EGU22-3703, updated on 12 Apr 2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-3703
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Transport of non-spherical desert dust particles 

Eleni Drakaki1,3, Vassilis Amiridis1, Alexandra Tsekeri1, Sotirios Mallios1, George Papangelis1, Christos Spyrou1, Claire Ryder2, and Petros Katsafados3
Eleni Drakaki et al.
  • 1IAASARS, National Observatory of Athens, Athens GR-15236, Greece
  • 2University of Reading, Department of Meteorology, Reading, RG6 6BB, UK
  • 3Harokopion University of Athens (HUA), Department of Geography, Athens GR-17671, Greece

The long–range transport of larger than expected dust particles has been established in numerous observational studies. However, dust transport models struggle to simulate the observed particle size distributions. Studies utilizing a new version of WRF-chem code that contains the full size range of dust particles (0.2-100μm in diameter), estimated that approximately 80% reduction in the particles’ settling velocity is required for the particles to be transported from the desert towards the Cape Verde. Here, we examine the effect of the dust particles’ shape in the dynamics of coarse and giant long-range transport. We specifically apply a new drag coefficient for spheroids in idealized atmospheric WRF-chem simulations above the Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, since there is much confusion about the definition of the size of non-spherical dust particles, where some studies define size as the diameter of a sphere with the same volume, while others as the particles’ maximum, we perform simulations comparing the spherical and spheroid dust particles using both those two different approaches. The results are encouraging for the explanation of long –range dust transport, however more processes should be re-visited, including the dust radiation effects of non-spherical articles.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by D-TECT (Grant Agreement 725698) funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Eleni Drakaki is funded by Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Fellowship.

 

How to cite: Drakaki, E., Amiridis, V., Tsekeri, A., Mallios, S., Papangelis, G., Spyrou, C., Ryder, C., and Katsafados, P.: Transport of non-spherical desert dust particles , EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-3703, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-3703, 2022.