Formation of an unprecedented yellow snow episode in Xinjiang on December 1, 2018
On 1 December 2018, a heavy yellow snow fell in Urumqi (87°37′E, 43°47′N) — the largest city of northwest China's Xinjiang province, which was the first case that the yellow snow has been observed in winter. The air parcel trajectories obtained from Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023060656 |
| _version_ | 1797732905060925440 |
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| author | Haibo Huang Yu Wan |
| author_facet | Haibo Huang Yu Wan |
| author_sort | Haibo Huang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | On 1 December 2018, a heavy yellow snow fell in Urumqi (87°37′E, 43°47′N) — the largest city of northwest China's Xinjiang province, which was the first case that the yellow snow has been observed in winter. The air parcel trajectories obtained from Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model and the dust surface mass concentration from Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA-2) were adopted to identify the potential sources and transport paths of pollutants responsible for this yellow snow episode. The meteorological situation and the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) forecast products have been utilized to analyze the supportive meteorological conditions. The results showed that the heavy snow in Urumqi was contaminated by the yellow dust originated in Karamay of Xinjiang province. The strong surface winds in Karamay lifted large amounts of dust into the atmosphere. Then the airborne dusts were transported to Urumqi rapidly by strong low-level winds, where precipitation in connection with the upper trough and the cold front lead to the yellow snow episode. This study can provide important scientific significance for predicting this kind of event (yellow snow). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:21:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0e1f5617540c405f8da4ef2802d93154 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:21:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-0e1f5617540c405f8da4ef2802d931542023-08-30T05:52:52ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402023-08-0198e18857Formation of an unprecedented yellow snow episode in Xinjiang on December 1, 2018Haibo Huang0Yu Wan1Meteorological Center of Xinjiang Air Traffic Management Bureau, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China; Corresponding author.Xinjiang Meteorological Observatory, Urumqi, Xinjiang, ChinaOn 1 December 2018, a heavy yellow snow fell in Urumqi (87°37′E, 43°47′N) — the largest city of northwest China's Xinjiang province, which was the first case that the yellow snow has been observed in winter. The air parcel trajectories obtained from Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model and the dust surface mass concentration from Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA-2) were adopted to identify the potential sources and transport paths of pollutants responsible for this yellow snow episode. The meteorological situation and the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) forecast products have been utilized to analyze the supportive meteorological conditions. The results showed that the heavy snow in Urumqi was contaminated by the yellow dust originated in Karamay of Xinjiang province. The strong surface winds in Karamay lifted large amounts of dust into the atmosphere. Then the airborne dusts were transported to Urumqi rapidly by strong low-level winds, where precipitation in connection with the upper trough and the cold front lead to the yellow snow episode. This study can provide important scientific significance for predicting this kind of event (yellow snow).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023060656Yellow snowDustHYSPLIT modelMERRA-2ECMWF model |
| spellingShingle | Haibo Huang Yu Wan Formation of an unprecedented yellow snow episode in Xinjiang on December 1, 2018 Heliyon Yellow snow Dust HYSPLIT model MERRA-2 ECMWF model |
| title | Formation of an unprecedented yellow snow episode in Xinjiang on December 1, 2018 |
| title_full | Formation of an unprecedented yellow snow episode in Xinjiang on December 1, 2018 |
| title_fullStr | Formation of an unprecedented yellow snow episode in Xinjiang on December 1, 2018 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Formation of an unprecedented yellow snow episode in Xinjiang on December 1, 2018 |
| title_short | Formation of an unprecedented yellow snow episode in Xinjiang on December 1, 2018 |
| title_sort | formation of an unprecedented yellow snow episode in xinjiang on december 1 2018 |
| topic | Yellow snow Dust HYSPLIT model MERRA-2 ECMWF model |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023060656 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT haibohuang formationofanunprecedentedyellowsnowepisodeinxinjiangondecember12018 AT yuwan formationofanunprecedentedyellowsnowepisodeinxinjiangondecember12018 |