Open AccessMODELING THE TRANS-ATLANTIC TRANSPORTATION OF SAHARAN DUST
Author(s) -
Athanasios Tsikerdekis,
Prodromos Zanis,
Lipsey Steiner,
Vassilis Amiridis,
Eleni Marinou,
Eleni Katragkou,
T. Karacostas,
F. Solmon
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
deltio tīs ellīnikīs geōlogikīs etaireias/deltio tīs ellīnikīs geōlogikīs etaireias
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2529-1718
pISSN - 0438-9557
DOI - 10.12681/bgsg.11810
Subject(s) - mineral dust , plume , longitude , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , climatology , altitude (triangle) , latitude , spring (device) , tropical atlantic , troposphere , aerosol , meteorology , geology , geography , physics , geodesy , geometry , sea surface temperature , thermodynamics , mathematics
In the present study we are simulating the trans-Atlantic transport of dust from Sahara to the South-Central America, using the regional climate model RegCM4 and its online dust scheme, for the year 2007. The simulated horizontal and vertical distributions of the mineral dust optical properties were evaluated against the LIVAS CALIPSO satellite dust product. The Trans-Atlantic dust transport is simulated adequately with RegCM4, but there are some spatial discrepancies. Dust optical thickness is overestimated in the eastern Sahara throughout the year by 0.1-0.2, while near the gulf of Guinea is underestimated during winter and spring. Although RegCM4 dust plume is located southern on winter and spring, it doesn't spatially match the dust optical thickness of LIVAS. In summer and autumn the vertical distribution of dust between 3-4km during the Trans-Atlantic transport is simulated by the model adequately up to 30ºW 40ºW longitude. However, during winter-spring RegCM4 misplaces dust loading into higher altitude. Finally, we discuss some possible reasons and mechanisms that might be responsible for the differences between the model and the observations.