Transatlantic Saharan dust transport: Model simulation and results

Abstract

Long-range transport of desert dust from the Sahara across the northern Atlantic has been recorded many times by satellite imagery and ground-based measurements. However, this evidence cannot fully describe all the phases of the atmospheric dust lifecycle. To partly compensate for the lack of such knowledge, an atmospheric model with incorporated dust uptake-transport-deposition module has been used in this study. The goal was to assess qualitatively and quantitatively the ability of the model to predict the dust cycle in the atmosphere for a long period. For this purpose, the complicated dust episode of June-July 1993 (almost one month) was simulated with the SKIRON weather forecasting system. This dust intrusion was associated with long-range transport of Saharan dust across the Atlantic Ocean and simultaneous regional transport towards the Mediterranean Sea. Comparison of the forecasts with the available observations (in a qualitative and quantitatively way) indicated that the model was able to simulate the long-range dust transport patterns and in particular to estimate the spatiotemporal distribution of the dust concentration on a satisfactory way. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.