Title: Global and Local Dust over North America
1Global and Local Dust over North America
- R. B. Husar  Center for Air Pollution Impact
and Trend Analysis (CAPITA) - Washington University, St. Louis, MO
- Prepared for Presentation at
- 8th Int. Assoc. of Meteorology and Atm. Sciences,
IAMAS Assembly - Innsbruck, Austria, 10-18 July, 2001
2Objectives and Approach to the Study
- Background
- There is considerable research literature on the
dust aerosol pattern and characteristics over
North America. - However, both the recent satellite and previous
research on North American Dust is fragmented,
and uneven in spatial, temporal an compositional
coverage. - An integrated assessment of the North American
dust using the rich literature and the most
recent data would be most desirable. - Objectives
- Establish the spatio-temporal and chemical
pattern of the airborne dust over North America - Characterize the features of dust from the
different sources - Attribute the dust over NAM to the major source
regions - Approach
- Integrate data from surface and satellite
observations - Combine spatial, temporal and compositional
analysis - Invite the community to actively particulate in
conducting this open, integrative analysis - Status (May 2001)
- Recent data from several satellite and surface
sensors were analyzed and presented graphically - The data and knowledge from the literature has
not yet been incorporated - An open discussion and interaction with the
community is to begin in September 2001
3Dust Particle Size and Shape
- Dust particles are irregularly shaped
- All the dust mass is over 1 mm in size
- The near source dust MMD is gt5 mm
- Long range tr. (5-10 days) is 2-5 mm
4The Characteristic Dust Size Inferred from
PM2.5/PM10 Ratio
- If most of the total aerosol mass (90) is due
to dust, the PM2.5/PM10 ratio is indicative of
the characteristic size. - In then Virgin Islands during the high
concentration dust events, the PM2.5 accounts for
38 of the Pm10 mass. - In Washington State during the April 1998 Asian
Dust Event, the PM2.5/PM10 ration was 0.38. - Assuming a log-normal dust size distribution,
these ratios correspond to a mass median diameter
of about 3-4 mm - This is consistent with a variety of literature
sources the well aged (5-10 days) Sahara and
Asian dust is in the characteristic 3-4 mm size
range.
5Chemical Characteristics of Asian Saharan Dust
Average Elemental Rations
Iron/Silicon
Aluminum/Silicon
Potass./Silicon
- Comparison of dust elemental composition at
Denali NP, AK (Asian dust) and at Virgin Islands
NP. (Sahara dust). - Major differences exist in Al/Si (Sahara- 0.66
Asian 0.4) and in K/Si (Sahara- 0.15 Asian
0.08). - Potassium (at Denali and other locations) is also
contributed by other sources, most notably
biomass smoke.
6Local, Sahara and Gobi Dust over N. America
- The dust over N. America originates from local
sources as well as from the Sahara and Gobi
Deserts - Each dust source region has distinct chemical
signature in the crustal elements. - The pattern of different dust contributions
varies in space as well as by season, episodicity
and vertical distribution - New satellite sensors allow monitoring the
spatial and temporal pattern of dust events on a
daily basis.
7Transport Climatology of North America
- The main transport winds are zonal westerlies at
mid-latitudes, zonal tropical winds and
north-south excursions - The dominant geographic features of N. America
are the high Cordillera and the eastern Lowlands - The Cordillera, extensive system of mountain
ranges stretches from Alaska to Mexico. It is a
significant obstacle to the zonal westerly and to
the easterly trade winds.
( Based on Bryson and Hare, 1974)
- East of the mountains, the plains allow
unobstructed path to great meridional excursions
air sweeps southward from the Arctic and
northward from the tropics. - Cold and dry Arctic air, traveling always near
the surface, may reach central Mexico in a few
days, arriving there much colder than the normal
tropical air. - Warm and moist tropical air masses penetrate
northward to S. Canada, generally rising over the
cooler Arctic or Pacific air layers.
8Airmass Transport to Big Bend, TX
July
April
During winter and into spring, airmasses come
from the west
During the summer, the airmasses come from the
east
9Sahara Dust Transport Across the Atlantic
- The transport of Sahara dust across the Atlantic
to N. America has been studied systematically
since the late 1800s. More recently it has been
documented extensively by Prospero and co-workers - Currently, the daily pattern of global dust,
smoke and sulfate is being simulated by dynamic
aerosol transport models, most notably by
Westphal at the Naval Research Laboratory. The
NRL model indicates that the dust layer is
highest over Africa and subsides as it approaches
N. America. - Data from the LITE space-born lidar instrument
(above) show that a large fraction of the Sahara
dust travels across the Atlantic in elevated
layers (up to 5km). - However, surface measurements along the dust
track also show ground-level dust throughout the
dust path.
