Modelling the mineralogical composition and solubility of mineral dust in the Mediterranean area with CHIMERE 2017r4

Abstract

Modelling of mineral dust is often done using one single mean species. But for biogeochemical studies, it could be useful to access to a more detailed information on differentiated mineral species and the associated chemical composition. Differentiating between mineral species would also induce different optical properties and densities and then different radiative impact, transport and deposition. In this study, the mineralogical differentiation is implemented in the CHIMERE regional chemistry-transport model, by using global databases. The results show that this implementation does not change the results much in terms of aerosol optical depth, surface concentrations and deposition fluxes. But the information on mineralogy, with a high spatial (a few kilometres) and temporal (1 h) resolution, is now available and is ready to be used for future biogeochemical studies.