Dust aerosols emitted naturally into the atmosphere play a crucial role in the climate system by scattering and absorbing radiation, which may alter regional aerosol radiative forcing. Aerosol size distributions exhibit a widespread trimodal pattern globally, and the presence of this trimodal distribution affects the scattering properties of the aerosol population. Here, we identify an intermediate mode in the African dust aerosol size distribution, previously overlooked, located between the fine and coarse modes. In regions with high dust loads, dust particles undergo physical processes, including surface fragmentation due to external forces, generating fine fragments with a characteristic size of approximately 0.6 µm. These fragments exhibit strong scattering properties, with a scattering efficiency factor roughly five times that of the fine mode, making them significant contributors to regional cooling effects. However, in recent years, the concentration of the intermediate mode has been gradually decreasing due to regional economic development and desert management, impacting both regional and global environmental and climate effects. This study provides new insights into dust aerosol emissions and improves the parameterization of dust in global climate models. These findings are crucial for enhancing the accuracy of global climate simulations and better quantifying the impact of dust aerosols on the climate.

How to cite: Cui, C., Tian, P., Wang, B., and Wang, W.: Intermediate-mode mineral dust aerosols efficiently scatter solar radiation, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-4644, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-4644, 2025.

EGU25-4644

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Aerosols significantly attenuate solar radiation and influence atmospheric thermodynamic stability, particularly over regions like the Atlantic, impacting Earth's energy budget and climate through radiative heating or cooling. Quantifying these effects is challenging due to aerosol diversity and complexity. For desert dust particles, the difficulty lies in defying their optical properties and accurately monitoring their extensive distribution.

This study aims to assess the radiative effects of dust aerosols and water vapor (WV), and their impact on atmospheric heating rates, by adopting non-spherical particle shapes and their intrinsic microphysical and optical properties during severe dust events. To achieve this, ground-based, airborne, and satellite observations are employed along with Radiative Transfer (RT) modeling, and more precisely the libRadtran RT package (Mayer and Kylling, 2005; Emde et al., 2016). The study utilizes data from two experimental campaigns – ASKOS and ORCESTRA/PERCUSION – both conducted in the Atlantic region during peak trans-Atlantic dust transport periods, in summers of 2022 and 2024.

In the frame of the ASKOS ESA Joint Aeolus Tropical Atlantic Campaign (JATAC), we utilized ground-based remote sensing and airborne in-situ observations, including solar radiation and airborne meteorological profiles. Microphysical properties from UAVs, MOPSMAP (Gasteiger and Wiegner, 2018) and TAMUdust2020 (Saito et al., 2021) scattering databases were used to derive dust optical properties considering a mixture of spheroidal and irregular-hexahedra shapes. Multi-wavelength lidar measurements contributed to the validation of the optical properties and dust vertical distribution. RT simulations incorporated WV concentration, to investigate dust-WV-solar radiation interactions under clear sky conditions. The simulated broadband shortwave radiation was, finally, compared with the ground-based solar radiation measurements.

A second case study was performed, leveraging ORCESTRA/PERCUSION campaign (https://orcestra-campaign.org/percusion.html) synergistic airborne measurements. This campaign incorporated a comprehensive suite of airborne instruments, providing, amongst others, radiation measurements, meteorological profiles, and extensive lidar measurements. Radiation at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) from the EarthCARE ESA mission supported comprehensive closure studies at TOA and at aircraft level.

Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the PANGEA4CalVal project (Grant Agreement 101079201) funded by the European Union, the CERTAINTY project (Grant Agreement 101137680) funded by Horizon Europe program and the AIRSENSE project which is part of Atmosphere Science Cluster of ESA’s EO Science for Society programme. DK, ΑΤ, ΚP, PR and SK would like to acknowledge COST Action HARMONIA (International network for harmonization of atmospheric aerosol retrievals from ground-based photometers), CA21119, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).

References

Mayer, B., Kylling, A.: Technical note: The libRadtran software package for radiative transfer calculations - description and examples of use. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 5(7), 1855–1877, 2005.

Emde, C., et al.: The libRadtran software package for radiative transfer calculations (version 2.0.1), Geoscientific Model Development, 9(5), 1647–1672, 2016.

Gasteiger, J. and Wiegner, M.: MOPSMAP v1.0: a versatile tool for the modeling of aerosol optical properties, Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 2739–2762, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-2739-2018, 2018.

Saito, M., et al.: A comprehensive database of the optical properties of irregular aerosol particles for radiative transfer simulations, J. Atmos. Sci., in press, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-20-0338.1, 2021.

How to cite: Kouklaki, D., Tsekeri, A., Gialitaki, A., Papachristopoulou, K., Raptis, P.-I., Mayer, B., Emde, C., Groß, S., Marinou, E., Amiridis, V., and Kazadzis, S.: Dust Aerosol and Water Vapor Radiative Effects: A Multi-Campaign Analysis of ASKOS and ORCESTRA/PERCUSION Over the Atlantic, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-1057, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-1057, 2025.

EGU25-1057

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Dust pollution is a critical environmental challenge with far-reaching impacts on climate and health. Despite its significance, no unified methodology exists for identifying dust-contaminated days, leading to inconsistencies across disciplines. The most widely used approaches often rely on ground-based measurements to classify dust events. However, these methods may overlook lofted dust layers. We used a ground-based lidar system to detect and classify dust layers and compared the results to widely adopted methods. Surprisingly, at least 50% of dust-contaminated days identified by lidar were missed by traditional surface-based methods. This gap underscores the critical role of vertical profiling in accurately capturing dust presence, which is vital for improving health impact studies and climate models. Our results highlight the challenges of distinguishing between anthropogenic and natural dust events using only ground-based measurements, as many measurement approaches classify mixed aerosols as dust, potentially leading to biased exposure estimates. In addition, vertical profiling and layering data revealed distinct pollution configurations in the Eastern Mediterranean (EM) region, ranging from purely anthropogenic layers to complex mixtures of marine aerosols, anthropogenic pollution, and desert dust. Results reveal that dust layers in the EM often extend vertically up to 10 km, with depths reaching 6.3 km. We used air masses back trajectory analysis to identify the source of particles for each layering type, and found 2 distinct dust sources, North African mostly pure dust and Middle Eastern dust with anthropogenic component. Finally, we analysed the uncertainties of the conventional satellite-derived AOD measurements. It was found the presence of lofted dust layers or mixed aerosols challenge the retrieval accuracy, gaining crucial insights into the limitations of satellite-derived AOD in representing complex atmospheric environments, especially in dust dominated regions. The holistic approach applied in our study is essential for understanding the dynamic interplay between pollution sources and atmospheric interactions, particularly in regions like the EM, which serve as a crossroads for diverse aerosol types.

How to cite: Rogozovsky, I., Ansmann, A., Ohneiser, K., Baars, H., Engelmann, R., Hofer, J., and Chudnovsky, A.: Vertical Profiling of Dust Layers in the Eastern Mediterranean: Sources, Dynamics, and Impacts, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-1247, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-1247, 2025.

EGU25-1247

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In April 2024, the transport of mineral dust from the Sahara Desert was observed over Ukraine. This phenomenon, unusual for the region, resulted in reduced visibility, "red rain," degraded air quality, and altered atmospheric aerosol properties over Kyiv. To better understand the impact of this event, sun photometers and modeling efforts were used to analyze the changes in aerosol characteristics and the atmospheric influence of mineral dust transport. Observations from the AERONET Kyiv station indicated significant changes in aerosol characteristics. Specifically, there was an increase in aerosol optical depth (AOD) and coarse-mode AOD, while the Angstrom exponent (AE) and fine-mode AOD showed a decline. Cluster analysis of these parameters revealed temporal patterns and correlations between the observed changes. The size distribution analysis highlighted the dominant influence of coarse particles. Additionally, the single scattering albedo (SSA) and refractive index values were affected, reflecting the presence of mineral dust compared to typical conditions. The GEOS-Chem chemical transport model further indicated changes in mineral dust concentrations, suggesting its notable impact on Ukraine's territory. Additionally, the HYSPLIT model was utilized in this study to analyze backward trajectories of air masses, providing crucial information about their movement before reaching the territory of Ukraine and identifying their origins.

