Observations of the impact of a major Saharan dust storm on the atmospheric radiation balance
Saharan dust storms transport large quantities of material across the African continent and beyond, causing widespread disruption and hazards to health. The dust may be deposited into the Atlantic Ocean, where it provides an important source of nutrients1, and may be carried as far as the West Indies. Such events may also influence the growth of Atlantic tropical cyclones. Satellite observations have enabled estimates to be made of the effect of the dust on the radiation budget seen from space, but only limited in situ observations have hitherto been made at the surface. Here we present the first simultaneous and continuous observations of the effect of a major dust storm in March 2006 on the radiation budget both at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) and at the surface. We combine data from the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) broadband radiometer and the Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) on the Meteosat-8 weather satellite with remote sensing and in situ measurements from a new Mobile Facility located in Niamey, Niger (13{sup o} 29'N, 2{sup o} 10'E), operated by the US Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program. We show that the dust produced major perturbations to the radiation budget seen from space and from the surface. By combining the two datasets, we estimate the impact on the radiation budget of the atmosphere itself. Using independent data from the Mobile Facility, we derive the optical properties of the dust and input these and other information into radiation codes to simulate the radiative fluxes. Comparisons with the observed fluxes provides a stringent test of the ability of the codes to represent the radiative properties of this important component of the global aerosol burden.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 898636
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-50743; KP1201030
- Journal Information:
- Geophysical Research Letters, 33:L24817 (5 pages), Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters, 33:L24817 (5 pages)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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