Dust Storms from Degraded Drylands of Asia: Dynamics and Health Impacts

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Shinji Otani

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Asian dust events are massive meteorological phenomena during which dust particles from Chinese and Mongolian deserts are blown into the atmosphere and carried by westerly winds across Northeast Asia. Recently, there has been steady increase in both the frequency and the severity of Asian atmospheric dust events. Concern has been expressed regarding the potential health hazards in affected areas. The principal nature of the damage associated with Asian dust events differs between the emission (sandstorm and downwind (air pollution regions. In the emission region, the health impacts of dust storms are reflected in the high prevalence of respiratory diseases and severe subjective symptoms. Extreme dust storm events may cause a disaster to happen. In downwind regions such as Japan, analysis of Asian dust particles has shown the presence of ammonium ions, sulfate ions, nitrate ions, and heavy metal compounds that are considered not to originate from soil. Asian dust particles have been thought to adsorb anthropogenic atmospheric pollutants during transport. Therefore, Asian dust events coincide with increases in daily hospital admissions and clinical visits for allergic diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, and conjunctivitis. Although the effect of Asian dust on human health in each region is influenced by a variety of different mechanisms, human activities are partly responsible for such negative effects in many situations. We therefore need to address these environmental problems.

Atmospheric deposition of radioactive cesium (137Cs) associated with dust events in East Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujiwara, H.

2010-01-01

Since the cessation of atmospheric nuclear testing in 1980, there has been no known serious atmospheric contamination by radioactive cesium (sup(137)Cs) apart from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in 1986. There now remain only small amounts of anthropogenic radionuclides in the atmosphere that can be directly related to past testing. However, sup(137)Cs is still regularly found in atmospheric deposition samples in Japan. In this study, we analyzed sup(137)Cs monitoring data, meteorological data, and field survey results to investigate the recent transport and deposition of sup(137)Cs associated with dust phenomena. Monthly records of nationwide sup(137)Cs deposition in Japan during the 1990s show a consistent seasonal variation, with higher levels of deposition occurring in spring. In March 2002, an unexpectedly high amount of sup(137)Cs was deposited in the northwestern coastal area of Japan at the same time as an Asian dust event was observed. Analysis of land-based weather data showed that sandstorms and other dust-raising phenomena also occurred in March 2002 over areas of Mongolia and northeastern China where grassland and shrubs predominated. Furthermore, radioactivity measurements showed sup(137)Cs enrichment in the surface layer of grassland soils in the areas affected by these sandstorms. These results suggest that grasslands are potential sources of sup(137)Cs-bearing dust. Continued desertification of the East Asian continent in response to recent climate change can be expected to result in an increase in sup(137)Cs-bearing soil particles in the atmosphere, and their subsequent re-deposition in Japan. However, soil dust is also raised around Japanese monitoring sites by the strong winds that are common in Japan in spring, and this local dust might also contribute to sup(137)Cs deposition in Japan. To estimate the relative contributions of local and distant dust events to the total sup(137)Cs deposition, we monitored deposition of mineral particles

A linkage between Asian dust, dissolved iron and marine export production in the deep ocean

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Han, Yongxiang; Zhao, Tianliang; Song, Lianchun; Fang, Xiaomin; Yin, Yan; Deng, Zuqin; Wang, Suping; Fan, Shuxian

2011-08-01

Iron-addition experiments have revealed that iron supply exerts controls on biogeochemical cycles in the ocean and ultimately influences the Earth's climate system. The iron hypothesis in its broad outlines has been proved to be correct. However, the hypothesis needs to be verified with an observable biological response to specific dust deposition events. Plankton growth following the Asian dust storm over Ocean Station PAPA (50°N, 145°W) in the North Pacific Ocean in April 2001 was the first supportive evidence of natural aeolian iron inputs to ocean; The data were obtained through the SeaWiFS satellite and robot carbon explorers by Bishop et al. Using the NARCM modeling results in this study, the calculated total dust deposition flux was 35 mg m -2 per day in PAPA region from the dust storm of 11-13 April, 2001 into 0.0615 mg m -2 d -1 (about 1100 nM) soluble iron in the surface layer at Station PAPA. It was enough for about 1100 nM to enhance the efficiency of the marine biological pump and trigger the rapid increase of POC and chlorophyll. The iron fertilization hypothesis therefore is plausible. However, even if this specific dust event can support the iron fertilization hypothesis, long-term observation data are lacking in marine export production and continental dust. In this paper, we also conducted a simple correlation analysis between the diatoms and foraminifera at about 3000 m and 4000 m at two subarctic Pacific stations and the dust aerosol production from China's mainland. The correlation coefficient between marine export production and dust storm frequency in the core area of the dust storms was significantly high, suggesting that aerosols generated by Asian dust storm are the source of iron for organic matter fixation in the North Pacific Ocean. These results suggest that there could be an interlocking chain for the change of atmospheric dust aerosol-soluble iron-marine export production.

