Sensitivity of TOMS aerosol index to boundary layer height: Implications for detection of mineral aerosol sources

The TOMS aerosol index (AI) is proposed as a powerful tool in determining the sources of mineral aerosols. The sensitivity of the AI to the height of the aerosol layer has been noted previously, but the implications of this sensitivity for deducing sources has not been explicitly considered. Here, we present a methodology and sensitivity test to show the importance of spatial and temporal variations of the planetary boundary layer height to deducing sources using the AI. These results suggest that while dry topographic low sources may be large sources of desert dust, conclusions eliminating other sources may be premature, especially when these sources occur on the edges of deserts, where boundary layer heights are lower, and human influences potentially more important. The compounding problem of differentiating downwind transport and local sources suggests it may not currently be possible to use the AI to conclusively determine mineral aerosol source regions.