Simulations of 2008 JJA dust storms and their interactions with lower tropospheric ozone

During the summer of 2008, ozonesondes were launched from Dakar Senegal in Saharan Air Layer (SAL) and non-SAL environments. Ozone (O3) concentrations were depleted in the SAL layer for all cases. Here we make use of two regional models: RegCM3 and WRF-MOSAIC for simulating the SAL outbreaks and examining the vertical structure of the SAL. Further, we use WRF-MOSAIC to examine changes in ozone concentrations in the SAL layer for determining the causes for reduced O3. The results show that the dust outbreaks are closely tied to a westward moving thermal heat low at 925 hPa with strong Northerly winds leading to SAL outbreaks with increased optical depth. Simulations will be compared for three (3) SAL/dust outbreaks in June and one (1) SAL/dust outbreak in August of 2008.