Dust aerosol from the Aralkum Desert influences the radiation budget and atmospheric dynamics of Central Asia

Banks, Jamie R.; Heinold, Bernd; Schepanski, Kerstin

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11451-2024

Articles | Volume 24, issue 20

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11451-2024

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11451-2024

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 24, issue 20

Research article

|

15 Oct 2024

Research article |

| 15 Oct 2024

Dust aerosol from the Aralkum Desert influences the radiation budget and atmospheric dynamics of Central Asia

Jamie R. Banks, Bernd Heinold, and Kerstin Schepanski

Data sets

Dataset associated with Banks et al.: "Dust aerosol from the Aralkum Desert influences the radiation budget and atmospheric dynamics of Central Asia" Jamie R. Banks et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11503923

Global Surface Water Global Surface Water https://global-surface-water.appspot.com/download

CERES Time-Interpolated TOA Fluxes, Clouds and Aerosols Daily Aqua Edition4A NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC https://doi.org/10.5067/AQUA/CERES/SSF1DEGDAY_L3.004A

PArallel MOdel data REtrieve from Oracle databases (PAMORE) Deutscher Wetterdienst https://www.dwd.de/DE/leistungen/pamore/pamore.html

MYD13C2 MODIS/Aqua Vegetation Indices Monthly L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG V006 Kamel Didan https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MYD13C2.006

MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover 8-Day L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG. (MYD10C2, Version 6) Dorothy K. Hall and George A. Riggs https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MYD10C2.006

Model code and software

Python code associated with Banks et al.: "Dust aerosol from the Aralkum Desert influences the radiation budget and atmospheric dynamics of Central Asia" Jamie R. Banks et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10160848

Short summary

The Aralkum is a new desert in Central Asia formed by the desiccation of the Aral Sea. This has created a source of atmospheric dust, with implications for the balance of solar and thermal radiation. Simulating these effects using a dust transport model, we find that Aralkum dust adds radiative cooling effects to the surface and atmosphere on average but also adds heating events. Increases in surface pressure due to Aralkum dust strengthen the Siberian High and weaken the summer Asian heat low.