Desert Aerosols Transported by Khamsinic Depressions and Their Climatic Effects

Abstract

The mass of natural aerosol injected into the atmosphere by desert wind systems of the Khamsinic type has been estimated from long series of normal-incidence spectral solar radiation measurements and from synoptic analysis of the temporal and areal extent of such phenomena. From these data the regional and global dust input into the atmosphere due to deserts has been inferred and compared to other estimates. A tentative value for the effect of such desert aerosols on the average global albedo and surface temperature is also presented.