Skip to main content
Have a personal or library account? Click to login
Role of the convergence zone over West Africa in controlling Saharan mineral dust load and transport in the boreal summer Cover

Role of the convergence zone over West Africa in controlling Saharan mineral dust load and transport in the boreal summer

Open Access
|Jan 2014

References

  1. Adler R. F. , Huffman G. J. , Chang A. , Ferraro R. , Xie P.-P. , co-authors . The version-2 Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) monthly precipitation analysis (1979 present) . J. Hydrometeorol . 2003 ; 4 : 1147 .
  2. Albrecht B. A . Aerosols, cloud microphysics, and fractional cloudiness . Science . 1989 ; 245 ( 4923 ): 1227 1230 .
  3. Andreae M . Raising dust in the greenhouse . Nature . 1996 ; 380 : 389 390 .
  4. Baker A. , Jickells T. , Witt M. , Linge K . Trends in the solubility of iron, aluminium, manganese and phosphorus in aerosol collected over the Atlantic Ocean . Mar. Chem . 2006 ; 98 ( 1 ): 43 58 .
  5. Bou Karam D. , Flamant C. , Knippertz P. , Reitebuch O. , Pelon J. , co-authors . Dust emissions over the Sahel associated with the West African monsoon Intertropical discontinuity region: a representative case-study . Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc . 2008 ; 134 ( 632 ): 621 634 .
  6. Braun S. A . Reevaluating the role of the Saharan air layer in Atlantic tropical cyclogenesis and evolution . Mon. Weather Rev . 2010 ; 138 : 2007 2037 .
  7. Cakmur R. , Miller R. , Tegen I . A comparison of seasonal and interannual variability of soil dust aerosols over the Atlantic Ocean as inferred by the TOMS AI and AVHRR AOT retrievals . J. Geophys. Res . 2001 ; 106 : 18287 18303 .
  8. Carlson T. N. , Benjamin S. G . Radiative heating rates for Saharan dust . J. Atmos. Sci . 1980 ; 37 ( 1 ): 193 213 .
  9. Chiapello I. , Moulin C . TOMS and METEOSAT satellite records of the variability of Saharan dust transport over the Atlantic during the last two decades . Geophys. Res. Lett . 2002 ; 29 ( 8 ): 1176 .
  10. Chiapello I. , Moulin C. , Prospero J. M . Understanding the long-term variability of African dust transport across the Atlantic as recorded in both Barbados surface concentrations and large-scale Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) optical thickness . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos . 2005 ; 110 ( D9 ): D18S10 .
  11. Chiapello I. , Prospero J. , Herman J. , Hsu N . Detection of mineral dust over the North Atlantic Ocean and Africa; with the Nimbus 7 TOMS . J. Geophys. Res . 1999 ; 104 : 9277 9291 .
  12. Cowie S. M. , Knippertz P. , Marsham J. H . Are vegetation-related roughness changes the cause of the recent decrease in dust emission from the Sahel? . Geophys. Res. Lett . 2013 ; 40 ( 9 ): 1868 1872 .
  13. Dai A. , Trenberth K. E. , Qian T . A Global dataset of palmer drought severity index for 1870 2002: relationship with soil moisture and effects of surface warming . J. Hydrometeorol . 2004 ; 5 : 1117 .
  14. De Graaf M. , Tilstra L. , Aben I. , Stammes P . Satellite observations of the seasonal cycles of absorbing aerosols in Africa related to the monsoon rainfall, 1995–2008 . Atmos. Environ . 2010 ; 44 ( 10 ): 1274 1283 .
  15. Doherty O. , Riemer N. , Hameed S . Saharan mineral dust transport into the Caribbean: observed atmospheric controls and trends . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos . 2008 ; 113 ( D12 ): D07211 .
  16. Doherty O. , Riemer N. , Hameed S . Control of Saharan mineral dust transport to Barbados in winter by the Intertropical convergence zone over West Africa . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos (1984–2012) . 2012 ; 117 ( D19 ): D19117 .
