Dust weather in Tarim Basin derived from a dust event on April 18–21, 2023

Abstract

Aerosols generated by dust weather significantly affect global climate change by altering solar radiation. In this study, a dust event occurred in Tarim Basin, China, from April 18–21, 2023 was selected to study the optical characteristics, emission, dry deposition, and dust transmission path based on the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model and multi-source satellite remote sensing data. We showed that dust weather had effects over a broad region, the most serious effect was found in Tarim Basin, where the particle concentration of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 exceeded the national standard. The spatial distribution of the ultraviolet aerosol index (UVAI) changed significantly with daily dust diffusion and deposition. The UVAI of Tarim Basin was higher than that of the other locations. During this dust event, the vertical distribution of dust aerosols in Tarim Basin was extensive and the maximum height had reached over 10 km. Dust emissions were mainly concentrated on April 18–19, and the eastern part of Xinjiang, China and the central and eastern parts of Tarim Basin were the main emission areas. The dust emission area was much smaller than the dry deposition area. Moreover, wind speed was an important factor causing dust weather, and the high wind speed areas were consistent with the high dust emission areas. Finally, we concluded that the cold air entered Tarim Basin through different paths caused this dust event. The airflows at different heights were affected by the terrain, and the dust subsided and rose several times during its transmission.