10Satellite Observation of Sahara Dust (SeaWiFS)
- The SeaWiFS satellite provides truecolor images
of the Sahara dust as it approaches (July 21,
1998) and covers part of the continent (July 24). - Such SeaWiFS and other satellite data allow daily
dust tracking as well as climatological dust
studies. - Sahara dust has also been frequently photographed
over the Caribbean by the astronauts.
11Sahara Events over the Eastern US
- Based on PM10 data in EPAs AIRS. Previous work
by Prospero, Cahill, Malm - Scanning the AIRS PM10 database several
regional-scale PM10 episodes over the Gulf Coast
(gt 80 ug/m3) - Three such episodes are shown on the right for
July 5, 1992, June 30, 1993 and June 21, 1997. - Speciation data (IMPROVE) show that during the
events, the fine particle dust exceeds 20 ug/m3.
- The Sahara dust impact on PM10 is not confined to
fluke events. In fact, the regional PM10
concentrations over the entire Eastern US (90th
percentile) occur in July over the Gulf Coast - Hence, Sahara dust is the dominant contributor to
peak PM10 levels over the Gulf Coast (and over
the EUS NW Mexico?). - The Sisler Malm analysis also shows that Fine
Dust over the entire US is highest over the
Sahara impact region.
12Fine Dust Concentration based on IMPROVE
- Ref Sisler Malm
- The year average Fine Dust is highest over Texas
and the Gulf States (gt 1 mg/m3). - In Texas and the West, Fine Dust accounts for
10-25 of the Fine Mass. - However, in the Northeast, dust account for lt 5
of the Fine Mass
13Sahara Dust Transport to N America, July
- Based on TOMS Satellite. Work of Herman,
Prospero.
Sahara Dust Plume
Sahara Dust Plume
- In July (1998) elevated levels of absorbing
aerosol (Sahara Dust) reaches the Gulf of Mexico
and evidently, enters the continent . - High TOMS dust levels are seen along the
US-Mexican borders, reaching New Mexico. Higher
levels also cover the Caribbean Islands and S.
Florida. - Another patch of absorbing aerosol (local dust?)
is seen over the Colorado Plateau, well separated
from the Sahara dust.
14Sahara and Local Dust Identification at Big Bend,
TX
- The two dust peeks at Big Bend have different
Al/Si ratios - During the year, Al/Si 0.4
- In July, Al/Si reaches 0.55, closer to the Al/Si
of the Sahara dust (0.65-0.7) - The spring peak is identified as as Local Dust,
while the July peak is dominated by Sahara dust.
- If most of the Coarse Mass (PM10-PM2.5) is dust,
the CM/FM ratio is indicative of the dust size. - In the winter, CM/FM 20, which implies large
characteristic dust size (gt10 mm). The spring
ratio is 8 which corresponds to smaller size
(8-10 mm?) - In July, CM/FM dips to 4
- The July ratio approaches the Sahara dust ratio
of CM/FM 3.
15Attribution of Fine Particle Dust Local and
Sahara
- In Florida, virtually all the Fine Particle Dust
appears to originate from Sahara throughout the
year - At other sites over the Southeast, Sahara
dominates in July - The Spring and Fall dust is evidently of local
origin
16Sahara and Local Dust Apportionment Annual and
July
The Sahara and Local dust was apportioned based
on their respective Al/Si ratios.
- The maximum annual Sahara dust contribution is
about 1 mg.m3 - In Florida, the local and Sahara dust
contributions are about equal but at Big Bend,
the Sahara contribution is lt 25.
- In July the Sahara dust contributions are 4-8
mg.m3 - Throughout the Southeast, the Sahara dust exceeds
the local source contributions by w wide margin
(factor of 2-4)
17Seasonal and Secular Trends of Sahara Dust over
the US
- Daily dust levels at 6 IMPROVE sites over the SE
US were averaged to indicate regional values. - Regional Sahara Dust events occur several times
each summer (as shown by Prospero, Cahill,
Malm.) - Seasonal pattern peaks sharply in July when the
Sahara plume swings to ne North into the
Caribbean. - The July average dust declines from 7 ug/m3 in S
Florida to about 1 ug/m3 in Shenandoah.
