Stratospheric impacts on dust transport and air pollution in West Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract Saharan dust intrusions strongly impact Atlantic and Mediterranean coastal regions. Today, most operational dust forecasts extend only 2–5 days. Here we show that on timescales of weeks to months, North African dust emission and transport are impacted by sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature Communications
Main Authors: Dai, Ying, Hitchcock, Peter, Mahowald, Natalie, Domeisen, Daniela, Hamilton, Douglas, Li, Longlei, Marticorena, Beatrice, Kanakidou, Maria, Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos, Aboagye-Okyere, Adwoa
Other Authors: Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA (UMR_7583)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2022
Subjects:
[SDE]Environmental Sciences
North Atlantic
North Atlantic oscillation
Online Access:https://hal.science/hal-04238785
https://hal.science/hal-04238785/document
https://hal.science/hal-04238785/file/s41467-022-35403-1.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35403-1
Description
Summary:Abstract Saharan dust intrusions strongly impact Atlantic and Mediterranean coastal regions. Today, most operational dust forecasts extend only 2–5 days. Here we show that on timescales of weeks to months, North African dust emission and transport are impacted by sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs), which establish a negative North Atlantic Oscillation-like surface signal. Chemical transport models show a large-scale dipolar dust response to SSWs, with the burden in the Eastern Mediterranean enhanced up to 30% and a corresponding reduction in West Africa. Observations of inhalable particulate (PM 10 ) concentrations and aerosol optical depth confirm this dipole. On average, a single SSW causes 680–2460 additional premature deaths in the Eastern Mediterranean and prevents 1180–2040 premature deaths in West Africa from exposure to dust-source fine particulate (PM 2.5 ). Currently, SSWs are predictable 1–2 weeks in advance. Altogether, the stratosphere represents an important source of subseasonal predictability for air quality over West Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.

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