Warming ... atmospheric dust can increase 4 times more than we thought

Asia Dia

Dust is an essential component of the Earth's climate system. Whenever it interferes with clouds, obscures the sun’s rays, or spills over the surfaces of the seas and oceans, we witness a change in weather conditions and the rate of rainfall, and its impact may exacerbate the global warming crisis.

There are two types of dust in the air, controlled by the speed of the wind in the dry areas: the first is fine and its atoms are small in size and light in weight, the clouds work in blocking them to the sun, and the temperature drops thereafter.

The second large particle, rough to the touch, is the source of the Sahara desert in Africa. It works as a greenhouse gas and causes temperatures to rise.

Therefore, we should know the amount of coarse dust in the atmosphere - in particular - not only to understand the atmospheric phenomena that dust affects, but also to know how much it affects our global warming.

According to a study published in the journal Science Adventures on April 8, the atmosphere contains 17 million tons of coarse dust.

Climatic models
The researcher at the University of California-Los Angeles Ademi Adebe's Department of Atmosphere and Oceans says that "to know the effect of coarse dust on the climate of our planet, climatic models must include high-resolution treatments to properly detect it."

To determine the amount of coarse dust in the Earth's atmosphere, the researchers analyzed data from 12 published studies, the results of which were based on meteorological observations in planes over the Sahara Desert. They also used the results of six climate models that simulate the Earth's climate. 

"We compared our results with that of other climate models, and the comparison was in our favor, as we found four times the amount of coarse dust in the atmosphere, while the models predicted only 4 million tons of dust," said assistant researcher Jasper Cooke.

The impact of dust on the ecosystem
. Ademi and Cook also found that climate models also failed to estimate the duration of coarse dust remaining in the air. In the case of the Sahara Desert, dust merges with air, ascends to the top, and this of course is against the law of gravity, so it stays in the air for a longer period.

Thus, dust can travel thousands of kilometers to the United States and the Caribbean. And when it ends up in the oceans, it is likely to stimulate the productivity of its ecosystem because the rate of CO2 uptake will rise.

Because dust on its journey may collide with clouds or interact with solar energy, it may control the timing and intensity of rain.

Dust particles absorb sunlight and radiation from the Earth's surface, affecting the stability of longitudinal and transverse movements of air in the atmosphere, which may affect some weather phenomena, such as hurricanes.

"Climate models are a very important tool for scientists, but it will certainly underestimate the coarse dust and its great impact on our lives when its quantity in the atmosphere is not calculated precisely," Ademi said.

He added that "this huge amount of coarse dust, if added to fine dust, is likely to result in warming in the Earth's climate."