18Asian Dust over North America
- Multi-year satellite data from the AVHRR sensor
shows the springtime Asian aerosol plume - In the middle of the Pacific, the Equivalent
Aerosol Optical Thickness (EAOT) in the plume is
about 0.3 - Dust is a contributor to the EAOT plume along
with biomass smoke and industrial (sulfate haze)
- Asian dust is generated over the Gobi desert and
its surrounding. - The dust storms are most frequent in the spring
season. - The Gobi dust clouds frequently traverse the
Pacific and and a fraction reaches North America
19Global Scale Dust Transport The April 1998 Asian
Dust Event
Approximate location of the April 19 dust cloud
over the Pacific Ocean based on daily SeaWiFS,
GMS5/GOES9/GOES10 and TOMS satellite data. Over
the Pacific Ocean, the dust cloud followed the
path of the springtime East-Asian aerosol plume
shown by the optical thickness derived from AVHRR
data.
- a. GOES 10 geostationary satellite image of the
dust taken on the evening of April 27. - The dust cloud, marked by the brighter
reflectance covers the entire northwestern US and
adjacent portions of Canada. - A dust stream is also seen crossing the Rocky
Mountains toward the east. - b. Contour map of the PM10 concentration on April
29, 1998. Note the coincidence of high PM10 and
satellite reflectance over Washington - c. Regional average daily PM10 concentration over
the West Coast. The sharp peak on April 27-30 is
due to the Asian dust.
20The Asian Dust Event over NAM A Spatial
Perspective
The PM2.5 dust concentration data from the
IMPROVE speciated aerosol network show virtually
no dust on April 25th, high values over the West
Coast on April 29th and dust further inland on
May 2. Evidently, on April 25th the dust layer
seen by the sun photometers was still elevated
since the surface dust concentration was low.
- The average PM2.5 dust concentration at three
IMPROVE monitoring sites over the 1988-98 period
was well below 1 mg/m3 - On April 29, 1998 the sites show simultaneous
sharp rise to 3-11 mg/m3. - It would be interesting to perform a long-term
apportioning the Asian and local dust
contributions over the West Coast (similar to the
Sahara impact on the Southeaster US).
21The Asian Dust Event over NAM A Long-Term
Perspective
- Evidently, the April 1998 Asian dust event caused
2-3 times higher dust concentrations then any
other event during 1988-1998.
22Dust Emitted over over the North America
- TOMS satellite data indicate elevated Aerosol
Absorbing Index over the Southwestern US - The TOMS signal is believed to be due to
absorbing dust rather then absorbing smoke. - The dust signal is present East and West of the
Rocky Mountains - The source of the dust in the intermountain
plateau is not known. (Daily thermal mixing?)
TOMS Absorbing Aerosol Index
- Western US Dust Bowl.
- Spatially homogeneous dust concentration
(Arizona-Idaho) - Temporally homogeneous pattern (summer peak,
small episodicity) - Relatively low coarse dust concentration - small
particle size (4-8 um?) - Dust is mixing to high elevation (visible in TOMS
satellite data)
23Summary of Dust Pattern over North America
- NOT a summary just notes
- The Sahara and Gobi dusts are quite uniform but
the NAM dust sources vary in composition. - The characteristic size dust from Sahara and Gobi
to NAM is 2-4 mm mmd while the local dust is much
larger. - Western US Dust Bowl.
- Spatially homogeneous dust concentration
(Arizona-Idaho) - Temporally homogeneous pattern (summer peak,
small episodicity) - Relatively low coarse dust concentration - small
particle size (4-8 um?) - Dust is mixing to high elevation (visible in TOMS
satellite data) - So what is the source of the dust in the
intermountain plateau? (Daily thermal mixing?)
24Data Sharing through a Global Aerosol Information
Network
- The Internet allows the linking of data producers
and consumers - A catalog the aerosol-related resources would
allow finding the resources - Rudimentary standards for data sharing would
facilitate data exchange - Open, nonexclusive virtual communities would
foster the production of new aerosol knowledge - A Global Aerosol Information Network, GAIN ?