Yes, you can calculate back trajectories using HYSPLIT to determine the transport pathways of the dust. In addition, you can use the dust emission module that is part of the HYSPLIT release to quantitatively calculate the transport, dispersion and deposition of dust particles originated in the Saharan desert . For further information on how to implement this application please refer to the training material (
http://www.meteozone.com/tutorial/html/cust_dust.html) and to the peer reviewed literature:
“Global Sand and Dust Storms in 2008: Observation and HYSPLIT model verification”. Yaqiang Wang, Ariel F. Stein, Roland R. Draxler, Jesús D. de la Rosa, Xiaoye Zhang. Atmospheric Environment, Volume 45, Issue 35, 6368-6381, 2011.
“Modeling PM10 originated from dust intrusions in the southern Iberian Peninsula using HYSPLIT”. Stein A.F., Wang Y., de la Rosa J.D., Sanchez de la Campa A.M., Nuria Castell, and Draxler R.R., Weather and Forecasting, 26, 236–242 doi: 10.1175/WAF-D-10-05044.1, 2011.
“Source apportionment for African dust outbreaks over the Western Mediterranean using the HYSPLIT model”. Escudero, M., A. Stein, R. R. Draxler, X. Querol, A. Alastuey, S. Castillo, and A. Avila, Atmospheric Research, Volume 99, Issues 3-4, Pages 518-527, 2011.
“An Empirically Derived Emission Algorithm for Wind Blown Dust” Roland R. Draxler, Paul Ginoux, Ariel F. Stein. Journal of Geophysical Research, Atmospheres, 115, D16212, doi:10.1029/2009JD013167, 2010.
In order to drive these dust calculations you will need to use the GDAS meteorological data set that can be downloaded from
ftp://arlftp.arlhq.noaa.gov/archives/gdas1/