Abstract
Abstract. Dust plumes emitted from the narrow Arabian Red Sea coastal plain are often observed on satellite images and felt in local population centers. Despite its relatively small area, the coastal plain could be a significant dust source; however, its effect is not well quantified as it is not well approximated in global or even regional models. In addition, because of close proximity to the Red Sea, a significant amount of dust from the coastal areas could be deposited into the Red Sea and serve as a vital component of the nutrient balance of marine ecosystems.In the current study, we apply the offline Community Land Model version 4 (CLM4) to better quantify dust emission from the coastal plain during the period of 2009–2011. We verify the spatial and temporal variability in model results using independent weather station reports. We also compare the results with the MERRA Aerosol Reanalysis (MERRAero). We show that the best results are obtained with 1 km model spatial resolution and dust source function based on Meteosat Second Generation Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) measurements. We present the dust emission spatial pattern, as well as estimates of seasonal and diurnal variability in dust event frequency and intensity, and discuss the emission regime in the major dust generation hot spot areas. We demonstrate the contrasting seasonal dust cycles in the northern and southern parts of the coastal plain and discuss the physical mechanisms responsible for dust generation.This study provides the first estimates of the fine-scale spatial and temporal distribution of dust emissions from the Arabian Red Sea coastal plain constrained by MERRAero and short-term WRF-Chem simulations. The estimate of total dust emission from the coastal plain, tuned to fit emissions in MERRAero, is 7.5 ± 0.5 Mt a−1. Small interannual variability indicates that the study area is a stable dust source. The mineralogical composition analysis shows that the coastal plain generates around 76 ± 5 kt of iron oxides and 6 ± 0.4 kt of phosphorus annually. Over 65 % of dust is emitted from the northern part of the coastal plain.
Highlights
Mineral dust has a significant impact on climate at regional and global scales (Choobari et al, 2014; Miller et al, 2014; Shao et al, 2011a)
This study provides the first estimates of the fine-scale spatial and temporal distribution of dust emissions from the Arabian Red Sea coastal plain constrained by MERRAero and short-term Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Chem simulations
Due to the short pathway from the coastal plain to the sea, the atmospheric processing of dust particles from this closely located source is less important compared to those subjected to long-range transport, and our assessment may serve as an initial estimate of the mineralogical composition of dust particles deposited to the Red Sea
Summary
Mineral dust has a significant impact on climate at regional and global scales (Choobari et al, 2014; Miller et al, 2014; Shao et al, 2011a). To obtain reliable estimates of dust emissions, especially in such highly heterogeneous regions as the Arabian Red Sea coastal plain, fine-resolution surface information is required. Our principle objective is to conduct multi-year emission simulations and study finescale dust generation areas, evaluate the temporal variability in dust emissions, and assess the mineralogical composition of local dust, as a potential source of nutrients for the Red Sea. We utilize the fine-scale input datasets of soil characteristics derived from satellite-based instruments and examine the model’s sensitivity to their horizontal resolution. Due to the short pathway from the coastal plain to the sea, the atmospheric processing of dust particles from this closely located source is less important compared to those subjected to long-range transport, and our assessment may serve as an initial estimate of the mineralogical composition of dust particles deposited to the Red Sea. The rest of the article is organized as follows.
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