[1] Recent experimental and modeling studies show that large quasi-static electric fields (2–20 kV/m) can be developed in a Martian or terrestrial dust devil as a result of contact electrification and charge separation of dust grains with different sizes and compositions. Electric discharging occurs when the maximum electric field reaches breakdown values ( 20 kV/m on Mars and 3 MV/m on Earth, ...

Every year, a large number of aerosols are released from dust storms into the atmosphere, which may have potential impacts on the climate, environment, and air quality. Detecting dust aerosols and monitoring their movements and evolutions in a timely manner is a very significant task. Satellite remote sensing has been demonstrated as an effective means for observing dust aerosols. In this paper...

This paper address the detection of dust storms based on a probabilistic analysis of multispectral images. We develop a feature set based on the analysis of spectral bands reported in the literature. These studies have focused on the visual identification of the image channels that reflect the presence of dust storms through correlation with meteorological reports. Using this feature set we dev...

Vertical dust deposition rates (dust flux) are a complex response to the interaction of seasonal precipitation, wind, changes in plant cover and land use, dust source type, and local vs. distant dust emission in the southwestern U.S. Seasonal dust flux in the Mojave–southern Great Basin (MSGB) deserts, measured from 1999 to 2008, is similar in summer–fall and winter–spring, and antecedent preci...

Fine particle concentration (i.e., particles <2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter; PM2.5), but not coarse particle concentration, was associated with increased mortality in six U.S. cities. Others criticized this result, arguing that it could result from differences in measurement error between the two size ranges. Fine particles are primarily from combustion of fossil fuel, whereras coarse part...