Characteristics of Optical Properties and Heating Rates of Dust Aerosol over Taklimakan Desert and Tibetan Plateau in China Based on CALIPSO and SBDART

Abstract

The spatial and temporal distributions of dust aerosol and its radiative heating effect over Taklimakan Desert (TD) and Tibetan Plateau (TP) were analyzed using the CALIPSO aerosol products and the SBDART model during 2007–2020. The annual dust aerosol optical depths (DAOD at 532 nm) ranged from 0.266 to 0.318 over TD and 0.086 to 0.108 over TP, with means of 0.286 ± 0.015 and 0.097 ± 0.006, respectively. The regional mean DAODs of TD (TP) from spring to winter were 0.375 ± 0.020 (0.107 ± 0.010), 0.334 ± 0.028 (0.110 ± 0.010), 0.235 ± 0.026 (0.071 ± 0.008), and 0.212 ± 0.045 (0.083 ± 0.011), respectively. The maximal (minimal) seasonal DAOD of TD appeared in spring (winter), while that of TP appeared in summer (autumn). Although neither the annual nor the seasonal DAODs showed a statistically significant trend over both TD and TP, their yearly fluctuations were apparent, showing coefficients of variation of 0.053 and 0.065 over TD and TP, respectively. The profile of dust extinction coefficient (σD) showed the maximum in spring and summer over TD and TP, respectively. It showed a weak increasing trend of σD over both TD and TP in spring, but a decreasing trend in autumn. The dust of TD is concentrated within 1–4 km, where the annual averaged shortwave (SW) dust heating rates (DHRs) were larger than 2 K·day−1 from March to September. Over TP, the dust heating layer with SW DHR > 2 K·day−1 ranged from 3 to 4 km during March to June. The SW DHR was much larger in spring and summer than in the other two seasons over both regions, with the maximum in spring. A relatively strong dust heating layer with top >5 km appeared along the north slope of the TP, indicating an important energy transport channel from TD to TP, especially in spring and summer. It showed an increasing trend of the SW DHR over both TD and TP in spring and winter, but a decreasing trend in summer and autumn. Over TD, the most powerful heating appeared within 2–4 km, but the strength and the area of high-value DHR reduced from spring to winter. The highest SW DHR of TP appeared over the Qaidam Basin, acting as an important transmission channel of dust and its heating. For the columnar mean of lower than 10 km, the annual mean DHRs of TD and TP were 0.93 and 0.48 K⋅day−1, respectively. Although the DAOD and DHR of TP were both lower, its shortwave dust heating efficiency (DHE) was 1.7 times that of TD, which suggested that the same amount of dust imported to TP could generate a stronger heating effect than it did at the source.