Articles | Volume 17, issue 22
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13999-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13999-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
24 Nov 2017
Research article |
| 24 Nov 2017
Evaluation of climate model aerosol seasonal and spatial variability over Africa using AERONET
Hannah M. Horowitz
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Rebecca M. Garland
Natural Resources and the Environment Unit, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
Climatology Research Group, North West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Marcus Thatcher
Marine and Atmospheric Research, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Melbourne 3195, Australia
Willem A. Landman
Natural Resources and the Environment Unit, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield 0028, South Africa
Zane Dedekind
Natural Resources and the Environment Unit, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
Jacobus van der Merwe
Natural Resources and the Environment Unit, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
Francois A. Engelbrecht
Natural Resources and the Environment Unit, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
Related authors
Hannah M. Horowitz, Daniel J. Jacob, Yanxu Zhang, Theodore S. Dibble, Franz Slemr, Helen M. Amos, Johan A. Schmidt, Elizabeth S. Corbitt, Eloïse A. Marais, and Elsie M. Sunderland
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 6353–6371, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6353-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6353-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Mercury is a toxic, global pollutant released to the air from human activities like coal burning. Chemical reactions in air determine how far mercury is transported before it is deposited to the environment, where it may be converted to a form that accumulates in fish. We use a 3-D atmospheric model to evaluate a new set of chemical reactions and its effects on mercury deposition. We find it is consistent with observations and leads to increased deposition to oceans, especially in the tropics.
Justin Peter, Elisabeth Vogel, Wendy Sharples, Ulrike Bende-Michl, Louise Wilson, Pandora Hope, Andrew Dowdy, Greg Kociuba, Sri Srikanthan, Vi Co Duong, Jake Roussis, Vjekoslav Matic, Zaved Khan, Alison Oke, Margot Turner, Stuart Baron-Hay, Fiona Johnson, Raj Mehrotra, Ashish Sharma, Marcus Thatcher, Ali Azarvinand, Steven Thomas, Ghyslaine Boschat, Chantal Donnelly, and Robert Argent
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 2755–2781, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-2755-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-2755-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We detail the production of datasets and communication to end users of high-resolution projections of rainfall, runoff, and soil moisture for the entire Australian continent. This is important as previous projections for Australia were for small regions and used differing techniques for their projections, making comparisons difficult across Australia's varied climate zones. The data will be beneficial for research purposes and to aid adaptation to climate change.
Rebecca M. Garland, Katye E. Altieri, Laura Dawidowski, Laura Gallardo, Aderiana Mbandi, Nestor Y. Rojas, and N'datchoh E. Touré
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2566, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2566, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this opinion, we focus on two geographical areas in the Global South to discuss some common challenges and constraints, with a focus on our strengths in atmospheric science research. It is these strengths, we believe, that highlight the critical role of Global South researchers in the future of atmospheric science research.
Michael A. Barnes, Thando Ndarana, Michael Sprenger, and Willem A. Landman
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 1291–1309, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1291-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1291-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Stratospheric air can intrude into the troposphere and is associated with cyclonic development throughout the atmosphere. Through a highly idealized systematic approach, the effect that different intrusion characteristics have on surface cyclogenetic forcing is investigated. The proximity of stratospheric intrusions to the surface is shown to be the main factor in surface cyclogenetic forcing, whilst its width is an additional contributing factor.
Thando Ndarana, Lesetja E. Lekoloane, Tsholanang S. Rammopo, Chris J. C. Reason, Mary-Jane M. Bopape, Hector Chikoore, and Francois A. Engelbrecht
Weather Clim. Dynam. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2022-2, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2022-2, 2022
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
This study considered the upper dynamics associated with the South Atlantic Ocean high pressure system that extends across the South African domain. This extension of this system occurs in two ways. The dynamics are studied by considering the evolution of energy and it is shown that the upper level processes are different between the two types of the extension. The weather systems that occur in the upper develop very differently and have different implications for rainfall over South Africa.
Floyd Vukosi Khosa, Mohau Jacob Mateyisi, Martina Reynita van der Merwe, Gregor Timothy Feig, Francois Alwyn Engelbrecht, and Michael John Savage
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1587–1609, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1587-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1587-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The paper evaluates soil moisture outputs from three structurally distinct models against in situ data. Our goal is to find how representative the model outputs are for site and region. This is a question of interest as some of the models have a specific regional focus on their inceptions. Much focus is placed on how the models capture the soil moisture signal. We find that there is agreement on seasonal patterns between the models and observations with a tolerable level of model uncertainty.
Alecia Nickless, Peter J. Rayner, Robert J. Scholes, Francois Engelbrecht, and Birgit Erni
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 7789–7816, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7789-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7789-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Different frameworks for an atmospheric inversion study over Cape Town, South Africa, are considered. We focused particularly on how sensitive the estimates of CO2 fluxes were to changes in the way the uncertainty in these estimates was specified and the impact different prior information had on the final flux estimates. We used atmospheric measurements from two new sites located near Cape Town: Robben Island and Hangklip lighthouses, which were specifically deployed for this inversion study.
Alecia Nickless, Peter J. Rayner, Francois Engelbrecht, Ernst-Günther Brunke, Birgit Erni, and Robert J. Scholes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4765–4801, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4765-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4765-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Carbon dioxide emissions and uptake were estimated for Cape Town, South Africa. We placed two high-precision analysers in lighthouses located on either end of Cape Town (Robben Island and Hangklip). The Cape Point GAW station provided background measurements. We were able to improve the agreement between modelled and observed concentrations, relative to initial estimates provided. This methodology could potentially be scaled up to provide monitoring and verification of city emissions.
Hannah M. Horowitz, Daniel J. Jacob, Yanxu Zhang, Theodore S. Dibble, Franz Slemr, Helen M. Amos, Johan A. Schmidt, Elizabeth S. Corbitt, Eloïse A. Marais, and Elsie M. Sunderland
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 6353–6371, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6353-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6353-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Mercury is a toxic, global pollutant released to the air from human activities like coal burning. Chemical reactions in air determine how far mercury is transported before it is deposited to the environment, where it may be converted to a form that accumulates in fish. We use a 3-D atmospheric model to evaluate a new set of chemical reactions and its effects on mercury deposition. We find it is consistent with observations and leads to increased deposition to oceans, especially in the tropics.
Ashok K. Luhar, Ian E. Galbally, Matthew T. Woodhouse, and Marcus Thatcher
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3749–3767, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3749-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3749-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Dry deposition of tropospheric ozone relates to its destruction at the Earth’s surface. An improved model scheme for such deposition to the ocean is formulated backed up by field data. It results in the oceanic dry deposition of ozone to be 12 % of the global total, which is much lower than the current model estimate of about 30 %. This result has implications for modelling global tropospheric ozone budget and its radiative forcing, and ozone mixing ratios, especially in the Southern Hemisphere.
Mathew J. Lipson, Melissa A. Hart, and Marcus Thatcher
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 991–1007, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-991-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-991-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
City-scale models describing the surface energy balance have difficulties representing heat storage in urban materials. This paper proposes an alternative method to discretise heat conduction through urban materials. We compare the new method with an approach commonly used in urban models and find the new method better matches exact solutions to heat transfer for a wide variety of urban material compositions. We also find the new method improves the bulk energy flux response of an urban model.
Kathryn M. Emmerson, Ian E. Galbally, Alex B. Guenther, Clare Paton-Walsh, Elise-Andree Guerette, Martin E. Cope, Melita D. Keywood, Sarah J. Lawson, Suzie B. Molloy, Erin Dunne, Marcus Thatcher, Thomas Karl, and Simin D. Maleknia
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 6997–7011, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-6997-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-6997-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We have tested how a model using a global inventory of plant-based emissions compares with four sets of measurements made in southeast Australia. This region is known for its eucalypt species, which dominate the summertime global inventory. The Australian part of the inventory has been produced using measurements made on eucalypt saplings. The model could not match the measurements, and the inventory needs to be improved by taking measurements of a wider range of Australian plant types and ages.
P. Uhe and M. Thatcher
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 1645–1658, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1645-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1645-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We describe a spectral nudging technique to constrain the large spatial structures of an atmospheric general circulation model (ACCESS1.3) towards an observational product (ERA-Interim). This has a number of applications for model development and scientific studies. This paper shows potential benefits of using the spectral nudging over the traditional Newtonian relaxation method.
S. P. Hersey, R. M. Garland, E. Crosbie, T. Shingler, A. Sorooshian, S. Piketh, and R. Burger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 4259–4278, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-4259-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-4259-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
A decadal aerosol climatology of South Africa's major metropolitan areas is presented, utilizing data from multiple satellite platforms and 19 ground-monitoring sites. Remotely sensed data are dominated by a seasonal signal corresponding to transported biomass burning during austral spring, while ground data are dominated by domestic burning in low-income areas during austral winter. We report poor agreement between satellite- and ground-based aerosol measurements.
A. Nickless, T. Ziehn, P.J. Rayner, R.J. Scholes, and F. Engelbrecht
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 2051–2069, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2051-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-2051-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
This study aims to provide an optimal network design for the placement of new atmospheric monitoring stations around South Africa, to best estimate the emission and uptake of carbon dioxide fluxes due to both anthropogenic and natural sources. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was performed on the impact that certain parameters would have on the final network solution, considering the inverse modelling framework, the transport model and the use of a different optimisation routine.
