Effect of direct radiative forcing of Asian dust on the meteorological fields in East Asia during an Asian dust event period

Abstract

Coupled and noncoupled models in a grid of 60 × 60 km2 in the eastern Asian domain have been employed to examine the effect of the direct radiative forcing of the Asian dust aerosol on meteorological fields for an intense Asian dust event observed in eastern Asia on 18-23 March 2002. The coupled model consists of the modified fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Mesoscale Model (MM5) with direct radiative forcing of the Asian dust aerosol through the NCAR Column Radiation Model and the Asian Dust Aerosol Model. The noncoupled model is MM5 without the direct radiative forcing of the Asian dust aerosol. The results indicate that the radiative cooling of the dust aerosol over the high-dust-concentration (HDC) region induces sinking motion and positive pressure perturbation near the surface, whereas the radiative warming of the aerosol near the top of the HDC layer induces rising motion and negative pressure perturbation, thereby enhancing the stable stratification in the dust layer. The induced positive pressure perturbation near the surface causes a dipole shape of the pressure perturbation field by forming a negative pressure perturbation toward the low pressure center downstream near the surface. This negative pressure perturbation is so deep and wide that the perturbation of the meteorological fields extends in the wide and deep regions away from the HDC region. The associated secondary circulation of this pressure perturbation reduces the low-level wind speed in the upstream HDC region but strengthens the downstream wind speed, resulting in reduction of dust emission in the upstream source region and downstream enhancement. Some of the dust aerosols lifted to the higher level by the synoptic rising motion are transported to the downstream direction more quickly with the upper-level strong wind, resulting in a bent-over shape of dust cloud in the downstream region with a maximum concentration near the surface and a secondary maximum in the upper level. The radiative flux convergence between these maximum dust layers produces a warm layer, thereby further enhancing the stable stratification. © 2007 American Meteorological Society.