Evaluating dust storms modeled at kilometer-scale resolution in the ECOMIP initiative

Advanced kilometer-scale resolution modeling offers unprecedented detail of atmospheric processes and properties, including of mineral dust. At kilometer-scale model resolutions, deep moist convective processes do not have to be parameterized any more, but can be represented explicitly at the grid resolution. These processes are very effective in transporting heat, moisture, and energy within the atmosphere and therefore have strong impacts on weather phenomena, such as wind storms. Mineral dust emission is a threshold process that depends non-linearly upon surface wind intensity, which means that the accuracy at which models represent surface winds, together with land-surface properties, is key to estimating dust emissions. A spectacular and intense type of dust storm, i.e. haboob dust storms, is caused by the cold pool outflow of moist convection. We therefore expect that the explicit representation of moist convection in kilometer-scale simulations is particularly beneficial for dust modeling. Determining whether kilometer-scale models can meet this expectation, demands in-depth evaluation against observations. This evaluation is now enabled through novel satellite missions, such as the Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE). Here we present results of kilometer-scale simulations conducted with two models, ICON-ART and ICON-HAM-lite, both including an interactive dust representation. We investigate, for example, evaporative cooling and vertical velocities associated with moist convection as drivers of dust emission. We compare our results against observations from EarthCARE and ORCESTRA (Organized Convection and EarthCARE Studies over the Tropical Atlantic), and against results from other models in the framework of the EarthCARE-ORCESTRA Model Intercomparison Project (ECOMIP). Our results show fascinating detail of mineral dust processes, enabling novel insights into the mineral dust cycle, for example, a globally consistent characterization of haboob properties and impacts.