A large-scale dust event occurred in East Asia during early May 2017, and transported dust was measured all over Japan. We performed an analysis of the entire dust event using multiple sources: a local ceilometer measurement, measurements from an optical particle counter in the Gobi Desert (Dalanzadgad, Mongolia), a study of Dust RGB imagery obtained from Himawari-8, lidar measurements from Japan, and meteorological data. Our results show that three extratropical low pressure systems occurred consecutively in Mongolia and generated dust storms in the Gobi Desert. The dust generated by the third low pressure system was transported to Japan by a cold front and two pressure troughs, which were associated with the low pressure system. Remarkably, the Dust RGB imagery shows both the occurrence and the transportation of the dust, and was able to detect two dust outbreaks in the Horqin Sandy Land of Northern China and their transportation to eastern Japan; this shows that the Horqin Sandy Land was one of the source regions of this dust event.(Citation:
Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, is subject to high levels of atmospheric pollution during the winter, which severely effects the health of the exposed population. Using lidar and ground level meteorological observations, we studied the temporal variation of the PM 2.5 and the structure of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) during the 2010 heating season. The concentration of PM 2.5 increased after the air temperatures sharply decreased during two cold waves occurring 8−10 and 21−25 October. The surface air temperatures first dropped below 0°C because of the cold wave beginning on 10 October, which prompted the households in the ger (traditional Mongolian dwelling) districts to start combusting coal for heating, resulting in increased PM 2.5 concentrations. Meanwhile, the maximum ABL height continuously decreased from summer to winter and dropped below 800 m after the second cold wave, when the weather was influenced by a Siberian high. The stable atmospheric conditions and surface inversion layer in winter resulted in low wind velocities (< 2 m s
A large-scale dust event occurred in East Asia during early May 2017, and transported dust was measured all over Japan. We performed an analysis of the entire dust event using multiple sources: a local ceilometer measurement, measurements from an optical particle counter in the Gobi Desert (Dalanzadgad, Mongolia), a study of Dust RGB imagery obtained from Himawari-8, lidar measurements from Japan, and meteorological data. Our results show that three extratropical low pressure systems occurred consecutively in Mongolia and generated dust storms in the Gobi Desert. Remarkably, the Dust RGB imagery shows both the occurrence and the transportation of the dust, and was able to detect two dust outbreaks in the Horqin Sandy Land of Northern China and their transportation to eastern Japan; this shows that the Horqin Sandy Land was one of the source regions of this dust event.
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