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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Keywords

  • radiative processes
  • radiation
  • transmission and scattering
  • aerosols and particles

Index Terms

  • Atmospheric Processes: Radiative processes
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Radiation: transmission and scattering
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Aerosols and particles

Abstract

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 33, L24817, 5 PP., 2006
doi:10.1029/2006GL027869

Observations of the impact of a major Saharan dust storm on the atmospheric radiation balance

A. Slingo

Environmental Systems Science Centre, University of Reading, Reading, UK

T. P. Ackerman

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA

R. P. Allan

Environmental Systems Science Centre, University of Reading, Reading, UK

E. I. Kassianov

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA

S. A. McFarlane

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA

G. J. Robinson

Environmental Systems Science Centre, University of Reading, Reading, UK

J. C. Barnard

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA

M. A. Miller

Brookhaven National Laboratory, Atmospheric Science Division, Upton, New York, USA

J. E. Harries

Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK

J. E. Russell

Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK

S. Dewitte

Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium

Saharan dust storms have often been observed from space, but the full impact on the Earth's radiation balance has been difficult to assess, due to limited observations from the surface. We present the first simultaneous observations from space and from a comprehensive new mobile facility in Niamey, Niger, of a major dust storm in March 2006. The results indicate major perturbations to the radiation balance both at the top of the atmosphere and at the surface. Combining the satellite and surface data, we also estimate the impact on the radiation balance of the atmosphere itself. Using independent data from the mobile facility, we derive the optical properties of the dust and input these and other information into two radiation models to simulate the radiative fluxes. We show that the radiation models underestimate the observed absorption of solar radiation in the dusty atmosphere.

Received 14 August 2006; accepted 10 November 2006; published 30 December 2006.

Citation: Slingo, A., et al. (2006), Observations of the impact of a major Saharan dust storm on the atmospheric radiation balance, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L24817, doi:10.1029/2006GL027869.

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