How to cite: Yukhymchuk, Y., Milinevsky, G., Danylevsky, V., Goloub, P., Gao, X., and Wei, X.: From Sahara Desert to Ukraine: an integrated study of mineral dust transport, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-5652, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-5652, 2025.

EGU25-5652

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The wind-blown entrainment, transportation, and deposition of mineral dust originating in the high latitudes plays a significant role in atmospheric, cryospheric, marine and terrestrial environments at the regional scale. However, the intermittent nature of dust events occurring over broad spatial scales is difficult to capture from field studies alone. Remote sensing datasets are well-suited to overcoming some of these spatial limitations, and while they have been effectively used to characterise and understand dust activity across the major global hotspots, they lack application in high latitude dust regions. The use of surface observations of dust, such as those recorded at meteorological stations, is an important step in assessing the value of data retrieved from space. Meteorological observations have an established application in monitoring wind erosion and dust activity at broad spatial and temporal scales, however their use as a comparative method for evaluating data retrieved from remote sensing remains under explored.

This research presents the first systematic comparison of remotely-sensed data and ground-based present weather dust codes for a high latitude region, using Iceland as a case study. Remote sensing datasets including Aerosol Optical Depth, Angstrom Exponent and Single Scattering Albedo are derived from the MODIS Level-2 Aerosol Product at 10 km resolution, has and have been evaluated against coded present weather reports of dust obtained from 23 Icelandic meteorological stations for the study period 2001 – 2022. Preliminary analysis indicates that Aerosol Optical Depth is elevated for dust constrained days which allows some inference about the seasonality of dust activity.  Further comparative testing of ground-based and remotely-sensed data may create opportunities for better understanding the opportunities and limitations associated with remote sensing of high latitude dust activity in regions where ground-based data are not available.

How to cite: Poxon, S., Baddock, M., and Bullard, J.: A 21-year evaluation of MODIS Aerosol Optical Depth retrievals during Icelandic dust events, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-17479, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-17479, 2025.

EGU25-17479

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Mineral dust aerosols are composed of a complex mixture of various minerals that vary by source region. Notably, the iron oxide fraction differs yielding to differences in the dust absorbing properties in the UV-VIS spectrum due to changes in the imaginary parts of the complex refractive index.

This study investigates whether variations in the Saharan dust’s iron oxide content have led to measurable variations in the backscattering properties of dust particles, which is indicated by laboratory measurements and theoretical models. This work combines modelled mineralogical data using the regional dust model COSMO-MUSCAT with vertically resolved lidar measurements conducted in Cabo Verde, located in the tropical Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Northern Africa.

The results include comparisons between the modelled iron oxide content and lidar resolved intensive optical properties, such as the lidar ratio (extinction-to-backscattering ratio), the backscatter-related Ångström exponent (ÅE), and the particle depolarization ratio. Dust plumes were analysed over two northern hemispheric summer campaign periods in 2021 and 2022. The findings reveal that the strongest correlations were observed between the modelled iron oxide mineral content and the backscatter-related ÅE. This supports the idea that variations in dust iron oxide content influence this intensive optical property at UV-VIS wavelengths, even though the backscatter-related ÅE is regarded to indicate mainly the particle size.

This study provides a framework for further exploring the influence of a varying hematite content on the backscattering properties of dust in the UV-VIS wavelength range. Establishing certainty with regards to dust optical properties, particularly at these wavelengths, is essential for improving calculations of dust radiative impact.

How to cite: Gómez Maqueo Anaya, S., Althausen, D., Hofer, J., Haarig, M., Wandinger, U., Heinold, B., Tegen, I., Faust, M., Baars, H., Ansmann, A., Engelmann, R., Skupin, A., Hesse, B., and Schepanski, K.: Is there a link between modelled mineral dust hematite content and lidar measured intensive optical properties?, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-20931, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-20931, 2025.

EGU25-20931

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With more than 20 years of MODIS twice daily global measurements, dust hot spots have been
located using the extrema of frequency of occurrence of Dust Optical Depth (DOD) derived from
MODIS Deep Blue aerosol products. We know that these hot spots have a geomorphological signature (cf. Prospero et al., 2002; Baddock et al., 2016) but does it also imply that they have a mineralogical signature? This is important to know as mineralogy controls the sign and amplitude of dust interactions with the Earth's climate systems, in particular in terms of radiative forcing, ice cloud formation, rain water acidity, snow albedo, ocean bio-geochemistry. By overlaying over the dust hot spots, the soil mineralogy retrieved from the hyperspectral instrument NASA-JPL Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) over almost 3 years, our presentation will show that mineralogical content of dust hot spots is region specific.

How to cite: Ginoux, P., Brodrick, P. G., Gonçalves Ageitos, M., Okin, G. S., Pérez Garcia-Pando, C., Thompson, D. R., and Green, R. O.: Can we infer a mineralogical signature of dust hot spots using EMIT hyperspectral data?, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-2589, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-2589, 2025.

EGU25-2589

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The global ocean is a key component to the Earth’s climate system, absorbing atmospheric energy in excess and exchanging as a sink climate-relevant gases with the atmosphere. More specifically, through the uptake of atmospheric CO₂ and acting as carbon storage, through the processes of biological pump and solubility pump, helps to mitigate anthropogenic CO₂ increase. Moreover, the ocean enables phytoplankton photosynthesis, impacts ocean color, light penetration into deeper layers, and sea surface temperature, eventually modulating weather and resulting to feedback effects on climate. However, primary production highly depends on the spatial distribution of input nutrients from the atmosphere, with iron (Fe) availability the most important limiting factor for phytoplankton growth. Across the open ocean, the principal source of Fe is considered atmospheric mineral dust, transported over distances of thousands of kilometers prior removal through wet deposition or gravitational settling.

The present study provides quantification of the amount of atmospheric dust deposited into the broader Atlantic Ocean. Based on Cloud–Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) routine observations on atmospheric dust, the primary instrument onboard Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO), and meridional and zonal wind components provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis (ERA5), the atmospheric dust fluxes and the dust deposited component across the tans-Atlantic transits are estimated. On the basis of more than sixteen years (12/2006-11/2022) of Earth Observations, and for the Atlantic Ocean region extending between latitudes 60°S and 40°N, the annual-mean amount of deposited dust is estimated at 274.79 ± 31.64 Tg, of which 243.98 ± 23.89 Tg is deposited into the North Atlantic Ocean and 30.81 ± 10.49 Tg into the South Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, a negative statistically significant decreasing trend in dust deposition into the Atlantic Ocean for this period is revealed, characterized by slope -13.35 Tg yr^-1 and offset 306.97 Tg.

The climate data record is evaluated against high quality sediment-trap measurements of deposited lithogenic material implemented as reference dataset, demonstrating the protentional of the established dataset to be used in a wide range of applications, including filling geographical and temporal gaps in sediment-trap measurements, aiding model simulation evaluations, uncovering physical processes in the dust cycle from emission to deposition, and enhancing our understanding of dust's biogeochemical impacts on ocean ecosystems, as well as its effects on weather and climate.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Dust Observation and Modelling Study (DOMOS) under ESA contract number 4000135024/21/I-NB. Emmanouil Proestakis acknowledges support by the AXA Research Fund for postdoctoral researchers under the project entitled “Earth Observation for Air-Quality – Dust Fine-Mode (EO4AQ-DustFM)”.

