[1] The optically thick aerosol layer along the southern edge of the Himalaya has been subject of several recent investigations relating to its radiative impacts on the South Asian summer monsoon and regional climate forcing. Prior to the onset of summer monsoon, mineral dust from southwest Asian deserts is transported over the Himalayan foothills on an annual basis. Episodic dust plumes are al...

Asian dust events are generated by deep convection from strong low pressure systems that form over mineral dust source regions. This study compares the mineral dust optical properties of two strong Asian dust events from the winter (December 2007) and spring (March 2010) seasons using AERONET retrieved parameters from three sites along the dust event path: SACOL (dust source region), Xianghe (d...

This study considers the role of distance to the African source on the amount of deposition. To this end, dry and wet deposition was measured at a site close to Africa (Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands, SCO) and at a distant site located in NE Spain (La Castanya, Montseny, MSY). Because of the important influence of African influence on the buildup of particles in the atmosphere, we...

[1] A unified tropospheric chemistry-aerosol model has been developed within the Goddard Institute for Space Studies general circulation model (GCM). The model includes a detailed simulation of tropospheric ozone-NOx-hydrocarbon chemistry as well as aerosols and aerosol precursors. Predicted aerosol species include sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, black carbon, primary organic carbon, and secondary ...

All theories that have served to explain the formation of fibrous tissue in silicosis relate the development of the collagen fibers, directly or by inference, to the site of the silica particles. Recent studies1’ 2 have established that portions of some silicotic nodules may contain no demonstrable mineral particles and that dust particles formerly believed to be more or less permanently impris...

In arid and semi-arid areas of the world, excessive mineral aerosol carried by air parcels is a common climatic incident with well-known environmental side effects. In this study, the role of sand-dust accumulation was investigated on various aspects of photosynthetic yield of Plantago lanceolata including chlorophyll (Chl) a, b, effective quantum yield of PSII photosystem (ФPSII), maximal quan...

The purpose of the Enhanced Particulate Matter Surveillance Program was to provide scientifically founded information on the chemical and physical properties of dust collected during a period of approximately 1 year in Djibouti, Afghanistan (Bagram, Khowst), Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Iraq (Balad, Baghdad, Tallil, Tikrit, Taji, Al Asad), and Kuwait (northern, central, coastal, and southern re...

[1] A recent field experiment in southern Florida using aircraft and polarization lidar shows that mineral dust particles transported from Saharan Africa are effective ice nuclei, apparently capable of glaciating a mildly supercooled ( 5.2 to 8.8 C) altocumulus cloud. These results are similar to those from Asian dust storm particles observed over the western US, suggesting that in the northern...

OBJECTIVE Environmental working conditions in rural areas, notably exposure to organic and mineral dusts, have been associated with increases in respiratory diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of respiratory symptoms among farmers and the associations of these with occupational risk factors. METHODS This cross-sectional study was undertaken in 1996 with 1,379 ...