Better representation of dust can improve climate models with too weak an African monsoon
The amount of short wave radiation absorbed by dust has remained uncertain. We have developed a more accurate representation of dust absorption that is based on the observed dust mineralogical composition and accounts for very large particles. We analyze the results from two fully coupled climate si...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11423-2021 https://doaj.org/article/a89f8f4a0b064923b52052c8f3cb6bd9 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:a89f8f4a0b064923b52052c8f3cb6bd9 2023-05-15T17:33:52+02:00 Better representation of dust can improve climate models with too weak an African monsoon Y. Balkanski R. Bonnet O. Boucher R. Checa-Garcia J. Servonnat 2021-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11423-2021 https://doaj.org/article/a89f8f4a0b064923b52052c8f3cb6bd9 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/21/11423/2021/acp-21-11423-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7316 https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7324 doi:10.5194/acp-21-11423-2021 1680-7316 1680-7324 https://doaj.org/article/a89f8f4a0b064923b52052c8f3cb6bd9 Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol 21, Pp 11423-11435 (2021) Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11423-2021 2022-12-31T12:34:30Z The amount of short wave radiation absorbed by dust has remained uncertain. We have developed a more accurate representation of dust absorption that is based on the observed dust mineralogical composition and accounts for very large particles. We analyze the results from two fully coupled climate simulations of 100 years in terms of their simulated precipitation patterns against observations. A striking benefit of the new dust optical and physical properties is that tropical precipitation over the Sahel, tropical North Atlantic and West Indian Ocean are significantly improved compared to observations, without degrading precipitations elsewhere. This alleviates a common persistent bias in Earth system models that exhibit a summer African monsoon that does not reach far enough north. We show that the improvements documented here for the IPSL-CM6 1 climate model result from both a thermodynamical and dynamical response to dust absorption, which is unrelated to natural variability. Aerosol absorption induces more water vapor advection from the ocean to the Sahel region, thereby providing an added supply of moisture available for precipitation. This work, thus, provides a path towards improving precipitation patterns in these regions by accounting for both physical and optical properties of the aerosol more realistically. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Indian Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 21 14 11423 11435 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
topic |
Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 |
spellingShingle |
Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 Y. Balkanski R. Bonnet O. Boucher R. Checa-Garcia J. Servonnat Better representation of dust can improve climate models with too weak an African monsoon |
topic_facet |
Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 |
description |
The amount of short wave radiation absorbed by dust has remained uncertain. We have developed a more accurate representation of dust absorption that is based on the observed dust mineralogical composition and accounts for very large particles. We analyze the results from two fully coupled climate simulations of 100 years in terms of their simulated precipitation patterns against observations. A striking benefit of the new dust optical and physical properties is that tropical precipitation over the Sahel, tropical North Atlantic and West Indian Ocean are significantly improved compared to observations, without degrading precipitations elsewhere. This alleviates a common persistent bias in Earth system models that exhibit a summer African monsoon that does not reach far enough north. We show that the improvements documented here for the IPSL-CM6 1 climate model result from both a thermodynamical and dynamical response to dust absorption, which is unrelated to natural variability. Aerosol absorption induces more water vapor advection from the ocean to the Sahel region, thereby providing an added supply of moisture available for precipitation. This work, thus, provides a path towards improving precipitation patterns in these regions by accounting for both physical and optical properties of the aerosol more realistically. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Y. Balkanski R. Bonnet O. Boucher R. Checa-Garcia J. Servonnat |
author_facet |
Y. Balkanski R. Bonnet O. Boucher R. Checa-Garcia J. Servonnat |
author_sort |
Y. Balkanski |
title |
Better representation of dust can improve climate models with too weak an African monsoon |
title_short |
Better representation of dust can improve climate models with too weak an African monsoon |
title_full |
Better representation of dust can improve climate models with too weak an African monsoon |
title_fullStr |
Better representation of dust can improve climate models with too weak an African monsoon |
title_full_unstemmed |
Better representation of dust can improve climate models with too weak an African monsoon |
title_sort |
better representation of dust can improve climate models with too weak an african monsoon |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11423-2021 https://doaj.org/article/a89f8f4a0b064923b52052c8f3cb6bd9 |
geographic |
Indian |
geographic_facet |
Indian |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol 21, Pp 11423-11435 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/21/11423/2021/acp-21-11423-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7316 https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7324 doi:10.5194/acp-21-11423-2021 1680-7316 1680-7324 https://doaj.org/article/a89f8f4a0b064923b52052c8f3cb6bd9 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11423-2021 |
container_title |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
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21 |
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14 |
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11423 |
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11435 |
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1766132501409955840 |