How to cite: Stuut, J.-B., Proestakis, E., Amiridis, V., Pérez Garcia-Pando, C., Tsyro, S., Griesfeller, J., Gkikas, A., Georgiou, T., Gonçalves Ageitos, M., Escribano, J., Myriokefalitakis, S., Bergas Masso, E., Di Tomaso, E., Basart, S., and Benedetti, A.: Earth Observations and Atmospheric Dust: unveiling Atlantic Ocean deposition, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-11653, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-11653, 2025.

EGU25-11653

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Mineral dust, a key component of Earth’s aerosols, impacts atmospheric processes and climate. Emitted from dry soil, these particles travel long distances, influencing atmospheric radiation, cloud dynamics, and biogeochemical cycles. Dust effects are size-dependent. Larger particles, for example, tend to warm the atmosphere, whereas smaller ones (diameter d_p < 2.5 µm) typically cool it. Understanding dust transport and impacts requires detailed particle size distribution (PSD) data at emission, but measurements are sparse and larger particles (d_p > 10 µm) are understudied due to low concentrations and sampling challenges.

The Jordan Wind Erosion and Dust Investigation (J-WADI) campaign, conducted in September 2022 near Wadi Rum, Jordan, provides the platform for this study, in which we characterize the PSD at emission, focusing on super-coarse (10 < d_p ≤ 62.5 µm) and giant (d_p > 62.5 µm) particles. This study is the first to comprehensively characterize the size distribution of mineral dust directly at the emission source, covering diameters between 0.4 and 200 µm. Using a suite of aerosol spectrometers, the overlapping size ranges enabled systematic intercomparison and validation across instruments, improving PSD reliability and addressing challenges in detecting larger particles, such as inlet efficiencies or size range restrictions.

Results show significant PSD variability over the course of the campaign. During periods with friction velocities (u_*) above 0.25 ms⁻¹, super-coarse and giant particles were observed, with concentrations increasing with u_*. These large particles account for about two-thirds of the total mass during the campaign, with contributions of 90% during an active emission event, emphasizing the importance of including super-coarse and giant particles in PSD analyses. A prominent mass concentration peak was observed near 50 µm. While particle concentrations for d_p < 10 µm show strong agreement among most instruments, discrepancies appear for larger d_p due to reduced instrument sensitivity at the size range boundaries and sampling inefficiencies. Despite these challenges, physical samples collected using a flat-plate sampler largely confirm the PSDs derived from aerosol spectrometers.

These findings advance the characterization of PSD over a large size range at emission sources and lay the foundation to further improve our understanding of the mechanisms facilitating super-coarse and giant dust particle emission and transport.

How to cite: Meyer, H., Klose, M., Kandler, K., Dupont, S., and Pérez García-Pando, C. and the J-WADI Team: From fine to giant: Multi-instrument assessment of the particle size distribution of emitted dust during the J-WADI field campaign, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-12087, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-12087, 2025.

EGU25-12087

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Mineral dust is one of the key players in the Earth’s atmosphere with respect to climate and atmospheric nutrient transport. Dust spans a large size range of particle diameters, reaching from around 100 nm to more than 100 µm. While it has been assumed for a long time that the super-coarse (10 - 62.5 µm) and giant (> 62.5 µm) particles are not widely dispersed from the sources, more recent observations show that they can travel on a regional up to even intercontinental scale. Owing to the negligence and difficulty in measurement, not much information is available on this dust size range.

In the present work we have collected dust by means of a simple flat-plate deposition sampler and analyzed the collected material with electron microscopy and X-ray fluorescence, yielding information on particle size distributions and elemental composition. Samples were collected during intensive field campaigns of the FRAGMENT project in Morocco in 2019, a joint field campaign with the HiLDA project in Iceland in 2021, and the Jordan Wind erosion And Dust Investigation (J-WADI) in 2022. During all campaigns, severe dust conditions were observed with mass concentrations ranging into the tens of milligrams per cubic meter.

All observed number size distributions have in common a decrease towards submicron particles and a monotonic decrease with increasing particle size starting from 5 µm diameter. Both features are in general corroborated by online size distribution measurements in the overlap region, while the decrease towards smaller particle sizes is enhanced in the deposition sampling, most probably linked to the lower deposition speed of these particle sizes. The mean size distribution observed in Iceland has relatively more larger particles, followed by Jordan and lastly Morocco. Besides modes at around 1 µm and 5 µm, in Morocco a tertiary mode at around 70 µm in diameter gets pronounced. Mineral composition was estimated for each particle from the elemental composition. Morocco and Jordan have a similar composition with a slightly higher amount of Ca-accreted and feldspar particles in Jordan and more illite-/muscovite-like ones in Morocco. Expectedly, the composition of Icelandic dust is different, with volcanic glass, feldspars, and pyroxene/amphibole-like particles dominating. Comparing the coarse (sub-10-µm) with the super-coarse/giant (>10 µm) size range, we observe in the hot deserts less calcite for the larger particles as a common feature. The trend of a decreasing relative contribution of Fe-rich particles starting at the submicron range continues. In Iceland, we see the dominance of glassy particles still increase with increasing particle size. A big change in composition between these size classes is not observed unlike, for example, in previous measurements in Morocco, which showed a strong increase of quartz-like particles for the giant particle range. That indicates a considerable small-scale variability in freshly emitted dust plumes, dependent on their source.

How to cite: Kandler, K., Panta, A., Montag, M., Eknayan, M., Meyer, H., Klose, M., Schepanski, K., González-Flórez, C., González-Romero, A., Alastuey, A., Dagsson Waldhauserová, P., Querol, X., and Pérez García-Pando, C.: Giant Particle Size Distribution and Composition Near and In Dust Sources, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-13198, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-13198, 2025.

EGU25-13198

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How to cite: Kostamo, I., Salminen, J., Kaakinen, A., Meinander, O., Penttilä, A., and Muinonen, K.: Magnetic minerals in atmospheric Saharan dust , EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-16882, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-16882, 2025.

EGU25-16882

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When favourable synoptic conditions prevail, desert dust is transported from North Africa to Central Europe. Between June 19 and 21, 2024, air from North and Northwest Africa spread from Algeria across the south-coast of France with predicted dust load > 1200 mg m^-2 over an area limited by the Rhone Valley, extending to the coasts of Belgium and the Netherlands. The intrusion reached as far as the Skagerrak and the Kattegat and stretched across parts of Poland and the Czech Republic to the Aegean Sea and Greece, and it entirely covered Italy. On June 20, 2024, time-coordinated balloon-borne vertical soundings were carried out over Germany from two locations: 1) at 13:18 CEST from Oberpfaffenhofen (OPH - near Munich) and 2) at 14:15 CEST from Spielberg (SPb - near Frankfurt/Main, in the framework of “TPChange”, DFG TRR301) with the aim to analyse the same (intermediately transported) air mass. The SPb balloon payload included (a. o.) a radiosonde (RS41 SGP by VAISALA), a set of dual-stage impactors to perform particle sampling for offline physico-chemical analyses, and optical particle counters (OPC) such as the Portable Optical Particle Spectrometer (POPS). The OPH payload consisted of an OPC-N3 (by Alphasense) and the RS41 SGP.

