Publication Abstracts

Kok et al. 2026, in press

Kok, J.F., A.K. Gupta, A.T. Evan, A.A. Adebiyi, S. Albani, Y. Balkanski, R. Checa-Garcia, P.R. Colarco, D.S. Hamilton, Y. Huang, A. Ito, M. Klose, L. Li, N.M. Mahowald, R.L. Miller, V. Obiso, C. Pérez García-Pando, A. Rocha-Lima, and J.S. Wan, 2026: Desert dust exerts twice the longwave radiative heating estimated by climate models. Nat. Commun., in press.

Although desert dust is the most abundant atmospheric aerosol by mass, its longwave radiative effects remain unclear, obscuring the impacts of dust on weather and climate. Here, using a data-driven analytical model constrained by observations, we show that scattering and absorption of longwave radiation by dust heats the planet by +0.25±0.06 W/m2 (90% confidence). This is nearly twice the value simulated by current climate models, which omit longwave scattering and underrepresent super coarse dust (diameter > 10 µm). These omissions bias modeled surface energy fluxes, cloud responses, precipitation, and atmospheric circulation. At the global scale, the sign and magnitude of the net dust direct radiative effect remain uncertain, with additional work needed to constrain shortwave cooling effects. These findings show that improving the representation of dust interactions with longwave radiation can improve weather forecasting and is essential to resolve the role of dust in climate change.

Export citation: [ BibTeX ] [ RIS ]

BibTeX Citation

@unpublished{ko05700x,
  author={Kok, J. F. and Gupta, A. K. and Evan, A. T. and Adebiyi, A. A. and Albani, S. and Balkanski, Y. and Checa-Garcia, R. and Colarco, P. R. and Hamilton, D. S. and Huang, Y. and Ito, A. and Klose, M. and Li, L. and Mahowald, N. M. and Miller, R. L. and Obiso, V. and Pérez García-Pando, C. and Rocha-Lima, A. and Wan, J. S.},
  title={Desert dust exerts twice the longwave radiative heating estimated by climate models},
  year={2026},
  journal={Nature Communication},
  note={Manuscript accepted for publication}
}

[ Close ]

RIS Citation

TY  - INPR
ID  - ko05700x
AU  - Kok, J. F.
AU  - Gupta, A. K.
AU  - Evan, A. T.
AU  - Adebiyi, A. A.
AU  - Albani, S.
AU  - Balkanski, Y.
AU  - Checa-Garcia, R.
AU  - Colarco, P. R.
AU  - Hamilton, D. S.
AU  - Huang, Y.
AU  - Ito, A.
AU  - Klose, M.
AU  - Li, L.
AU  - Mahowald, N. M.
AU  - Miller, R. L.
AU  - Obiso, V.
AU  - Pérez García-Pando, C.
AU  - Rocha-Lima, A.
AU  - Wan, J. S.
PY  - 2026
TI  - Desert dust exerts twice the longwave radiative heating estimated by climate models
JA  - Nat. Commun.
JO  - Nature Communication
ER  -

[ Close ]

• Return to In-Press / Accepted Publications

• Return to Publications Homepage