  17. Dunion J. , Velden C . The impact of the Saharan air layer on Atlantic tropical cyclone activity . Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc . 2004 ; 85 : 353 365 .
  18. Dunion J. P. , Marron C. S . A reexamination of the Jordan mean tropical sounding based on awareness of the Saharan air layer: results from 2002 . J. Clim . 2008 ; 21 ( 20 ): 5242 5253 .
  19. Eklundh L. , Olsson L . Vegetation index trends for the African Sahel 1982–1999 . Geophys. Res. Lett . 2003 ; 30 ( 8 ): 080000 1 .
  20. Engelstaedter S. , Washington R . Atmospheric controls on the annual cycle of North African dust . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos . 2007b ; 112 : 3103 .
  21. Engelstaedter S. , Washington R. , Mahowald N . Impact of changes in atmospheric conditions in modulating summer dust concentration at Barbados: a back-trajectory analysis . J. Geophy. Res. Atmos (1984–2012) . 2009 ; 114 ( D17 ): D17111 .
  22. Evan A. T. , Dunion J. , Foley J. A. , Heidinger A. K. , Velden C. S . New evidence for a relationship between Atlantic tropical cyclone activity and African dust outbreaks . Geophys. Res. Lett . 2006a ; 33 ( 19 ): 19813 .
  23. Evan A. T. , Foltz G. R. , Zhang D. , Vimont D. J . Influence of African dust on ocean-atmosphere variability in the tropical Atlantic . Nat. Geosci . 2011 ; 4 ( 11 ): 762 765 .
  24. Evan A. T. , Heidinger A. K. , Knippertz P . Analysis of winter dust activity off the coast of West Africa using a new 24-year over-water advanced very high resolution radiometer satellite dust climatology . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos . 2006b ; 111 : 12210 .
  25. Evan A. T. , Mukhopadhyay S . African dust over the northern tropical Atlantic: 1955–2008 . J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol . 2010 ; 49 ( 11 ): 2213 2229 .
  26. Fiedler S. , Schepanski K. , Heinold B. , Knippertz P. , Tegen I . Climatology of nocturnal low-level jets over North Africa and implications for modelling mineral dust emission . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos . 2013 ; 118 ( 12 ): 6100 6121 .
  27. Folland C. , Owen J. , Ward M. , Coleman A . Prediction of seasonal rainfall in the Sahel region using empirical and dynamical methods . J. Forecasting . 1991 ; 10 ( 1–2 ): 21 56 .
  28. Fontaine B. , Roucou P. , Gaetani M. , Marteau R . Recent changes in precipitation, ITCZ convection and northern tropical circulation over North Africa (1979–2007) . Int. J. Climatol . 2011 ; 31 ( 5 ): 633 648 .
  29. Ginoux P. , Prospero J. M. , Torres O. , Chin M . Long-term simulation of global dust distribution with the GOCART model: correlation with North Atlantic Oscillation . Environ. Model. Software . 2004 ; 19 : 113 128 .
  30. Glaccum R. A. , Prospero J. M . Saharan aerosols over the tropical North Atlantic Mineralogy . Mar. Geol . 1980 ; 37 ( 3–4 ): 295 321 .
  31. Heinold B. , Knippertz P. , Marsham J. , Fiedler S. , Dixon N. , co-authors . The role of deep convection and nocturnal low-level jets for dust emission in summertime West Africa: estimates from convection-permitting simulations . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos . 2013 ; 118 ( 10 ): 4385 4400 .
  32. Herrmann S. M. , Anyamba A. , Tucker C. J . Recent trends in vegetation dynamics in the African Sahel and their relationship to climate . Global Environ. Change . 2005 ; 15 ( 4 ): 394 404 .
