WRF-Simulated Winter Season Sahelian Dust Variabilty (1959–2014)

Long-term changes in Saharan dust concentrations, which are transported into West Africa are lacking because of limited spatial/temporal surface measurements. To explore the trends and inter-annual variability of particulate matter in the Sahel, we have undertaken long-term WRF simulations without radiation feedback to determine how the transport of Saharan dust has changed over the last 5 decades. Our results are consistent with recent studies showing that PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were lower prior to 1980 and after 2002 in the Sahel. We also find higher dust concentrations, especially during the period of 1988 to 2002. We present these results and the associated circulation changes for the entire time period.