NAAPS 2001041300 Study of Asian Dust Event

	NAAPS Study of April 2001 (20010406-19) Asian Dust Event

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Last updated 2001041900

These two loops show the origins of the dust storm:

1. SeaWiFS for China and West Pacific

2. NAAPS/TOMS AI/Surface Obs. for East Asia and West Pacific

Also look at LARC/MISR images of dust over China and Korea

The photos below are reduced-resolution versions of photos taken by Dr. Zev Levin (zev@hail.tau.ac.il) while visiting Baicheng, Jilin Province, China (NE of Beijing, approx. 45.5N, 122.5E) during the dust storm. The first two were taken on April 7th. The third was taken on April 8th. The two buildings seen in the foreground of the third image are also seen in the second. Click on an image for a larger version.

These two loops show the dust storm as it approaches N. America:
SeaWiFS for West Coast and East Pacific

NAAPS for West Coast and East Pacific This loop is 4mb long!

Below we present SeaWiFS imagery (courtesy of N. Kuring, NASA/GSFC and Orbimage) and NAAPS simulations. The SeaWiFS images are true color since they have several bands in the visible spectrum, hence we are able to see the dust as brownish areas over the ocean, even in the cloudy regions. This cannot be done with conventional satellite imagery which provide only one visible band.

The NAAPS plots show optical depth of dust (greens), sulfate (reds) and smoke (blues) for the same regions and nearly the same times as the SeaWiFS images. Optical depth is a simple measure of the amount of aerosol in a column. (The pair for April 20 is a little difficult to compare since the SeaWiFS for that date uses a projection different than the one used for NAAPS.)

After looking at these individual images, load the above loop and you will see that this isn't a simple case of west-to-east transport. The dust over the Great Lakes, Eastern U.S. and New England (last three images) came via the Yukon Territories and Hudson's Bay.

SeaWiFS for 2001041120: NAAPS for 2001041200:
NAAPS