  33. Herwitz S. , Muhs D. , Prospero J. , Mahan S. , Vaughn B . Origin of Bermuda's clay-rich Quaternary paleosols and their paleoclimatic significance . J. Geophys. Res . 1996 ; 101 : 23389 23400 .
  34. Huang J. , Zhang C. , Prospero J. M . Aerosol-induced large-scale variability in precipitation over the tropical Atlantic . J. Clim . 2009 ; 22 : 4970 4988 .
  35. Issa Lélé M. , Lamb P. J . Variability of the Intertropical front (ITF) and rainfall over the West African Sudan-Sahel zone . J. Clim . 2010 ; 23 ( 14 ): 3984 4004 .
  36. Jickells T . The inputs of dust derived elements to the Sargasso Sea; a synthesis . Mar. Chem . 1999 ; 68 : 5 14 .
  37. Kalnay E. , Kanamitsu M. , Kistler R. , Collins W. , Deaven D. , co-authors . The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project . Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc . 1996 ; 77 : 437 471 .
  38. Kaufman Y. , Koren I. , Remer L. , Tanré D. , Ginoux P. , Fan S . Dust transport and deposition observed from the Terra-Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiomenter (MODIS) spacecraft over the Atlantic Ocean . J. Geophys. Res . 2005 ; 110 : 10S12 .
  39. Kim K.-M. , Lau W. K.-M. , Sud Y. C. , Walker G. K . Influence of aerosol-radiative forcings on the diurnal and seasonal cycles of rainfall over West Africa and Eastern Atlantic Ocean using GCM simulations . Clim. Dynam . 2010 ; 35 ( 1 ): 115 126 .
  40. Knippertz P. , Todd M. C . Mineral dust aerosols over the Sahara: meteorological controls on emission and transport and implications for modelling . Rev. Geophys . 2012 ; 50 ( 1 ): G1007 .
  41. Koren I. , Kaufman Y. J. , Washington R. , Todd M. C. , Rudich Y. , co-authors . The Bodélé depression: a single spot in the Sahara that provides most of the mineral dust to the Amazon forest . Environ. Res. Lett . 2006 ; 1 ( 1 ): 014005 .
  42. Lau K. M. , Kim K. M . Cooling of the Atlantic by Saharan dust . Geophys. Res. Lett . 2007a ; 34 : L23811 .
  43. Lau K. M. , Kim K. M. , Sud Y. C. , Walker G. K . A GCM study of the response of the atmospheric water cycle of West Africa and the Atlantic to Saharan dust radiative forcing . Ann. Geophys . 2009 ; 27 4023–4037, DOI: 10.5194/angeo-27-4023-2009. .
  44. Lau W. K. M. , Kim K.-M . How nature foiled the 2006 hurricane forecasts . EOS Trans . 2007b ; 88 : 105 106 .
  45. Marsham J. H. , Hobby M. , Allen C. , Banks J. , Bart M. , co-authors . Meteorology and dust in the central Sahara: observations from fennec supersite-1 during the June 2011 intensive observation period . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos . 2013 ; 118 ( 10 ): 4069 4089 .
  46. Marsham J. H. , Knippertz P. , Dixon N. S. , Parker D. J. , Lister G . The importance of the representation of deep convection for modeled dust-generating winds over West Africa during summer . Geophys. Res. Lett . 2011 ; 38 ( 16 ): L16803 .
  47. Miller R. , Perlwitz J. , Tegen I . Feedback upon dust emission by dust radiative forcing through the planetary boundary layer . J. Geophys. Res . 2004 ; 109 : 24209 .
  48. Moulin C. , Lambert C. , Dulac F. , Dayan U . Control of atmospheric export of dust from North Africa by the North Atlantic Oscillation . Nature . 1997 ; 387 : 691 694 .
  49. Muhs D. R. , Budahn J. R. , Prospero J. M. , Carey S. N . Geochemical evidence for African dust inputs to soils of western Atlantic islands: Barbados, the Bahamas, and Florida . J. Geophys. Res-Earth . 2007 ; 112 : 2009 .