G. Snider, C. L. Weagle, R. V. Martin, A. van Donkelaar, K. Conrad, D. Cunningham, C. Gordon, M. Zwicker, C. Akoshile, P. Artaxo, N. X. Anh, J. Brook, J. Dong, R. M. Garland, R. Greenwald, D. Griffith, K. He, B. N. Holben, R. Kahn, I. Koren, N. Lagrosas, P. Lestari, Z. Ma, J. Vanderlei Martins, E. J. Quel, Y. Rudich, A. Salam, S. N. Tripathi, C. Yu, Q. Zhang, Y. Zhang, M. Brauer, A. Cohen, M. D. Gibson, and Y. Liu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 505–521, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-505-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-505-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We have initiated a global network of ground-level monitoring stations to measure concentrations of fine aerosols in urban environments. Our findings include major ions species, total mass, and total scatter at three wavelengths. Results will be used to further evaluate and enhance satellite remote sensing estimates.
H. C. Winsemius, E. Dutra, F. A. Engelbrecht, E. Archer Van Garderen, F. Wetterhall, F. Pappenberger, and M. G. F. Werner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 1525–1538, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-1525-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-1525-2014, 2014
A.-P. Hyvärinen, V. Vakkari, L. Laakso, R. K. Hooda, V. P. Sharma, T. S. Panwar, J. P. Beukes, P. G. van Zyl, M. Josipovic, R. M. Garland, M. O. Andreae, U. Pöschl, and A. Petzold
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 81–90, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-81-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-81-2013, 2013
J. A. Huffman, B. Sinha, R. M. Garland, A. Snee-Pollmann, S. S. Gunthe, P. Artaxo, S. T. Martin, M. O. Andreae, and U. Pöschl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 11997–12019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11997-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11997-2012, 2012
Related subject area
Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Sharp increase in Saharan dust intrusions over the western Euro-Mediterranean in February–March 2020–2022 and associated atmospheric circulation
Temporal and spatial variations in dust activity in Australia based on remote sensing and reanalysis datasets
Sensitivity of global direct aerosol shortwave radiative forcing to uncertainties in aerosol optical properties
Molecular-level study on the role of methanesulfonic acid in iodine oxoacid nucleation
Regional to global distributions, trends, and drivers of biogenic volatile organic compound emission from 2001 to 2020
Impacts of ice-nucleating particles on cirrus clouds and radiation derived from global model simulations with MADE3 in EMAC
Seasonal characteristics of emission, distribution, and radiative effect of marine organic aerosols over the western Pacific Ocean: an investigation with a coupled regional climate aerosol model
Fire–precipitation interactions amplify the quasi-biennial variability in fires over southern Mexico and Central America
Improved estimates of smoke exposure during Australia fire seasons: importance of quantifying plume injection heights
New particle formation induced by anthropogenic–biogenic interactions on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau
Investigation of observed dust trends over the Middle East region in NASA Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model simulations
A new process-based and scale-aware desert dust emission scheme for global climate models – Part II: Evaluation in the Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2)
How well do Earth system models reproduce the observed aerosol response to rapid emission reductions? A COVID-19 case study
Observationally constrained analysis of sulfur cycle in the marine atmosphere with NASA ATom measurements and AeroCom model simulations
Impact of acidity and surface-modulated acid dissociation on cloud response to organic aerosol
The contribution of residential wood combustion to the PM2.5 concentrations in the Helsinki metropolitan area
Analysis of atmospheric particle growth based on vapor concentrations measured at the high-altitude GAW station Chacaltaya in the Bolivian Andes
Expanding the simulation of East Asian super dust storms: physical transport mechanisms impacting the western Pacific
Improving 3-day deterministic air pollution forecasts using machine learning algorithms
Opinion: The importance of historical and paleoclimate aerosol radiative effects
Assessing the assimilation of Himawari-8 observations on aerosol forecasts and radiative effects during pollution transport from South Asia to the Tibetan Plateau
Aerosol–meteorology feedback diminishes the transboundary transport of black carbon into the Tibetan Plateau
Associations of interannual variation in summer tropospheric ozone with the Western Pacific Subtropical High in China from 1999 to 2017
Climate intervention using marine cloud brightening (MCB) compared with stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) in the UKESM1 climate model
Comparison of six approaches to predicting droplet activation of surface active aerosol – Part 2: Strong surfactants
Increased importance of aerosol–cloud interactions for surface PM2.5 pollution relative to aerosol–radiation interactions in China with the anthropogenic emission reductions
The role of temporal scales in extracting dominant meteorological drivers of major airborne pollutants
Biomass-burning smoke's properties and its interactions with marine stratocumulus clouds in WRF-CAM5 and southeastern Atlantic field campaigns
Air pollution trapping in the Dresden Basin from gray-zone scale urban modeling
The effect of atmospherically relevant aminium salts on water uptake
Droplet collection efficiencies estimated from satellite retrievals constrain effective radiative forcing of aerosol-cloud interactions
Intercomparison of Aerosol Optical Depths from four reanalyses and their multi-reanalysis-consensus
The impact of aerosols on stratiform clouds over southern West Africa: a large-eddy-simulation study
Numerical simulation and evaluation of global ultrafine particle concentrations at the Earth's surface
Rapid Iodine Oxoacids Nucleation Enhanced by Dimethylamine in Broad Marine Regions
Comparing the simulated influence of biomass burning plumes on low-level clouds over the southeastern Atlantic under varying smoke conditions
Global aviation contrail climate effects from 2019 to 2021
Global aerosol typing classification using a new hybrid algorithm utilizing Aerosol Robotic Network data
Diagnosing uncertainties in global biomass burning emission inventories and their impact on modeled air pollutants
The underappreciated role of transboundary pollution in future air quality and health improvements in China
The export of African mineral dust across the Atlantic and its impact over the Amazon Basin
Assimilation of POLDER observations to estimate aerosol emissions
Role of atmospheric aerosols in severe winter fog over Indo Gangetic Plains of India: a case study
Effect of radiation interaction and aerosol processes on ventilation and aerosol concentrations in a real urban neighbourhood in Helsinki
Numerical evidence that the impact of CCN and INP concentrations on mixed-phase clouds is observable with cloud radars
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation modulates the relationship between El Niño–Southern Oscillation and fire weather in Australia
Phase state and viscosity of secondary organic aerosols over China simulated by WRF-Chem
Identifying climate model structural inconsistencies allows for tight constraint of aerosol radiative forcing
Impacts of reducing scattering and absorbing aerosols on the temporal extent and intensity of South Asian summer monsoon and East Asian summer monsoon
Superimposed effects of typical local circulations driven by mountainous topography and aerosol–radiation interaction on heavy haze in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei central and southern plains in winter
Emilio Cuevas-Agulló, David Barriopedro, Rosa Delia García, Silvia Alonso-Pérez, Juan Jesús González-Alemán, Ernest Werner, David Suárez, Juan José Bustos, Gerardo García-Castrillo, Omaira García, África Barreto, and Sara Basart
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4083–4104, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4083-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4083-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
During February–March (FM) 2020–2022, unusually intense dust storms from northern Africa hit the western Euro-Mediterranean (WEM). Using dust products from satellites and atmospheric reanalysis for 2003–2022, results show that cut-off lows and European blocking are key drivers of FM dust intrusions over the WEM. A higher frequency of cut-off lows associated with subtropical ridges is observed in the late 2020–2022 period.
Yahui Che, Bofu Yu, and Katherine Bracco
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4105–4128, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4105-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4105-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Dust events occur more frequently during the Austral spring and summer in dust regions, including central Australia, the southwest of Western Australia, and the northern and southern regions of eastern Australia using remote sensing and reanalysis datasets. High-concentration dust is distributed around central Australia and in the downwind northern and southern Australia. Typically, around 50 % of the dust lifted settles on Australian land, with the remaining half being deposited in the ocean.
Jonathan Elsey, Nicolas Bellouin, and Claire Ryder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4065–4081, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4065-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4065-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosols influence the Earth's energy balance. The uncertainty in this radiative forcing is large depending partly on uncertainty in measurements of aerosol optical properties. We have developed a freely available new framework of millions of radiative transfer simulations spanning aerosol uncertainty and assess the impact on radiative forcing uncertainty. We find that reducing these uncertainties would reduce radiative forcing uncertainty, but non-aerosol uncertainties must also be considered.
Jing Li, Nan Wu, Biwu Chu, An Ning, and Xiuhui Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3989–4000, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3989-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3989-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Iodic acid (HIO3) nucleates with iodous acid (HIO2) efficiently in marine areas; however, whether methanesulfonic acid (MSA) can synergistically participate in the HIO3–HIO2-based nucleation is unclear. We provide molecular-level evidence that MSA can efficiently promote the formation of HIO3–HIO2-based clusters using a theoretical approach. The proposed MSA-enhanced iodine nucleation mechanism may help us to deeply understand marine new particle formation events with bursts of iodine particles.
Hao Wang, Xiaohong Liu, Chenglai Wu, and Guangxing Lin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3309–3328, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3309-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3309-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We quantified different global- and regional-scale drivers of biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emission trends over the past 20 years. The results show that global greening trends significantly boost BVOC emissions and deforestation reduces BVOC emissions in South America and Southeast Asia. Elevated temperature in Europe and increased soil moisture in East and South Asia enhance BVOC emissions. The results deepen our understanding of long-term BVOC emission trends in hotspots.
Christof G. Beer, Johannes Hendricks, and Mattia Righi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3217–3240, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3217-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3217-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) have important influences on cirrus clouds and the climate system; however, the understanding of their global impacts is still uncertain. We perform numerical simulations with a global aerosol–climate model to analyse INP-induced cirrus changes and the resulting climate impacts. We evaluate various sources of uncertainties, e.g. the ice-nucleating ability of INPs and the role of model dynamics, and provide a new estimate for the global INP–cirrus effect.
