Sand and Dust Storm Monitoring: A) International Research Coordination, and B) Example of Dust Modelling Developments

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Sand and Dust Storm MonitoringA) International
Research Coordination, and B) Example of Dust
Modelling Developments

• Slobodan Nickovic
• WMO Research Department
• snickovic_at_wmo.int

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International Coordination within WMO in Dust
Monitoring Research

• WMO provides expertise and international
  cooperation in
• weather,
• climate,
• hydrology and water resources
• environmental issues
• contributing so to safety and well-being of
  people and to the economic benefit of all nations.

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Recent WMO restructuring puts together weather
and climate research future vision hydrology
research to be added as well
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WMO Research Department
CAS
SERA
MesoScale
Nowcasting
SPARC
CLIC
Verification
CLIVAR
GEWEX
Tropical Meteorology
THORPEX
Sand and Dust Storm Warning System
Aerosols Warnings and Assessment
GHG Cycles Fluxes UNFCCC
Ozone Depletion Vienna Convention
GURME Urban-Regional Air Quality
Reactive Gas Oxidizing Capacity
JSC
Air-Surface Chemical Exchange
GAW
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SDS PROCESS
Dust from Libyan sources SeaWiFS
Global process based on local origins
Source S. Kinne MPI, Hamburg, Germany
Afghanistan dry lake dust sources MODIS 2, June
2001
Driven by and interacting with the atmosphere

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Close-up look Dust storm in Niamey 2008
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SDS Impacts

• Human Health
• (asthma, infections, meningitis in Africa,
  valley fever in the Americas)
• Agriculture
• Marine productivity dust as nutrient
• Interaction with the atmosphere - improved
  weather prediction and climate assessment
• Aviation (air disasters) Ground transportation

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SDS forecast models as of July 2008
40 WMO members showed interest to improve SDS
forecasts
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• WMO SDS-WAS development
• 2003 First operational dust forecast based on
  the NCEP/Eta (Nickovic 1994)
• September 2004 International Symposium on SDS,
  Beijing, CMA - WMO SDS created
• 2005 WMO Survey 40 WMO Members expressed
  interest in improving capacities for SDS
  monitoring.
• 2006 proposed Sand and Dust Storm Warning and
  Assessment System (SDS-WAS).

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• May 2007 14th WMO Congress endorsed launching of
  the SDS-WAS.
• November 2007 WMO/GEO Expert Meeting on SDS-WAS
  (Barcelona Supercomputing Centre) 100
  international experts from research,
  observations, forecasting and user countries.

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• Beginning of 2008 China and Spain became SDS-WAS
  Regional Centers
• June 2008 SDS-WAS Draft Implementation Plan

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• The SDS-WAS mission
• to enhance the ability of countries to deliver
  timely and quality sand and dust storm forecasts,
  observations, information and knowledge to users
  through an international partnership of research
  and operational communities

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Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and
Assessment System Draft Implementation Plan
WMO SDS-WAS
Regional node 1
Regional node n
Regional Center 1
Partner n
Partner 1
.
Partner 2
.
Partner 5
Partner 3
Partner 4
Regional node 2
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• Implementation
• I Phase (2009-2010)
• Regional partnership through CAS and CBS
• SDS monitoring with current routine forecast and
  observation capabilities standardized
  presentation of products
• Near real-time quantitative and qualitative
  verification system
• User portals in two regions an example of the
  regional portal (a working version, still in
  development)
• http//www.bsc.es/projects/earthscience/DREAM/

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• II Phase (2011-2013)
• Joint verification of the different dust
  forecasts and model inter-comparisons
• Data assimilation and ensemble forecasting
• User-oriented studies (events affecting
  air/ground transport impacts on public health
  and dust, etc.)
• Research studies (saltation/emission process
  size distribution etc.)
• SDS warning at national levels