Models transport Saharan dust too low in the atmosphere compared to observations

Abstract. We investigate the dust forecasts from two operational global atmospheric models in comparison with in-situ and remote sensing measurements obtained during the AERosol properties – Dust (AER-D) field campaign. Airborne elastic backscatter lidar measurements were performed on-board the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements during August 2015 over the Eastern Atlantic, and they permitted to characterize the dust vertical distribution in detail, offering insights on transport from the Sahara. They were complemented with airborne in-situ measurements of dust size-distribution and optical properties, and datasets from the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System spaceborne lidar (CATS) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). We compare the airborne and spaceborne datasets to operational predictions obtained from the Met Office Unified Model (MetUM) and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). The dust aerosol optical depth predictions from the models are generally in agreement with the observations, but display a low bias. However, the predicted vertical distribution places the dust lower in the atmosphere than highlighted in our observations. This is particularly noticeable for the MetUM, which does not transport coarse dust high enough in the atmosphere, nor far enough away from source. We also found that both model forecasts underpredict coarse mode dust, and at times overpredict fine mode dust. An analysis of the processes driving dust uplift in the models suggests that errors in the large scale wind and dust size distribution at source could be the cause of differences between model predictions and observations of the Saharan Air Layer. Mineral dust is an important component of the climate system, therefore it is important to assess how models reproduce its properties and transport mechanisms.