Mountain snowpack melts quicker when coated in dust. This cyclical problem is forcing water forecasts to evolve.
dust
Posted inENGAGE, News
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.
Posted inNews
Climate Models Aren’t Dusty Enough
Mineral dust aloft in the atmosphere has a cooling effect not accounted for in current climate models.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Kicked-Up Dust Forms Cirrus Clouds
Dust lifted into the air by cyclones provides anchor points for cloud-forming ice.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Dust on Mars? The Answer, My Friend, is Blowin’ in the Wind
The first flights of a helicopter on another planet are used to study dust lifting and mobilization in Jezero Crater, Mars.
Posted inNews
Wind Could Power Future Settlements on Mars
Using a sophisticated global climate model adapted to Mars, space scientists explore the hidden potential of wind energy on the Red Planet.