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Asian dust entrained into a midlatitude cyclone

By Scott Bachmeier •

True Color RGB images from MODIS (Terra) and VIIRS (NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP) [click to enlarge]

True Color RGB images from MODIS (Terra) and VIIRS (NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP) [click to enlarge]

True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images from the MODIS instrument (on the Terra satellite) and the VIIRS instrument (on the NOAA-20 and Suomii NPP satellites) as viewed using RealEarth (above) revealed a tan-colored swirl of dust that had been lofted from the surface and entrained into the circulation of a midlatitude cyclone along the Mongolia/China border on 12 May 2019.

A sequence of MODIS/VIIRS True Color RGB images from Terra and Suomi NPP on 10, 11 and 12 May (below) showed the initial signature of surface-based blowing dust appearing in the Kumul and Jiuquan areas of northwestern China on 11 May, before it became wrapped into the circulation of the aforementioned midlatitude cyclone on 12 May.

True Color RGB images from MODIS (Terra) and VIIRS (Suomi NPP) [click to enlarge]

True Color RGB images from MODIS (Terra) and VIIRS (Suomi NPP) [click to enlarge]

Surface analyses at 3-hour intervals (source), from 12 UTC on 11 May to 00 UTC on 13 May (below) illustrated the strong pressure gradient between a large dome of high pressure over Mongolia and a developing midlatitude cyclone along the Mongolia/China border on 11 May — strong surface winds generated by this pressure gradient initially caused the blowing dust to begin in northwestern China.

Surface analyses at 3-hour intervals from 12 UTC on 11 May to 00 UTC on 13 May [click to enlarge]

Surface analyses at 3-hour intervals from 12 UTC on 11 May to 00 UTC on 13 May [click to enlarge]

JMA Himawari-8 Split Window Difference (10.4-12.3 µm) images (below) showed the signature of dust (yellow to cyan enhancement) moving eastward from the desert source region in northwestern China and becoming wrapped into the circulation of the midlatitude cyclone along the Mongolia/China border.

Himawari-8 Split Window Difference (10.4-12.3 µm) iimages [click to play animation |MP4]

Himawari-8 Split Window Difference (10.4-12.3 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

Categories: Air quality, Himawari-8, MODIS, NOAA-20, RealEarth, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, Suomi NPP, Terra, VIIRS