Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11765/6621
Modulation of Saharan dust export by the North African dipole [Discussion paper]
Title: Modulation of Saharan dust export by the North African dipole [Discussion paper]
Authors: Rodríguez González, Sergio ORCID RESEARCHERID Autor AEMETCuevas Agulló, Emilio ORCID RESEARCHERID SCOPUSID Autor AEMETProspero, Joseph M.Alastuey, AndrésQuerol, XavierLópez Solano, Javier ORCID RESEARCHERID Autor AEMETGarcía Álvarez, María IsabelAlonso Pérez, Silvia
Keywords: Variabilidad climática; Distribución de partículas de polvo; Climate variability; Distribution of dust
Issue Date: 2014
Publisher: European Geosciences Union
Citation: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions. 2014, 14, p. 26689–26719
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acpd-14-26689-2014
Abstract: We have studied the relationship between the long-term interannual variability in large-scale meteorology in western North Africa – the largest and most active dust source worldwide – and Saharan dust export in summer, when enhanced dust mobilization in the hyper-arid Sahara results in maximum dust impacts throughout the North Atlantic. We address this issue by analyzing 28 years (1987–2014) of summer averaged dust concentrations at the high-altitude Izaña observatory (~ 2400 m a.s.l.) on Tenerife, and satellite and meteorological reanalysis data. The summer meteorological scenario in North Africa (aloft 850 hPa) is characterized by a high over the the subtropical Sahara and a low over the tropics linked to the monsoon. We measured the variability of this high–low dipole-like pattern in terms of the North African dipole intensity (NAFDI): the difference of geopotential height anomalies averaged over the subtropics (30–32° N, Morocco) and the tropics (10–13° N, Bamako region) close to the Atlantic coast (at 5–8° W). We focused on the 700 hPa standard level due to dust export off the coast of North Africa tending to occur between 1 and 5 km a.s.l. Variability in the NAFDI is associated with displacements of the North African anticyclone over the Sahara and this has implications for wind and dust export.
Sponsorship : The Izaña GAW program is funded by AEMET and by the Minister of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (POLLINDUST, CGL2011-26259). J. M. Prospero’s research is supported by NSF grant AGS-0962256.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11765/6621
ISSN: 1680-7367
1680-7375
Appears in Collections:Artículos científicos 2010-2014


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