Jiawei Li, Zhiwei Han, Pingqing Fu, Xiaohong Yao, and Mingjie Liang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3129–3161, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3129-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3129-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Organic aerosols of marine origin are important for aerosol climatic effects but are poorly understood. For the first time, an online coupled regional chemistry–climate model is applied to explore the characteristics of emission, distribution, and direct and indirect radiative effects of marine organic aerosols over the western Pacific, which reveals an important role of marine organic aerosols in perturbing cloud and radiation and promotes understanding of global aerosol climatic impact.
Yawen Liu, Yun Qian, Philip J. Rasch, Kai Zhang, Lai-yung Ruby Leung, Yuhang Wang, Minghuai Wang, Hailong Wang, Xin Huang, and Xiu-Qun Yang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3115–3128, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3115-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3115-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Fire management has long been a challenge. Here we report that spring-peak fire activity over southern Mexico and Central America (SMCA) has a distinct quasi-biennial signal by measuring multiple fire metrics. This signal is initially driven by quasi-biennial variability in precipitation and is further amplified by positive feedback of fire–precipitation interaction at short timescales. This work highlights the importance of fire–climate interactions in shaping fires on an interannual scale.
Xu Feng, Loretta J. Mickley, Michelle L. Bell, Tianjia Liu, Jenny A. Fisher, and Maria Val Martin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2985–3007, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2985-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2985-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
During severe wildfire seasons, smoke can have a significant impact on air quality in Australia. Our study demonstrates that characterization of the smoke plume injection fractions greatly affects estimates of surface smoke PM2.5. Using the plume behavior predicted by the machine learning method leads to the best model agreement with observed surface PM2.5 in key cities across Australia, with smoke PM2.5 accounting for 5 %–52 % of total PM2.5 on average during fire seasons from 2009 to 2020.
Shiyi Lai, Ximeng Qi, Xin Huang, Sijia Lou, Xuguang Chi, Liangduo Chen, Chong Liu, Yuliang Liu, Chao Yan, Mengmeng Li, Tengyu Liu, Wei Nie, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Tuukka Petäjä, Markku Kulmala, and Aijun Ding
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2535–2553, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2535-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2535-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
By combining in situ measurements and chemical transport modeling, this study investigates new particle formation (NPF) on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. We found that the NPF was driven by the presence of biogenic gases and the transport of anthropogenic precursors. The NPF was vertically heterogeneous and shaped by the vertical mixing. This study highlights the importance of anthropogenic–biogenic interactions and meteorological dynamics in NPF in this climate-sensitive region.
Adriana Rocha-Lima, Peter R. Colarco, Anton S. Darmenov, Edward P. Nowottnick, Arlindo M. da Silva, and Luke D. Oman
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2443–2464, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2443-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2443-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Observations show an increasing aerosol optical depth trend in the Middle East between 2003–2012. We evaluate the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model's ability to capture these trends and examine the meteorological and surface parameters driving dust emissions. Our results highlight the importance of data assimilation for long-term trends of atmospheric aerosols and support the hypothesis that vegetation cover loss may have contributed to increasing dust emissions in the period.
Danny M. Leung, Jasper F. Kok, Longlei Li, Natalie M. Mahowald, David M. Lawrence, Simone Tilmes, Erik Kluzek, Martina Klose, and Carlos Pérez García-Pando
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2287–2318, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2287-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2287-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses a premier Earth system model to evaluate a new desert dust emission scheme proposed in our companion paper. We show that our scheme accounts for more dust emission physics, hence matching better against observations than other existing dust emission schemes do. Our scheme's dust emissions also couple tightly with meteorology, hence likely improving the modeled dust sensitivity to climate change. We believe this work is vital for improving dust representation in climate models.
Ruth A. R. Digby, Nathan P. Gillett, Adam H. Monahan, Knut von Salzen, Antonis Gkikas, Qianqian Song, and Zhibo Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2077–2097, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2077-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2077-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The COVID-19 lockdowns reduced aerosol emissions. We ask whether these reductions affected regional aerosol optical depth (AOD) and compare the observed changes to predictions from Earth system models. Only India has an observed AOD reduction outside of typical variability. Models overestimate the response in some regions, but when key biases have been addressed, the agreement is improved. Our results suggest that current models can realistically predict the effects of future emission changes.
Huisheng Bian, Mian Chin, Peter R. Colarco, Eric C. Apel, Donald R. Blake, Karl Froyd, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Jose Jimenez, Pedro Campuzano Jost, Michael Lawler, Mingxu Liu, Marianne Tronstad Lund, Hitoshi Matsui, Benjamin A. Nault, Joyce E. Penner, Andrew W. Rollins, Gregory Schill, Ragnhild B. Skeie, Hailong Wang, Lu Xu, Kai Zhang, and Jialei Zhu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1717–1741, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1717-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1717-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This work studies sulfur in the remote troposphere at global and seasonal scales using aircraft measurements and multi-model simulations. The goal is to understand the sulfur cycle over remote oceans, spread of model simulations, and observation–model discrepancies. Such an understanding and comparison with real observations are crucial to narrow down the uncertainties in model sulfur simulations and improve understanding of the sulfur cycle in atmospheric air quality, climate, and ecosystems.
Gargi Sengupta, Minjie Zheng, and Nønne L. Prisle
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1467–1487, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1467-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1467-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The effect of organic acid aerosol on sulfur chemistry and cloud properties was investigated in an atmospheric model. Organic acid dissociation was considered using both bulk and surface-related properties. We found that organic acid dissociation leads to increased hydrogen ion concentrations and sulfate aerosol mass in aqueous aerosols, increasing cloud formation. This could be important in large-scale climate models as many organic aerosol components are both acidic and surface-active.
Leena Kangas, Jaakko Kukkonen, Mari Kauhaniemi, Kari Riikonen, Mikhail Sofiev, Anu Kousa, Jarkko V. Niemi, and Ari Karppinen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1489–1507, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1489-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1489-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Residential wood combustion is a major source of fine particulate matter. This study has evaluated the contribution of residential wood combustion to fine particle concentrations and its year-to-year and seasonal variation in te Helsinki metropolitan area. The average concentrations attributed to wood combustion in winter were up to 10- or 15-fold compared to summer. Wood combustion caused 12 % to 14 % of annual fine particle concentrations. In winter, the contribution ranged from 16 % to 21 %.
Arto Heitto, Cheng Wu, Diego Aliaga, Luis Blacutt, Xuemeng Chen, Yvette Gramlich, Liine Heikkinen, Wei Huang, Radovan Krejci, Paolo Laj, Isabel Moreno, Karine Sellegri, Fernando Velarde, Kay Weinhold, Alfred Wiedensohler, Qiaozhi Zha, Federico Bianchi, Marcos Andrade, Kari E. J. Lehtinen, Claudia Mohr, and Taina Yli-Juuti
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1315–1328, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1315-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1315-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Particle growth at the Chacaltaya station in Bolivia was simulated based on measured vapor concentrations and ambient conditions. Major contributors to the simulated growth were low-volatility organic compounds (LVOCs). Also, sulfuric acid had major role when volcanic activity was occurring in the area. This study provides insight on nanoparticle growth at this high-altitude Southern Hemispheric site and hence contributes to building knowledge of early growth of atmospheric particles.
Steven Soon-Kai Kong, Saginela Ravindra Babu, Sheng-Hsiang Wang, Stephen M. Griffith, Jackson Hian-Wui Chang, Ming-Tung Chuang, Guey-Rong Sheu, and Neng-Huei Lin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1041–1058, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1041-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1041-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we combined ground observations from 7-SEAS Dongsha Experiment, MERRA-2 reanalysis, and MODIS satellite images for evaluation and improvement of the CMAQ dust model for cases of East Asian Dust reaching the Taiwan region, including Dongsha in the western Pacific. We proposed a better CMAQ dust treatment over East Asia and for the first time revealed the impact of typhoons on dust transport.
Zhiguo Zhang, Christer Johansson, Magnuz Engardt, Massimo Stafoggia, and Xiaoliang Ma
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 807–851, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-807-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-807-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Up-to-date information on present and near-future air quality help people avoid exposure to high levels of air pollution. We apply different machine learning models to significantly improve traditional forecasts of PM10, NOx, and O3 in Stockholm, Sweden. It is shown that forecasts of all air pollutants are improved by the input of lagged measurements and taking calendar information into account. The final modelled errors are substantially smaller than uncertainties in the measurements.
Natalie M. Mahowald, Longlei Li, Samuel Albani, Douglas S. Hamilton, and Jasper F. Kok
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 533–551, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-533-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-533-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Estimating past aerosol radiative effects and their uncertainties is an important topic in climate science. Aerosol radiative effects propagate into large uncertainties in estimates of how present and future climate evolves with changing greenhouse gas emissions. A deeper understanding of how aerosols interacted with the atmospheric energy budget under past climates is hindered in part by a lack of relevant paleo-observations and in part because less attention has been paid to the problem.
Min Zhao, Tie Dai, Daisuke Goto, Hao Wang, and Guangyu Shi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 235–258, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-235-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-235-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
During a springtime pollution input from South Asia to the Tibetan Plateau, we combined atmospheric chemistry modeling and data assimilation methods to assimilate and forecast aerosols from South Asia and the Tibetan Plateau. Assimilation of observations over a whole time window leads to a more reasonable distribution of daily variations in the aerosol forecast field. We also find that aerosol assimilation can improve the surface solar energy forecast in the Tibetan Plateau region.