Qualitative agreement was obtained from the independent profiles: from 1.5 km to 4.8 km height, a layer of increased particle number concentration (N) with 100 to 1000 cm^-3 stands out from the background (N < 20 cm^-3) in the vertical profile for particles with a diameter (D_p) from 0.14 µm to 2.6 µm (POPS-detected sized range). While below ~ 4.5 km (OPH) and ~ 4.8 km (SPb), the relative humidity (RH) remains below 87 %, the region of particle enhancement is effectively capped by a cloud layer (RH exceeding 100 %) of about 200 m vertical thickness above ~ 4.5 km (OPH) and ~ 4.8 km (SPb), respectively. Aloft, N drops abruptly and temporarily reaches background values < 20 cm^-3. The impactor sample taken throughout passage of the particle layer showed considerable presence of mineral dust (generally > 75 % of all particles collected), the largest of which have estimated D_p of 10 µm and smallest D_p were estimated with 0.1 µm. Admixtures of sea salt (particle fraction D_p > 500nm) and sulphates (fraction D_p < 500 nm) were also identified. We will present more specific microphysical properties of the mineral dust aerosol, including morphology and chemical composition, and discuss these in the context of the atmospheric conditions at both measurement sites.

How to cite: Weigel, R., Kandler, K., Scheibe, M., Smith, K., Valero, L., Eichhorn, L. K., Jost, S., Röck, K., Gisinger, S., Baron, A., Thornberry, T., Jeske, A., and Tost, H.: Coordinated vertical tandem-profiling of a Saharan dust intrusion over Central Europe on 20 June 2024 based on balloon-borne soundings from two different sites., EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-9134, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-9134, 2025.

EGU25-9134

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The Sahara is the Earth’s largest dust source, producing dust plumes that impact the whole planet. The eastern Mediterranean is one of the areas significantly affected by Saharan dust and its deposition.
The geochemical and mineralogical composition of the deposited mineral dust particles depend on their source area and on spatiotemporal variability of the source areas.
Although being of great importance for local soil formation and soil distribution, the impact of changes in dust provenance has not been extensively studied in the eastern Mediterranean. Thus, further research is required to characterize dust deposition fluxes, transport trajectories and the geochemical and mineralogical composition of deposited mineral dust.
Modelled trajectories of dust events provide good insights on aeolian transport routes, but if larger distances are covered over land, the exact source area of the deposited material cannot be traced with certainty. The question also arises as to whether the composition of the mineral dust deposited differs due to spatial sorting and thus its influence on the deposition area.
In order to gain insight into the dynamics of dust deposited on Crete, we present results from eight passive deposition traps (marble samplers) that were installed in western Crete at various sites around the Lefka Ori mountains. Monthly sampling was performed between March 2023 and June 2024, which provides us a unique temporal and spatial coverage.
Here we used a multi-proxy fingerprinting approach including Nd-Sr isotopic composition, mineralogy and grain-size distribution. The isotope analyses show a temporal shift in the potential source areas over the year, but no significant spatial differences. This spatial homogeneity in the isotopic signature of deposited dust suggests a minor influence of local inputs, which are characterized by distinct geological contexts, which is confirmed by the mineralogy. Samples with a coarser and well-sorted grain-size distribution likely track larger dust events, as a relatively larger proportion originates from the same source. The aim is to combine the results and thus to highlight and classify the intensity of influence of different source areas on the soil development of western Crete. In the long term, an analysis of back-tracking trajectories is to be carried out and combined with the results of the isotope analyses, which we expect to improve the informative value of the potential source areas.

How to cite: Bitzan, S., Blanchet, C. L., Christidis, G. E., Schepanski, K., and Kirsten, F.: Detection of seasonal-specific potential source areas of mineral dust on Crete (Greece) based on isotope measurements and mineralogical investigations, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-4448, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-4448, 2025.

EGU25-4448

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Mineral dust is one of the most prominent natural aerosols and is almost ubiquitous in the atmosphere, where it substantially interacts, modulates and alter atmospheric processes. Although research on dust aerosol is carried out since many decades by means of different approaches and techniques, knowledge on mineral dust emitted at high latitudes or in cold climate regions is still limited despite its pivotal impact on polar environments. Within a warming climate, dust emitted from sources located in cold climate zones is expected to increase due to the retreat of the ice sheets and increasing melting rates. Therefore, and for its extensive impacts on different aspects of the climate system, a better understanding of the atmospheric dust cycle at high latitudes/cold climates in general, and the spatio-temporal distribution of dust sources in particular, are essential.

We will present results from the HiLDA measurement campaign which took place in summer 2021 in the Dyngjusandur in Iceland. The measurements were set up to observe dust concentration variability across the Dyngjusandur and near-source dust transport areas in order to eventually conclude on the variability in dust source emissivity. We have measured aerosol size distributions and meteorological parameters distributed over different dust source areas at high temporal resolution for a period of eight weeks in summer 2021 and spring 2022. During this time, we observed a couple of intense dust events as well as background conditions. Ultimately, the analysis of our measurement data addresses the complex web of interactions which is defined by the variability of dust source characteristics and wind speed distribution in concert. Findings from this study contribute to the understanding of dust emission in cold climate regions and its spatio-temporal variability, which is essential with respect to the quantification of dust-associated feedbacks in the Earth system.

How to cite: Schepanski, K., Kandler, K., Montag, M., Schneiders, K., Panta, A., González-Romero, A., González-Flórez, C., Klose, M., Querol, X., Alastuey, A., Yus-Díez, J., Dupont, S., Dagsson-Waldhauserová, P., and Pérez García-Pando, C.: Dust emission from dust sources in Iceland: Insights from the High-Latitude Dust Experiment in summer 2021, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-10547, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-10547, 2025.

EGU25-10547

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Mineral dust emissions from arable land are a significant environmental concern. Fugitive dust emissions commonly arise during mechanical activities such as tilling and harvesting, while aeolian emissions occur from sparsely vegetated cropland, particularly during the transitional phases between fresh tillage and substantial vegetation growth and hence coverage of the bare soil. Suspended in the atmosphere, dust aerosol particles originating from arable land suposedly affect human health, reduce air quality, and can economically impact agricultural productivity due to soil degradation and reduced yields.

Agricultural dust emissions are often overlooked in coupled atmosphere-aerosol models, perhaps due to the complex conditions that lead to emissions. Fugitive emissions are highly variable, influenced by unpredictable human activities, while aeolian emissions require accurate descriptions of vegetation dynamics during transitional periods.

To address these gaps, we developed modelling strategies to simulate both fugitive and aeolian emissions. Fugitive emissions were analysed using a Lagrangian particle dispersion model designed to capture the turbulent mixing of dust particles in the atmospheric boundary layer. A case study based on measured tilling emissions demonstrated how atmospheric stratification can limit or amplify dust plumes and their range of transport.

For aeolian emissions, a new parameterisation was implemented in the atmosphere-aerosol model COSMO-MUSCAT, utilising high-resolution satellite data to represent vegetation cover. We tested our model for a dust emission event in Poland in 2019, where the model showed good agreement with satellite observations and ground-based measurements.

Ultimately, our modelling efforts provide insights into the dynamics, spatial distribution, and broader impacts of agricultural dust emissions, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of their role in the atmosphere.

How to cite: Faust, M., Wagner, R., Wolke, R., Münch, S., Funk, R., and Schepanski, K.: Modelling of Dust Emissions from Agricultural Sources in Europe, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-13655, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-13655, 2025.

EGU25-13655

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Dust aerosols are a key component of the climate system due to their interactions with radiation, their influence on atmospheric chemistry, and their role in biogeochemical cycles. Despite this importance, many climate models treat mineral dust particles as a homogeneous entity, overlooking their inherent variability regarding mineralogical composition. In reality, dust aerosols consist of fine particles entrained by wind from sparsely vegetated soil surfaces, originating from geographically diverse regions of the Earth and shaped by local climate and geological conditions. These particles are a complex mixture of various mineralogies with distinct size distributions.

