New tool to study dust impact on climate

Mineral dust detector set to rocket to space

A dust storm blows off the coast of Africa in 2020 and reached across the Atlantic to Florida and Texas. (NASA)

An abundant amount of desert dust is blown into the atmosphere from around the world’s driest parts, and it impacts the climate and biology of the planet.

How much of an impact it has is unclear, but scientists hope to measure the minerals in the sky with NASA’s new Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT), an instrument that launches to space on a Falcon 9 rocket.

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On Thursday evening, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will send a spectrometer instrument to the International Space Staton which will be mounted to its exterior to look down on Earth’s atmosphere and oceans.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 8:44 p.m. Thursday, and sky conditions should be mostly clear for spectators along the coast of Northeast Florida.

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There is so much dust kicked up into the atmosphere each year that the weight of it all adds up to more than a billion metric tons or equivalent to 10,000 aircraft carriers.

High winds blow the particles into the atmosphere from the deserts and they impact Earth’s temperature in different ways. The dust particles either heat or cool the planet depending on its color, but the overall effect on the atmosphere is uncertain. Dark colors absorb the suns radiation while whiter dust minerals reflect sunlight.

Mineral dust particles vary in color because they’re made of different substances. Dark red mineral dust gets its color from iron, for example. The composition of dust particles affects how they interact with many of Earth’s natural processes.

For instance, mineral dust plays a role in cloud formation and atmospheric chemistry. When that dust falls on the ocean or forests, it can provide nutrients for growth like fertilizer. It can also melt snow faster or reduce air quality for humans.

Measuring these dust attributes in detail will improve climate models and provide a clearer picture of its future impact.


About the Author:

After covering the weather from every corner of Florida and doing marine research in the Gulf, Mark Collins settled in Jacksonville to forecast weather for The First Coast.