Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3416
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3416
02 Dec 2024
 | 02 Dec 2024

Analysis of a saline dust storm from the Aralkum Desert – Part 1: Consistency of multisensor satellite aerosol products

Xin Xi, Jun Wang, Zhendong Lu, Andrew Sayer, Jaehwa Lee, Robert Levy, Yujie Wang, Alexei Lyapustin, Hongqing Liu, Istvan Laszlo, Changwoo Ahn, Omar Torres, Sabur Abdullaev, and Ralph Kahn

Abstract. The performance and consistency of satellite observations in characterizing the saline dust emission from the newly formed Aralkum Desert have remained poorly understood. We address this knowledge gap by providing a review of satellite techniques capable of detecting the presence, column burden, and vertical height of airborne dust over desert surfaces. Then we evaluate the consistency between different aerosol products in observing an intense Aralkum dust storm in 2018, via synergistic analyses of the ultraviolet aerosol index (UVAI) from OMPS, TROPOMI and EPIC, aerosol optical depth (AOD) from MODIS and VIIRS, and aerosol optical centroid height (AOCH) from CALIOP and EPIC. The UVAI products consistently delineate the areal extent of the freshly emitted dust plume if the dynamic range of each product is considered. The heavy dust plume is however erroneously masked as clouds in the AOD products. All UVAI products show large positive values over the Garabogazköl gulf and northern Caspian Sea due to enhanced UV absorption by turbid and saline waters, suggesting that caution must be taken to avoid misinterpreting the surface effect as dust signal over ephemeral or dried lakes. The AOD products show generally good agreement in observing the total and coarse-mode AOD associated with the dust outflow to Caspian Sea. Over-land AOD retrievals show strong non-linear relationships between aerosol algorithms. The NOAA Enterprise Processing System (EPS) product yields significantly lower AOD than other algorithms, likely due to the misuse of an urban aerosol optical model for dust retrieval. The EPIC AOCH retrieval shows the best agreement with CALIOP over heavy dust burden areas, with both mean bias and RMSE below 0.5 km. This study reveals significant inconsistency between satellite aerosol products and the potential of multi-sensor approaches for identifying the product biases and limitations in Central Asia.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

14 Jul 2025
Analysis of a saline dust storm from the Aralkum Desert – Part 1: Consistency between multisensor satellite aerosol products
Xin Xi, Jun Wang, Zhendong Lu, Andrew M. Sayer, Jaehwa Lee, Robert C. Levy, Yujie Wang, Alexei Lyapustin, Hongqing Liu, Istvan Laszlo, Changwoo Ahn, Omar Torres, Sabur Abdullaev, James Limbacher, and Ralph A. Kahn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7403–7429, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7403-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7403-2025, 2025
Short summary
Xin Xi, Jun Wang, Zhendong Lu, Andrew Sayer, Jaehwa Lee, Robert Levy, Yujie Wang, Alexei Lyapustin, Hongqing Liu, Istvan Laszlo, Changwoo Ahn, Omar Torres, Sabur Abdullaev, and Ralph Kahn

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3416', Anonymous Referee #1, 18 Dec 2024
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3416', Anonymous Referee #2, 27 Dec 2024
  • CC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3416', Sophie Vandenbussche, 08 Jan 2025
  • RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3416', Anonymous Referee #3, 11 Jan 2025
  • AC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3416', Xin Xi, 13 Mar 2025

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3416', Anonymous Referee #1, 18 Dec 2024
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3416', Anonymous Referee #2, 27 Dec 2024
  • CC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3416', Sophie Vandenbussche, 08 Jan 2025
  • RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3416', Anonymous Referee #3, 11 Jan 2025
  • AC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3416', Xin Xi, 13 Mar 2025

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
AR by Xin Xi on behalf of the Authors (13 Mar 2025)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (24 Mar 2025) by Qi Chen
RR by Anonymous Referee #2 (02 Apr 2025)
RR by Anonymous Referee #3 (03 Apr 2025)
RR by Anonymous Referee #1 (14 Apr 2025)
ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (21 Apr 2025) by Qi Chen
AR by Xin Xi on behalf of the Authors (22 Apr 2025)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Publish as is (23 Apr 2025) by Qi Chen
AR by Xin Xi on behalf of the Authors (23 Apr 2025)  Manuscript 

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

14 Jul 2025
Analysis of a saline dust storm from the Aralkum Desert – Part 1: Consistency between multisensor satellite aerosol products
Xin Xi, Jun Wang, Zhendong Lu, Andrew M. Sayer, Jaehwa Lee, Robert C. Levy, Yujie Wang, Alexei Lyapustin, Hongqing Liu, Istvan Laszlo, Changwoo Ahn, Omar Torres, Sabur Abdullaev, James Limbacher, and Ralph A. Kahn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7403–7429, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7403-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7403-2025, 2025
Short summary
Xin Xi, Jun Wang, Zhendong Lu, Andrew Sayer, Jaehwa Lee, Robert Levy, Yujie Wang, Alexei Lyapustin, Hongqing Liu, Istvan Laszlo, Changwoo Ahn, Omar Torres, Sabur Abdullaev, and Ralph Kahn
Xin Xi, Jun Wang, Zhendong Lu, Andrew Sayer, Jaehwa Lee, Robert Levy, Yujie Wang, Alexei Lyapustin, Hongqing Liu, Istvan Laszlo, Changwoo Ahn, Omar Torres, Sabur Abdullaev, and Ralph Kahn

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Short summary
Currently there are a number of satellite aerosol products available for dust research. The consistency between them is generally poor understood. This paper reveals significant inconsistency between different satellite sensors and techniques in observing the wind-blown saline dust from the Aralkum Desert, and demonstrates the potential of a multisensor approach for robust characterization of airborne dust over desert areas.
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