Rising Arctic temperatures have changed both wind patterns and precipitation in areas that carry dust to West and South Asia, but the change may not be permanent.
dust
Posted inEditors' Highlights
A Powerful New Model for U.S. Climate–Air Quality Interactions
NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory has developed a new variable-resolution global chemistry-climate model for research at the nexus of U.S. climate and air quality extremes.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Challenges in Measuring Aerosol Cloud-Mediated Radiative Forcing
Satellites are required for the global measurement of aerosol cloud-mediated radiative forcing, but satellite retrievals of aerosols and cloud properties still have challenges to overcome.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Using Machine Learning to Reconstruct Cloud-Obscured Dust Plumes
Satellite-observed dust plumes from North Africa are frequently obscured by clouds, but a new study uses machine learning to reconstruct dust patterns, demonstrating a new way to validate dust forecasts.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
A Dust-Up Over Dust Measurements
Dust has significant impacts on the environment, climate, air quality, and human health, yet dust events are underestimated and therefore do not receive the level of attention necessary.
Posted inNews
Dust Is Melting Snow—And Current Models Can’t Keep Up
Mountain snowpack melts quicker when coated in dust. This cyclical problem is forcing water forecasts to evolve.
Posted inNews
Protein Powder Makes Ice Crystals Flower
Dust from Alaska is particularly effective at forming ice crystals because it contains biological components, researchers believe. The finding has implications for cloud physics and our planet’s climate.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Dancing Dust on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Cometary activity moves sediments over the surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, with long-term sinks near the poles of the comet.
Posted inScience Updates
The Nitty-Gritty Forces That Shape Planetary Surfaces
Scientists are coming up with ingenious ways to compare terrestrial sand dunes, dust storms, and rain with their counterparts on Mars and Titan.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Danger in the Dust! The Hazards of Windblown Dust
Airborne dust not only causes disease, it also menaces transportation on land, sea, and air; disrupts renewable energy systems; transports pathogens and toxic substances; and poses many other hazards.