Modeling the transport and radiative forcing of Taklimakan dust over the Tibetan Plateau: A case study in the summer of 2006

Abstract

The Weather Research and Forecasting model with chemistry (WRF‐Chem) is used to investigate an intense dust storm event during 26 to 30 July 2006 that originated over the Taklimakan Desert (TD) and transported to the northern slope of Tibetan Plateau (TP). The dust storm is initiated by the approach of a strong cold frontal system over the TD. In summer, the meridional transport of TD dust to the TP is favored by the thermal effect of the TP and the weakening of the East Asian westerly winds. During this dust storm, the transport of TD dust over the TP is further enhanced by the passage of the cold front. As a result, TD dust breaks through the planetary boundary layer and extends to the upper troposphere over the northern TP. TD dust flux arrived at the TP with a value of 6.6 Gg/day in this 5 day event but decays quickly during the southward migration over the TP due to dry deposition. The simulations show that TD dust cools the atmosphere near the surface and heats the atmosphere above with a maximum heating rate of 0.11 K day−1 at ~7 km over the TP. The event‐averaged net radiative forcings of TD dust over the TP are −3.97, 1.61, and −5.58 W m−2 at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), in the atmosphere, and at the surface, respectively. The promising performance of WRF‐Chem in simulating dust and its radiative forcing provides confidence for use in further investigation of climatic impact of TD dust over the TP.