How well does a mineralogical soil database translate into realistic mineral-resolved dust transport and deposition in a global climate model?

Dust aerosols are a key component of the Earth's climate system. However, global climate models often depict mineral dust as a uniform aerosol. This simplification limits the physical realism of dust simulations, necessitating comparison with available observations to determine whether mineralogical variability is accurately represented when incorporated into a global climate-aerosol model.

In this study, we examine how well a mineralogical soil database translates into realistic mineral-resolved dust transport and deposition in the global climate model ICON coupled with the aerosol module HAM. This implementation is based on the mineralogical soil database of Journet et al. (2014), as modified by Goncalves-Ageitos et al. (2023), and it explicitly represents 12 individual minerals. Using multi-year global simulations, we evaluate the simulated mineralogical dust cycle with a focus on emission patterns, transport pathways, regional deposition, and the representation of seasonal and interannual variability. Model results are compared with available observations and datasets to assess the added value and limitations of mineral-resolved dust representation.

The evaluation demonstrates where mineralogical information helps to better constrain dust transport and deposition and identifies key uncertainties that remain. These results provide a basis for future work on mineral-specific dust deposition and its role in biogeochemical cycles.