Modeling impacts of dust mineralogy on fast climate response

Abstract K over the Sahara and an increase of 0.7 K over the Sahel. The less warming in the atmosphere suppresses ascent and weakens the monsoon inflow from the Gulf of Guinea. This brings less moisture to the Sahel, which combined with decreased ascent induces a reduction of precipitation. To isolate the effect of reduced absorption compared to resolving spatial and temporal mineralogy, we carry out a simulation where the hematite volume content of homogeneous dust is reduced from 2.7 % to 0.9 % (HD09). The dust absorption (e.g., single-scattering albedo) of HD09 is comparable to that of the mineralogically speciated model on a global mean scale, albeit with a lower spatial variation that arises solely from particle size. Comparison of the two models indicates that the spatial inhomogeneity in dust absorption resulting from resolving mineralogy does not have significant impacts on Earth's radiation and climate, provided there is a similar level of dust absorption on a global mean scale before and after resolving dust mineralogy. However, uncertainties related to emission and distribution of minerals may blur the advantages of resolving minerals to study their impact on radiation, cloud properties, ocean biogeochemistry, air quality, and photochemistry. On the other hand, lumping together clay minerals (i.e., illite, kaolinite, and smectite), but excluding externally mixed hematite and gypsum, appears to provide both computational efficiency and relative accuracy. Nevertheless, for specific research, it may be necessary to fully resolve mineralogy to achieve accuracy.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Modeling impacts of dust mineralogy on fast climate response ; volume:24 ; number:12 ; year:2024 ; pages:7421-7446 ; extent:26 ; Atmospheric chemistry and physics ; 24, Heft 12 (2024), 7421-7446 (gesamt 26)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Song, Qianqian ; Ginoux, Paul ; Gonçalves Ageitos, María ; Miller, Ron L. ; Obiso, Vincenzo ; Pérez García-Pando, Carlos

Further information

• DOI: 10.5194/acp-24-7421-2024
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2408061051030.415255698963
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 14.08.2025, 10:44 AM CEST