Seasonal Variations and Long-term Trend of Mineral Dust Aerosols over the Taiwan Region
Abstract Atmospheric dust aerosols are known to affect the air quality and public health as well as climate and weather systems. An increasing number of modeling studies have related ice nucleation with the number concentrations of dust particles with a diameter larger than 500 nm (ND,d>500nm). I...
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| Language: | English |
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Springer
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Aerosol and Air Quality Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2020.07.0433 |
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| author | Yanda Zhang Yi-Jhen Cai Fangqun Yu Gan Luo Charles C. K. Chou |
| author_facet | Yanda Zhang Yi-Jhen Cai Fangqun Yu Gan Luo Charles C. K. Chou |
| author_sort | Yanda Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Atmospheric dust aerosols are known to affect the air quality and public health as well as climate and weather systems. An increasing number of modeling studies have related ice nucleation with the number concentrations of dust particles with a diameter larger than 500 nm (ND,d>500nm). In this paper, the seasonal variation, vertical properties, and long-term trend of ND,d>500nm over the Taiwan region are analyzed, using simulations from a global chemical transport model with size-resolved particle microphysics. Over Taiwan, ND,d>500nm shows a bimodal seasonal variation distribution with two peaks in spring (March–May) and fall-early winter (October–December). In the different seasons, ND,d>500nm varies by about one order of magnitude from summer to spring (0.06–1.23 cm−3 in the boundary layer, 0.03–0.55 cm−3 in the middle and lower troposphere, and 0.006–0.03 cm−3 in the upper level). Vertically, ND,d>500nm profiles show the unimodal distribution, with the highest ND,d>500nm appears at ~1 km and decreasing with altitude. From surface to high levels, the frequencies of intense dust events decrease in fall (September–November) and increase in summer months (June–August). The long-term model results suggest a decreasing trend of the strong dust event frequencies and annual mean ND,d>500nm over Taiwan in the last two decades. From 1999 to 2018, the number of strong dust event days and ND,d>500nm decreased by 40–43% and 37–54%, respectively, under 4 km, and the decline is weaker at higher altitudes. The analysis suggests that these decrease trends are caused by the declining Asian dust emissions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4d637df75e6046f490550c8252bfb738 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1680-8584 2071-1409 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Aerosol and Air Quality Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-4d637df75e6046f490550c8252bfb7382025-02-09T12:20:51ZengSpringerAerosol and Air Quality Research1680-85842071-14092020-11-0121511710.4209/aaqr.2020.07.0433Seasonal Variations and Long-term Trend of Mineral Dust Aerosols over the Taiwan RegionYanda Zhang0Yi-Jhen Cai1Fangqun Yu2Gan Luo3Charles C. K. Chou4Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, State University of New York at AlbanyDepartment of Atmospheric Sciences, National Central UniversityAtmospheric Sciences Research Center, State University of New York at AlbanyAtmospheric Sciences Research Center, State University of New York at AlbanyResearch Center for Environmental Changes, Academia SinicaAbstract Atmospheric dust aerosols are known to affect the air quality and public health as well as climate and weather systems. An increasing number of modeling studies have related ice nucleation with the number concentrations of dust particles with a diameter larger than 500 nm (ND,d>500nm). In this paper, the seasonal variation, vertical properties, and long-term trend of ND,d>500nm over the Taiwan region are analyzed, using simulations from a global chemical transport model with size-resolved particle microphysics. Over Taiwan, ND,d>500nm shows a bimodal seasonal variation distribution with two peaks in spring (March–May) and fall-early winter (October–December). In the different seasons, ND,d>500nm varies by about one order of magnitude from summer to spring (0.06–1.23 cm−3 in the boundary layer, 0.03–0.55 cm−3 in the middle and lower troposphere, and 0.006–0.03 cm−3 in the upper level). Vertically, ND,d>500nm profiles show the unimodal distribution, with the highest ND,d>500nm appears at ~1 km and decreasing with altitude. From surface to high levels, the frequencies of intense dust events decrease in fall (September–November) and increase in summer months (June–August). The long-term model results suggest a decreasing trend of the strong dust event frequencies and annual mean ND,d>500nm over Taiwan in the last two decades. From 1999 to 2018, the number of strong dust event days and ND,d>500nm decreased by 40–43% and 37–54%, respectively, under 4 km, and the decline is weaker at higher altitudes. The analysis suggests that these decrease trends are caused by the declining Asian dust emissions.https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2020.07.0433Mineral dust number concentrationIce nucleiDust aerosols in TaiwanLong-term trend of dust |
| spellingShingle | Yanda Zhang Yi-Jhen Cai Fangqun Yu Gan Luo Charles C. K. Chou Seasonal Variations and Long-term Trend of Mineral Dust Aerosols over the Taiwan Region Aerosol and Air Quality Research Mineral dust number concentration Ice nuclei Dust aerosols in Taiwan Long-term trend of dust |
| title | Seasonal Variations and Long-term Trend of Mineral Dust Aerosols over the Taiwan Region |
| title_full | Seasonal Variations and Long-term Trend of Mineral Dust Aerosols over the Taiwan Region |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal Variations and Long-term Trend of Mineral Dust Aerosols over the Taiwan Region |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal Variations and Long-term Trend of Mineral Dust Aerosols over the Taiwan Region |
| title_short | Seasonal Variations and Long-term Trend of Mineral Dust Aerosols over the Taiwan Region |
| title_sort | seasonal variations and long term trend of mineral dust aerosols over the taiwan region |
| topic | Mineral dust number concentration Ice nuclei Dust aerosols in Taiwan Long-term trend of dust |
| url | https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2020.07.0433 |
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