Yuling Hu, Haipeng Yu, Shichang Kang, Junhua Yang, Mukesh Rai, Xiufeng Yin, Xintong Chen, and Pengfei Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 85–107, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-85-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-85-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Tibetan Plateau (TP) saw a record-breaking aerosol pollution event from April 20 to May 10, 2016. We studied the impact of aerosol–meteorology feedback on the transboundary transport flux of black carbon (BC) during this severe pollution event. It was found that the aerosol–meteorology feedback decreases the transboundary transport flux of BC from the central and western Himalayas towards the TP. This study is of great significance for the protection of the ecological environment of the TP.
Xiaodong Zhang, Ruiyu Zhugu, Xiaohu Jian, Xinrui Liu, Kaijie Chen, Shu Tao, Junfeng Liu, Hong Gao, Tao Huang, and Jianmin Ma
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15629–15642, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15629-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15629-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
WRF-Chem modeling was conducted to assess impacts of Western Pacific Subtropical High Pressure (WPSH) on interannual fluctuations of O3 pollution in China. We find that, while precursor emissions dominated the long-term trend and magnitude of O3 from 1999 to 2017, WPSH determined interannual variation of summer O3. The response of O3 pollution to WPSH in major urban clusters depended on the proximity of these urban areas to WPSH. The results could help long-term O3 pollution mitigation planning.
Jim M. Haywood, Andy Jones, Anthony C. Jones, Paul Halloran, and Philip J. Rasch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15305–15324, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15305-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15305-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The difficulties in ameliorating global warming and the associated climate change via conventional mitigation are well documented, with all climate model scenarios exceeding 1.5 °C above the preindustrial level in the near future. There is therefore a growing interest in geoengineering to reflect a greater proportion of sunlight back to space and offset some of the global warming. We use a state-of-the-art Earth-system model to investigate two of the most prominent geoengineering strategies.
Sampo Vepsäläinen, Silvia M. Calderón, and Nønne L. Prisle
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15149–15164, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15149-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15149-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric aerosols act as seeds for cloud formation. Many aerosols contain surface active material that accumulates at the surface of growing droplets. This can affect cloud droplet activation, but the broad significance of the effect and the best way to model it are still debated. We compare predictions of six models to surface activity of strongly surface active aerosol and find significant differences between the models, especially with large fractions of surfactant in the dry particles.
Da Gao, Bin Zhao, Shuxiao Wang, Yuan Wang, Brian Gaudet, Yun Zhu, Xiaochun Wang, Jiewen Shen, Shengyue Li, Yicong He, Dejia Yin, and Zhaoxin Dong
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14359–14373, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14359-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14359-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Surface PM2.5 concentrations can be enhanced by aerosol–radiation interactions (ARIs) and aerosol–cloud interactions (ACIs). In this study, we found PM2.5 enhancement induced by ACIs shows a significantly smaller decrease ratio than that induced by ARIs in China with anthropogenic emission reduction from 2013 to 2021, making ACIs more important for enhancing PM2.5 concentrations. ACI-induced PM2.5 enhancement needs to be emphatically considered to meet the national PM2.5 air quality standard.
Miaoqing Xu, Jing Yang, Manchun Li, Xiao Chen, Qiancheng Lv, Qi Yao, Bingbo Gao, and Ziyue Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14065–14076, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14065-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14065-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Although the temporal-scale effects on PM2.5–meteorology associations have been discussed, no quantitative evidence has proved this before. Based on rare 3 h meteorology data, we revealed that the dominant meteorological factor for PM2.5 concentrations across China extracted at the 3 h and 24 h scales presented large variations. This research suggests that data sources of different temporal scales should be comprehensively considered for better attribution and prevention of airborne pollution.
Calvin Howes, Pablo E. Saide, Hugh Coe, Amie Dobracki, Steffen Freitag, Jim M. Haywood, Steven G. Howell, Siddhant Gupta, Janek Uin, Mary Kacarab, Chongai Kuang, L. Ruby Leung, Athanasios Nenes, Greg M. McFarquhar, James Podolske, Jens Redemann, Arthur J. Sedlacek, Kenneth L. Thornhill, Jenny P. S. Wong, Robert Wood, Huihui Wu, Yang Zhang, Jianhao Zhang, and Paquita Zuidema
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13911–13940, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13911-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13911-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
To better understand smoke properties and its interactions with clouds, we compare the WRF-CAM5 model with observations from ORACLES, CLARIFY, and LASIC field campaigns in the southeastern Atlantic in August 2017. The model transports and mixes smoke well but does not fully capture some important processes. These include smoke chemical and physical aging over 4–12 days, smoke removal by rain, sulfate particle formation, aerosol activation into cloud droplets, and boundary layer turbulence.
Michael Weger and Bernd Heinold
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13769–13790, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13769-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13769-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the effects of complex terrain on air pollution trapping using a numerical model which simulates the dispersion of emissions under real meteorological conditions. The additionally simulated aerosol age allows us to distinguish areas that accumulate aerosol over time from areas that are more influenced by fresh emissions. The Dresden Basin, a widened section of the Elbe Valley in eastern Germany, is selected as the target area in a case study to demonstrate the concept.
Noora Hyttinen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13809–13817, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13809-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13809-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Water activity in aerosol particles describes how particles respond to variations in relative humidity. Here, water activities were calculated for a set of 80 salts that may be present in aerosol particles using a state-of-the-art quantum-chemistry-based method. The effect of the dissociated salt on water activity varies with both the cation and anion. Most of the studied salts increase water uptake compared to pure water-soluble organic particles.
Charlotte M. Beall, Po-Lun Ma, Matthew W. Christensen, Johannes Mülmenstädt, Adam Varble, Kentaroh Suzuki, and Takuro Michibata
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2161, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2161, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Single-layer warm liquid clouds cover nearly one-third of the earth's surface, and uncertainties regarding the impact of aerosols on their radiative properties pose a significant challenge to climate prediction. Here, we demonstrate how satellite observations can be used to constrain Earth Systems Model estimates of the radiative forcing due to the interactions of aerosols with clouds due to warm rain processes.
Peng Xian, Jeffrey S. Reid, Melanie Ades, Angela Benedettie, Peter R. Colarco, Arlindo da Silva, Tom F. Eck, Johannes Flemming, Edward J. Hyer, Zak Kipling, Samuel Rémy, Tsuyoshi Thomas Sekiyama, Taichu Tanaka, Keiya Yumimoto, and Jianglong Zhang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2354, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2354, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The study compares and evaluates the monthly aerosol optical depth of four reanalyses (RA) and their consensus. The basic verification characteristics of these RA versus both AERONET and MODIS retrievals are presented. The study discusses the strength of each RA and identifies regions where diversity and challenges are prominent. The RA consensus usually performs very well on a global scale in terms of how well it matches the observational data, making it a good choice for various applications.
Lambert Delbeke, Chien Wang, Pierre Tulet, Cyrielle Denjean, Maurin Zouzoua, Nicolas Maury, and Adrien Deroubaix
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13329–13354, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13329-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13329-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Low-level stratiform clouds (LLSCs) appear frequently over southern West Africa during the West African monsoon. Local and remote aerosol sources (biomass burning aerosols from central Africa) play a significant role in the LLSC life cycle. Based on measurements by the DACCIWA campaign, large-eddy simulation (LES) was conducted using different aerosol scenarios. The results show that both indirect and semi-direct effects can act individually or jointly to influence the life cycles of LLSCs.
Matthias Kohl, Jos Lelieveld, Sourangsu Chowdhury, Sebastian Ehrhart, Disha Sharma, Yafang Cheng, Sachchida Nand Tripathi, Mathew Sebastian, Govindan Pandithurai, Hongli Wang, and Andrea Pozzer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13191–13215, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13191-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13191-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge on atmospheric ultrafine particles (UFPs) with a diameter smaller than 100 nm is crucial for public health and the hydrological cycle. We present a new global dataset of UFP concentrations at the Earth's surface derived with a comprehensive chemistry–climate model and evaluated with ground-based observations. The evaluation results are combined with high-resolution primary emissions to downscale UFP concentrations to an unprecedented horizontal resolution of 0.1° × 0.1°.
Haotian Zu, Biwu Chu, Yiqun Lu, Ling Liu, and Xiuhui Zhang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1774, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1774, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The nucleation process of iodic acid (HIO3) and iodous acid (HIO2) was proved to be critical in marine areas. However, HIO3-HIO2 nucleation cannot effectively derive the observed rapid new particle formation in broad marine areas. We show the extensive participation of dimethylamine (DMA) in HIO3-HIO2 nucleation and find a significant enhancement of DMA on the HIO3-HIO2 nucleation, which establishes reasonable connections between the iodine oxoacids nucleation and the rapid marine new particles.
Alejandro Baró Pérez, Michael S. Diamond, Frida A.-M. Bender, Abhay Devasthale, Matthias Schwarz, Julien Savre, Juha Tonttila, Harri Kokkola, Hyunho Lee, David Painemal, and Annica M. L. Ekman
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2070, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2070, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We use a numerical model to study interactions between humid light-absorbing aerosol plumes, clouds, and radiation over the Southeast Atlantic. We find that the warming produced by the aerosols reduces cloud cover, especially in highly polluted situations. Aerosol impacts on drizzle play a minor role. However, aerosol effects on cloud reflectivity and moisture-induced changes in cloud cover dominate the climatic response and lead to an overall cooling by the biomass-burning plumes.
Roger Teoh, Zebediah Engberg, Ulrich Schumann, Christiane Voigt, Marc Shapiro, Susanne Rohs, and Marc Stettler
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1859, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1859, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The radiative forcing attributable to aviation contrails is estimated for 2019–21. We estimate a global contrail net RF that is approximately half the best estimate of a previous study. Contrail climate impacts have not scaled proportionally with air traffic growth due to higher growth in regions where contrails are less likely to form. There are significant opportunities to mitigate contrail impacts as only 2 % of all flights globally account for 80 % of the annual contrail energy forcing.
