Organized Roll Circulation and Transport of Mineral Aerosols in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Abstract

An investigation into mesoscale roll circulation and its transport characteristics in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is carried out. The case study of July 28, 2007, in Kalmykia, monitored during an expedition from the Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, is considered using the WRF-ARW model. The development of circulation with considerable asymmetry in the positive and negative components of the velocity field and helicity is recorded. The quasi-2D roll structures are characterized by an intensification of the dust capture and accumulation from the underlying terrain and, along with intensive vortices with a vertical axis, are a significant source of atmospheric impurities. Captured finely dispersed aerosols can be transported at long distances and form aerosol layers.