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Observing Atmospheric Dynamics and Dust Activity

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A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2019) | Viewed by 31536

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Dimitris Kaskaoutis

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Guest Editor

Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 11810 Athens, Greece
Interests: solar radiation; aerosols; remote sensing; dust; meteorology; climatology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Atmospheric dynamics and dust activity are interrelated phenomena, since certain atmospheric circulation patterns facilitate the emission of dust over arid/semi-arid areas around the globe and, on the other hand, radiative forcing of dust may modulate local and regional weather conditions. Dust aerosols have significant impacts on regional and global climate, air quality, marine and terrestrial ecosystems and human health and are systematically examined around the globe via a synergy of ground-based, airborne and satellite instrumentation and numerical simulations. This Special Issue seeks high-quality and innovative manuscripts focusing on the interrelation between atmospheric/meteorological dynamics and dust activity (from emission to final deposition) over global desert and semi-desert regions. Papers examining dust-radiation and dust-cloud interactions are also highly welcome, as are analyses of optical, physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of dust, the seasonality in dust activity over specific regions, sources, sinks and transport pathways of the dust plumes, along with the impacts of dust on climate, ecosystems and human health.

Dr. Dimitris Kaskaoutis
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Meteorology and dust storms
Dust-radiation interactions
Dust-cloud interactions
Dust dynamics modelling
Dust chemistry and mineralogy
Dust optical properties
Dust impacts

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 12005 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Atmospheric Dynamics from Synoptic to Local Scale During an Intense Frontal Dust Storm over the Sistan Basin in Winter 2019

by Dimitris G. Kaskaoutis, Diana Francis, Alireza Rashki, Jean-Pierre Chaboureau and Umesh C. Dumka

Geosciences 2019, 9(10), 453; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences9100453 - 22 Oct 2019

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4262

Abstract

The Sistan Basin has been recognized as one of the most active dust sources and windiest desert environments in the world. Although the dust activity in Sistan maximizes during the summer, rare but intense dust storms may also occur in the winter. This study aims to elucidate the atmospheric dynamics related to dust emission and transport, dust-plume characteristics, and impacts on aerosol properties and air quality during an intense dust storm over Sistan in February 2019. The dust storm was initiated by strong northerly winds (~20 ms⁻¹) associated with the intrusion of a cold front from high latitudes. The upper-level potential vorticity (PV)-trough evolved into a cut-off low in the mid and upper troposphere and initiated unstable weather over Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. At the surface, density currents emanating from deep convective clouds and further strengthened by downslope winds from the mountains, caused massive soil erosion. The passage of the cold front reduced the temperature by ~10 °C and increased the atmospheric pressure by ~10 hPa, while the visibility was limited to less than 200 m. The rough topography played a major role in modulating the atmospheric dynamics, wind field, dust emissions, and transport pathways. Meso-NH model simulates large amounts of columnar mass dust loading (> 20 g m⁻²) over Sistan, while the intense dust plume was mainly traveling below 2 km and increased the particulate matter (PM₁₀) concentrations up to 1800 µg m⁻³ at Zabol. The dust storm was initially moving in an arc-shaped pathway over the Sistan Basin and then it spread away. Plumes of dust covered a large area in southwest Asia, reaching the northern Arabian Sea, and the Thar desert one to two days later, while they strongly affected the aerosol properties at Karachi, Pakistan, by increasing the aerosol optical depth (AOD > 1.2) and the coarse-mode fraction at ~0.7. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Atmospheric Dynamics and Dust Activity)

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13 pages, 3384 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Saharan Dust Transport during the Incipient Growth Phase of African Easterly Waves

by Terrence R. Nathan, Dustin F. P. Grogan and Shu-Hua Chen

Geosciences 2019, 9(9), 388; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences9090388 - 05 Sep 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2757

Abstract

An analytical analysis is combined with numerical modeling simulations in order to expose the physical and dynamical processes that control the zonal-mean transport of Saharan mineral dust aerosols during the incipient growth phase of African easterly waves. The analytical analysis provides the theoretical basis for understanding and predicting how the waves and background flow combine to affect the zonal-mean eddy transports of dust. The analytically derived transport equations―which are valid for any wave field, irrespective of its spatial or temporal scale―predict that the eddy transports of dust are largest where the maximum in the background dust gradients coincide with a critical surface, i.e., where the Doppler-shifted frequency of the wave field vanishes. Linear simulations of the eddy dust transports are conducted using a mechanistic version of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled to an interactive dust model. The simulations show that the eddy dust transports are directed down the background dust gradients and that the meridional transports of dust dominate over the vertical transports. The numerical simulations confirm the theoretical predictions. The predictions are used to explain recent statistical analyses of reanalysis data for dust-coupled African easterly waves. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Atmospheric Dynamics and Dust Activity)

