Simulations of Asian yellow dust incursion over Taiwan for the spring of 2002 and 2003

Dust storms that occurred in East Asia during the spring of 2002 and 2003 were simulated by a regional dust deflation and transport model. Particular focus was placed on dust incursion events over Taiwan. Two of the events were analyzed in detail to give a complete picture of the three dimensional transport patterns. The general characteristics of dust incursion events were summarized, including the source locations, transport route and distribution pattern in three dimensions, traveling time, duration of incursion, and the seasonal spatial distribution of dust concentration. Significant differences were also found in these characteristics between the two years, the main cause of which was a change. in regional climate patterns. The performance of the model developed for this study was evaluated against other dust forecast models, and found to have superior capability for forecasting in the Taiwan area.