Deposition of 137Cs in Rokkasho, Japan and its relation to Asian dust

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akata, Naofumi; Hasegawa, Hidenao; Kawabata, Hitoshi; Chikuchi, Yuki; Sato, Tadahiro; Ohtsuka, Yoshihito; Kondo, Kunio; Hisamatsu, Shun'ichi

2007-01-01

Biweekly atmospheric depositions of 137 Cs were measured in Rokkasho, Aomori, Japan from March 2000 to March 2006 to study recent 137 Cs deposition. Although the deposition level was generally lower than the detectable limit, deposition samples collected in spring occasionally had measurable levels of 137 Cs. The annual 137 Cs deposition from 2001 to 2005 was 0.04-0.69 Bq m -2 with a mean value of 0.27 Bq m -2 . Depositions of insoluble Al, Fe and Ti were strongly correlated with the 137 Cs deposition, suggesting that suspension of soil particles was the main source of the recent 137 Cs deposition. Asian dust events were coincident with some of the significant 137 Cs depositions in spring. It was found that the ratios of 137 Cs/Al and Fe/Al could be used as indices for discriminating Asian dust from suspension of the local surface soil. Backward trajectory analysis suggested southern Mongolian and northeastern China regions as sources of the significant 137 Cs depositions

Spectral Signature of Radiative Forcing by East Asian Dust-Soot Mixture

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Zhu, A.; Ramanathan, V.

2007-12-01

The Pacific Dust Experiment (PACDEX) provides the first detailed sampling of dust-soot mixtures from the western Pacific to the eastern Pacific Ocean. The data includes down and up spectral irradiance, mixing state of dust and soot, and other aerosol properties. This study attempts to simulate the radiative forcing by dust-soot mixtures during the experimental period. The MODTRAN band model was employed to investigate the spectral signatures of solar irradiance change induced by aerosols at moderate spectral resolutions. For the short wave band (300-1100nm) used in this study, the reduction of downward irradiance at surface by aerosols greatly enhances with increasing wavelength in the UV band (300-400nm), reaches a maximum in the blue band, then gradually decreases toward the red band. In the near-IR band (700-1100nm), irradiance reduction by aerosols shows great fluctuations in the band with center wavelength at around 940nm, 820nm, 720nm, 760nm, 690nm, where the aerosol effect is overwhelmed by the water vapor and O2 absorptions. The spectral pattern of irradiance reduction varies for different aerosol species. The maximum reduction lies at around 450nm for soot, and shifting to about 490nm for East Asian mineral dust. It's worth noting that although soot aerosols reduce more irradiance than East Asian dust in the UV and blue band, the impact of dust to the irradiance exceeds that by soot at the longer wavelength band (i.e. around 550nm). The reduction of irradiance by East Asian dust (soot) in the UV band, visible band, and near-IR accounts for about 6% (10%), 56% (64%), and 38% (26%) of total irradiance reduction. As large amount of soot aerosols are involved during the long range transport of East Asian dust, the optical properties of dust aerosols are modified with different mixing state with soot, the spectral pattern of the irradiance reduction will be changed. The study of aerosol forcing at moderate spectral resolutions has the potential application for

Observation of Asian dust properties by using multi-wavelength LIDAR system at anmyeon island, Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Sung Chul; Ko, Do Kyeoung; Lee, Jong Min; Kim, Young Joon; Noh, Young Min

