Sources, transport and environmental
impacts of mineral dust aerosols

Dust (mineral) aerosol is an important constituent of the atmosphere, with significant impacts on many parts of the Earth system- through transport of nutrients from and to ecosystems from source to sink; serving as nuclei for ice and cloud droplets in the atmosphere; as a modulator of insolation that causes impacts on radiative balance, regional weather and global climate; as a reactive surface for chemical reactions in the atmosphere; as an archive of past climates and environments; and as a form of Particulate Matter that degrades visibility and threatens human health and safety.  This presentation gives an overview of the processes of dust aerosol generation and transport, the geographic and meteorological conditions that cause dust storms, the sensing and measurement of dust events, and the significant impacts of mineral aerosols (dust) in the Earth system.  The most intense dust events in the Western Hemisphere occur along the Mexico-USA frontier in the states of Chihuahua, Texas, and New Mexico, and examples from this region are used as a “lens” through which to view the dust phenomenon and its characteristics.

Thomas E. Gill

 

Con traducción

 

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