Direct wind measurements of Saharan dust events from Terra and Aqua satellites
Article first published online: 25 MAR 2004
Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume 31, Issue 6, March 2004
How to Cite
2004), Direct wind measurements of Saharan dust events from Terra and Aqua satellites, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L06122, doi:10.1029/2003GL019338., and (
- Issue published online: 25 MAR 2004
- Article first published online: 25 MAR 2004
- Manuscript Accepted: 20 FEB 2004
- Manuscript Revised: 2 FEB 2004
- Manuscript Received: 19 DEC 2003
 Wind speed and direction, during Saharan dust episodes are calculated by estimating the movement of the dust plume between the morning observations from Terra and the afternoon observations from Aqua by the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The difference in the position of the dust front (easily identified both near the dust sources and over the ocean) between the Terra and Aqua observations is used to derive the actual wind field of the dust layer. The analysis is used to estimate the near-surface wind properties needed for dust mobilization in the Bodele depression. Comparison with NCEP reanalysis winds shows that NCEP underestimated by factor 2 the actual speed of the dust front progression near the sources and produced an azimuthal spread, three times wider than the measured one. Over the seashore, with more numerous meteorological observations, the NCEP wind field did match very well the dust measurements.