The radiative effects of Saharan dust aerosols are investigated in the NASA GEOS-5 atmospheric general circulation model. A sectional aerosol microphysics model (CARMA) is run online in GEOS-5. CARMA treats the dust aerosol lifecycle, and its tracers are radiatively coupled to GEOS-5. A series of AMIP-style simulations are performed, in which input dust optical properties (particle shape and refractive index) are varied. Simulated dust distributions for summertime Saharan dust compare well to observations, with best results found when the most absorbing dust optical properties are assumed. Dust absorption leads to a strengthening of the summertime Hadley cell circulation, increased dust lofting to higher altitudes, and a strengthening of the African easterly jet, resulting in increased dust atmospheric lifetime and farther northward and westward transport. We find a positive feedback of dust radiative forcing on emissions, in contrast with previous studies, which we attribute to our having a relatively strong longwave forcing caused by our simulating larger effective particle sizes. This longwave forcing reduces the magnitude of midday net surface cooling relative to other studies, and leads to a nighttime warming that results in higher nighttime wind speeds and dust emissions. The radiative effects of dust particle shape have only minor impact on transport and emissions, with small (~5%) impact on top of atmosphere shortwave forcing, in line with previous studies, but relatively more pronounced effects on shortwave atmospheric heating and surface forcing (~20% increase in atmospheric forcing for spheroids). Shape effects on longwave heating terms are of order~10%.
Experimental measurements of bulk diffusion in ice and surface diffusion on ice were performed using laser resonant desorption (LRD) techniques. Bulk diffusion in ice was examined using ice sandwich structures and continuous source experiments together with LRD depth-profiling analysis. Surface diffusion was monitored using prepare-refill-probe LRD experiments. New experimental results were obtained for the bulk diffusion of NH 3 and CH 3 OH. These species probably exist as hydrates in the ice. The LRD measurements for CH 3 OH hydrate diffusion, combined with previous results, provide evidence for a vacancy-mediated diffusion mechanism. The diffusion rates for NH 3 hydrates are much larger than diffusion rates for H 2 O self-diffusion in ice and are attributed to the disruption of the ice lattice. LRD prepare-refill-probe experiments revealed that surface diffusion was not measurable for almost all of the species examined on ice. Only butane displayed a measurable surface mobility that was attributed to its unique size and chemical nature. These new measurements of bulk diffusion in ice and surface diffusion on ice should be useful in developing our understanding of kinetic processes in and on ice that are relevant to heterogeneous atmospheric chemistry and ice core analysis.
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