A World First-Success in Observing Yellow Sand Dust, from Desert Origin to Japan

A Sino-Japanese project succeeded in measuring the atmospheric transport process of aeolian dust, or yellow sand, from the Takla Makan desert China to Japan, in a special observational experiment conducted in the spring of 2002.

Working on the five-year Aeolian Dust Experiment on Climate Impact (ADEC) project since April 2000 are the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Meteorological Research Institute and other Japanese public research organizations, universities, private businesses, along with research centers affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The special observation was carried out for two weeks starting on April 8, with a total of eleven sampling stations in Japan and China, including locations such as the Takla Makan desert and the city of Dunhuang where the aeolian dust originates. This was the most comprehensive observation to date of the sand dust that originates in China and its climatic impact on Japan. From January 2002 to April 2002, Japan observed aeolian dust for 962 cumulative days*, the record since such observations started in 1967. In 2002 aeolian dust transport to Japan increased sharply.

*Japan Meteorological Agency observes dust storms at 123 points across Japan and calculate cumulative days of observed dust storms by counting one day observation at one point as "one day".



Posted: 2002/08/24 02:43:47 PM
Japanese version