Improved Parameterization for the Size Distribution of Emitted Dust Aerosols Reduces Model Underestimation of Super Coarse Dust

Meng, Jun; Huang, Yongjun; Leung, Danny M.; Li, Longlei; Adebiyi, Adeyemi A.; Ryder, Claire L.; Mahowald, N. M.; Kok, Jasper F.

doi:10.1029/2021gl097287

Cited by 23 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 121 publications

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“…In comparison, the global mass loads of super-coarse and giant dust are less certain because of the limited availability of airborne measurement constraints. We nonetheless extended the DustCOMM constraints to a particle diameter of 100 µm with Community Earth System Model (CESM) simulations of the ratio of super-coarse and giant dust to dust particles with D ≤ 20 µm from Meng et al (2022). Meng et al (2022) used an improved parameterization of the size distribution of emitted dust that accounts for the emission of super-coarse dust and used a dust density reduced by a factor of 10 (250 kg m-3) as a proxy for as-of-yet unclear processes missing from models that likely cause coarse dust to deposit less quickly than observed in nature (Section 5.2).…”

Section: Impacts Of Coarse and Super-coarse Dust Aerosols On The Eart...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We nonetheless extended the DustCOMM constraints to a particle diameter of 100 µm with Community Earth System Model (CESM) simulations of the ratio of super-coarse and giant dust to dust particles with D ≤ 20 µm from Meng et al (2022). Meng et al (2022) used an improved parameterization of the size distribution of emitted dust that accounts for the emission of super-coarse dust and used a dust density reduced by a factor of 10 (250 kg m-3) as a proxy for as-of-yet unclear processes missing from models that likely cause coarse dust to deposit less quickly than observed in nature (Section 5.2). As a result, these simulations were able to match in situ measurements of super-coarse dust both close to and far from dust source regions (Meng et al, 2022).…”

Section: Impacts Of Coarse and Super-coarse Dust Aerosols On The Eart...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meng et al (2022) used an improved parameterization of the size distribution of emitted dust that accounts for the emission of super-coarse dust and used a dust density reduced by a factor of 10 (250 kg m-3) as a proxy for as-of-yet unclear processes missing from models that likely cause coarse dust to deposit less quickly than observed in nature (Section 5.2). As a result, these simulations were able to match in situ measurements of super-coarse dust both close to and far from dust source regions (Meng et al, 2022). The estimated supercoarse and giant dust mass loads are approximately 10 Tg and 0.1 Tg, respectively (Figure 6a).…”

Section: Impacts Of Coarse and Super-coarse Dust Aerosols On The Eart...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the influence of dust size distribution on dust impacts, there are inconsistencies in the terminology and the diameter range currently attributed to different dust size classes across the literature (Whitby, 1978;WHO, 2006;Seinfeld and Pandis, 2006;Mahowald et al, 2014;Maynard et al, 2017). Furthermore, dust size influences the emission and transport processes in the global dust cycle (e.g., Drakaki et al, 2022;Meng et al, 2022). The conventional pathway of dust emission primarily occurs when sand particles with diameters of about or greater than ~75 µm are forced by strong surface winds into ballistic trajectories, in a process called saltation (Bagnold, 1941;Shao, 2001;Kok et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of coarse mineral dust in the Earth system

Adebiyi¹,

Kok²,

Murray³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Mineral dust particles suspended in the atmosphere span more than three orders of magnitude in diameter, from less than 0.1 µm to more than 100 µm. This wide size range makes dust a unique aerosol species with the ability to interact with many aspects of the Earth system, including radiation, clouds, hydrology, atmospheric chemistry, and biogeochemistry. This review focuses on coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols, which we respectively define as dust particles with a diameter between 2.5 - 10 µm and 10 - 62.5 µm. We review several lines of observational evidence indicating that coarse and super-coarse dust particles are transported farther than previously expected and that the abundance of these particles is substantially underestimated in current global models. We synthesize previous studies that used observations, theories, and model simulations to highlight the impacts of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols on the Earth system, including their effects on dust-radiation interactions, dust-cloud interactions, and atmospheric chemistry, and biogeochemistry. In addition, we examine several limitations in the representation of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols in current model simulations and in remote-sensing retrievals. Because these limitations substantially contribute to the uncertainties in simulating the abundance and impacts of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols, we offer some recommendations to facilitate future studies. Overall, we conclude that an accurate representation of coarse and super-coarse properties is critical in understanding the overall impacts of dust aerosols on the Earth system.

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Section: Impacts Of Coarse and Super-coarse Dust Aerosols On The Eart...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Impacts Of Coarse and Super-coarse Dust Aerosols On The Eart...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Impacts Of Coarse and Super-coarse Dust Aerosols On The Eart...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of coarse mineral dust in the Earth system

Adebiyi¹,

Kok²,

Murray³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Additionally, models likely greatly underestimate the atmospheric concentration of super coarse dust 49,55,56,124 , which warms by absorbing SW and LW radiation. This should be addressed by obtaining more measurements of emitted and transported dust that extend to the difficult-to-measure super coarse dust size range 29,36,54,55 , and by developing improved parameterizations of super coarse dust emission 220 and deposition and implementing those in climate models.…”

Section: Summary and Future Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineral dust aerosol impacts on global climate and climate change

Kok¹,

Storelvmo²,

Karydis³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Mineral dust aerosols impact Earth’s energy budget through interactions with radiation, clouds, atmospheric chemistry, the cryosphere and biogeochemistry. In this review, we summarize these interactions and assess the resulting impacts of dust, and of changes in dust, on global climate and climate change. We find that the total effect of these interactions on Earth’s global energy budget—the dust effective radiative effect—is -0.2 ± 0.5 Wm-2 (90% confidence interval). Compared to pre-industrial times, global dust mass loading is 56 ± 29% higher in the modern climate, leading to changes in the Earth’s energy budget. Indeed, this increase in dust has produced a global mean effective radiative forcing of -0.07 ± 0.18 Wm-2. Current climate models and climate assessments do not represent the historical increase in dust and thus omit the resulting radiative forcing, biasing climate change projections and assessments of climate sensitivity. Climate model simulations of future changes in dust diverge widely and are very uncertain. Further work is thus needed to constrain the radiative effects of dust on climate and to improve the representation of dust in climate models.

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