Understanding the Climatology of African Outflow Aerosols over Atlantic: a Multi-Sensor and Modeling Approach

Abstract:

African dust and biomass burning aerosols can affect weather as well as regional climate over downstream Atlantic. To improve our understanding of this critical issue, climatology of African aerosol outflow over Atlantic has been derived using data products from several space-borne sensors (e.g., MODIS, MISR, and CERES) as well as reanalysis (MERRA-2 and ERA5), and also results of climate modeling simulations (CESM). The study have identified the climatic variations of not only aerosol but also meteorological (e.g., temperature, cloud, and precipitation) and hydrological (e.g., soil moisture) conditions. Certain relationships between aerosol emissions and abundance and meteorological and hydrological conditions have also been establish. Detailed results alongside preliminary conclusion will be presented.