Study of Aeolian transfer of mineral dust from deserts to the territory of Georgia

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In this study, numerical simulations, together with remote sensing products, are used for the first time to study the transport of Aeolian dust from deserts to Georgia. The results of calculations performed by the Weather Research and Forecasting Chemistry model (WRF-Chem) from December 2017 to November 2018 showed that nine cases of dust transfer to the territory of Georgia were recorded. Two of them, which took place on March 22–24 and July 25–26, 2018, are modeled and discussed in this article. Comparison of the calculation results with the data of observations of PM10 particulate matter and satellite products of the Cloud Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) showed that the chosen WRF-Chem model satisfactorily simulates the transport of desert dust to the territory of Georgia in the complex orography of the Caucasus. In addition, Aeolian dust aerosol transported from deserts turned out to be a significant pollutant and influenced the climate in Georgia. Indeed, the calculations of the WRF-Chem model showed that during the period under study, dust was transferred to the territory of Georgia equally from the deserts of Africa, the Middle East, and Central (West) Asia. It should be noted that among them, the transfer of dust from the Karakum and Kyzylkum deserts was recorded twice, the traces of which have not yet been recorded on the glaciers of the Caucasus (Elbrus and Kazbeg).