2004-01-01

The Asian dust affect climate both directly and indirectly because they act as effective ice nuclei and forms ice cloud. However, little is known about spatial distribution and trajectory because few measurement data are available in the free troposphere over East Asia, where a large amount of Asian dust are transported form desert regions in Asian continent. LIDAR system is an effective tool for remotely measuring the vertical distribution of aerosol optical properties. For measurement of Asian dust optical properties, a multi-wavelength LIDAR system developed by the Advanced Environment Monitoring Research Center (ADEMRC), Gwangju Institute Science and Technology (GIST), Korea. This paper presents the results of ground-based multi-wavelength LIDAR measurements of the Asian dust aerosol over Anmyeon Island (36.40N, 126.10E) during the spring of 2004. To discriminate between Asian dust and cloud, depolarization ratio is useful for the detection of these particles and the LIDAR ratio. Also, we discuss the relationship between LIDAR ratio and other optical properties from LIDAR measurement, i.e., the depolarization ratio, aerosol extinction coefficient and LIDAR ratio

Impact of mineral dust on nitrate, sulfate, and ozone in transpacific Asian pollution plumes

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T. D. Fairlie

2010-04-01

Full Text Available We use a 3-D global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem to interpret aircraft observations of nitrate and sulfate partitioning in transpacific dust plumes during the INTEX-B campaign of April–May 2006. The model includes explicit transport of size-resolved mineral dust and its alkalinity, nitrate, and sulfate content. The observations show that particulate nitrate is primarily associated with dust, sulfate is primarily associated with ammonium, and Asian dust remains alkaline across the Pacific. This can be reproduced in the model by using a reactive uptake coefficient for HNO₃ on dust (γ(HNO₃ ~10⁻³ much lower than commonly assumed in models and possibly reflecting limitation of uptake by dust dissolution. The model overestimates gas-phase HNO₃ by a factor of 2–3, typical of previous model studies; we show that this cannot be corrected by uptake on dust. We find that the fraction of aerosol nitrate on dust in the model increases from ~30% in fresh Asian outflow to 80–90% over the Northeast Pacific, reflecting in part the volatilization of ammonium nitrate and the resulting transfer of nitrate to the dust. Consumption of dust alkalinity by uptake of acid gases in the model is slow relative to the lifetime of dust against deposition, so that dust does not acidify (at least not in the bulk. This limits the potential for dust iron released by acidification to become bio-available upon dust deposition. Observations in INTEX-B show no detectable ozone depletion in Asian dust plumes, consistent with the model. Uptake of HNO₃ by dust, suppressing its recycling to NO_x, reduces Asian pollution influence on US surface ozone in the model by 10–15% or up to 1 ppb.

Observed trend in Asian dust days in South Korea and its geo-physiographical implications

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Yang, Soohyun; Paik, Kyungrock

2015-04-01

South Korea has experienced significant socio-economic damages by Asian dust (also called Yellow sand or Yellow dust). Asian dust is a wind-driven natural phenomenon that carries fine sand particles along with surface pollutants from semi-arid areas in northern China, Inner Mongolia, the Gobi Desert, and the Taklimakan Desert to the East Asia. Its occurrence requires three necessary conditions: dry soil in source areas, strong ascending air current to lift sand particles up, and intense wind speed to transport the particles. Accordingly, the drier source areas are, the larger amount of source materials for Asian dust becomes. Further, regional wind speed and direction are key elements that determine the influencing boundary and level of damage. In this study, we investigate number of Asian dust days over South Korea. We utilize monthly data over 50 years (from 1961 to 2013) recorded at 12 stations, operated by the Korean Meteorological Administration, which are evenly distributed over the country. We find that annual number of Asian dust days in South Korea tends to increase until early 2000s and the increasing trend is ceased since then. Interestingly, this transition time (early 2000s) matches the time when the surface wind speed trend has reversed (Kim and Paik, 2015). Hence, we hypothesize that occurrence of Asian dust in South Korea can be largely captured by surface wind, instead of air circulation at high altitude. We also hypothesize that the transition in the trend around early 2000s is associated with expansion of cold air system during winter over the East Asia. Detailed analysis to support these findings will be presented. Reference Kim, JC., & Paik, K. (2015). Recent recovery of surface wind speed after decadal decrease: A focus on South Korea. Climate Dynamics, (Under review).

