Satellite Climatology of Saharan Dust Outbreaks: Method and Preliminary Results

Abstract

An operational algorithm for detecting dust outbreaks over ocean at global scales is presented. It is shown to be efficient for identifying dusty areas over the eastern Atlantic Ocean using the European Meteorological Satellite (Meteosat). The retrieved values of the dust optical thickness, which is related to the importance of the event, are shown to be in good agreement with simultaneous ground measurements. First results concerning the frequencies and the trajectories of the dust outbreaks that occurred over five years (from 1984 to 1988) are also provided.