Satellite Observed Interannual Variations of Intercontinental Transport of Dust and Combustion Aerosol

Wind-blown mineral dust and combustion aerosol from burning of fossil fuels and biomass can transport from one continent to the other, exerting far-reaching impacts on air quality, human health, radiation budget, biogeochemical cycle, and climate. Because of great spatial and temporal coverage, satellites are ideal platforms for characterizing the phenomena and assessing their consequences. In this talk, we will present a recently derived decade-long dataset of aerosol intercontinental transport, dust and combustion aerosol separately, based on both MODIS-Terra (since 2000) and MODIS-Aqua (since 2002) Collection 6 dark-target aerosol products. Dust and combustion aerosol are separated based on their characteristic fine-mode fractions. The method is applied in a consistent manner in that the characteristic fine-mode fractions are determined for specific instrument and specific data collection. The interannual variabilities of dust and combustion aerosol are analyzed both globally and in thirteen major continental outflow regions. Similarities and differences between MODIS-Terra and MODIS-Aqua will be discussed. We will also show comparisons of the MODIS data records with GOCART simulations of dust and combustion aerosol and with MISR and IASI observed dust. Our satellite-based datasets can be used to evaluate the HTAP models, dust and combustion aerosol separately.