In this study, we discuss the global distribution of mineral dust aerosol concentrations with regard to the dust particles’ mineralogical composition, using the atmosphere-aerosol model ECHAM-HAMMOZ (ECHAM6.3.0-HAM2.3-MOZ1.0). The model has been enhanced by integrating 12 minerals derived from the database of Journet et al. (2014), as modified by Gonçalves Ageitos et al. (2023). This implementation allows for a more detailed representation of the mineralogical diversity of atmospheric dust aerosols as a function of soil mineralogy at the contributing dust source areas. The results of the model simulations are evaluated against observational data in order to assess the model's accuracy and performance with regard to the representation of the mineralogical composition of dust aerosol plumes.

This work highlights the importance of incorporating mineralogical diversity in climate models to better understand the role of dust aerosols in the Earth system.

• Gonçalves Ageitos, María & Obiso, Vincenzo & Miller, Ron & Jorba, Oriol & Klose, Martina & Dawson, Matt & Balkanski, Yves & Perlwitz, Jan & Basart, Sara & Tomaso, Enza & Escribano, Jerónimo & Macchia, Francesca & Montané Pinto, Gilbert & Mahowald, Natalie M & Green, Robert O & Thompson, David & Pérez García-Pando, Carlos. (2023). Modeling dust mineralogical composition: sensitivity to soil mineralogy atlases and their expected climate impacts. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 23. 8623-8657. 10.5194/acp-23-8623-2023.

• Journet, E., Balkanski, Y., and Harrison, S. P.: A new data set of soil mineralogy for dust-cycle modeling, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3801–3816, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3801-2014, 2014.

How to cite: Hofmann, E., Wagner, R., and Schepanski, K.: Enhancing Aerosol Modeling: Integrating the Mineralogy of Mineral Dust into ECHAM_HAMMOZ, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-16684, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-16684, 2025.

EGU25-16684

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Dust emissions are closely associated with wind speed and are affected by a variety of meteorological drivers and factors that have effects across different spatial and temporal scales. Global or regional atmospheric dust models employing parameterized convection often encounter difficulties in accurately replicating observed dust emissions. Recent investigations by Garcia-Carreras et al. (2021) have demonstrated significant discrepancies when modeling Northern African dust emissions across various grid scales using either parametrized convection or resolved convection. In order to further clarify the influence of model resolution on dust emissions, an investigation was conducted employing surface winds from two different model studies: the coarse-resolution CMIP-6 model intercomparison study [Eyring et al. (2016)] with parameterized convection and the high-resolution ICON model  simulation that was part of the DYAMOND project [Stevens et al. (2019)], which was computed with explicit convection. Two different dust products were computed using the modelled surface winds: the Dust Uplift Potential (DUP) derived from wind data and an offline dust emission model based on Tegen et al. (2002), which incorporates soil and vegetation effects to simulate dust emission fluxes utilizing gridded surface wind fields. The dust emissions from the different models are evaluated across various source regions, including Northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia, the Gobi Desert, and the Taklamakan Desert. Convective events such as haboobs particularly necessitate explicit modeling at convection-resolving resolution, which is e.g an important cause of dust emissions in the southern Sahara in northern hemisphere summer. Other local wind systems can be discerned by both high and low-resolution models, albeit at varying magnitudes. In the Gobi region, there is negligible impact of model resolution on dust emissions. These findings could inform further research on modeling dust emission and  transport by providing a basis for improved dust emission parameterizations in large-scale models.

How to cite: Kunze, P., Faust, M., Schepanski, K., and Tegen, I.: Towards Convection-Resolving Dust Emission Modelling, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-5908, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-5908, 2025.

EGU25-5908

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Mineral dust is the most abundant type of atmospheric aerosol in terms of mass. Dust models at non-storm resolving resolutions are usually able to capture the dust load on diurnal or longer-term average, but perform worse in capturing its diurnal variability. A main reason for this deficit is the fact that phenomena smaller than the grid size cannot be represented and are therefore lacking in the simulations. A major dust-event type that can only be represented at single-digit kilometer resolution are haboobs – intense dust storms created by the cold-pool outflow of moist convection. Haboobs mostly occur during the afternoon and thus their representation in models at storm resolving resolutions increases dust emissions during the afternoon hours, especially in regions where haboobs typically occur. As a significant amount of global dust emissions can be attributed to haboobs, their impact, e.g. on interactions of dust aerosol with radiation, on the continental to global scale is of special interest.

Here we investigate the contribution of haboobs to the direct radiative effect (DRE) of dust through their modulation of the dust diurnal cycle and vertical and horizontal distributions. For this purpose, we performed a set of annual simulations of the year 2020 using the ICON-ART model at 5km and 80km grid resolution for a domain covering North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, as these regions are strong dust sources and haboob hotspots. A radiation multiple call scheme in ICON-ART was used to assess the DRE from a single simulation. We analyze differences in DRE and the vertical and horizontal dust distribution between the simulations and link them to the spatial distribution of haboob occurrence in the high-resolution simulation.

By assessing the impact of haboobs on the radiation balance of the earth, we aim to contribute to evaluating the benefits of storm-resolving simulations on a global scale with online treatment of aerosols; and to test the importance of representing meso-scale phenomena for quantification of dust-climate impacts.

How to cite: Baer, A., Li, R., and Klose, M.: The contribution of haboobs to the dust direct radiative effect, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-6741, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-6741, 2025.

EGU25-6741

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East Asian dust storms from the Gobi and the Taklamakan Desert occur frequently in spring. Dust aerosols influence climate through effects on radiation and clouds, and impair air quality with impacts on human health. However, large uncertainties in model simulations of dust aerosols persist. An estimation of the relative contributions of different meteorological drivers to dust activities can help to improve the representation of dust storms in models.

Mongolian cyclones, which form East of the Altai-Sayan Mountains, are important for dust-emitting winds in the Gobi Desert. Utilizing an automated detection algorithm of extratropical cyclones and multiple datasets for dust aerosol for 2001–2022, the contribution of Mongolian cyclones to East Asian dust emission and dust optical depth is quantitatively estimated (Mu and Fiedler). The results highlight that springtime dust storms in East Asia are primarily associated with a low-pressure system over Mongolia. Mobile Mongolian cyclones explain almost half of the total spring dust emission amount of the Gobi Desert. The calculated relative contributions of Mongolian cyclones to dust emissions in the Gobi Desert are similar from two different products, despite differences in the physical parameterization schemes for dust emission, number and location of the prescribed potential dust sources, and in the absolute dust emission amount by a factor ten. Dust emissions in the Gobi Desert and dust aerosol optical depth in the region downwind have decreased in the past decades, with Mongolian cyclones contributing to reductions of 10%-18% decade^-1 and 11%--15% decade^-1, respectively. The reduction of dust emissions and dust aerosol optical depth is at least in part explained by weaker and fewer Mongolian cyclones over time. 

Mongolian cyclones may also affect the dust activity in the Taklamakan Desert to the west of the Gobi Desert. The passage of the Mongolian cyclone in mid-March 2021 has led to a cold air intrusion into the Taklamakan Desert. The cold air favored the nighttime near-surface temperature inversion. The stable stratification near the surface allows the development of Nocturnal Low-Level Jets (NLLJs). The breakdown of NLLJs results in a strengthening of near-surface winds, which are sufficiently strong for dust emissions in many parts of the Taklamakan Desert (Mu et al., 2023). The Taklamakan dust was elevated by deep mixing and transported eastwards by prevailing mid-level westerlies, impacting air quality primarily in western China. Ongoing work addresses the link of cyclones and NLLJs in the Taklamakan Desert from the climatological perspective.

