Transport of Mineral Dust Into the Arctic in Two Reanalysis Datasets of Atmospheric Composition
Two three-dimensional reanalysis datasets of atmospheric composition, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service reanalysis (CAMSRA) and the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), are analyzed for the years 2003–2018 with respect to dust transport int...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Stockholm University Press
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Tellus: Series B, Chemical and Physical Meteorology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://account.b.tellusjournals.se/index.php/su-j-tbcpm/article/view/1866 |
| _version_ | 1797748797830332416 |
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| author | Sebastian Böö Annica M. L. Ekman Gunilla Svensson Abhay Devasthale |
| author_facet | Sebastian Böö Annica M. L. Ekman Gunilla Svensson Abhay Devasthale |
| author_sort | Sebastian Böö |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Two three-dimensional reanalysis datasets of atmospheric composition, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service reanalysis (CAMSRA) and the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), are analyzed for the years 2003–2018 with respect to dust transport into the Arctic. The reanalyses agree on that the largest mass transport of dust into the Arctic occurs across western Russia during spring and early summer, but substantial transport events occasionally also occur across other geographical areas during all seasons. In many aspects, however, the reanalyses show considerable differences: the mass transport in MERRA-2 is substantially larger, more spread out, and occurs at higher altitudes than in CAMSRA, while the transport in CAMSRA is to a higher degree focused to well-defined events in space and time; the integrated mass transport of the 10 most intense 36-hour dust events in CAMSRA constitutes 6 % of the total integrated dust transport 2003–2018, whereas the corresponding value for MERRA-2 is only 1 %. Furthermore, we compare the reanalyses with surface measurements of dust in the Arctic and dust extinction retrievals from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) satellite data. This comparison indicates that CAMSRA underestimates the dust transport into the Arctic and that MERRA-2 likely overestimates it. The discrepancy between CAMSRA and MERRA-2 can partially be explained by the assimilation process where too little dust is assimilated in CAMSRA while in MERRA-2, the assimilation process increases the dust concentration in remote areas. Despite the profound differences between the reanalyses regarding dust transport into the Arctic, this study still brings new insights into the spatio-temporal distribution of the transport. We estimate the annual dust transport into the Arctic to be within the range 1.5–31 Tg, where the comparison with observations indicates that the lower end of the interval is less likely. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:10:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e553e64b6acd492fb843861189d6c304 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1600-0889 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:10:00Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Stockholm University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tellus: Series B, Chemical and Physical Meteorology |
| spelling | doaj.art-e553e64b6acd492fb843861189d6c3042023-08-09T14:11:17ZengStockholm University PressTellus: Series B, Chemical and Physical Meteorology1600-08892023-07-0175113–3213–3210.16993/tellusb.18661653Transport of Mineral Dust Into the Arctic in Two Reanalysis Datasets of Atmospheric CompositionSebastian Böö0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9591-1154Annica M. L. Ekman1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5940-2114Gunilla Svensson2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9074-7623Abhay Devasthale3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6717-8343Department of Meteorology and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, StockholmDepartment of Meteorology and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, StockholmDepartment of Meteorology and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, StockholmResearch and Development, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), NorrköpingTwo three-dimensional reanalysis datasets of atmospheric composition, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service reanalysis (CAMSRA) and the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), are analyzed for the years 2003–2018 with respect to dust transport into the Arctic. The reanalyses agree on that the largest mass transport of dust into the Arctic occurs across western Russia during spring and early summer, but substantial transport events occasionally also occur across other geographical areas during all seasons. In many aspects, however, the reanalyses show considerable differences: the mass transport in MERRA-2 is substantially larger, more spread out, and occurs at higher altitudes than in CAMSRA, while the transport in CAMSRA is to a higher degree focused to well-defined events in space and time; the integrated mass transport of the 10 most intense 36-hour dust events in CAMSRA constitutes 6 % of the total integrated dust transport 2003–2018, whereas the corresponding value for MERRA-2 is only 1 %. Furthermore, we compare the reanalyses with surface measurements of dust in the Arctic and dust extinction retrievals from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) satellite data. This comparison indicates that CAMSRA underestimates the dust transport into the Arctic and that MERRA-2 likely overestimates it. The discrepancy between CAMSRA and MERRA-2 can partially be explained by the assimilation process where too little dust is assimilated in CAMSRA while in MERRA-2, the assimilation process increases the dust concentration in remote areas. Despite the profound differences between the reanalyses regarding dust transport into the Arctic, this study still brings new insights into the spatio-temporal distribution of the transport. We estimate the annual dust transport into the Arctic to be within the range 1.5–31 Tg, where the comparison with observations indicates that the lower end of the interval is less likely.https://account.b.tellusjournals.se/index.php/su-j-tbcpm/article/view/1866aerosolsarcticdustinptransportreanalysis |
| spellingShingle | Sebastian Böö Annica M. L. Ekman Gunilla Svensson Abhay Devasthale Transport of Mineral Dust Into the Arctic in Two Reanalysis Datasets of Atmospheric Composition Tellus: Series B, Chemical and Physical Meteorology aerosols arctic dust inp transport reanalysis |
| title | Transport of Mineral Dust Into the Arctic in Two Reanalysis Datasets of Atmospheric Composition |
| title_full | Transport of Mineral Dust Into the Arctic in Two Reanalysis Datasets of Atmospheric Composition |
| title_fullStr | Transport of Mineral Dust Into the Arctic in Two Reanalysis Datasets of Atmospheric Composition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transport of Mineral Dust Into the Arctic in Two Reanalysis Datasets of Atmospheric Composition |
| title_short | Transport of Mineral Dust Into the Arctic in Two Reanalysis Datasets of Atmospheric Composition |
| title_sort | transport of mineral dust into the arctic in two reanalysis datasets of atmospheric composition |
| topic | aerosols arctic dust inp transport reanalysis |
| url | https://account.b.tellusjournals.se/index.php/su-j-tbcpm/article/view/1866 |
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