In the Middle East, dust and sand storms are a persistent problem delivering significant amounts of particulates via inhalation into the mouth, nasal pharynx, and lungs. The health risks of this dust inhalation are not well studied nor effectively characterized. Experiments were designed to study the chemical composition, mineral content, or microbial flora of Kuwaiti and Iraqi dust for its pot...

The electrical activity present in the environment near the surfaces of Mars and the moon has very different origins and presents a challenge to manned and robotic planetary exploration missions. Mars is covered with a layer of dust that has been redistributed throughout the entire planet by global dust storms. Dust, levitated by these storms as well as by the frequent dust devils, is expected ...

Coarse Particles and Dust Storm Mortality In a paper titled "Episodes of High Coarse Partide Concentrations Are Not Associated with Increased Mortality," Schwartz et al. (1) concluded that "coarse particles from windblown dust are not associated with mortality risk." The authors seem to have overlooked the medical literature on the health effects of the historic U.S. dust storms of the dust bow...

Introduction: Atmospheric dust is one of the key constituents of the Martian atmosphere, and variations in dust loading can have a profound effect on the development of the mean circulation [1], and affect ice cloud formation [2] and other aspects of the climate system. While parameterisations for predicting rates of dust emission from the surface are now an important part of Martian general ci...

Coarse Particles and Dust Storm Mortality In a paper titled "Episodes of High Coarse Partide Concentrations Are Not Associated with Increased Mortality," Schwartz et al. (1) concluded that "coarse particles from windblown dust are not associated with mortality risk." The authors seem to have overlooked the medical literature on the health effects of the historic U.S. dust storms of the dust bow...

Foundations are important. There is a Biblical parable about two builders. One builder builds his house on a solid foundation. When storms come, the house remains standing. The other builder builds his house on the sand. When storms come, the house falls. The truth conveyed here is that those who choose to lead a life in accordance to God’s word labor not in vain; whereas, those who choose to a...

Natural resources play a fundamental role in the economy of country and create the situation to achieve the goals of sustainable society, these valuable resources have to be conserved  and used with care. Destroying the forests and rangelands will lead to a dark future full of poverty, starvation and environmental pollution. Forests and rangelands play a considerable role in reducing air pollut...

Gravel beds can prevent sand-dust emission and weaken sand-dust flux. We used wind-tunnel experiments and field observations on artificial gravel beds above the Mogao Grottoes to quantify their impact. In the report, we identified a significant correlation between gravel roughness and its ability to trap wind-transported sand. The optimal combinations of gravel diameter and coverage were determ...