradiance were obtained around the globe [13]. Desert dust intrusions also affect UV irradiance with differences larger than 30% in cloudless conditions in Santiago de Chile [14,15]. These differences in UV irradiance highlight the need for ground-based measurements to account for the attenuation of UV radiation in the troposphere which are not accounted for in satellite derived es...

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“…As a result, an alternative dust emission scheme option was developed to augment the WRF-Chem GOCART code. Several journal articles briefly discuss the use of the AER and AFWA modifications (e.g., Su and Fung, 2015;Wang et al, 2015;Teixeira et al, 2016;Rizza et al, 2016;Fountoukis et al, 2016;Flaounas et al, 2016;Uzan et al, 2016;Nabavi, 2017;Cremades et al, 2017), but full documentation of the AFWA scheme has not yet been published. The purpose of this publication is therefore to document for the broader modeling community the alternate dust emission scheme (hereafter referred to as the AFWA scheme), its intended use, and how it compares with the other available dust emission schemes included in WRF-Chem GOCART.…”

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confidence: 99%

The AFWA dust emission scheme for the GOCART aerosol model in WRF-Chem v3.8.1

et al. 2019

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Abstract. Airborne particles of mineral dust play a key role in Earth's climate system and affect human activities around the globe. The numerical weather modeling community has undertaken considerable efforts to accurately forecast these dust emissions. Here, for the first time in the literature, we thoroughly describe and document the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) dust emission scheme for the Georgia Institute of Technology–Goddard Global Ozone Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) aerosol model within the Weather Research and Forecasting model with chemistry (WRF-Chem) and compare it to the other dust emission schemes available in WRF-Chem. The AFWA dust emission scheme addresses some shortcomings experienced by the earlier GOCART-WRF scheme. Improved model physics are designed to better handle emission of fine dust particles by representing saltation bombardment. WRF-Chem model performance with the AFWA scheme is evaluated against observations of dust emission in southwest Asia and compared to emissions predicted by the other schemes built into the WRF-Chem GOCART model. Results highlight the relative strengths of the available schemes, indicate the reasons for disagreement, and demonstrate the need for improved soil source data.

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Impact of atmospheric dust emission schemes on dust production and concentration over the Arabian Peninsula

Cited by 34 publications

References 20 publications

WRF-Chem model simulations of a dust outbreak over the central Mediterranean and comparison with multi-sensor desert dust observations

WRF-Chem model simulations of a dust outbreak over the central Mediterranean and comparison with multi-sensor desert dust observations

UV Index Forecasting under the Influence of Desert Dust: Evaluation against Surface and Satellite-Retrieved Data

The AFWA dust emission scheme for the GOCART aerosol model in WRF-Chem v3.8.1

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