hide
Free keywords:
Atmospheric dust cycle
Mineral dust
Wind erosion
Source areas
Model
Aerosol
Emission
Backscattering
Surface
Desert
Abstract:
Estimates of the aerodynamic roughness lengths z(0) in arid and semi-arid regions are for the first time provided for the whole globe, using satellite ERS scatterometer observations. A statistical relationship is derived between the ERS scatterometer backscattering coefficients and quality in situ and geomorphological z(0) estimates. It is a practical solution to provide realistic roughness maps with large-scale spatial patterns that are consistent with independent surface characterization. In addition, it makes it possible to analyze the seasonal and interannual variations of this parameter on a global basis. The satellite-derived surface roughness parameters have been implemented into the dust emission scheme of a global dust cycle model. Dust emission computations are improved when using the ERS derived z(0) as input parameter. The spatial correlation between the TOMS observation frequency and the model dust events increases from 0.34 when using fixed z(0) to 0.52 when using the satellite-derived estimates. [References: 37]