Xiaoli Wei, Qian Cui, Leiming Ma, Feng Zhang, Wenwen Li, and Peng Liu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1754, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1754, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
A new aerosol-type classification algorithm was proposed. It includes an optical database building by Mie scattering and a complex refractive index working as a baseline to identify different aerosol types. The new algorithm shows high accuracy and efficiency. Hence, a global map of aerosol types was generated using the new algorithm to characterize aerosol types across the five continents. It will help improve the accuracy of aerosol inversion and determine the sources of aerosol pollution.
Wenxuan Hua, Sijia Lou, Xin Huang, Lian Xue, Ke Ding, Zilin Wang, and Aijun Ding
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1822, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1822, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we diagnose uncertainties in CO and OC emissions from four inventories for seven majorwildfire-prone regions. Uncertainties in vegetation classification methods, fire detection products, and cloud obscuration effects lead to bias in these biomass burning (BB) emission inventories. By comparing simulations with measurements, we provide certain inventory recommendations. Our study has implications for reducing uncertainties in emissions in further studies.
Jun-Wei Xu, Jintai Lin, Dan Tong, and Lulu Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10075–10089, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10075-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10075-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study highlights the necessity of a low-carbon pathway in foreign countries for China to achieve air quality goals and to protect public health. We find that adopting the low-carbon instead of the fossil-fuel-intensive pathway in foreign countries would prevent 63 000–270 000 transboundary PM2.5-associated mortalities in China in 2060. Our study provides direct evidence of the necessity of inter-regional cooperation for air quality improvement.
Xurong Wang, Qiaoqiao Wang, Maria Prass, Christopher Pöhlker, Daniel Moran-Zuloaga, Paulo Artaxo, Jianwei Gu, Ning Yang, Xiajie Yang, Jiangchuan Tao, Juan Hong, Nan Ma, Yafang Cheng, Hang Su, and Meinrat O. Andreae
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9993–10014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9993-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9993-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, with an optimized particle mass size distribution, we captured observed aerosol optical depth (AOD) and coarse aerosol concentrations over source and/or receptor regions well, demonstrating good performance in simulating export of African dust toward the Amazon Basin. In addition to factors controlling the transatlantic transport of African dust, the study investigated the impact of African dust over the Amazon Basin, including the nutrient inputs associated with dust deposition.
Athanasios Tsikerdekis, Otto P. Hasekamp, Nick A. J. Schutgens, and Qirui Zhong
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9495–9524, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9495-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9495-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosols are tiny particles of different substances (species) that can be emitted into the atmosphere by natural processes or by anthropogenic activities. However, the actual aerosol emission amount per species is highly uncertain. Thus in this work we correct the aerosol emissions used to drive a global aerosol–climate model using satellite observations through a process called data assimilation. These more accurate aerosol emissions can lead to a more accurate weather and climate prediction.
Chandrakala Bharali, Mary Barth, Rajesh Kumar, Sachin D. Ghude, Vinayak Sinha, and Baerbel Sinha
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1686, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1686, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study examines the role of atmospheric aerosols in winter fog over the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India using the WRF-Chem model. The increase in RH with aerosol-radiation feedback (ARF) is found to be important for fog formation as it promoted the growth of aerosol and increased aerosol activation in the polluted environment. ARF and aqueous phase chemistry affected the timing of fog formation by ~1–2 hours and the fog intensity by modulating the meteorology and aerosol concentration.
Jani Strömberg, Xiaoyu Li, Mona Kurppa, Heino Kuuluvainen, Liisa Pirjola, and Leena Järvi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9347–9364, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9347-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9347-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We conclude that with low wind speeds, solar radiation has a larger decreasing effect (53 %) on pollutant concentrations than aerosol processes (18 %). Additionally, our results showed that with solar radiation included, pollutant concentrations were closer to observations (−13 %) than with only aerosol processes (+98 %). This has implications when planning simulations under calm conditions such as in our case and when deciding whether or not simulations need to include these processes.
Junghwa Lee, Patric Seifert, Tempei Hashino, Maximilian Maahn, Fabian Senf, and Oswald Knoth
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1887, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1887, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Spectral-bin model simulations of an idealized supercooled stratiform cloud were performed with the AMPS model for variable CCN and INP concentrations. We performed radar forward simulations with PAMTRA to transfer the simulations into radar observational space. The derived radar reflectivity factors were compared to observational studies of stratiform mixed-phase clouds. These studies report a similar response of the radar reflectivity factor to aerosol perturbations as we found in our study.
Guanyu Liu, Jing Li, and Tong Ying
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9217–9228, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9217-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9217-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Fires in Australia are positively correlated with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, the correlation between ENSO and the Australian Fire Weather Index (FWI) increases from 0.17 to 0.70 when the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) shifts from a negative to positive phase. This is explained by the teleconnection effect through which the warmer AMO generates Rossby wave trains and results in high pressures and a weather condition conducive to wildfires.
Zhiqiang Zhang, Ying Li, Haiyan Ran, Junling An, Yu Qu, Wei Zhou, Weiqi Xu, Weiwei Hu, Hongbin Xie, Zifa Wang, Yele Sun, and Manabu Shiraiwa
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1444, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1444, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) can exist in liquid, semi-solid or amorphous solid states, which are rarely accounted for in current chemical transport models. We predict the phase state of SOA particles over China and find that in the northwestern China SOA particles are mostly highly viscous or glassy solid. Our results indicate that the particle phase state should be considered in SOA formation in chemical transport models for more accurate prediction of SOA mass concentrations.
Leighton A. Regayre, Lucia Deaconu, Daniel P. Grosvenor, David M. H. Sexton, Christopher Symonds, Tom Langton, Duncan Watson-Paris, Jane P. Mulcahy, Kirsty J. Pringle, Mark Richardson, Jill S. Johnson, John W. Rostron, Hamish Gordon, Grenville Lister, Philip Stier, and Ken S. Carslaw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8749–8768, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8749-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8749-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol forcing of Earth’s energy balance has persisted as a major cause of uncertainty in climate simulations over generations of climate model development. We show that structural deficiencies in a climate model are exposed by comprehensively exploring parametric uncertainty and that these deficiencies limit how much the model uncertainty can be reduced through observational constraint. This provides a future pathway towards building models with greater physical realism and lower uncertainty.
Chenwei Fang, Jim M. Haywood, Ju Liang, Ben T. Johnson, Ying Chen, and Bin Zhu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8341–8368, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8341-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8341-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The responses of Asian summer monsoon duration and intensity to air pollution mitigation are identified given the net-zero future. We show that reducing scattering aerosols makes the rainy season longer and stronger across South Asia and East Asia but that absorbing aerosol reduction has the opposite effect. Our results hint at distinct monsoon responses to emission controls that target different aerosols.
Yue Peng, Hong Wang, Xiaoye Zhang, Zhaodong Liu, Wenjie Zhang, Siting Li, Chen Han, and Huizheng Che
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8325–8339, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8325-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8325-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study demonstrates a strong link between local circulation, aerosol–radiation interaction (ARI), and haze pollution. Under the weak weather-scale systems, the typical local circulation driven by mountainous topography is the main cause of pollutant distribution in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, and the ARI mechanism amplifies this influence of local circulation on pollutants, making haze pollution aggravated by the superposition of both.
Cited articles
Abel, S. J., Highwood, E. J., Haywood, J. M., and Stringer, M. A.: The direct radiative effect of biomass burning aerosols over southern Africa, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 5, 1999–2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-5-1999-2005, 2005.
AeroCom Phase II Interface: http://aerocom.met.no/cgi-bin/aerocom/surfobs_annualrs.pl, last access: 8 September 2017.
Allen, R. J. and Landuyt, W.: The vertical distribution of black carbon in CMIP5models: Comparison to observations and the importance of convective transport, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 119, 4808–4835, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD021595, 2014.
Anyamba, A., Justice, C. O., Tucker, C. J., and Mahoney, R.: Seasonal to interannual variability of vegetation and fires at SAFARI 2000 sites inferred from advanced very high resolution radiometer time series data, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, D13, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002jd002464, 2003.
Archibald, S.: Managing the human component of fire regimes: lessons from Africa, Philos. T. R. Soc. B., 371, 20150346, https://doi.org/10.1098/Rstb.2015.0346, 2016.
Archibald, S., Scholes, R. J., Roy, D. P., Roberts, G., and Boschetti, L.: Southern African fire regimes as revealed by remote sensing, Int. J. Wildland Fire, 19, 861–878, https://doi.org/10.1071/WF10008, 2010.
Basart, S., Pérez, C., Cuevas, E., Baldasano, J. M., and Gobbi, G. P.: Aerosol characterization in Northern Africa, Northeastern Atlantic, Mediterranean Basin and Middle East from direct-sun AERONET observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 8265–8282, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-8265-2009, 2009.
Bond, T. C., Streets, D. G., Yarber, K. F., Nelson, S. M., Woo, J. H., and Klimont, Z.: A technology-based global inventory of black and organic carbon emissions from combustion, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 109, D14203, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003jd003697, 2004.
Bond, T. C., Doherty, S. J., Fahey, D. W., Forster, P. M., Berntsen, T., DeAngelo, B. J., Flanner, M. G., Ghan, S., Karcher, B., Koch, D., Kinne, S., Kondo, Y., Quinn, P. K., Sarofim, M. C., Schultz, M. G., Schulz, M., Venkataraman, C., Zhang, H., Zhang, S., Bellouin, N., Guttikunda, S. K., Hopke, P. K., Jacobson, M. Z., Kaiser, J. W., Klimont, Z., Lohmann, U., Schwarz, J. P., Shindell, D., Storelvmo, T., Warren, S. G., and Zender, C. S.: Bounding the role of black carbon in the climate system: A scientific assessment, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 118, 5380–5552, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50171, 2013.
