Sensitivity of desert dust emissions to model horizontal grid spacing during the Bodélé Dust Experiment 2005

The impact of model horizontal grid spacing on meteorology and dust emissions in the Bodélé depression was investigated during the well-documented period of the Bodélé Dust Experiment 2005 (BoDEx 2005). Five horizontal grid spacing ranging from 100 km to 5 km were tested. The main conclusion of these sensitivity tests is that the meteorology of the Bodélé depression is quite insensitive to model horizontal grid spacing below 50 km in agreement with Todd et al.'s (2008b) results. Below 50 km, dust emissions also appear relatively insensitive to model mesh size, the influence of model horizontal grid spacing on dust emissions tending towards an asymptotic behavior as model mesh size is reduced

Erosion éolienne dans les régions arides et semi-arides africaines : processus physiques, métrologie et techniques de lutte

Cette étude présente une approche par modélisation pour estimer les émissions de particules terrigènes provenant de la région semi-aride sahélienne. Deux modèles spécifiques ont été combinés : l'un pour représenter le couvert herbacé saisonnier au Sahel, l'autre pour quantifier les émissions de particules terrigènes. Le Sahel (12°N–20°N, 20°W–35°E) constitue la région d'étude et les simulations ont été effectuées à une résolution spatiale de 0,25° sur une période de 4 ans (2004-2007). Le forçage pluviométrique provient d'un produit satellitaire TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission). Les autres forçages météorologiques ont été fournis par le CEPMMT (Centre Européen pour les Prévisions Météorologiques à Moyen Terme). La rugosité aérodynamique de la surface a été estimée à partir d'une paramétrisation empirique pour représenter sa dynamique temporelle à partir des simulations du couvert végétal saisonnier. Les simulations de végétation ont été comparées à des observations satellitaires au préalable. Lorsqu'aucune végétation ne pousse, les propriétés de la surface ont été considérées constantes et déduites de mesures satellitaires. Les flux d'émission annuels simulés sont compris entre 100 et 400 Mt pour l'ensemble de la région considérée, en accord avec des travaux précédents portant sur le Sahara. Leur variabilité interannuelle est aussi en accord avec les observations satellitaires. Nous avons par ailleurs mis en évidence l'existence d’une "frange émissive saisonnièrement végétalisée" dont la superficie varie selon l'année et pour laquelle les émissions annuelles sont comprises entre 0,5 Mt et 20 Mt pour la période considérée. L'inhibition en masse de ces émissions due à la végétation saisonnière et à l'humidité superficielle du sol sur cette frange varie de 20% à 35%

Impact of vegetation and soil moisture seasonal dynamics on dust emissions over the Sahel

International audience[1] To address the challenging issue of estimating mineral dust emissions from the semi-arid Sahel, a modeling approach is developed by combining two specific models: one dedicated to the simulation of the seasonal herbaceous layer in the Sahel (STEP) and the other to the estimation of dust emissions (MB). The area of interest is the Sahelian belt (12 N-20 N, 20 W-35 E) and the simulations were performed at a 0.25 spatial resolution over a 4-year period (2004-2007). The rainfall forcing is provided by a TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite-derived product; the other meteorological data are ECMWF products. An empirical parameterization is used to estimate the surface roughness and its temporal dynamics according to the characteristics of the simulated vegetation in terms of surface cover and height. Where no vegetation grows, the surface properties are considered as constant in time and are derived from the POLDER-1 satellite measurements. Simulations are constrained step by step by comparisons with observations. Simulated annual dust fluxes emitted from the whole area range from approximately 100 Mt to 400 Mt depending on the year, in good agreement with previous works dealing with Saharan dust emissions. For the fringe where herbaceous vegetation can affect dust emissions, the annual dust emission fluxes range between 0.5 Mt and 20 Mt depending on the year. Inhibition of dust emissions due to the seasonal dynamics of vegetation and surface soil moisture over this fringe varies between 20% and 35%. Citation: Pierre, C., G. Bergametti, B. Marticorena, E. Mougin, C. Bouet, and C. Schmechtig (2012), Impact of vegetation and soil moisture seasonal dynamics on dust emissions over the Sahel

How surface properties influence mineral dust emissions in the Sahelian region ? A modelling case study during AMMA

Tropical mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) are a prominent feature of the African meteorology. A continuous monitoring of the aeolian activity in an experimental site located in Niger shows that such events are responsible for the major part of the annual local wind erosion, i.e. for most of the Sahelian dust emissions [Rajot, 2001]. However, the net effect of these MCSs on mineral dust budget has to be estimated: on the one hand, these systems produce extremely high surface wind velocities leading to intense dust uptake, but on the other hand, rainfalls associated with these systems can efficiently remove the emitted dust from the atmosphere. High resolution modelling appears as a relevant approach to correctly reproduce the surface meteorology associated with such meteorological systems [Bouet et al., submitted]. The question now arising concerns the reliability of surface characteristics available for the Sahelian region, especially soil texture and surface roughness, which are critical parameters for dust emissions. Contrary to arid regions, which are now well documented, data is still missing to correctly characterize semi-arid regions like the Sahel. This is in particular due to the well pronounced annual cycles of precipitations and vegetation in these regions and to the impact of land-use on surface properties. This study focuses on a case study of dust emission associated with the passage of a MCS observed during one of the Special Observing Periods of the international African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA – SOPs 1-2) program. The simulations were made using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS, Cotton et al. [2003]) coupled online with the dust production model developed by Marticorena and Bergametti [1995] and recently improved by Laurent et al. [2008] for Africa. The sensitivity of dust emission associated with the passage of the MCS to surface features is investigated using different data sets of surface properties (Harmonized World Soil Database, HWSD) and land-use (GLOBCOVER). In-situ measurements of dust concentrations (both ground-based and airborne), and of dust emission flux are used to validate the simulations