The case study on elemental analyses of Asian dust particles by using an analytical scanning electron microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeuchi, Jo; Masaki, Kazushige; Emoto, Yuji

2009-01-01

The individual particle analyses of suspended particulate matter (SPM: particles less than 10 μm in size) collected on tape filters during April 17-18, 2006, in Kawasaki, Japan, were carried out. The chemical elements present in aerosol particles were investigated by using a scanning electron microscope with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer. The fraction of chemical elements detected in the particles collected on April 18, 2006, except for S, was in good agreement with that in Asian dust particles from the Loess Plateau, China. S was not detected in Asian dust particles but was detected in the particles collected on April 18, 2006. Therefore, it was concluded that the particles collected in April 18, 2006, in Kawasaki were Asian dust particles transported from the Asian continent, and the absorption of SO 2 or the coagulation of sulfate occurred during the transportation of Asian dust particles. (author)

The relationship between the Asian dust and Arctic Oscillation: An observational investigation

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Lee, Y.; Kim, J.; Cho, H.

2009-12-01

The Arctic Oscillation (AO) represents the leading empirical orthogonal function of winter sea level pressure (SLP) fields, which resembles North Atlantic Oscillation, but has a more zonally symmetric structure (Thompson and Wallace, 1998; Wallace, 2000; Wu and Wang, 2002). This primary mode of the internal dynamics in the atmosphere predominates the Extratropical Northern Hemisphere circulation from surface to the lower stratosphere showing an equivalent barotropic structure during cold season(November-April) (Thompson and Wallace, 2000). Also, the Asian dust storms show strong interannual variation (Sun et al., 2001; Yoshino, 2002; Zhao et al., 2006; Hara et al., 2006), which are suggested to be associated with climate indices. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the possible connection for the AO and the Asian dust emission during periods from late winter to spring, based on the observational investigations. In order to examine these complex associations closely, the Aerosol Index (AI) from Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) are used starting from November 1978 to December 1999, except for data pause from May 1993 to August 1996. SLP and geopotential height at 500hPa (Z500) monthly fields are derived from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalyses (1958-2001). Also, source regions of Asian dust are mainly focused on three source areas, including the Taklimakan Desert (R1), Badain Jaran Desert (R2), and Mongolia (R3) in this study. In composite study during different phases of AO, the AO exhibits a “negative phase” with relatively high pressure over the polar region and low pressure at mid-latitudes (about 45 degrees North). In strong “negative phase” of AO, decrease of AO is found to be associated with decreases of local tropospheric temperature, U-wind, and geopotential height and strong north-south gradients over the source regions of Asian dust. Therefore, we also notice that a negative index phase

Early-Holocene greening of the Afro-Asian dust belt changed sources of mineral dust in West Asia

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Sharifi, Arash; Murphy, Lisa N.; Pourmand, Ali; Clement, Amy C.; Canuel, Elizabeth A.; Naderi Beni, Abdolmajid; Lahijani, Hamid A. K.; Delanghe, Doriane; Ahmady-Birgani, Hesam

2018-01-01

Production, transport and deposition of mineral dust have significant impacts on different components of the Earth systems through time and space. In modern times, dust plumes are associated with their source region(s) using satellite and land-based measurements and trajectory analysis of air masses through time. Reconstruction of past changes in the sources of mineral dust as related to changes in climate, however, must rely on the knowledge of the geochemical and mineralogical composition of modern and paleo-dust, and that of their potential source origins. In this contribution, we present a 13,000-yr record of variations in radiogenic Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes and Rare Earth Element (REE) anomalies as well as dust grain size from an ombrotrophic (rain fed) peat core in NW Iran as proxies of past changes in the sources of dust over the interior of West Asia. Our data shows that although the grain size of dust varies in a narrow range through the entire record, the geochemical fingerprint of dust particles deposited during the low-flux, early Holocene period (11,700-6,000 yr BP) is distinctly different from aerosols deposited during high dust flux periods of the Younger Dryas and the mid-late Holocene (6,000-present). Our findings indicate that the composition of mineral dust deposited at the study site changed as a function of prevailing atmospheric circulation regimes and land exposure throughout the last deglacial period and the Holocene. Simulations of atmospheric circulation over the region show the Northern Hemisphere Summer Westerly Jet was displaced poleward across the study area during the early Holocene when Northern Hemisphere insolation was higher due to the Earth's orbital configuration. This shift, coupled with lower dust emissions simulated based on greening of the Afro-Asian Dust Belt during the early Holocene likely led to potential sources in Central Asia dominating dust export to West Asia during this period. In contrast, the dominant western and