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23 pages, 9605 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Cyclogenesis and Density Currents in the Middle East and the Associated Dust Activity in September 2015

by Diana Francis, Noor Alshamsi, Juan Cuesta, Ayse Gokcen Isik and Cihan Dundar

Geosciences 2019, 9(9), 376; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences9090376 - 29 Aug 2019

Cited by 46 | Viewed by 6846

Abstract

The first 10 days of September 2015 were marked by intense dust activity over the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. This study examines the atmospheric conditions at the origin of the large dust storms during this period. We particularly investigate the atmospheric dynamics leading to the development of a large dry cyclone over Iraq on 31 August 2015 which in turn generated an intense dust storm that affected most of the countries around the Arabian Gulf and lasted for 5 days. We found that the cyclone developed over Northwest Iraq as a transfer to low levels of a cut-off low which had formed two days earlier at upper levels over Turkey. Large dust loads exceeding 250 tons were emitted and moved southeast in a cyclonic shape toward the Arabian sea. The second large dust storm on 6-8 September 2015 occurred over Syria and affected all the coastal countries on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea. It was associated with the occurrence of a series of density currents over northeast Syria emanating from deep convection over the mountainous border between Syria and Turkey. The unusual development of deep convection over this area was associated with a blocking high and interaction with orography. Both the cut-off high and the cut-off low occurred during a period characterized by a meandering polar jet and an enhanced subtropical jet causing unstable weather over mid-latitudes which in turn led to highly polluted atmosphere by natural dust in the affected countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Atmospheric Dynamics and Dust Activity)

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20 pages, 9394 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Spatial and Temporal Variations in the Incidence of Dust Storms in Saudi Arabia Revealed from In Situ Observations

by Sarah Albugami, Steven Palmer, Jonathan Cinnamon and Jeroen Meersmans

Geosciences 2019, 9(4), 162; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences9040162 - 08 Apr 2019

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 8215

Abstract

Monthly meteorological data from 27 observation stations provided by the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) of Saudi Arabia were used to analyze the spatial and temporal distribution of atmospheric dust in Saudi Arabia between 2000 and 2016. These data were used to analyze the effects of environmental forcing on the occurrence of dust storms across Saudi Arabia by considering the relationships between dust storm frequency and temperature, precipitation, and wind variables. We reveal a clear seasonality in the reported incidence of dust storms, with the highest frequency of events during the spring. Our results show significant positive relationships (p < 0.005) between dust storm occurrence and wind speed, wind direction, and precipitation. However, we did not detect a significant relationship with temperature. Our results reveal important spatial patterns, as well as seasonal and inter-annual variations, in the occurrence of dust storms in Saudi Arabia. For instance, the eastern part of the study area experienced an increase in dust storm events over time, especially in the region near Al-Ahsa. Similarly, an increasing trend in dust storms was also observed in the west of the study area near Jeddah. However, the occurrence of dust storm events is decreasing over time in the north, in areas such as Hail and Qaisumah. Overall, the eastern part of Saudi Arabia experiences the highest number of dust storms per year (i.e., 10 to 60 events), followed by the northern region, with the south and the west having fewer dust storm events (i.e., five to 15 events per year). In addition, our results showed that the wind speeds during a dust storm are 15–20 m/s and above, while, on a non-dust day, the wind speeds are approximately 10–15 m/s or lower. Findings of this study provide insight into the relationship between environmental conditions and dust storm occurrence across Saudi Arabia, and a basis for future research into the drivers behind these observed spatio-temporal trends. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Atmospheric Dynamics and Dust Activity)

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Review

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12 pages, 1087 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Variability and Trends in Dust Storm Frequency on Decadal Timescales: Climatic Drivers and Human Impacts

by Nick Middleton

Geosciences 2019, 9(6), 261; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/geosciences9060261 - 12 Jun 2019

Cited by 86 | Viewed by 8670

Abstract

Dust storms present numerous hazards to human society and are particularly significant to people living in the Dust Belt which stretches from the Sahara across the Middle East to northeast Asia. This paper presents a review of dust storm variability and trends in frequency on decadal timescales from three Dust Belt settlements with long-term (>50 years) meteorological records: Nouakchott, Mauritania; Zabol, Iran, and Minqin, China. The inhabitants of each of these settlements have experienced a decline in dust storms in recent decades, since the late 1980s at Nouakchott, since 2004 at Zabol, and since the late 1970s at Minqin. The roles of climatic variables and human activities are assessed in each case, as drivers of periods of high dust storm frequency and subsequent declines in dust emissions. Both climatic and human variables have been important but overall the balance of research conclusions indicates natural processes (precipitation totals, wind strength) have had greater impact than human action, in the latter case both in the form of mismanagement (abandoned farmland, water management schemes) and attempts to reduce wind erosion (afforestation projects). Understanding the drivers of change in dust storm dynamics at the local scale is increasingly important for efforts to mitigate dust storm hazards as climate change projections suggest that the global dryland area is likely to expand in the twenty-first century, along with an associated increase in the risk of drought and dust emissions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Observing Atmospheric Dynamics and Dust Activity)

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