Boucher, O., Randall, D., Artaxo, P., Bretherton, C., Feingold, G., Forster, P., Kerminen, V.-M., Kondo, Y., Liao, H., Lohmann, U., Rasch, P., Satheesh, S. K., Sherwood, S., Stevens, B., and Zhang, X.-Y.: Clouds and Aerosols, in: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited by: Stocker, T. F., Qin, D., Plattner, G.-K., Tignor, M., and Allen, S. K., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom New York, NY, USA, 571–657, 2013.
Bristow, C. S., Hudson-Edwards, K. A., and Chappell, A.: Fertilizing the Amazon and equatorial Atlantic with West African dust, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L14807, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010gl043486, 2010.
Chiapello, I., Bergametti, G., Chatenet, B., Dulac, F., Jankowiak, I., Liousse, C., and Soares, E. S.: Contribution of the different aerosol species to the aerosol mass load and optical depth over the northeastern tropical Atlantic, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 104, 2156–2202, https://doi.org/10.1029/1998JD200044, 1999.
Chin, M., Rood, R. B., Lin, S. J., Muller, J. F., and Thompson, A. M.: Atmospheric sulfur cycle simulated in the global model GOCART: Model description and global properties, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 105, 24671–24687, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000jd900384, 2000.
Cooke, W. F., Koffi, B., and Gregoire, J. M.: Seasonality of vegetation fires in Africa from remote sensing data and application to a global chemistry model, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 101, 21051–21065, https://doi.org/10.1029/96jd01835, 1996.
Cooke, W. F., Liousse, C., Cachier, H., and Feichter, J.: Construction of a 1 degrees × 1 degrees fossil fuel emission data set for carbonaceous aerosol and implementation and radiative impact in the ECHAM4 model, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 104, 22137–22162, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999jd900187, 1999.
Crutzen, P. J. and Andreae, M. O.: Biomass Burning in the Tropics – Impact on Atmospheric Chemistry and Biogeochemical Cycles, Science, 250, 1669–1678, https://doi.org/10.1126/Science.250.4988.1669, 1990.
Dee, D. P., Uppala, S. M., Simmons, A. J., Berrisford, P., Poli, P., Kobayashi, S., Andrae, U., Balmaseda, M. A., Balsamo, G., Bauer, P., Bechtold, P., Beljaars, A. C. M., van de Berg, L., Bidlot, J., Bormann, N., Delsol, C., Dragani, R., Fuentes, M., Geer, A. J., Haimberger, L., Healy, S. B., Hersbach, H., Hólm, E. V., Isaksen, L., Kållberg, P., Köhler, M., Matricardi, M., McNally, A. P., Monge-Sanz, B. M., Morcrette, J.-J., Park, B.-K., Peubey, C., de Rosnay, P., Tavolato, C., Thépaut, J.-N., and Vitart, F.: The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 137, 553–597 2011.
Doherty, O. M. and Evan, A. T.: Identification of a new dust-stratocumulus indirect effect over the tropical North Atlantic, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 6935–6942, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL060897, 2014.
Duncan, B. N., Martin, R. V., Staudt, A. C., Yevich, R., and Logan, J. A.: Interannual and seasonal variability of biomass burning emissions constrained by satellite observations, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, D2, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002jd002378, 2003.
Eck, T. F., Holben, B. N., Ward, D. E., Mukelabai, M. M., Dubovik, O., Smirnov, A., Schafer, J. S., Hsu, N. C., Piketh, S. J., Queface, A., Le Roux, J., Swap, R. J., and Slutsker, I.: Variability of biomass burning aerosol optical characteristics in southern Africa during the SAFARI 2000 dry season campaign and a comparison of single scattering albedo estimates from radiometric measurements, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, D13, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002jd002321, 2003.
Eck, T. F., Holben, B. N., Reid, J. S., Sinyuk, A., Dubovik, O., Smirnov, A., Giles, D., O'Neill, N. T., Tsay, S. C., and Ji, Q.: Spatial and temporal variability of column-integrated aerosol optical properties in the southern Arabian Gulf and United Arab Emirates in summer, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D01204, doi:10.1029/2007JD008944, 2008.
Edwards, D. P., Emmons, L. K., Gille, J. C., Chu, A., Attie, J. L., Giglio, L., Wood, S. W., Haywood, J., Deeter, M. N., Massie, S. T., Ziskin, D. C., and Drummond, J. R.: Satellite-observed pollution from Southern Hemisphere biomass burning, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 111, D14312, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005jd006655, 2006.
Evan, A. T., Foltz, G. R., Zhang, D. X., and Vimont, D. J.: Influence of African dust on ocean-atmosphere variability in the tropical Atlantic, Nat. Geosci., 4, 762–765, https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO1276, 2011.
Evan, A. T., Fiedler, S., Zhao, C., Menut, L., Schepanski, K., Flamant, C., and Doherty, O.: Derivation of an observation-based map of North African dust emission, Aeolian Res., 16, 153–162, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeolia.2015.01.001, 2015.
Evan, A. T., Flamant, C., Gaetani, M., and Guichard, F.: The past, present and future of African dust, Nature, 531, 493–495, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17149, 2016.
Garstang, M., Tyson, P. D., Swap, R., Edwards, M., Kallberg, P., and Lindesay, J. A.: Horizontal and vertical transport of air over southern Africa, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 101, 23721–23736, https://doi.org/10.1029/95jd00844, 1996.
Giglio, L., Csiszar, I., and Justice, C. O.: Global distribution and seasonality of active fires as observed with the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 111, G02016, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005jg000142, 2006.
Ginoux, P., Chin, M., Tegen, I., Prospero, J. M., Holben, B., Dubovik, O., and Lin, S. J.: Sources and distributions of dust aerosols simulated with the GOCART model, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 106, 20255–20273, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000jd000053, 2001.
Ginoux, P., Prospero, J. M., Torres, O., and Chin, M.: Long-term simulation of global dust distribution with the GOCART model: correlation with North Atlantic Oscillation, Environ. Modell. Softw., 19, 113–128, 10.1016/S1364-8152(03)00114-2, 2004.
Guirado, C., Cuevas, E., Cachorro, V. E., Toledano, C., Alonso-Pérez, S., Bustos, J. J., Basart, S., Romero, P. M., Camino, C., Mimouni, M., Zeudmi, L., Goloub, P., Baldasano, J. M., and de Frutos, A. M.: Aerosol characterization at the Saharan AERONET site Tamanrasset, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11753–11773, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11753-2014, 2014.
Hamonou, E., Chazette, P., Balis, D., Dulac, F., Schneider, X., Galani, E., Ancellet, G., and Papayannis, A.: Characterization of the vertical structure of Saharan dust export to the Mediterranean basin, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 104, 22257–22270, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999jd900257, 1999.
Hantson, S., Arneth, A., Harrison, S. P., Kelley, D. I., Prentice, I. C., Rabin, S. S., Archibald, S., Mouillot, F., Arnold, S. R., Artaxo, P., Bachelet, D., Ciais, P., Forrest, M., Friedlingstein, P., Hickler, T., Kaplan, J. O., Kloster, S., Knorr, W., Lasslop, G., Li, F., Mangeon, S., Melton, J. R., Meyn, A., Sitch, S., Spessa, A., van der Werf, G. R., Voulgarakis, A., and Yue, C.: The status and challenge of global fire modelling, Biogeosciences, 13, 3359–3375, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3359-2016, 2016.
Haywood, J. M., Pelon, J., Formenti, P., Bharmal, N., Brooks, M., Capes, G., Chazette, P., Chou, C., Christopher, S., Coe, H., Cuesta, J., Derimian, Y., Desboeufs, K., Greed, G., Harrison, M., Heese, B., Highwood, E. J., Johnson, B., Mallet, M., Marticorena, B., Marsham, J., Milton, S., Myhre, G., Osborne, S. R., Parker, D. J., Rajot, J. L., Schulz, M., Slingo, A., Tanre, D., and Tulet, P.: Overview of the Dust and Biomass-burning Experiment and African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis Special Observing Period-0, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 113, D00C17, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008jd010077, 2008.
Holben, B. N., Eck, T. F., Slutsker, I., Tanre, D., Buis, J. P., Setzer, A., Vermote, E., Reagan, J. A., Kaufman, Y. J., Nakajima, T., Lavenu, F., Jankowiak, I., and Smirnov, A.: AERONET – A federated instrument network and data archive for aerosol characterization, Remote Sens. Environ., 66, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-4257(98)00031-5, 1998.
Holben, B. N., Tanre, D., Smirnov, A., Eck, T. F., Slutsker, I., Abuhassan, N., Newcomb, W. W., Schafer, J. S., Chatenet, B., Lavenu, F., Kaufman, Y. J., Castle, J. V., Setzer, A., Markham, B., Clark, D., Frouin, R., Halthore, R., Karneli, A., O'Neill, N. T., Pietras, C., Pinker, R. T., Voss, K., and Zibordi, G.: An emerging ground-based aerosol climatology: Aerosol optical depth from AERONET, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 106, 12067–12097, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001jd900014, 2001.