References:

Mu, F., Luiz, E.W., Fiedler, S., 2023. On the dynamics and air-quality impact of the exceptional East Asian dust outbreak in mid-March 2021. Atmos. Res. 292, 106846.
Mu, F. and Fiedler, S., in review. How much do atmospheric depressions and Mongolian cyclones contribute to East Asian spring dust activities?

How to cite: Mu, F. and Fiedler, S.: Meteorological Drivers of East Asian dust activity in spring 2001-2022, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-6183, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-6183, 2025.

EGU25-6183

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The treatment of agricultural plastic waste is a critical source of fine dust (PM2.5) emissions, contributing significantly to air pollution. Uncollected plastic waste, predominantly subjected to open-air incineration, exacerbates this issue, underscoring the need for comprehensive management strategies.

This study aims to predict PM2.5 emissions from agricultural plastic waste treatment processes and quantify the contribution of uncollected plastic waste to air pollution, providing a novel analysis of the relative environmental impact of these two waste management pathways. Using the CAPSS model and process-specific emission factors, PM2.5 emissions from shredding, crushing, and sorting processes were estimated based on the annual average agricultural plastic waste generation of 314,000 tons from 2016 to 2021.

Predicted PM2.5 emissions per ton of treated waste were 0.00012 kg, 0.00075 kg, and 0.00043 kg for shredding, crushing, and sorting processes, respectively. By 2030, cumulative emissions from these processes are expected to reach 25.09 kg, 156.84 kg, and 89.92 kg. In contrast, uncollected vinyl waste subjected to open-air incineration is estimated to generate approximately 725,779.45 kg of PM2.5 by 2030, a figure nearly 2,600 times higher than emissions from treated waste.

The findings highlight the disproportionate environmental impact of uncollected vinyl waste compared to treated waste. This study underscores the urgency of improving collection rates and optimizing treatment processes for agricultural vinyl waste. Policy recommendations include expanding treatment facilities, fostering private-sector recycling initiatives, and enforcing stricter regulations on open-air incineration to mitigate fine dust emissions effectively. Future research should explore the comprehensive evaluation of waste management systems and the development of advanced technologies for reducing PM2.5 emissions.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Particulate Matter Management Specialized Graduate Program through the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute(KEITI) funded by the Ministry of Environment(MOE)

How to cite: Park, H., Park, M., Lee, N., and Yun, H.-Y.: Analysis of PM2.5 Impacts from Agricultural Vinyl Waste Treatment Processes and Uncollected Waste, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-3373, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-3373, 2025.

EGU25-3373

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Dust resuspension from playgrounds can be a major contributor to urban air pollution. To address this issue, mitigation strategies such as the use of windscreens, water sprinkling, and dust suppressants have been reported in literature (Dong et al., 2007; Jeon et al., 2021; Taylor et al., 2015). However, the effectiveness of these measures is dependent on the soil type, wind patterns affected by green cover and surrounding. This study aims to provide insights into the effectiveness of different dust control strategies and offer potential solutions for widespread application in urban playgrounds. Laboratory-scale experiments were conducted to evaluate the influence of particle size distribution, wind speed and moisture content on dust resuspension from three different soil types. Numerical simulations will be performed to simulate the wind patterns that influence dust resuspension for a selected playground in Mumbai.

How to cite: Mehta, U., Botlaguduru, V. S. V., Bose, M., and Sethi, V.: Studies to Control Resuspension of Dust from Playgrounds, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-970, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-970, 2025.

EGU25-970

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To achieve universal electricity access and comply with Paris Agreement, one large-scale objective of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is the deployment of +8 to +20 GWp of solar energy systems by 2030 (IRENA, 2018). ECOWAS is located south of the Saharan region and close to the Bodélé depression, which has been observed to have the largest atmospheric dust production activity on Earth (Isaacs et al., 2023). Once deposited on panels, dust reduces the transmission of solar radiation to the panels and, consequently, the energy production (Sarver et al., 2013). Annual losses of solar energy production of up to 54% have been observed in the region due to dust (Chanchangi et al., 2022). These production losses can be mitigated by regularly cleaning solar panels. In West Africa, cleaning operations commonly use water but many areas are water-scarce. It is thus important to ensure that water resources are not further strained by water cleaning operations associated with the expected large-scale deployment of solar energy systems in the region.

In the present work, we aim to assess the water footprint of different cleaning strategies of virtual solar plants in the ECOWAS region. A first step towards this aim consists in regionally assessing how dust would accumulate on Photovoltaic (PV) panels and, in turn, what the associated production losses would be. We present a dust accumulation model allowing to simulate, over a long time period and across the region, the temporal sub daily variations of dust accumulation on virtual PV panels. The model uses as input the particulate matter concentration of different particle sizes. Dust data from the CAMS and MERRA2 reanalyses are considered. Both datasets are first compared to observations of regional particulate matter concentration available from a set of four stations from the INDAAF network. CAMS data were found to better agree with observations (> 0.8 correlation for a 1-week temporal resolution). Time series of dust accumulation simulated from CAMS data were then compared to time series of dust deposit observations available for the same four INDAAF stations. Results show fair agreement but highlight significant differences, likely due to uncertainties in various variables and model assumptions. Lastly, simulated accumulated dust amounts are used as input to a PV soiling loss model to derive the transmission reduction and the mean PV production losses for different cleaning operation strategies.

References

Chanchangi et al., 2022. Soiling mapping through optical losses for Nigeria. Renewable Energy, 197, 995–1008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2022.07.019

IRENA (2018), Renewable Energy Statistics 2018, The International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi.

Isaacs et al., 2023. Dust soiling effects on decentralized solar in West Africa. Applied Energy, 340, 120993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.120993

Sarver et al.,2013. A comprehensive review of the impact of dust on the use of solar energy: History, investigations, results, literature, and mitigation approaches. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 22, 698–733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.12.065

How to cite: Banigo, A. T., Hingray, B., Crochemore, L., Marticorena, B., and Anquetin, S.: Photovoltaic production in West Africa: Impact of dust and water footprint of cleaning operations, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-8965, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-8965, 2025.

EGU25-8965

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The impact of the Sahara dust storm events on photovoltaic power generation in Europe will be presented. In recent years, driven by global sustainability, climate and energy security objectives, photovoltaic power generation has been expanding worldwide, with a particular focus on the European continent. We are also witnessing a change in the frequency and intensity of Saharan dust storm events. Atmospheric particulate matter significantly reduces irradiance through its direct and indirect effects, with energy flux changes sometimes having serious economic and security of supply implications. 

In a diverse energy mix, which varies significantly from state to state, weather-dependent renewable generation must be forecasted to meet the delicate balancing needs of electricity supply, which poses a major challenge to the system operator. Analysis of the accuracy of the forecasts has shown that this is subject to significant errors and that the magnitude of these errors is larger during dust storm events than during non-dust storm situations. In the photovoltaic power generation data series of the southern (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece) and central European (Hungary) countries  presented here, we characterise episodes where atmospheric dust caused irradiance and electricity production to deviate significantly from the predicted levels.

Key Takeaways:

(1) The influence of atmospheric particulate matter is substantial for both photovoltaic (PV) production and generation forecasting. This effect is likely more pronounced with meridional (south-north) dust transport due to a steeper thermal gradient, which intensifies cloud formation processes through warm air advection and increased fine-grained particulate mass.

(2) Accurate PV production forecasts cannot be achieved using coarse-resolution aerosol climatology data without aerosol-cloud coupling. Instead, calculations should integrate up-to-date dust load data and relevant cloud physics relationships.

(3) The quantities of atmospheric dust, the dynamics of its transport, and the mineralogical and physical properties (such as grain size and shape) of the dust are not well understood. These factors have diverse impacts on cloud formation processes, necessitating further research for better comprehension.

