Saharan Dust Deposition in Central Europe in 2016—A Representative Year of the Increased North African Dust Removal Over the Last Decade

Abstract

Changes in circulation patterns associated with climate change have led to an increase in the frequency and intensity of Saharan dust events (SDEs) in the Carpathian Basin. The annual number of dust events was 4.2 on average between 1979 and 2010, while in the period of 2011–2018, it has increased to 10.3. This study presents a quantitative assessment of wet deposition of dust particles to Lake Balaton (Central Europe) with mineralogical and particle size distribution measurements. In addition to a comprehensive, systematic SDE identification process, rainwater samples were collected in 2016, and the particles on the filters were characterised using a range of analytical techniques. The atmospheric transport of particulates and moisture was evaluated using HYSPLIT Lagrangian trajectory model. XRD measurements revealed that during these events, the major minerals were quartz, kaolinite and 10-Å phyllosilicates. In addition, mineralogical source markers of arid dust (palygorskite and smectite) were also identified in majority of the analysed samples. Based on the results, wet deposition fluxes of dust particles were estimated for the region. 2016 was a typical and representative year for the decade, with twelve identified dust episodes. The synoptic patterns of the events fit well with the typical meteorological character of the North African dust intrusions with enhanced atmospheric meridionality described earlier. From the twelve episodes of 2016, seven were depositional events when wet deposition could be observed at ground level. Dust material of five episodes was analysed in detail, while particles of the two February wet deposition episodes were only granulometrically characterised. General uncertainties that hinder the characterisation of mineral dust in climate models were also observed in the granulometric and dust flux data of the sampled material. The particle size of the deposited dust was coarser than the upper cut-off level of grain size of the models. In addition, the discrepancies between measured and simulated deposition values clearly demonstrated the incorrect representation of dust flux in numerical simulations (partly due to inaccurate grain size data in the models).

Pathways of carbonate sediment accumulation in a large, shallow lake

“…We found a smaller amount of solid material delivered by tributaries (24,000 t•y -l ) than former estimates (30,000-50,000 t•y -l , Virág, 1998), probably reflecting the effect of the gradual restoration of the Kis-Balaton wetlands since the 1980s that resulted in less solid matter discharge into the lake by the Zala River (Hatvani et al, 2014;Honti et al, 2020). A noteworthy result of our measurements is the observation of significant contributions of Saharan dust events to the solid material in rainwater, and probably also to dry deposition (Rostási et al, 2022). Since climate change appears to have rearranged synoptic meteorological patterns (Varga 2020), the incursion of southern air masses became more frequent in recent years (Varga et al, 2013), and the amount of Saharan dust reaching Lake Balaton is expected to increase in the future.…”

The Saharan dust plume: Current knowledge on the impact on health, human activities, and the ecosystem, with comments on research gaps

“…Such knowledge will also help in the understanding of SDP transportation and deposition processes of relevance in interpreting sedimentary records for climate reconstructions and models for improved prediction of future climate (van der Does et al, 2016). A quantitative overview of the moist deposition of dust particles to Lake Balaton in Central Europe was presented in 2022 by Rostási et al (2022), who carried out mineralogical and particle size distribution analysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of samples taken during the storm events showed the major minerals to be quartz, kaolinite and 10-Å phyllosilicates, in addition to the occurrence of mineralogical markers of arid dust source -palygorskite and smectitewhich were identified in most of the samples analysed.…”

“…Dust deposition is a principal link in the dust cycle. In (Rostási et al, 2022) presented a quantitative assessment of the wet deposition of dust particles to Lake Balaton (Central Europe) with mineralogical and particle size distribution measurements. Based on the results, wet deposition fluxes of dust particles were estimated for the region.…”

“…Based on the results, wet deposition fluxes of dust particles were estimated for the region. (Rostási et al, 2022) concluded that 2016 was a typical and representative year for the decade, with twelve identified dust episodes. The synoptic patterns of the events fit well with the typical meteorological character of the North African dust intrusions with enhanced atmospheric meridionally.…”

A Non-Stressful Temperature Rise and Greater Food Availability Could Increase Tolerance to Calcium Limitation of Daphnia cf. pulex (Sensu Hebert, 1995) Populations in Cold Soft-Water Lakes

“…By contrast, increased Ca has been documented in many high-mountain Mediterranean ecosystems such as Sierra Nevada (Southeast Spain) and the French and Italian Alps due to greater atmospheric Ca input from Saharan dust deposition [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. An increase in the frequency and intensity of Saharan dust events in Central Europe over the past decade has been associated with climate change (e.g., [ 30 ]), and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) described recurrent large plumes of Saharan dust moving north across southern and central Europe in 2022 ( (accessed on 20 September 2022). Records for peak concentrations in Southern Spain were broken in March 2022, with the plume reaching as far as Scandinavia over the next few days.…”