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An analysis on the dust aerosol climatology over the major dust sources in the northern hemisphere

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Abstract

The paper addresses influence of dust particles on the aerosol loading over the major deserts in the northern hemisphere. The role of dust aerosols in the total aerosol concentration and size distribution of the particles are analysed. It is observed that the aerosol loading is high in the northern hemisphere of which the deserts and adjoining areas in Asia and Africa play a leading role. Over the entire oceanic region, except some parts of the Atlantic Ocean near to the West coast of Africa and the Arabian Sea, aerosol loading is less. The Sahara Desert is the prominent source of dust aerosols throughout the year. The deserts of Asia are also prominent sources of dust aerosols on a global basis. Above 70% of the total aerosol optical depth (AOD) is contributed by the dust particles, reaching to around 90% during spring months March, April and May over the Sahara Desert, which is the major source of dust aerosols. Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport model is used to estimate the dust aerosol concentration over the deserts of Asia and Africa. The model output almost agrees with the regions of dust loading obtained from the Envisat/SCIAMACHY. Hence, the model is reliable in estimating the dust aerosol loading over the major dust aerosol sources. The major portion of the total dust loading belongs to coarse mode particles.

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Acknowledgements

The first author is thankful to the University Grants Commission, India, for providing fellowship during the period of study, and the second author acknowledges the financial support received from the ISRO in the form of RESPOND Project (No. 2/341) for carrying out the analysis. The authors acknowledge Geovanni for providing analysis and visualisation tool.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    P. Sivaprasad, A. A. Samah & P. R. Jayakrishnan

  2. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, 682016, India

    C. A. Babu

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  1. P. Sivaprasad
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  2. C. A. Babu
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  3. A. A. Samah
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  4. P. R. Jayakrishnan
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Correspondence to P. Sivaprasad.

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Sivaprasad, P., Babu, C.A., Samah, A.A. et al. An analysis on the dust aerosol climatology over the major dust sources in the northern hemisphere. Arab J Geosci 10, 422 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-017-3191-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-017-3191-x

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