Dust, Pollution, and Biomass Burning Aerosols in Asian Pacific: A Column Surface/Satellite Perspective

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Tsay, Si-Chee; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Many recent field experiments are designed to study the compelling variability in spatial and temporal scale of both pollution-derived and naturally occurring aerosols, which often exist in high concentrations over eastern/southeastern Asia and along the rim of the western Pacific. For example, the phase-I of ACE-Asia was conducted from March-May 2001 in the vicinity of the Gobi desert, East Coast of China, Yellow Sea, Korea, and Japan, along the pathway of Kosa (severe events that blanket East Asia with yellow desert dust, peaked in the Spring season). Asian dust typically originates in desert areas far from polluted urban regions. During transport, dust layers can interact with anthropogenic sulfate and soot aerosols from heavily polluted urban areas. Springtime is also the peak season for biomass burning in southeastern Asia. Added to the complex effects of clouds and natural marine aerosols, dust particles reaching the marine environment can have drastically different properties than those from the source. Thus, understanding the unique temporal and spatial variations of Asian aerosols is of special importance in regional-to-global climate issues such as radiative forcing, the hydrological cycle, and primary biological productivity in the mid-Pacific Ocean. During ACE-Asia we have measured continuously aerosol physical/optical/radiative properties, column precipitable water amount, and surface reflectivity over homogeneous areas from surface. The inclusion of flux measurements permits the determination of aerosol radiative flux in addition to measurements of loading and optical depth. At the time of the Terra/MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), SeaWiFS (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor), TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) and other satellite overpasses, these ground-based observations can provide valuable data to compare with satellite retrievals over land. A column satellite-surface perspective of Asian aerosols will be presented

Asian dust outflow in the PBL and free atmosphere retrieved by NASA CALIPSO and an assimilated dust transport model

OpenAIRE

Y. Hara; K. Yumimoto; I. Uno; A. Shimizu; N. Sugimoto; Z. Liu; D. M. Winker

2009-01-01

International audience; Three-dimensional structures of Asian dust transport in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and free atmosphere occurring successively during the end of May 2007 were clarified using results of space-borne backscatter lidar, Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), and results simulated using a data-assimilated version of a dust transport model (RC4) based on a ground-based NIES lidar network. Assimilated results mitigated overestimation of dust concen...

Change of the Asian dust source region deduced from the composition of anthropogenic radionuclides in surface soil in Mongolia

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Y. Igarashi

2011-07-01

precipitation. These findings suggest that the increased specific activities and the activity ratio detected in atmospheric depositions in Japan during years with frequent Asian dust transport events in the 2000s are a sign of grassland degradation.

Chemical Composition Based Aerosol Optical Properties According to Size Distribution and Mixture Types during Smog and Asian Dust Events in Seoul, Korea

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Jung, Chang Hoon; Lee, Ji Yi; Um, Junshik; Lee, Seung Soo; Kim, Yong Pyo

2018-02-01

This study investigated the optical properties of aerosols involved in different meteorological events, including smog and Asian dust days. Carbonaceous components and inorganic species were measured in Seoul, Korea between 25 and 31 March 2012. Based on the measurements, the optical properties of aerosols were calculated by considering composition, size distribution, and mixing state of aerosols. To represent polydisperse size distributions of aerosols, a lognormal size distribution with a wide range of geometric mean diameters and geometric standard deviations was used. For the optical property calculations, the Mie theory was used to compute single-scattering properties of aerosol particles with varying size and composition. Analysis of the sampled data showed that the water-soluble components of organic matter increased on smog days, whereas crustal elements increased on dust days. The water content significantly influenced the optical properties of aerosols during the smog days as a result of high relative humidity and an increase in the water-soluble component. The absorption coefficients depended on the aerosol mixture type and the aerosol size distributions. Therefore, to improve our knowledge on radiative impacts of aerosols, especially the regional impacts of aerosols in East Asia, accurate measurements of aerosols, such as size distribution, composition, and mixture type, under different meteorological conditions are required.

