A high-resolution numerical study of the Asian dust storms of April 2001

by Ming Liu, Douglas L. Westphal, Shigong Wang, Atsushi Shimizu, Nobuo Sugimoto, Jun Zhou, and Yan Chen Journal of Geophysical Research

Summary

In this dust case study, we describe the U.S. Navy’s COAMPS2 mesoscale dust aerosol model and use the model to conduct dust simulations for the period of 5–15 April 2001. The dust model is an online module of COAMPS2 and makes full use of the high-resolution meteorological dynamics at each time step. The model performance is well verified for dust transport at different locations, from near the dust sources to long-range downwind areas, through the observations of PM10, lidar and satellite products. It is also verified with meteorological observations for winds and dust mobilization. The model is proven to simulate the right timing and comparable strength of dust events. It predicts the boundary layer and elevated layer of dust plumes with depths and magnitudes equivalent to the observed values. The good modeling validation justifies the transport analyses and mass budget calculations presented in this dust case study.