  50. Nakamae K. , Shiotani M . Interannual variability in Saharan dust over the North Atlantic ocean and its relation to meteorological fields during northern winter . Atmos. Res . 2013 ; 122 : 336 346 .
  51. Nicholson S. E . A revised picture of the structure of the “monsoon” and land ITCZ over West Africa . Clim. Dynam . 2009a ; 32 : 1155 1171 .
  52. Nicholson S. E. , Tucker C. J. , Ba M. B . Desertification, drought, and surface vegetation: an example from the West African Sahel . Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc . 1998 ; 79 : 815 829 .
  53. Olsson L. , Eklundh L. , Ard J . A recent greening of the Sahel trends, patterns and potential causes . J. Arid Environ . 2005 ; 63 ( 3 ): 556 566 .
  54. Parker D. J. , Burton R. R. , Diongue-Niang A. , Ellis R. J. , Felton M. , co-authors . The diurnal cycle of the West African monsoon circulation . Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc . 2005 ; 131 : 2839 2860 .
  55. Prospero J. , Ginoux P. , Torres O. , Nicholson S. , Gill T . Environmental characterization of global sources of atmospheric soil dust identified with the Nimbus 7 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) absorbing aerosol product . Rev. Geophys . 2002 ; 40 : 1002 .
  56. Prospero J. , Lamb P . African droughts and dust transport to the Caribbean: climate change implications . Science . 2003 ; 302 : 1024 1027 .
  57. Prospero J. , Nees R . Impact of the North African drought and El Nino on mineral dust in the Barbados trade winds . Nature . 1986 ; 320 : 735 738 .
  58. Prospero J. M. , Blades E. , Naidu R. , Mathison G. , Thani H. , Lavoie M. C . Relationship between African dust carried in the Atlantic trade winds and surges in pediatric asthma attendances in the Caribbean . Int. J. Biometeorol . 2008 ; 52 : 823 832 .
  59. Prospero J. M. , Carlson T. N . Saharan air outbreaks over the tropical North Atlantic . Pure Appl. Geophys . 1980 ; 119 : 677 691 .
  60. Prospero J. M. , Nees R. T . Dust concentration in the atmosphere of the equatorial North Atlantic: possible relationship to the Sahelian drought . Science . 1977 ; 196 : 1196 1198 .
  61. Ridley D. , Heald C. , Ford B . North African dust export and deposition: a satellite and model perspective . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos (1984–2012) . 2012 ; 117 ( D2 ): D02202 .
  62. Ridley D. , Heald C. , Prospero J . What controls the recent changes in African mineral dust aerosol across the Atlantic? . Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discus . 2014 ; 14 ( 3 ): 3583 3627 .
  63. Riemer N. , Doherty O. , Hameed S . On the variability of African dust transport across the Atlantic . Geophys. Res. Lett . 2006 ; 33 ( 13 ): L13814 .
  64. Rydell H. S. , Prospero J. M . Uranium and thorium concentrations in wind-borne Saharan dust over the Western Equatorial North Atlantic Ocean . Earth Planet. Sci. Lett . 1972 ; 14 : 397 .
  65. Savoie D. L. , Prospero J. M. , Nees R. T . Frequency distribution of dust concentration in Barbados as a function of averaging time . Atmos. Environ . 1987 ; 21 ( 7 ): 1659 1663 .
  66. Schepanski K. , Tegen I. , Macke A . Comparison of satellite based observations of Saharan dust source areas . Rem. Sens. Environ . 2012 ; 123 : 90 97 .
  67. Schepanski K. , Tegen I. , Todd M. , Heinold B. , Bönisch G. , co-authors . Meteorological processes forcing Saharan dust emission inferred from MSG-SEVIRI observations of subdaily dust source activation and numerical models . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos (1984–2012) . 2009 ; 114 ( D10 ): D10201 .
