Optical properties (extinction efficiency, single scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter
and scattering phase function) of five different desert dust minerals have been calculated
with an asymptotic approximation approach (AAA) for non-spherical particles. The AAA
method combines Rayleigh-limit approximations with an asymptotic geometric optics
solution in a simple and straightforward formulation. The simulated extinction spectra
have been compared with classical Lorenz–Mie calculations as well as with laboratory
measurements of dust extinction. This comparison has been done for single minerals and
with bulk dust samples collected from desert environments. It is shown that the nonspherical
asymptotic approximation improves the spectral extinction pattern, including
position of the extinction peaks, compared to the Lorenz–Mie calculations for spherical
particles. Squared correlation coefficients from the asymptotic approach range from 0.84
to 0.96 for the mineral components whereas the corresponding numbers for Lorenz–Mie
simulations range from 0.54 to 0.85. Moreover the blue shift typically found in Lorenz–
Mie results is not present in the AAA simulations. The comparison of spectra simulated
with the AAA for different shape assumptions suggests that the differences mainly stem
from the assumption of the particle shape and not from the formulation of the method
itself. It has been shown that the choice of particle shape strongly impacts the quality of
the simulations. Additionally, the comparison of simulated extinction spectra with bulk
dust measurements indicates that within airborne dust the composition may be inhomogeneous
over the range of dust particle sizes, making the calculation of reliable
radiative properties of desert dust even more complex.