Aerosol is a key factor to understand uncertainties in the study of atomosphere radiation equilibrium and climate change

and Asia dust is an important source of aerosol. In addition

dust detection is the first step to monitor dust disaster and study dust aerosol. Some detection methods using brightness temperature and apparent reflectance had been presented. In this paper

the thermal infrared temperature difference △T（T 11μm-T 12μm） is investigated as a possible method for detecting dust outbreaks. Previous research indicates that ΔT is always bigger than 0 due to vapor absorption difference in thermal infrared bands （T 11μm and T 12μm） when aerosol optic thickness τ 0.50μm is less than 1.0. However

when radiative properties of the winter dust aerosol is incorporated into SBDART atmospheric radiative transfer model

atmospheric radiation calculations indicate that the temperature difference ΔT over land surface will decline below 0 as optic thickness τ 0.50μm of dust aerosol increases to more than 1.7. This is due to the reason that the imaginary part of the complex refractive for dust aerosol at 11μm band is bigger than that at 12μm band

which causes thermal infrared absorption at 11μm band is bigger than that at 12μm band. The feasibility of dust detection using this technology is demonstrated by comparing satellite observations and surface observations of meteorological stations in one serious event of spring dust that occurred in North-East China on April 7

2002.