Improvement in Dust Storm Simulation by Considering Stone Coverage Effects for Stony Deserts in East Asia

Approximately 50% of the Earth's deserts are covered with stony surfaces, not dunes. The stony surfaces often block or diminish mineral dust aerosol emissions through area fraction and roughness element effects. Incorporating these stone coverage effects is crucial for climate and environmental modeling research. Based on our field observations, this study combined the stone coverage effects into a dust simulation model for East Asia using two regression formulas and some constants. The double regression scheme assumed that the stone roughness density could be derived from the coarse fragment fraction of the SoilGrids 2.0 data set. According to the data set, the stone coverage is higher in Western Mongolia and Dzungaria and lower in the Chinese Gobi Desert and the Loess Plateau. Consequently, the model reproduced fewer dust aerosols in the higher coverage areas and more in the lower coverage areas. This simulation result was consistent with the World Meteorological Organization's current weather reports and satellite aerosol observations. The improved model reproduced the diversity of soil erodibility and was well balanced in performance statistics. This study is the first successful investigation of stone coverage effects on dust storm simulation using a realistic stone coverage map to the authors' best knowledge. Plain Language Summary More than 50% of the Earth's deserts are covered with stones, not dunes. The stony surfaces suppress sand and dust storms in the deserts. Because the mineral dust particles globally influence climate change, investigating the stony surfaces is crucial to climate prediction research. Therefore, we developed a new simulation scheme for sand and dust storms to incorporate the stony surface effects. Formulating the stony surface effects was based on our field observations in East Asia. The global stone map we used was obtained from the SoilGrids 2.0 data set. Our simulation model reproduced fewer dust storms in higher stone coverage areas and more in lower areas. This simulation result was consistent with weather observatory observations in Mongolia and China. Satellite measurements for air pollution also backed up the simulation result. This study is the first successful investigation of the stony surface effects on dust storm simulations using a realistic stone coverage map to the authors' best knowledge. Key Points Stony surfaces of drylands significantly affect dust aerosol emissions through area fraction and roughness ele