Huneeus, N., Schulz, M., Balkanski, Y., Griesfeller, J., Prospero, J., Kinne, S., Bauer, S., Boucher, O., Chin, M., Dentener, F., Diehl, T., Easter, R., Fillmore, D., Ghan, S., Ginoux, P., Grini, A., Horowitz, L., Koch, D., Krol, M. C., Landing, W., Liu, X., Mahowald, N., Miller, R., Morcrette, J.-J., Myhre, G., Penner, J., Perlwitz, J., Stier, P., Takemura, T., and Zender, C. S.: Global dust model intercomparison in AeroCom phase I, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 7781–7816, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-7781-2011, 2011.
Jankowiak, I. and Tanre, D.: Satellite Climatology of Saharan Dust Outbreaks – Method and Preliminary-Results, J. Climate, 5, 646–656, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1992)005<0646:Scosdo>2.0.Co;2, 1992.
Jathar, S. H., Farina, S. C., Robinson, A. L., and Adams, P. J.: The influence of semi-volatile and reactive primary emissions on the abundance and properties of global organic aerosol, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 7727–7746, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-7727-2011, 2011.
Kinne, S., Schulz, M., Textor, C., Guibert, S., Balkanski, Y., Bauer, S. E., Berntsen, T., Berglen, T. F., Boucher, O., Chin, M., Collins, W., Dentener, F., Diehl, T., Easter, R., Feichter, J., Fillmore, D., Ghan, S., Ginoux, P., Gong, S., Grini, A., Hendricks, J., Herzog, M., Horowitz, L., Isaksen, I., Iversen, T., Kirkevåg, A., Kloster, S., Koch, D., Kristjansson, J. E., Krol, M., Lauer, A., Lamarque, J. F., Lesins, G., Liu, X., Lohmann, U., Montanaro, V., Myhre, G., Penner, J., Pitari, G., Reddy, S., Seland, O., Stier, P., Takemura, T., and Tie, X.: An AeroCom initial assessment – optical properties in aerosol component modules of global models, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 1815–1834, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-6-1815-2006, 2006.
Koch, D., Jacob, D., Tegen, I., Rind, D., and Chin, M.: Tropospheric sulfur simulation and sulfate direct radiative forcing in the Goddard Institute for Space Studies general circulation model, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 104, 23799–23822, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999jd900248, 1999.
Lamarque, J.-F., Bond, T. C., Eyring, V., Granier, C., Heil, A., Klimont, Z., Lee, D., Liousse, C., Mieville, A., Owen, B., Schultz, M. G., Shindell, D., Smith, S. J., Stehfest, E., Van Aardenne, J., Cooper, O. R., Kainuma, M., Mahowald, N., McConnell, J. R., Naik, V., Riahi, K., and van Vuuren, D. P.: Historical (1850–2000) gridded anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions of reactive gases and aerosols: methodology and application, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 7017–7039, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-7017-2010, 2010.
Largeron, Y., Guichard, F., Bouniol, D., Couvreux, F., Kergoat, L., and Marticorena, B.: Can we use surface wind fields from meteorological reanalyses for Sahelian dust emission simulations?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 2490–2499, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062938, 2015.
Léon, J.-F., Derimian, Y., Chiapello, I., Tanré, D., Podvin, T., Chatenet, B., Diallo, A., and Deroo, C.: Aerosol vertical distribution and optical properties over M'Bour (16.96° W; 14.39° N), Senegal from 2006 to 2008, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 9249–9261, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-9249-2009, 2009.
Liousse, C., Guillaume, B., Grégoire, J. M., Mallet, M., Galy, C., Pont, V., Akpo, A., Bedou, M., Castéra, P., Dungall, L., Gardrat, E., Granier, C., Konaré, A., Malavelle, F., Mariscal, A., Mieville, A., Rosset, R., Serça, D., Solmon, F., Tummon, F., Assamoi, E., Yoboué, V., and Van Velthoven, P.: Updated African biomass burning emission inventories in the framework of the AMMA-IDAF program, with an evaluation of combustion aerosols, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 9631–9646, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-9631-2010, 2010.
Liu, X. H., Penner, J. E., and Herzog, M.: Global modeling of aerosol dynamics: Model description, evaluation, and interactions between sulfate and nonsulfate aerosols, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 110, D18206, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004jd005674, 2005.
Lohmann, U., Feichter, J., Chuang, C. C., and Penner, J. E.: Prediction of the number of cloud droplets in the ECHAM GCM, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 104, 9169–9198, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999jd900046, 1999.
Magi, B. I., Ginoux, P., Ming, Y., and Ramaswamy, V.: Evaluation of tropical and extratropical Southern Hemisphere African aerosol properties simulated by a climate model, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, D14204, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008jd011128, 2009.
McGregor, J. L.: C-CAM: Geometric aspects and dynamical formulation, in: CSIRO Atmospheric Research Tech. Paper No. 70, 43, 2005.
Moss, R. H., Edmonds, J. A., Hibbard, K. A., Manning, M. R., Rose, S. K., van Vuuren, D. P., Carter, T. R., Emori, S., Kainuma, M., Kram, T., Meehl, G. A., Mitchell, J. F. B., Nakicenovic, N., Riahi, K., Smith, S. J., Stouffer, R. J., Thomson, A. M., Weyant, J. P., and Wilbanks, T. J.: The next generation of scenarios for climate change research and assessment, Nature, 463, 747–756, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08823, 2010.
Moulin, C., Lambert, C. E., Dulac, F., and Dayan, U.: Control of atmospheric export of dust from North Africa by the North Atlantic oscillation, Nature, 387, 691–694, 1997.
Mulcahy, J. P., Walters, D. N., Bellouin, N., and Milton, S. F.: Impacts of increasing the aerosol complexity in the Met Office global numerical weather prediction model, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4749–4778, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4749-2014, 2014.
Myhre, G., Berntsen, T. K., Haywood, J. M., Sundet, J. K., Holben, B. N., Johnsrud, M., and Stordal, F.: Modeling the solar radiative impact of aerosols from biomass burning during the Southern African Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI-2000) experiment, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, D13, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002jd002313, 2003.
Ogunjobi, K. O., He, Z., and Simmer, C.: Spectral aerosol optical properties from AERONET Sun-photometric measurements over West Africa, Atmos. Res., 88, 89–107, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2007.10.004, 2008.
Pace, G., di Sarra, A., Meloni, D., Piacentino, S., and Chamard, P.: Aerosol optical properties at Lampedusa (Central Mediterranean). 1. Influence of transport and identification of different aerosol types, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 697–713, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-6-697-2006, 2006.
Pinker, R. T., Liu, H., Osborne, S. R., and Akoshile, C.: Radiative effects of aerosols in sub-Sahel Africa: Dust and biomass burning, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 115, D15205, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009jd013335, 2010.
Prospero, J. M., Ginoux, P., Torres, O., Nicholson, S. E., and Gill, T. E.: Environmental characterization of global sources of atmospheric soil dust identified with the Nimbus 7 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) absorbing aerosol product, Rev. Geophys., 40, 1, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000rg000095, 2002.
Putaud, J.-P., Van Dingenen, R., Mangoni, M., Virkkula, A., Raes, F., Maring, H., Prospero, J. M., Swietlicki, E., Berg, O. H., Hillamo, R., and Mäkelä, T: Chemical mass closure and assessment of the origin of the submicron aerosol in the marine boundary layer and the free troposphere at Tenerife during ACE-2, Tellus B, 52, 141–168, https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0889.2000.00056.x, 2000.
Queface, A. J., Piketh, S. J., Eck, T. F., Tsay, S. C., and Mavume, A. F.: Climatology of aerosol optical properties in Southern Africa, Atmos. Environ., 45, 2910–2921, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.01.056, 2011.
Querol, X., Pey, J., Pandolfi, M., Alastuey, A., Cusack, M., Perez, N., Moreno, T., Viana, M., Mihalopoulos, N., Kallos, G., and Kleanthous, S.: African dust contributions to mean ambient PM10 mass-levels across the Mediterranean Basin, Atmos. Environ., 43, 4266–4277, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2009.06.013, 2009.
Rajot, J. L., Formenti, P., Alfaro, S., Desboeufs, K., Chevaillier, S., Chatenet, B., Gaudichet, A., Journet, E., Marticorena, B., Triquet, S., Maman, A., Mouget, N., and Zakou, A.: AMMA dust experiment: An overview of measurements performed during the dry season special observation period (SOP0) at the Banizoumbou (Niger) supersite, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 113, D00C14, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008jd009906, 2008.
Randerson, J. T., Chen, Y., van der Werf, G. R., Rogers, B. M., and Morton, D. C.: Global burned area and biomass burning emissions from small fires, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 117, G04012, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012jg002128, 2012.
Riahi, K., Grubler, A., and Nakicenovic, N.: Scenarios of long-term socio-economic and environmental development under climate stabilization, Technol Forecast Soc, 74, 887-935, 10.1016/j.techfore.2006.05.026, 2007.
Roberts, G., Wooster, M. J., and Lagoudakis, E.: Annual and diurnal african biomass burning temporal dynamics, Biogeosciences, 6, 849–866, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-6-849-2009, 2009.
Rodríguez, S., Alastuey, A., Alonso-Pérez, S., Querol, X., Cuevas, E., Abreu-Afonso, J., Viana, M., Pérez, N., Pandolfi, M., and de la Rosa, J.: Transport of desert dust mixed with North African industrial pollutants in the subtropical Saharan Air Layer, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 6663–6685, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-6663-2011, 2011.
Rotstayn, L. D. and Lohmann, U.: Simulation of the tropospheric sulfur cycle in a global model with a physically based cloud scheme, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 107, D21, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002jd002128, 2002.
Rotstayn, L. D., Cai, W. J., Dix, M. R., Farquhar, G. D., Feng, Y., Ginoux, P., Herzog, M., Ito, A., Penner, J. E., Roderick, M. L., and Wang, M. H.: Have Australian rainfall and cloudiness increased due to the remote effects of Asian anthropogenic aerosols?, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 112, D09202, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006jd007712, 2007.
