Observations and transport modeling of dust storm event over Northeast Asia using HYSPLIT: case study

Abstract

This study analyzes a regional dust storm event that occurred in spring 2016 using data from observation sites, Lidar measurements, and satellite imageries. PM10 concentrations at surface observation stations are considered as a primary indicator of the dust events. The dust events occurred on 3-12 March with PM10 reaching a maximum beyond 1682, 1498, 706, and 165 μg m−3 at observation sites in Mongolia, China, Korea and Japan, respectively. The dust event in Northeast Asia is captured by time series of PM10 concentrations at observation sites. On 3-4 March, the dust storm event originated from Mongolia move toward China, Korea and Japan. Vertical distributions of dust observed by Lidar measurements from stations in AD-Net capture a thick layer of nearly 2.2 km of high concentrations above surface in the area of origin. The maximum PM10 concentration drops with downwind transport. Dust source identification and dust-loaded air parcel trajectories are calculated using the HYSPLIT model. According to the HYSPLIT model, the dust storm started on 3-4 March from Mongolia and reached northern Japan in about 4 days passing over northern China and Korea.