Phys.org July 24, 2024 The impact of global climate changes on Tropical Cyclone Rainfall (TCR) is complex and debatable. A team of researchers in the US (Western Michigan State University, Stanford University, Perdue University, University of Utah, Caltech) used an XGBoost machine learning model with 19-year meteorological data and hourly satellite precipitation observations to predict TCR for individual storms. The model identified dust optical depth (DOD) as a key predictor that enhances performance evidently. The model uncovered a nonlinear and boomerang-shape relationship between Saharan dust and TCR, with a TCR peak at 0.06 DOD and a sharp decrease thereafter. This […]
Tag Archives: Saharan dust storm
In dust and clouds over Africa, scientists find clues to how hurricanes form
Phys.org May 25, 2023 When the dust that wafts off the Sahel and Sahara regions of Africa mixes with tropical clouds, it creates rainy “disturbance” in the eastern Atlantic which are hurricanes in their youngest form. To study these infant storms, a group of NASA scientists spent a month flying off the northwestern coast of Africa aboard NASA’s research plane logging roughly 100 hours. The campaign encountered and measured one of the largest dust events the Airborne Laboratory capturing data with its instruments. Onboard remote sensing instruments captured detailed profiles of Saharan dust, wind speed and direction, temperature, moisture, and […]