Long-term profiling of mineral dust and pollution aerosol with multiwavelength polarization Raman lidar at the Central Asian site of Dushanbe, Tajikistan: case studies

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J. Hofer

2017-12-01

Full Text Available For the first time, continuous vertically resolved aerosol measurements were performed by lidar in Tajikistan, Central Asia. Observations with the multiwavelength polarization Raman lidar PollyXT were conducted during CADEX (Central Asian Dust EXperiment in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, from March 2015 to August 2016. Co-located with the lidar, a sun photometer was also operated. The goal of CADEX is to provide an unprecedented data set on vertically resolved aerosol optical properties in Central Asia, an area highly affected by climate change but largely missing vertically resolved aerosol measurements. During the 18-month measurement campaign, mineral dust was detected frequently from ground to the cirrus level height. In this study, an overview of the measurement period is given and four typical but different example measurement cases are discussed in detail. Three of them are dust cases and one is a contrasting pollution aerosol case. Vertical profiles of the measured optical properties and the calculated dust and non-dust mass concentrations are presented. Dust source regions were identified by means of backward trajectory analyses. A lofted layer of Middle Eastern dust with an aerosol optical thickness (AOT of 0.4 and an extinction-related Ångström exponent of 0.41 was measured. In comparison, two near-ground dust cases have Central Asian sources. One is an extreme dust event with an AOT of 1.5 and Ångström exponent of 0.12 and the other one is a most extreme dust event with an AOT of above 4 (measured by sun photometer and an Ångström exponent of −0.08. The observed lidar ratios (and particle linear depolarization ratios in the presented dust cases range from 40.3 to 46.9 sr (and 0.18–0.29 at 355 nm and from 35.7 to 42.9 sr (0.31–0.35 at 532 nm wavelength. The particle linear depolarization ratios indicate almost unpolluted dust in the case of a lofted dust layer and pure dust in the near-ground dust cases. The lidar ratio

Temporal and spatial variation in radioactivity deposition in Japan-influence of the Asian dust-Kosa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Igarashi, Yasuhito; Aoyama, Michio; Hirose, Katsumi; Shinoda, Yoshihiro

2007-01-01

The possible effect of Asian dust-Kosa in radioactivity deposition, recorded during the recent years, is addressed. The Kosa events were remarkable during 2000 to 2002 in the Far East region, however no significant change was admitted in the MRI radioactivity deposition time series for 90 Sr and 137 Cs. Therefore, we looked at the nationwide distribution and seasonal trends in 90 Sr and 137 Cs depositions by using the data from the Environmental Radioactivity and Radiation Database available on the web. It was found that 137 Cs deposition was larger in northern Japan along the Japan Sea side during spring. The 137 Cs/ 90 Sr activity ratio as well as the 137 Cs specific activity tended to be larger at the high 137 Cs deposition sites. The influence of the Kosa during 2000 to 2002 had larger in northern Japan/Sea of Japan side and the source of the Kosa may be different from the conventional type of the Kosa. The high 137 Cs/ 90 Sr activity ratio and the high 137 Cs specific activity suggest the source area had higher precipitation rate (higher fallout), where the fractionation between the 137 Cs and 90 Sr proceeded. Such area may become new source area for the aeolian dust due possibly to the recent global climate change. This accords with the literature on the source statistics of the Asian dust during the 1990s and the early 2000s. (author)

Responses of heterotrophic bacteria abundance and activity to Asian dust enrichment in the low nutrients and low chlorophyll (LNLC) region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean

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Shi, Dongwan; Li, Kuiran; Tian, Yanzhao; Zhang, Xiaohao; Bai, Jie

