The role of the atmospheric electric field in the dust‐lifting process. Issue 10 (31st May 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Esposito, F.; Molinaro, R.; Popa, C. I.; Molfese, C.; Cozzolino, F.; Marty, L.; Taj‐Eddine, K.; Di Achille, G.; Franzese, G.; Silvestro, S.; Ori, G. G.
• Is Part Of: Geophysical research letters. Volume 43:Issue 10(2016)
• Page Start: 5501
• Page End: 5508
• Publication Date: 2016-05-31
• Subjects: electric field -- dust lifting -- aeolian processes -- climate forcing -- relative humidity -- saltation; Geophysics -- Periodicals; Planets -- Periodicals; Lunar geology -- Periodicals; 550
• DOI: 10.1002/2016GL068463
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0094-8276

Abstract

Abstract: Mineral dust particles represent the most abundant component of atmospheric aerosol in terms of dry mass. They play a key role in climate and climate change, so the study of their emission processes is of utmost importance. Measurements of dust emission into the atmosphere are scarce, so that the dust load is generally estimated using models. It is known that the emission process can generate strong atmospheric electric fields. Starting from the data we acquired in the Sahara desert, here, we show for the first time that depending on the relative humidity conditions, electric fields contribute to increase up to a factor of 10 the amount of particles emitted into the atmosphere. This means that electrical forces and humidity are critical quantities in the dust emission process and should be taken into account in climate and circulation models to obtain more realistic estimations of the dust load in the atmosphere. Key Points: The tight interrelation between the dust‐lifting process and atmospheric electric field is shown The role of the relative humidity is demonstrated Electric forces contribute to the entrainment of dust in the atmosphere