BACKGROUND During September 2009, a large dust storm was experienced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Extremely high levels of particulate matter were recorded, with daily average levels of coarse matter (<10 μm) peaking over 11,000 μg/m3 and fine (<2.5 μm) over 1,600 μg/m3. We conducted an analysis to determine whether the dust storm was associated with increases in all-cause, cardiovasc...

Dust storms in North China result in high concentrations of airborne dust particles, which cause detrimental effects on human health as well as social and economic losses and environmental degradation. To investigate the impact of land surface processes on dust storms, we simulate two dust storm events in North China during spring 2002 using two versions of a dust storm prediction system develo...

This study focuses on analyzing the changes to aerosol properties caused by the dust storm called “China’s Great Wall of Dust” that originated from the Taklimakan Desert in April 2014. IDDI (Infrared Difference Dust Index) images from FY-2E and true color composite images from FY-3C MERSI (Medium Resolution Spectral Imager) show the breakout and transport path of the dust storm. Three-hourly gr...

The observed decline of spring dust storms in Northeast Asia since the 1950s has been attributed to surface wind stilling. However, spring vegetation growth could also restrain dust storms through accumulating aboveground biomass and increasing surface roughness. To investigate the impacts of vegetation spring growth on dust storms, we examine the relationships between recorded spring dust stor...

BACKGROUND Dust storm is a meteorological phenomenon and dust particles have been suspected as harmful to heart and lungs. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between coarse particles and emergency hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Hong Kong. METHODS AND RESULTS Data on mean daily emergency admissions for CVD to major hospitals in Hong Kong, concent...

introduction dust storms, one type of dust event, are in most cases the result of turbulent winds, including convective haboobs, which raise large quantities of dust from desert surfaces and reduce visibility to less than 1 km. this dust reaches concentrations in excess of 6000 mg m3 in severe events. the major dust source regions are areas of arid and hyper-arid, with mean annual rainfalls of ...

[1] Nitrous acid is an important precursor for OH radicals in the polluted troposphere. The heterogeneous conversion of NO2 to HONO, however, is currently not well understood. Measurements of HONO and NO2 in Phoenix in summer 2001 using long path DOAS show ratios of chemically formed secondary [HONO] to [NO2] that rarely exceeded 3%. During two nocturnal dust storm events, however, a significan...

BACKGROUND One of the natural phenomena which have had considerable impacts on various regions of the world, including Iran, is "dust storm". In recent years, this phenomenon has taken on new dimensions in Iran and has changed from a local problem to a national issue. This study is an attempt to investigate the formation of the dust storms crossing the Western Iran. METHODOLOGY To find the so...

On June 2, 2014 a sandstorm hit Tehran, the capital city of Iran which killed 5 and injured 44 people. The early warning system did not operate properly and the alarm was not transferred to at risk population and the related organizations in time and in a right manner. Additionally, people who were exposed to the winds didn't know the appropriate safety measures. Focusing much more on establish...

The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) z-axis accelerometer has obtained over 200 vertical structures of thermospheric density, temperature, and pressure, ranging from 110 to 170 kilometers, compared to only three previous such vertical structures. In November 1997, a regional dust storm in the Southern Hemisphere triggered an unexpectedly large thermospheric response at mid-northern latitudes, increas...