(4) Due to climate change and the inherent variability of the climate system, forecasts are made under fluctuating hydrometeorological and atmospheric conditions, which inherently carry uncertainties. These errors are expected to become more significant with increasing PV capacity, thus managing them will require expanding electricity storage capacities alongside more precise forecasts.

The research was supported by the NRDI projects FK138692 and by the Sustainable Development and Technologies National Programme of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (FFT NP FTA). This work has been implemented by the National Multidisciplinary Laboratory for Climate Change (RRF-2.3.1-21-2022-00014) project within the framework of Hungary's National Recovery and Resilience Plan supported by the Recovery and Resilience Facility of the European Union.

How to cite: Varga, G., Gresin, F., Gelencsér, A., Csávics, A., and Rostási, Á.: The shadow of the wind: photovoltaic power generation under Europe's dusty skies, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-9264, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-9264, 2025.

EGU25-9264

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Dust deposition can increase the strength of the biological pump through fertilizing and ballasting effects of the deposited dust, in particular in (ultra-)oligotrophic oceans such as the eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS). However, dust characteristics, such as nutrient content and bioavailability, organic-matter content, and grain-size distribution, and thus its fertilizing and ballasting potential, can vary between dust events.

Here, we present a long-term (1999-2011), high-resolution (14-21 days) sediment-trap record of dust fluxes, dust grain-size distributions, and fluxes of plant leaf waxes at 500, 1500, and 2500m water depth to assess seasonal and interannual variation in the amount and characteristics of dust deposited in the EMS.

We find that dust events mainly occur during late spring and summer, although their exact timing and magnitude varies between years. Differences in grain-size distribution and plant wax content between dust events indicate that the provenance, transportation, and/or deposition mode of the dust varied between events. The dust events archived in the sediment traps are preceded by atmospheric dust transport, indicated by increased Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) values recorded by satellites in the weeks before dust fluxes increase. However, several major atmospheric dust outbreaks observed by satellites do not appear in the sediment trap record. This indicates that not all material that passes the EMS through the atmosphere is actually deposited on the sea surface and/or reaches the traps at larger water depths.

Most dust events in the sediment traps can be traced through the water column, indicating relatively rapid vertical export. The dust events coincide with increases in organic carbon flux, supporting the proposed role of dust in the biological pump through ballasting. However, while coarse-grained dust is consistently transferred to the deepest trap, regardless of the absolute flux, finer-grained dust is primarily detected in the upper trap. We will use our dataset to further investigate whether export of fine-grained dust is also linked to ballasting or is mediated by productivity in the surface ocean through the formation of organic aggregates and fecal pallets, either as a result of dust fertilization or natural processes.

How to cite: van Boxtel, A., Rice, A., de Lange, G. J., Peterse, F., and Stuut, J.-B.: Saharan dust deposition in the eastern Mediterranean Sea: ballasting agent or fertilizer?, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-8292, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-8292, 2025.

EGU25-8292

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The impact of dust deposition on the fertilisation of marine ecosystems has been studied for decades. Despite the relevance of this air-sea interaction, aerosol chemical transformation, deposition over the ocean, and the eventual influence on ocean biogeochemistry (including carbon export) are poorly represented in most Earth System Models (ESM). For instance, the deposition of soluble iron (the chemical iron forms that phytoplankton can uptake) is often estimated in ESM as a constant fraction of deposited dust. This type of simplistic formulation underrepresents the interannual and spatial variability of the aeolian input of nutrients in marine ecosystems. 

In this work, we present a reconstruction of global ocean biogeochemistry for the last 30 years, where we evaluate the impact of newly produced iron deposition fields derived from the state-of-the-art atmospheric model EC-Earth3-Fe, which explicitly resolves the mineralogy of dust sources, includes a detailed representation of the atmospheric Fe dissolution processes and accounts for the contribution of other sources of Fe, such as anthropogenic combustion and biomass-burning. When compared to a standard run using climatological atmospheric inputs and constant dissolution rates the new simulation shows a contrasted response of marine primary production where production increases above 10% in large areas of the Pacific and the South Atlantic, while other smaller regions show an equivalent decrease. 

We also analysed the impact of the monthly resolved historical reconstruction of dust deposition (i.e., atmospheric model forced with observed meteorology) on the primary production’s interannual variability. Results showed no immediate impact of dust deposition variability on marine primary production. However, we found a replenishment of the subsurface stock of dissolved iron associated with the increase in dust deposition over the Equatorial Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and the subtropical Pacific. As this subsurface stock is one of the main seasonal inputs of iron through winter vertical mixing, it can induce delayed responses in marine ecosystems. Ongoing work is evaluating this hypothesis and comparing the simulated vertical distribution of dissolved iron in the water column against observations acquired by the GEOTRACES program.

In this presentation, we will also describe the efforts made in the new project BIOTA to understand how changes in aerosol transformation and deposition interact with the projected increase in upper ocean stratification, potentially enhancing the relative importance of aeolian nutrient inputs.

How to cite: Llort, J., Bergas-Massó, E., Bernardello, R., Sicardi, V., Gonçalves Ageitos, M., Pons, C., Myriokefalitakis, S., and Pérez García-Pando, C.: Evaluating the impact of improved dust representation and atmospheric iron chemistry in marine primary production and subsurface iron stocks , EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-8963, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-8963, 2025.

EGU25-8963

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Aerosol radiative effects are still one of the major sources of uncertainty in terms of a quantitative understanding of climate changes across time scales, despite many advances in the field. Yet, paleodata databases offer the opportunity to constrain to some extent past natural aerosol emissions, allowing to account for aerosol radiative effects in a more realistic way in simulations with Earth System Models, at least from the point of view of amounts and spatial distributions of different aerosol species.

Here we first present the results of simulations conducted with CESM1.0 using paleodust constrained emissions for different equilibrium climate states, then broaden our discussion on the importance of historical and paleoclimate aerosol radiative effects, considering the published literature. We estimated that preindustrial to present-day aerosol radiative effects are affected by emission uncertainties that are just as large as model spread uncertainties (2.8 W m−2). We advocate that more efforts are put into improving and expanding existing paleodata collections and that those available should be taken into account when assessing uncertainties related to aerosol radiative effects. In particular we propose a new intercomparison project (AERO-HISTMIP) that compares outcomes when using multiple emission pathways in CMIP historical simulations.  

How to cite: Albani, S., Mahowald, N. M., Li, L., Hamilton, D. S., and Kok, J. F.: Paleoclimate informed simulations for constraining aerosol radiative effects, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-4775, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-4775, 2025.

