Asian Dust at Mauna Loa Observatory: Analysis and Modeling of Individual Atmospheric Particles

Springtime Asian dust storms events, typically originating in the Gobi Desert or Taklamakan Desert, produce particles that can be carried aloft eastward for thousands of miles. As a result, the radiative properties of these particles can significantly affect global climate. Here, we determine the optical properties of particles identified as Asian dust at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, (MLO) based on the composition and actual shapes of individual particles. Samples of particulate material <10 μm in size were collected at MLO, between March 15 and April 26, 2011. Air mass back trajectories and satellite imagery showed that a subset of the aerosol sampled during this period likely originated from the Asian mainland while most of the aerosol probably did not. Samples were first analyzed by automated scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, whereby particles were sorted into compositionally-distinct particle types. Two particle types, identified as dolomite and calcite were determined to have originated from Asia. A third type, anhydrite, also aloft in the free troposphere, was not associated with Asian dust. Individual particles were analyzed compositionally and their shapes modeled spatially using focused ion-beam (FIB) SEM and FIB tomography. Particle 3-D representations were then input to the discrete dipole approximation method to determine their optical properties for 589 nm light. Calculations revealed that the single scattering albedo (SSA) for the Asian dust particles (0.79 to 0.94) straddled the critical SSA for cooling vs. warming (0.86), with the lowest SSA (0.79) attributed to a small amount of soot (1.7 % by volume) attached to a dolomite particle. SSA for the free troposphere anhydrite particles (0.90 to 0.93) was well above the critical SSA. For the three particle types, SSA for the actual-shaped particles was higher than equivalently-sized spheres, cubes, or tetrahedra. For the fraction of backscattered light from particles, DDA results for equivalently-sized spheres, cubes, or tetrahedra were much larger, surprisingly, than for the actual-shaped particles: from 2-times larger for tetrahedra to as much as 14-times larger for spheres.