Dust, the thermostat: How tiny airborne particles manipulate global climate

Perkins, Sid

doi:10.2307/4012776

Cited by 35 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…The current estimate for the quantity of arid soil that moves some distance in Earth's atmosphere each year is 2 billion metric tons (Perkins, 2001). Fifty to 75% of this quantity is believed to originate from the Sahara and Sahel (Moulin et al, 1997;Perry et al, 1997;Goudie and Middleton, 2001;Prospero and Lamb, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dust Storms and Their Impact on Ocean and Human Health: Dust in Earth?s Atmosphere

2004

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Satellite imagery has greatly influenced our understanding of dust activity on a global scale. A number of different satellites such as NASA's Earth-Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) andSea-viewing Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) acquire daily global-scale data used to produce imagery for monitoring dust storm formation and movement. This global-scale imagery has documented the frequent transmission of dust storm-derived soils through Earth's atmosphere and the magnitude of many of these events. While various research projects have been undertaken to understand this normal planetary process, little has been done to address its impact on ocean and human health. This review will address the ability of dust storms to influence marine microbial population densities and transport of soil-associated toxins and pathogenic microorganisms to marine environments. The implications of dust on ocean and human health in this emerging scientific field will be discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dust Storms and Their Impact on Ocean and Human Health: Dust in Earth?s Atmosphere

2004

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“…Owing to their various origins, dusts differ in color, size, shape, and chemical composition, and these differences strongly influence their behaviors (Perkins, 2001). Furthermore, whether derived from its point of origin or picked up along its pathway, dust may contain metals (iron, Jickells et al, 2005;Mahowald et al, 2005a;arsenic, Holmes and Miller, 2004;Ridgwell et al, 2005), radioisotopes (e.g., plutonium, Hirose et al, 2003;cesium-137, Papastefanou et al, 2001), bacteria (e.g., halophilic bacteria, Echigo et al, 2005), toxic chemicals (e.g., pesticides, herbicides), or viruses, which may harm wildlife, plants, and human beings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many studies have investigated the development of dust aerosols, and their transport and deposition, but researchers are just beginning to map out how the type and amount of dust in the atmosphere vary according to latitude, longitude, altitude, and time of year (Perkins, 2001). Dust aerosols still introduce large uncertainties into global climate change model results (Washington et al, 2003); for example, total mass burden estimates can differ by a factor of 4 (8-36 Tg) and emission estimates by a factor of 2 (1000-2150 Tg y −1 ) (Zender et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contributions of sandy lands and stony deserts to long-distance dust emission in China and Mongolia during 2000–2006

Zhang

Tsunekawa

Tsubo

2008

Global and Planetary Change

125

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“…Desert storm activity is the most significant source of nonoccupational dust exposure in arid and semiarid regions of the world. It is estimated that 0.5 to 5 billion tons of desert topsoil is made airborne every year during high-wind desert storm events globally (50). Exposure to desert dust has been linked to many conditions, including silicosis and asthma (9,45,48,54).…”

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confidence: 99%

Application of a Broad-Range Resequencing Array for Detection of Pathogens in Desert Dust Samples from Kuwait and Iraq

Łęski¹,

Malanoski²,

Gregory

et al. 2011

Appl Environ Microbiol

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A significant percentage of the human population is exposed to high levels of naturally occurring airborne dusts. Although the link between airborne particulate inhalation and a variety of respiratory diseases has long been established, little is known about the pathogenic role of the microbial component of the dust. In this study, we applied highly multiplexed PCR and a high-density resequencing microarray (RPM-TEI version 1.0) to screen samples of fine topsoil particles and airborne dust collected in 19 locations in Iraq and Kuwait for the presence of a broad range of human pathogens. The results indicated the presence of potential human pathogens, including Mycobacterium, Brucella, Coxiella burnetii, Clostridium perfringens, and Bacillus. The presence of Coxiella burnetii, a highly infectious potential biowarfare agent, was confirmed and detected in additional samples by use of a more sensitive technique (real-time PCR), indicating a high prevalence of this organism in the analyzed samples. The detection of potentially viable pathogens in breathable dusts from arid regions of Iraq and Kuwait underscores the importance of further study of these environments.

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Dust, the thermostat: How tiny airborne particles manipulate global climate

Cited by 35 publications

References 0 publications

Dust Storms and Their Impact on Ocean and Human Health: Dust in Earth?s Atmosphere

Dust Storms and Their Impact on Ocean and Human Health: Dust in Earth?s Atmosphere

Contributions of sandy lands and stony deserts to long-distance dust emission in China and Mongolia during 2000–2006

Application of a Broad-Range Resequencing Array for Detection of Pathogens in Desert Dust Samples from Kuwait and Iraq

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