Abstract. The Taklimakan Desert is a main and continuous source of
Asian dust particles causing significant direct radiative effects, which are
commonly quantified by the aerosol solar radiative forcing (ASRF). To improve
the accuracy of estimates of dust ASRF, the Dust Aerosol Observation-Kashi
(DAO-K) campaign was carried out near the Taklimakan Desert in April 2019.
The objective of the DAO-K campaign is to provide crucial parameters needed
for the calculation of ASRF, such as dust optical and microphysical properties,
vertical distribution, and surface albedo. The ASRF was calculated using
radiative transfer (RT) simulations based on the observed aerosol
parameters, additionally considering the measured atmospheric profiles and
diurnal variations of surface albedo. As a result, daily average values of
ASRF of −19 W m−2 at the top of the atmosphere and −36 W m−2 at the bottom
of the atmosphere were derived from the simulations conducted during the DAO-K
campaign. Furthermore, the Weather Research and Forecasting model with
Chemistry (WRF-Chem), with assimilation of measurements of the aerosol
optical depth and particulate matter (PM) mass concentrations of particles
with aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and
10 µm (PM10), is employed to estimate the dust ASRF for comparison. The
results of the ASRF simulations (RT and WRF-Chem) were evaluated using
ground-based downward solar irradiance measurements, which have
confirmed that the RT simulations are in good agreement with simultaneous
observations, whereas the WRF-Chem estimations reveal obvious discrepancies
with the solar irradiance measurements.