2017-05-01

Bacteria, as an essential part of microbial food web, play a significant role in the marine ecosystem. Dust deposits into the surface ocean carrying with vital nutrient such as Inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus etc., which has an important influence on the life activities of heterotrophic bacteria. The microcosm experiments with Asian dust deposition was carried out on board in the station K3 (26.18°N, 136.73°E) in April 2015, aiming to estimate the impact of dust deposition on the oligotrophic Northwestern pacific Sea, the main goal of the present paper was to assess how dust deposition events affect the abundance and activity of heterotrophic bacteria in low nutrient and low chlorophyll (LNLC) sea area. Station K3 located in the central northwestern Pacific Ocean, which has the characteristic of low nutrient and low chlorophyll. The study shows that there was an N-P co-limitation in station K3, and the deposition of Asian dust can increase the abundance, and promote the activity of heterotrophic bacteria in the station K3.

Dust storm events over Delhi: verification of dust AOD forecasts with satellite and surface observations

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Singh, Aditi; Iyengar, Gopal R.; George, John P.

2016-05-01

Thar desert located in northwest part of India is considered as one of the major dust source. Dust storms originate in Thar desert during pre-monsoon season, affects large part of Indo-Gangetic plains. High dust loading causes the deterioration of the ambient air quality and degradation in visibility. Present study focuses on the identification of dust events and verification of the forecast of dust events over Delhi and western part of IG Plains, during the pre-monsoon season of 2015. Three dust events have been identified over Delhi during the study period. For all the selected days, Terra-MODIS AOD at 550 nm are found close to 1.0, while AURA-OMI AI shows high values. Dust AOD forecasts from NCMRWF Unified Model (NCUM) for the three selected dust events are verified against satellite (MODIS) and ground based observations (AERONET). Comparison of observed AODs at 550 nm from MODIS with NCUM predicted AODs reveals that NCUM is able to predict the spatial and temporal distribution of dust AOD, in these cases. Good correlation (~0.67) is obtained between the NCUM predicted dust AODs and location specific observations available from AERONET. Model under-predicted the AODs as compared to the AERONET observations. This may be mainly because the model account for only dust and no anthropogenic activities are considered. The results of the present study emphasize the requirement of more realistic representation of local dust emission in the model both of natural and anthropogenic origin, to improve the forecast of dust from NCUM during the dust events.

Characterization of east Asian dust outbreaks in the spring of 2001 using ground-based and satellite data

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Darmenova, Kremena; Sokolik, Irina N.; Darmenov, Anton

2005-01-01

This study presents a detailed examination of east Asian dust events during March-April of 2001, by combining satellite multisensor observation (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS)) meteorological data from weather stations in China and Mongolia and the Pennsylania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Modeling System (MM5) driven by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Reanalysis data. The main goal is to determine the extent to which the routine surface meteorological observations (including visibility) and satellite data can be used to characterize the spatiotemporal distribution of dust plumes at a range of scales. We also examine the potential of meteorological time series for constraining the dust emission schemes used in aerosol transport models. Thirty-five dust events were identified in the source region during March and April of 2001 and characterized on a case-by-case basis. The midrange transport routes were reconstructed on the basis of visibility observations and observed and MM5-predicted winds with further validation against satellite data. We demonstrate that the combination of visibility data, TOMS aerosol index, MODIS aerosol optical depth over the land, and a qualitative analysis of MODIS and SeaWiFS imagery enables us to constrain the regions of origin of dust outbreaks and midrange transport, though various limitations of individual data sets were revealed in detecting dust over the land. Only two long-range transport episodes were found. The transport routes and coverage of these dust episodes were reconstructed by using MODIS aerosol optical depth and TOMS aerosol index. Our analysis reveals that over the oceans the presence of persistent clouds poses a main problem in identifying the regions affected by dust transport, so only partial reconstruction of dust transport routes reaching the

Long-range Transport of Asian Dust Storms: A Satellite/Surface Perspective on Societal and Scientific Influence

Science.gov (United States)