Erosion éolienne dans les régions arides et semi-arides africaines : processus physiques, métrologie et techniques de lutte

Les régions arides du sud de la Tunisie sont des zones naturellement très sensibles à l'érosion éolienne. Non seulement les précipitations dans ces régions sont faibles (inférieures à 200 mm), mais les sols sont fins, sableux et peu profonds, c'est-à-dire facilement érodables par le vent. L'utilisation de nouvelles techniques agricoles à la place des techniques traditionnelles a conduit à une augmentation de l'érosion éolienne dans ces régions. Par exemple, l'augmentation croissante de l'utilisation de la déchaumeuse à disques a eu d'importantes conséquences sur la dégradation des champs en modifiant la structure des sols et les caractéristiques de leur surface. Le présent travail de modélisation est centré sur la quantification de la déflation éolienne à l'échelle du sud tunisien en vue de déterminer en particulier les zones les plus sensibles à ce phénomène pour des objectifs de diagnostic et de stratégie de lutte efficace contre l'érosion éolienne. Les flux d'érosion éolienne sur le sud de la Tunisie ont été simulés pour l'année 2008 à une résolution de 10 km x 10 km en prenant en compte le type d'usage des sols et les pratiques agricoles associées à l'aide du modèle d'érosion éolienne Dust Production Model (DPM, Marticorena et Bergametti [1995] ; Alfaro et al. [1998]). Afin de prendre en compte les différents types d'outils agricoles utilisés sur le domaine étudié, les paramétrisations du seuil et du flux d'érosion éolienne en fonction des caractéristiques des billons de labour (hauteur et espacement) développées par Kardous et al. [2005a ; b] ont été intégrées au DPM. [...

Assimilation of IASI partial tropospheric columns with an Ensemble Kalman Filter over Europe

Partial lower tropospheric ozone columns provided by the IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) instrument have been assimilated into a chemistry-transport model at continental scale (CHIMERE) using an Ensemble Square Root Kalman Filter (EnSRF). Analyses are made for the month of July 2007 over the European domain. Launched in 2006, aboard the MetOp-A satellite, IASI shows high sensitivity for ozone in the free troposphere and low sensitivity at the ground; therefore it is important to evaluate if assimilation of these observations can improve free tropospheric ozone, and possibly surface ozone. The analyses are validated against independent ozone observations from sondes, MOZAIC<sup>1</sup> aircraft and ground based stations (AIRBASE – the European Air quality dataBase) and compared with respect to the free run of CHIMERE. These comparisons show a decrease in error of 6 parts-per-billion (ppb) in the free troposphere over the Frankfurt area, and also a reduction of the root mean square error (respectively bias) at the surface of 19% (33%) for more than 90% of existing ground stations. This provides evidence of the potential of data assimilation of tropospheric IASI columns to better describe the tropospheric ozone distribution, including surface ozone, despite the lower sensitivity. <br><br> The changes in concentration resulting from the observational constraints were quantified and several geophysical explanations for the findings of this study were drawn. The corrections were most pronounced over Italy and the Mediterranean region, we noted an average reduction of 8–9 ppb in the free troposphere with respect to the free run, and still a reduction of 5.5 ppb at ground, likely due to a longer residence time of air masses in this part associated to the general circulation pattern (i.e. dominant western circulation) and to persistent anticyclonic conditions over the Mediterranean basin. This is an important geophysical result, since the ozone burden is large over this area, with impact on the radiative balance and air quality. <br><br><br> <sup>1</sup> Measurements of OZone, water vapour, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides by in-service AIrbus airCraft (<a href="http://mozaic.aero.obs-mip.fr/web/"target="_blank">http://mozaic.aero.obs-mip.fr/web/</a>)

Introduction to special section: Outstanding problems in quantifying the radiative impact of mineral dust

International audienceThis paper provides an introduction to the special section of the Journal of Geophysical Research on mineral dust. We briefly review the current experimental and theoretical approaches used to quantify the dust radiative impacts, highlight the outstanding issues, and discuss possible strategies to overcome the emerging problems. We also introduce the contributing papers of this special section. Despite the recent notable advances in dust studies, we demonstrate that the radiative effects of dust remain poorly quantified due to both limited data and incomplete understanding of relative physical and chemical processes. The foremost needs are (1) to quantify the spatial and temporal variations of dust burden in the atmosphere and develop a predictive capability for the size‐ and composition‐resolved dust particle distribution; (2) to develop a quantitative description of the processes that control the spatial and temporal variabilities of dust physical and chemical properties and radiative effects; (3) to develop new instrumentation (especially to measure the dust particle size distribution in a wide range from about 0.01 μm to 100 μm, scattering phase function and light absorption by dust particles); and (4) to develop new techniques for interpreting and merging the diverse information from satellite remote sensing, in situ and ground‐based measurements, laboratory studies, and model simulations. Because dust distribution and effects are heterogeneous, both spatially and temporally, a promising strategy to advance our knowledge is to perform comprehensive studies at the targeted regions affected by mineral dust of both natural and anthropogenic origin