A sub‐basin scale dust plume source frequency inventory for southern Africa, 2005–2008

Abstract We present a dust plume source inventory for southern Africa. In order to locate and track the local, short‐lived plume events, source and frequency data have been derived from Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) thermal infrared composite data (4 km data using 8.7, 10.8, and 12.0 µm) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) visible composite data (0.25 km data utilizing 0.620 – 0.670 µm, 0.545 – 0.565 µm, and 0.459 – 0.479 µm). Between January 2005 and December 2008, a total of 328 distinct daytime dust plumes more than 10 km in length were detected. These plumes were attributed to 101 distinct point sources, consisting largely of ephemeral inland lakes, coastal pans as well as dry river valleys in Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. These data also provided sub‐basin scale source observations for large basins such as Etosha and Makgadikgadi Pans.