  68. Schwanghart W. , Schütt B . Meteorological causes of Harmattan dust in West Africa . Geomorphology . 2008 ; 95 : 412 428 .
  69. Sokolik I. , Toon O . Direct radiative forcing by anthropogenic airborne mineral aerosols . Nature . 1996 ; 381 : 681 683 .
  70. Sultan B. , Janicot S. , Diedhiou A . The West African monsoon dynamics. Part I: documentation of intraseasonal variability . J. Clim . 2003 ; 16 : 3389 3406 .
  71. Swap R. , Garstang M. , Greco S. , Talbot R. , Kallberg P . Saharan dust in the Amazon basin . Tellus B . 1992 ; 44 : 133 149 .
  72. Tegen I. , Fung I . Modeling of mineral dust in the atmosphere: sources, transport, and optical thickness . Geophys. Res. Lett . 1994 ; 99 : 22897 .
  73. Tegen I. , Lacis A. , Fung I . The influence of climate forcing of mineral aerosols from disturbed soils . Nature . 1996 ; 380 : 419 422 .
  74. Todd M. , Allen C. T. , Bart M. , Bechir M. , Bentefouet J. , co-authors . Meteorological and dust aerosol conditions over the western Saharan region observed at fennec supersite-2 during the intensive observation period in June 2011 . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos . 2013 ; 118 ( 15 ): 8426 8447 .
  75. Trapp J. M. , Millero F. J. , Prospero J. M . Temporal variability of the elemental composition of African dust measured in trade wind aerosols at Barbados and Miami . Mar. Chem . 2010 ; 120 ( 1–4 ): 71 82 .
  76. Tucker C. , Pinzon J. , Brown M. , Slayback D. , Pak E. , co-authors . An extended AVHRR 8-km NDVI dataset compatible with MODIS and SPOT vegetation NDVI data . Int. J. Rem. Sens . 2005 ; 26 : 4485 4498 .
  77. Twomey S . The influence of pollution on the shortwave Albedo of clouds . J. Atmos. Sci . 1977 ; 34 : 1149 1154 .
  78. Wang C. , Dong S. , Evan A. T. , Foltz G. R. , Lee S.-K . Multidecadal covariability of North Atlantic sea surface temperature, African dust, Sahel rainfall, and Atlantic hurricanes . J. Clim . 2012 ; 25 ( 15 ): 5404–5415. .
  79. Wang K.-Y . Profiles of the atmospheric temperature response to the Saharan dust outbreaks derived from formosat-3/cosmic and {OMI} {AI} . Atmos. Res . 2010 ; 96 ( 1 ): 110 121 .
  80. Washington R. , Todd M. , Middleton N. , Goudie A.G . Dust-storm source areas determined by the Total Ozone Monitoring Spectrometer and surface observations . Ann. Assoc. Am. Geogr . 2003 ; 93 : 17701 .
  81. Washington R. , Todd M. C. , Engelstaedter S. , Mbainayel S. , Mitchell F . Dust and the low-level circulation over the Bodélé Depression, Chad: observations from BoDEx 2005 . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos . 2006 ; 111 : 3201 .
  82. Wilcox E. M. , Lau K. M. , Kim K.-M . A northward shift of the North Atlantic Ocean Intertropical Convergence Zone in response to summertime Saharan dust outbreaks . Geophys. Res. Lett . 2010 ; 37 : L0480 .
  83. Zender C. S. , Bian H. , Newman D . Mineral dust entrainment and deposition (DEAD) model: description and 1990s dust climatology . J. Geophys. Res. Atmos . 2003 ; 108 : 4416 .
Language: English
Page range: 23191 - 23191
Submitted on: Oct 28, 2013
Accepted on: Jun 13, 2014
Published on: Jan 1, 2014
Published by: Stockholm University Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

© 2014 Owen M. Doherty, Nicole Riemer, Sultan Hameed, published by Stockholm University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.