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Exploring the Longwave Radiative Effects of Dust AerosolsDust aerosols not only affect air quality and visibility where they pose a significant health and safety risk, but they can also play a role in modulating the energy balance of the Earth-atmosphere system by directly interacting with local radiative fields. Consequently, dust aerosols can impact regional climate patterns such as changes in precipitation and the evolution of the hydrological cycle. Assessing the direct effect of dust aerosols at the solar wavelengths is fairly straightforward due in part to the relatively large signal-to-noise ratio in broadband irradiance measurements. The longwave (LW) impacts, on the other hand, are rather difficult to ascertain since the measured dust signal level (10 Wm-2) is on the same order as the instrumental uncertainties. Moreover, compared to the shortwave (SW), limited experimental data on the LW optical properties of dust makes it a difficult challenge for constraining the LW impacts. Owing to the strong absorption features found in many terrestrial minerals (e.g., silicates and clays), the LW effects, although much smaller in magnitude compared to the SW, can still have a sizeable impact on the energetics of the Earth-atmosphere system, which can potentially trigger changes in the heat and moisture surface budgets, and dynamics of the atmosphere. The current endeavor is an integral part of an on-going research study to perform detailed assessments of dust direct aerosol radiative effects (DARE) using comprehensive global datasets from NASA Goddards mobile ground-based facility (cf. http://smartlabs.gsfc.nasa.gov/) during previous field experiments near key dust source regions. Here we examine and compare the results from two of these studies: the 2006 NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Activities and the 2008 Asian Monsoon Years. The former study focused on transported Saharan dust at Sal Island (16.73N, 22.93W), Cape Verde along the west coast of Africa while the latter focused on Asian dust at Zhangye China (39.082N, 100.276E), a semi-arid region between the Taklimakan and Gobi deserts. NASA Goddards Giovanni system is used to help map out the spatial distribution of retrieved aerosol optical depths across the latter desert regions. 1-D radiative transfer model constrained by local measurements, including spectral photometry/interferometry and lidar for characterizing the spatiotemporal variability in dust properties and atmospheric conditions, is employed to evaluate the local instantaneous LW DARE of dust both at the surface and at the top of the atmosphere along with heating rate profiles for cloud-free atmospheres. The efficiency in LW DARE and its significance relative to the diurnally averaged SW effects are explored and compared in both studies. Found to be non-negligible, LW DARE is an important component in the study of regional climate variation with important implications for more detailed global assessments.
Document ID
20130001699
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Presentation
Authors
Hansell, Richard A., Jr. (Maryland Univ. Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 27, 2013
Publication Date
September 26, 2012
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN6176
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2012 Gregory G. Leptoukh Online Giovanni Workshop for Scientists
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Country: United States
Start Date: October 17, 2012
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX12AD03A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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