{"title":"How much do atmospheric depressions and Mongolian cyclones contribute to spring dust activities in East Asia?","authors":"Feifei Mu, Stephanie Fiedler","doi":"10.1038/s41612-025-00929-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Severe East Asian dust storms occur in spring due to dust-emitting winds in the Gobi Desert associated with Mongolian cyclones. The present study performs the first quantitative assessment of the contributions of Mongolian cyclones to springtime dust activity in East Asia, based on multiple reanalyses and observational datasets for 2001–2022. Atmospheric depressions dominate dust activities in Northern China, explaining ~90–92% of the total dust emissions in the Gobi Desert and ~88–93% of the dust aerosol optical depth (<i>τ</i>) downwind, depending on the dataset. Mongolian cyclones, defined as long-living and mobile atmospheric depressions, explain almost half (~34–47%) of the Gobi’s total dust emissions and <i>τ</i> downwind, and are the primary driver of high-impact dust storms. The number of Mongolian cyclones, along with the dust activity, has decreased since 2001, with a spatial pattern of the dust emission trend that is consistent with the northward shift of cyclone tracks.</p>","PeriodicalId":19438,"journal":{"name":"npj Climate and Atmospheric Science","volume":"85 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"npj Climate and Atmospheric Science","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-00929-w","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"METEOROLOGY & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
How much do atmospheric depressions and Mongolian cyclones contribute to spring dust activities in East Asia?
Severe East Asian dust storms occur in spring due to dust-emitting winds in the Gobi Desert associated with Mongolian cyclones. The present study performs the first quantitative assessment of the contributions of Mongolian cyclones to springtime dust activity in East Asia, based on multiple reanalyses and observational datasets for 2001–2022. Atmospheric depressions dominate dust activities in Northern China, explaining ~90–92% of the total dust emissions in the Gobi Desert and ~88–93% of the dust aerosol optical depth (τ) downwind, depending on the dataset. Mongolian cyclones, defined as long-living and mobile atmospheric depressions, explain almost half (~34–47%) of the Gobi’s total dust emissions and τ downwind, and are the primary driver of high-impact dust storms. The number of Mongolian cyclones, along with the dust activity, has decreased since 2001, with a spatial pattern of the dust emission trend that is consistent with the northward shift of cyclone tracks.
期刊介绍：
npj Climate and Atmospheric Science is an open-access journal encompassing the relevant physical, chemical, and biological aspects of atmospheric and climate science. The journal places particular emphasis on regional studies that unveil new insights into specific localities, including examinations of local atmospheric composition, such as aerosols.
The range of topics covered by the journal includes climate dynamics, climate variability, weather and climate prediction, climate change, ocean dynamics, weather extremes, air pollution, atmospheric chemistry (including aerosols), the hydrological cycle, and atmosphere–ocean and atmosphere–land interactions. The journal welcomes studies employing a diverse array of methods, including numerical and statistical modeling, the development and application of in situ observational techniques, remote sensing, and the development or evaluation of new reanalyses.
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