Dust Layer Height Leads Atmospheric Boundary Layer Height by 3 hr Over the Taklimakan Desert

Abstract

The vertical distribution of dust modulates its radiative forcing and long‐range transport, yet the diurnal relationship between dust layer height (DLH) and atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH) remains poorly constrained by observations. Here, we present the first hourly, 4‐km‐resolution DLH climatology over the Taklimakan Desert (2018–2023) derived from FY‐4A geostationary satellite observations using a validated Random Forest model (R = 0.72, RMSE = 0.39 km). DLH exhibits a unimodal diurnal cycle peaking at 13:00 local time, with a seasonal maximum in summer and a spatial pattern of higher values in the west and south and lower values in the east and north. The ABLH peaks approximately 3 hr after the DLH peak, revealing a robust time lag between dust vertical redistribution and boundary layer development. These findings provide critical observational constraints for improving aerosol vertical distribution parameterizations and dust‐boundary layer interactions in weather and climate models, particularly over complex terrain.