Satellites reveal Earth's seasonally shifting dust emission sources.

Establishing mineral dust impacts on Earth's systems requires numerical models of the dust cycle. Differences between dust optical depth (DOD) measurements and modelling the cycle of dust emission, atmospheric transport, and deposition of dust indicate large model uncertainty due partially to unrealistic model assumptions about dust emission frequency. Calibrating dust cycle models to DOD measurements typically in North Africa, are routinely used to reduce dust model magnitude.

The Global Atmosphere-aerosol Model ICON-A-HAM2.3-Initial Model Evaluation and Effects of Radiation Balance Tuning on Aerosol Optical Thickness.

The Hamburg Aerosol Module version 2.3 (HAM2.3) from the ECHAM6.

Climatology of nocturnal low-level jets over North Africa and implications for modeling mineral dust emission.

[1] This study presents the first climatology for the dust emission amount associated with Nocturnal Low-Level Jets (NLLJs) in North Africa. These wind speed maxima near the top of the nocturnal boundary layer can generate near-surface peak winds due to shear-driven turbulence in the course of the night and the NLLJ breakdown during the following morning. The associated increase in the near-surface wind speed is a driver for mineral dust emission.

The role of deep convection and nocturnal low-level jets for dust emission in summertime West Africa: Estimates from convection-permitting simulations.

[1] Convective cold pools and the breakdown of nocturnal low-level jets (NLLJs) are key meteorological drivers of dust emission over summertime West Africa, the world's largest dust source. This study is the first to quantify their relative contributions and physical interrelations using objective detection algorithms and an off-line dust emission model applied to convection-permitting simulations from the Met Office Unified Model. The study period covers 25 July to 02 September 2006.