Integration of multi-source measurements to monitor sand-dust storms over North China: A case study

The aerosol optical depth (AOD) data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard Satellite Aqua, along with the altitude-resolved aerosol subtypes product from the Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), as well as surface PM10 measurements, were utilized to investigate the dust activities common in springtime of northern China. Specifically, a dust storm episode that occurred over the North China Plain (NCP) during 17-21 March 2010 was identified. The PM10 concentration at Beijing (39.8A degrees N, 116.47A degrees E) reached the peak value of 283 A mu g m(-3) on 20 March 2010 from the background value of 15 A mu g m(-3) measured on 17 March 2010, then dropped to 176 A mu g m(-3) on 21 March 2010. Analysis of the CALIOP aerosol subtypes product showed that numerous large dust plumes floated over northern China, downwind of main desert source regions, and were lifted to altitudes as high as 3.5 km during this time period. The MODIS AOD data provided spatial distributions of dust load, broadly consistent with ground-level PM10, especially in cloud free areas. However, inconsistency between the MODIS AOD and surface PM10 measurements under cloudy conditions did exist, further highlighting the unique capability of the CALIOP lidar. CALIOP can penetrate the cloud layer to give unambiguous and altitude-resolved dust measurements, albeit a relatively long revisit period (16 days) and narrower swath (90 m). A back trajectory simulation using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model was performed, and it was found that the sand-dust storm originated from the Gobi Desert on 18 March 2010 travelled approximately 1200-1500 km day(-1) eastward and passed over the NCP on 19 March 2010, in good agreement with previous findings. In addition, the multi-sensor measurements integrated with the HYSPLIT model output formed a three-dimensional view of the transport pathway for this dust episode, indicating that this episode was largely associated with the desert source regions to the northwest of the NCP. The results imply the importance of integration of multi-sensor measurements for clarifying the overall structure of dust events over northern China.