Arctic amplification-induced decline in West and South Asia dust warrants stronger antidesertification toward carbon neutrality

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Wang, Fan; Yu, Yangyang; Patel, Piyushkumar N.; Gautam, Ritesh; Gao, Meng; Liu, Cheng; Ding, Yihui; Chen, Haishan; Yang, Yuanjian; Zhou, Yuyu; Carmichael, Gregory R.; McElroy, Michael B.
• 署名单位: Hong Kong Baptist University; Harvard University; Texas A&M University System; Texas A&M University College Station; Environmental Defense Fund; California Institute of Technology; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA); NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); United States Department of Energy (DOE); Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Chinese Academy of Sciences; University of Science & Technology of China, CAS; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, CAS; Anhui Institute of Optics & Fine Mechanics (AIOFM), CAS; China Meteorological Administration; National Climate Centre, China Meteorological Administration; Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology; University of Hong Kong; University of Hong Kong; University of Iowa
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-12125
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2317444121
• 发表日期: 2024-04-02
• 关键词: long-range transport; desert dust; planetary-waves; source regions; CLIMATE-CHANGE; mineral dust; north-africa; air-quality; global dust; aerosols

摘要

Dust loading in West and South Asia has been a major environmental issue due to its negative effects on air quality, food security, energy supply and public health, as well as on regional and global weather and climate. Yet a robust understanding of its recent changes and future projection remains unclear. On the basis of several high- quality remote sensing products, we detect a consistently decreasing trend of dust loading in West and South Asia over the last two decades. In contrast to previous studies emphasizing the role of local land use changes, here, we attribute the regional dust decline to the continuous intensification of Arctic amplification driven by anthropogenic global warming. Arctic amplification results in anomalous mid- latitude atmospheric circulation, particularly a deepened trough stretching from West Siberia to Northeast India, which inhibits both dust emissions and their downstream transports. Large ensemble climate model simulations further support the dominant role of greenhouse gases induced Arctic amplification in modulating dust loading over West and South Asia. Future projections under different emission scenarios imply potential adverse effects of carbon neutrality in leading to higher regional dust loading and thus highlight the importance of stronger anti- desertification counter- actions such as reforestation and irrigation management.