Rotstayn, L. D., Collier, M. A., Dix, M. R., Feng, Y., Gordon, H. B., O'Farrell, S. P., Smith, I. N., and Syktus, J.: Improved simulation of Australian climate and ENSO-related rainfall variability in a global climate model with an interactive aerosol treatment, Int. J. Climatol., 30, 1067–1088, 10.1002/joc.1952, 2010.
Rotstayn, L. D., Collier, M. A., Mitchell, R. M., Qin, Y., Campbell, S. K., and Dravitzki, S. M.: Simulated enhancement of ENSO-related rainfall variability due to Australian dust, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 6575–6592, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-6575-2011, 2011.
Rotstayn, L. D., Jeffrey, S. J., Collier, M. A., Dravitzki, S. M., Hirst, A. C., Syktus, J. I., and Wong, K. K.: Aerosol- and greenhouse gas-induced changes in summer rainfall and circulation in the Australasian region: a study using single-forcing climate simulations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 6377–6404, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-6377-2012, 2012.
Schepanski, K., Tegen, I., and Macke, A.: Saharan dust transport and deposition towards the tropical northern Atlantic, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 1173–1189, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-1173-2009, 2009.
Schütz, L., Jaenicke, R., and Petrick, H.: Saharan dust transport over the North Atlantic Ocean, GSA Special Papers, 186, 87–100, https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE186-p87, 1981.
Sivakumar, V., Tesfaye, M., Alemu, W., Sharma, A., Bollig, C., and Mengistu, G.: Aerosol measurements over South Africa using LIDAR, satellite and Sun photometer, Adv. Geosci., 16, 263–270, 2010.
Smirnov, A., Holben, B. N., Eck, T. F., Dubovik, O., and Slutsker, I.: Cloud-screening and quality control algorithms for the AERONET database, Remote Sens. Environ., 73, 337–349, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0034-4257(00)00109-7, 2000.
Stier, P., Schutgens, N. A. J., Bellouin, N., Bian, H., Boucher, O., Chin, M., Ghan, S., Huneeus, N., Kinne, S., Lin, G., Ma, X., Myhre, G., Penner, J. E., Randles, C. A., Samset, B., Schulz, M., Takemura, T., Yu, F., Yu, H., and Zhou, C.: Host model uncertainties in aerosol radiative forcing estimates: results from the AeroCom Prescribed intercomparison study, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 3245–3270, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3245-2013, 2013.
Swap, R. J., Annegarn, H. J., Suttles, J. T., King, M. D., Platnick, S., Privette, J. L., and Scholes, R. J.: Africa burning: A thematic analysis of the Southern African Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI 2000), J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, D13, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003jd003747, 2003.
Tegen, I., Schepanski, K., and Heinold, B.: Comparing two years of Saharan dust source activation obtained by regional modelling and satellite observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 2381–2390, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2381-2013, 2013.
Tesfaye, M., Sivakumar, V., Botai, J., and Tsidu, G. M.: Aerosol climatology over South Africa based on 10 years of Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) data, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 116, D20216, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011jd016023, 2011.
Thatcher, M. and McGregor, J. L.: Using a Scale-Selective Filter for Dynamical Downscaling with the Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model, Mon. Weather Rev., 137, 1742–1752, https://doi.org/10.1175/2008mwr2599.1, 2009.
Toledano, C., Cachorro, V. E., Berjon, A., de Frutos, A. M., Sorribas, M., de la Morena, B. A., and Goloub, P.: Aerosol optical depth and Angstrom exponent climatology at El Arenosillo AERONET site (Huelva, Spain), Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 133, 795–807, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.54, 2007a.
Toledano, C., Cachorro, V. E., de Frutos, A. M., Sorribas, M., Prats, N., and de la Morena, B. A.: Inventory of African desert dust events over the southwestern Iberian Peninsula in 2000–2005 with an AERONET Cimel Sun photometer, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 112, D21201, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006jd008307, 2007b.
Toledano, C., Cachorro, V. E., de Frutos, A. M., Torres, B., Berjon, A., Sorribas, M., and Stone, R. S.: Airmass Classification and Analysis of Aerosol Types at El Arenosillo (Spain), J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 48, 962–981, https://doi.org/10.1175/2008jamc2006.1, 2009.
Tsigaridis, K., Daskalakis, N., Kanakidou, M., Adams, P. J., Artaxo, P., Bahadur, R., Balkanski, Y., Bauer, S. E., Bellouin, N., Benedetti, A., Bergman, T., Berntsen, T. K., Beukes, J. P., Bian, H., Carslaw, K. S., Chin, M., Curci, G., Diehl, T., Easter, R. C., Ghan, S. J., Gong, S. L., Hodzic, A., Hoyle, C. R., Iversen, T., Jathar, S., Jimenez, J. L., Kaiser, J. W., Kirkevåg, A., Koch, D., Kokkola, H., Lee, Y. H., Lin, G., Liu, X., Luo, G., Ma, X., Mann, G. W., Mihalopoulos, N., Morcrette, J.-J., Müller, J.-F., Myhre, G., Myriokefalitakis, S., Ng, N. L., O'Donnell, D., Penner, J. E., Pozzoli, L., Pringle, K. J., Russell, L. M., Schulz, M., Sciare, J., Seland, Ø., Shindell, D. T., Sillman, S., Skeie, R. B., Spracklen, D., Stavrakou, T., Steenrod, S. D., Takemura, T., Tiitta, P., Tilmes, S., Tost, H., van Noije, T., van Zyl, P. G., von Salzen, K., Yu, F., Wang, Z., Wang, Z., Zaveri, R. A., Zhang, H., Zhang, K., Zhang, Q., and Zhang, X.: The AeroCom evaluation and intercomparison of organic aerosol in global models, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 10845–10895, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10845-2014, 2014.
Tummon, F., Solmon, F., Liousse, C., and Tadross, M.: Simulation of the direct and semidirect aerosol effects on the southern Africa regional climate during the biomass burning season, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 115, D19206, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009jd013738, 2010.
Tyson, P. D., Garstang, M., and Swap, R.: Large-scale recirculation of air over southern Africa, J. Appl. Meteorol., 35, 2218–2236, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1996)035<2218:Lsroao>2.0.Co;2, 1996a.
Tyson, P. D., Garstang, M., Swap, R., Kallberg, P., and Edwards, M.: An air transport climatology for subtropical southern Africa, Int. J. Climatol., 16, 265–291, 1996b.
van der Werf, G. R., Randerson, J. T., Collatz, G. J., Giglio, L., Kasibhatla, P. S., Arellano, A. F., Olsen, S. C., and Kasischke, E. S.: Continental-scale partitioning of fire emissions during the 1997 to 2001 El Nino/La Nina period, Science, 303, 73–76, https://doi.org/10.1126/Science.1090753, 2004.
van der Werf, G. R., Randerson, J. T., Giglio, L., Collatz, G. J., Kasibhatla, P. S., and Arellano Jr., A. F.: Interannual variability in global biomass burning emissions from 1997 to 2004, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 3423–3441, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-6-3423-2006, 2006.
van der Werf, G. R., Randerson, J. T., Giglio, L., Collatz, G. J., Mu, M., Kasibhatla, P. S., Morton, D. C., DeFries, R. S., Jin, Y., and van Leeuwen, T. T.: Global fire emissions and the contribution of deforestation, savanna, forest, agricultural, and peat fires (1997–2009), Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 11707–11735, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-11707-2010, 2010.
van Vuuren, D. P., Edmonds, J., Kainuma, M., Riahi, K., Thomson, A., Hibbard, K., Hurtt, G. C., Kram, T., Krey, V., Lamarque, J. F., Masui, T., Meinshausen, M., Nakicenovic, N., Smith, S. J., and Rose, S. K.: The representative concentration pathways: an overview, Clim. Change, 109, 5–31, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0148-z, 2011.
Winkler, H., Formenti, P., Esterhuyse, D. J., Swap, R. J., Helas, G., Annegarn, H. J., and Andreae, M. O.: Evidence for large-scale transport of biomass burning aerosols from sunphotometry at a remote South African site, Atmos. Environ., 42, 5569–5578, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.03.031, 2008.
Yu, H. B., Chin, M., Yuan, T. L., Bian, H. S., Remer, L. A., Prospero, J. M., Omar, A., Winker, D., Yang, Y. K., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Z. B., and Zhao, C.: The fertilizing role of African dust in the Amazon rainforest: A first multiyear assessment based on data from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 1984–1991, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL063040, 2015.
Zender, C. S., Miller, R. L. R. L., and Tegen, I.: Quantifying mineral dust mass budgets:Terminology, constraints, and current estimates, Eos, 85, 509–512, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004EO480002, 2004.
Zuidema, P., Redemann, J., Haywood, J., Wood, R., Piketh, S., Hipondoka, M., and Formenti, P.: Smoke and Clouds above the Southeast Atlantic Upcoming Field Campaigns Probe Absorbing Aerosol's Impact on Climate, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 97, 1131–1135, https://doi.org/10.1175/bams-d-15-00082.1, 2016.
Short summary
Africa is a major source of particles (or aerosols) from dust and fires, which impact climate. Models used to predict impacts of future climate change have not been well tested for aerosols over Africa. In this study we evaluate aerosols in the CCAM climate model against observations across Africa and surrounding regions. We find the model generally captures observed variability but overestimates dust in northern Africa, which has implications for its representation of climate feedbacks.
Africa is a major source of particles (or aerosols) from dust and fires, which impact climate....
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint