Synergy of A-Train sensors and in-situ air quality measurements: 3-D structure of Asian dust transported to the Mid-Atlantic United States and its impact on air quality

Strong surface winds during late winter and spring in Central and East Asia are known to uplift soil from the Gobi and Taklimakan deserts into the free atmosphere. This coupled with global circulation, favors the long range transport of dust across the Pacific and into the United States (U.S.), impacting air quality in the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Collocated AIRS, OMI and CALIPSO observations were used to track the transport of dust across the Pacific and North American continent, and provide 3-D structure of Asian dust (horizontal scale and vertical thickness of dust aerosol layers, and particle size). Elastic lidar (532 and 1064 nm) measurements at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) were carried out to monitor the intrusion of Asian dust into PBL in the metropolitan Baltimore-Washington area. Columnar aerosol optical properties and vertical aerosol extinction retrieved from lidar measurements allows quantification of aerosol concentrations below the PBL where it affected ground-based PM2.5 measurements. Monitoring data from the PM2.5 chemical Speciation Trends Network (STN) and the Interagency Monitoring and Protected Visual Environment (IMPROVE) aerosol monitoring network were used to examine the elemental soil components (e.g. Al, Ca, Fe, Si and Ti) and estimate the PM2.5 mass increment associated with the Asian dust.