EGU25-4775

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The Velika Vrbica loess-palaeosol sequence (LPS) in northeastern Serbia, located at the westernmost boundary of the Wallachian Basin, provides a high-resolution terrestrial archive of palaeoenvironmental changes spanning Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 3 to MIS 1. This study integrates optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, magnetic susceptibility (χ), and mass accumulation rates (MAR) to reconstruct climatic and environmental dynamics over the last ~41,000 years. The OSL chronology reveals consistent loess deposition from ~41 ka to 3 ka, with peak accumulation rates during MIS 3 and late MIS 2. Notably, MARs are higher during the interstadial MIS 3 compared to the Last Glacial Maximum (MIS 2), challenging conventional models that associate intensified dust deposition solely with colder glacial phases. This pattern highlights the influence of regional factors such as sediment source proximity, wind dynamics, and variations in sediment trapping efficiency. The χ record highlights fluctuations in pedogenesis and aeolian activity, which broadly correspond to climatic oscillations captured in the NGRIP δ¹⁸O ice core record. These global cold periods align with intensified dust deposition, but substantial MAR values observed during warmer interglacial phases suggest that sedimentation processes in southeastern Europe were influenced by additional, localized drivers. The Velika Vrbica LPS captures detailed environmental responses to Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) events, marked by rapid warming and subsequent cooling phases. These responses reflect the sensitivity of southeastern Europe to abrupt climatic shifts and reveal the nuanced relationship between global climatic drivers and regional environmental processes. Notably, the sandy layer deposited between ~32 ka and ~15 ka reflects intensified palaeowind activity during the Last Glacial Maximum, further illustrating the interplay between climate and sedimentation dynamics. Comparison with other LPSs in southeastern Europe highlights the distinct depositional patterns of Velika Vrbica, with pronounced MAR peaks during MIS 3 and considerable variability during MIS 2. These findings diverge from the widely accepted model of loess formation, emphasizing the importance of site-specific factors and regional climatic influences. For example, while most models predict lower dust input during interglacial periods, the Velika Vrbica LPS records substantial dust deposition even during MIS 3 interstadials. This challenges established paradigms and underscores the complexity of loess formation processes in dynamic semi-arid environments. By integrating high-resolution geochronological data with sedimentological and palaeoclimatic analyses, this research provides critical insights into late Quaternary climate dynamics in southeastern Europe. The Velika Vrbica LPS not only enhances our understanding of the region’s environmental history but also contributes to refining global models of loess deposition and dust dynamics. These findings emphasize the need for further site-specific investigations to disentangle the interplay between global climate systems and local environmental processes, thereby advancing our understanding of past climatic variability and its implications for future environmental changes.

How to cite: Perić, Z., Ryan, C., Thompson, W., Radaković, M., Krsmanović, P., Alexanderson, H., and Marković, S.: Unraveling Late Quaternary Climate Dynamics: Insights from the Velika Vrbica Loess-Palaeosol Sequence, Wallachian Basin, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-4494, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-4494, 2025.

EGU25-4494

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Loess-paleosol sequences, widely distributed across the Eurasian continent, serve as critical terrestrial archives for reconstructing Quaternary climatic changes. Magnetic minerals in these soils are highly sensitive indicators of environmental and climatic variations. This study systematically examines the mineral magnetic properties of two of the most complete loess-paleosol sequences from the past 1 Ma at two sides of the Eurasian continent: the Titel-Stari Slankmen profile in Serbia and the Xifeng profile on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Results reveal lower maghemite concentrations and higher hematite-to-maghemite ratios in Serbian paleosols compared to Chinese ones, indicating drier soil moisture conditions in Serbia that favor the transformation of maghemite into hematite. These findings challenge previous interpretations linking the low magnetic susceptibility of Serbian paleosols to excessive moisture dissolving fine-grained maghemite and magnetite. The drier interglacial hydroclimate in Serbia is attributed to its proximity to the Mediterranean climate zone. The drier interglacial hydroclimate in Serbia is linked to its proximity to the Mediterranean climate zone, which influences northern Serbia during the summer months, and results in reduced precipitation and increased summer aridity.

How to cite: Namier, N.: A Comparative Study of Magnetic Properties of Loess-Paleosol Sequences in Serbia and China: Implications for Regional Hydroclimatic Differences, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-8182, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-8182, 2025.

EGU25-8182

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The 2.3-million-year grain-size records of detrital components from IODP Site U1430 in the East (Japan) Sea illustrate the influence of East Asian Winter Monsoon variations on Asian dust transport and deposition. Dust transport was driven by two distinct wind systems: low-level northwesterly winter monsoon winds and upper-level westerlies. Using end-member (EM) modeling of grain-size distributions, five EMs were identified: fine-mode dust transported by upper-level westerlies (EM1), coarse-mode dust carried by northwesterly surface winds (EM2), and marine tephra components (EM3, EM4, EM5). After excluding marine tephra contributions, a refined dust-size distribution model was developed, focusing on EM1 and EM2. The cyclic patterns and amplitudes of dust-size variations at Site U1430 closely align with size records from the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), where sedimentation is predominantly influenced by northwesterly surface winds. This agreement suggests that dust deposition at Site U1430 was similarly controlled by the intensity of these winds, rather than upper-level westerlies. Additionally, variations in loess size across the CLP and modern dust observations indicate that vertical and lateral sorting processes during atmospheric transport contributed to the finer dust sizes recorded at Site U1430. These findings highlight the critical role of surface wind intensity and atmospheric sorting in shaping long-term dust deposition patterns in the East (Japan) Sea. 

How to cite: Jang, J.-H., Bahk, J.-J., and Lee, D. E.: IODP Site U1430 Asian Dust Size Records in the East (Japan) Sea Since the Early Pleistocene: The Role of Northwesterly Surface Winds and Upper Westerlies , EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-7600, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-7600, 2025.

EGU25-7600

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The Arctic warms faster than any other region on Earth. As sea ice diminishes in response, wind speeds increase due to reduced drag over open waters. Lake sediments offer valuable records of these processes and their relation to past climate change through the deposition of wind-blown grains and elements. This study reconstructs 8,000 years of Arctic eolian activity using laminated sediments from closed Lake Dunsappietjørna on the Svalbard archipelago. The site faces North Atlantic Westerlies as well as Easterly winds. By integrating geochemical (X-Ray Fluorescence – XRF), visual (Computed Tomography – CT and Scanning Electron Microscope – SEM), and granulometric (End Member Modeling Analysis – EMMA) fingerprints in a geostatistical (Principal Component Analysis – PCA) framework, we link clastic lacustrine input to sediment sources in the catchment, and unravel the imprint of Westerly and Easterly wind systems throughout the Holocene.

How to cite: Stachowska, Z., van der Bilt, W. G. M., Strzelecki, M. C., and Kavan, J.: Another one traps the dust: Central Svalbard Lake sediments track 8,000 years of High Arctic wind strength, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-7106, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-7106, 2025.

EGU25-7106

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The seasonal migration of the westerly jet (WJ) over East Asia is recognized as a substantial factor in the historical climate of the region, especially regarding spatial and temporal variability of regional rainfall and the dust cycle in the Northern Hemisphere. However, the evolution of East Asian WJ since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) remains debated. To enhance our understanding, we investigate the changes in Asian dust sources in sediments from the southern Mariana Trench utilizing trace elements and Sr-Nd isotopes.

According to the geochemical analyses, the eolian dust from the Taklimakan desert is the major dust source to the southern Mariana Trench during most of the LGM. Nevertheless, the Mongolian Gobi Desert became the dominant dust contributor during partial periods of the early LGM. This result can be attributed to changes in the timing of the seasonal WJ transition and the meridional distribution of the WJ. During the LGM, low boreal summer insolation kept the WJ axis south of the Tibetan Plateau throughout the year, which should be accompanied by broad meridional distribution of the WJ affecting mid-to-high latitudes. However, extensive Northern Hemisphere ice sheets prevented the occurrence of the WJ over mid-to-high latitudes. Therefore, the WJ mainly transported the Taklimakan dust. The smaller ice sheets in the early LGM than in the late LGM allowed the WJ to appear over the Mongolian Gobi Desert, favoring the local dust export.

During the mid-Holocene, the trench received a mixed contribution of the Taklimakan and the Mongolian Gobi dust. Strong boreal summer insolation during this period caused the WJ axis to frequently shift to a southwest-northeast orientation and an earlier seasonal WJ transition. This facilitated the transport of dust from both deserts. In the late Holocene, the Taklimakan desert became the dominant dust source, due to a reoriented WJ axis with a west-east orientation and a delayed seasonal transition driven by declining boreal summer insolation.

How to cite: Wu, Y., Liu, Y., Wu, T., Li, C.-F., Zhao, W., Song, T., and Tian, L.: Westerly jet variations over East Asia since the Last Glacial Maximum: Evidence from Asian dust records in the Mariana Trench , EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-4612, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-4612, 2025.

EGU25-4612

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