2007-01-01

Among the many components contributing to air pollution, airborne mineral dust plays an important role due to its biogeochemical impact on the ecosystem and its radiative forcing effect on the weather/climate system. As much as one-third to half of the global dust emissions, estimated about 800 Tg, are introduced annually into Earth's atmosphere from various deserts in China. Asian dust storm outbreaks are believed to have persisted for hundreds and thousands years over the vast territory of north and northwest China, but not until recent decades that many studies reveal the compelling evidence in recognizing the importance of these eolian dust particles for forming Chinese Loess Plateau and for biogeochemical cycling in the North Pacific Ocean to as far as in the Greenland ice-sheets through long-range transport. The Asian dust and air pollution aerosols can be detected by its colored appearance on current Earth observing satellites and its evolution monitored by satellite and surface network. In this paper, we will demonstrate the capability of a new satellite algorithm, called Deep Blue, to retrieve aerosol properties, particularly but not limited to, over bright-reflecting surfaces such as urban areas and deserts. Recently, many field campaigns were designed and executed to study the compelling variability in spatial and temporal scale of both pollution-derived and naturally occurring aerosols, which often exist in high concentrations over eastern Asia and along the rim of the western Pacific. We will provide an overview of the outbreak of Asian dust storms, near source/sink and their evolution along transport pathway, from space and surface observations. The climatic effects and societal impacts of the Asian dusts will be addressed in depth. (to be presented in the International Workshop on Semi-Arid Land Surface-

Real-time observational evidence of changing Asian dust morphology with the mixing of heavy anthropogenic pollution

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Pan, X.; Uno, I.; Wang, Z.; Nishizawa, T.; Sugimoto, N.; Yamamoto, S.; Kobayashi, H.; Sun, Y.; Fu, P.; Tang, X.; Wang, Z.

2017-12-01

Natural mineral dust and heavy anthropogenic pollution and its complex interactions cause significant environmental problems in East Asia. Due to restrictions of observing technique, real-time morphological change in Asian dust particles owing to coating process of anthropogenic pollutants is still statistically unclear. Here, we first used a newly developed, single-particle polarization detector and quantitatively investigate the evolution of the polarization property of backscattering light reflected from dust particle as they were mixing with anthropogenic pollutants in North China. The decrease in observed depolarization ratio is mainly attributed to the decrease of aspect ratio of the dust particles as a result of continuous coating processes. Hygroscopic growth of Calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2) on the surface of the dust particles played a vital role, particularly when they are stagnant in the polluted region with high RH conditions. Reliable statistics highlight the significant importance of internally mixed, `quasi-spherical' Asian dust particles, which markedly act as cloud condensation nuclei and exert regional climate change.

Modeled Downward Transport of a Passive Tracer over Western North America during an Asian Dust Event in April 1998.

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Hacker, Joshua P.; McKendry, Ian G.; Stull, Roland B.

2001-09-01

An intense Gobi Desert dust storm in April 1998 loaded the midtroposphere with dust that was transported across the Pacific to western North America. The Mesoscale Compressible Community (MC2) model was used to investigate mechanisms causing downward transport of the midtropospheric dust and to explain the high concentrations of particulate matter of less than 10-m diameter measured in the coastal urban areas of Washington and southern British Columbia. The MC2 was initialized with a thin, horizontally homogeneous layer of passive tracer centered at 650 hPa for a simulation from 0000 UTC 26 April to 0000 UTC 30 April 1998. Model results were in qualitative agreement with observed spatial and temporal patterns of particulate matter, indicating that it captured the important meteorological processes responsible for the horizontal and vertical transport over the last few days of the dust event. A second simulation was performed without topography to isolate the effects of topography on downward transport.Results show that the dust was advected well east of the North American coast in southwesterly midtropospheric flow, with negligible dust concentration reaching the surface initially. Vertically propagating mountain waves formed during this stage, and differences between downward and upward velocities in these waves could account for a rapid descent of dust to terrain height, where the dust was entrained into the turbulent planetary boundary layer. A deepening outflow (easterly) layer near the surface transported the tracer westward and created a zonal-shear layer that further controlled the tracer advection. Later, the shear layer lifted, leading to a downward hydraulic acceleration along the western slopes, as waves generated in the easterly flow amplified below the shear layer that was just above mountain-crest height. Examination of 10 yr of National Centers for Environmental Prediction-National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalyses suggests that such events

Shifts in alpine lakes' ecosystems in Japan driven by increasing Asian dusts

Science.gov (United States)

Tsugeki, N. K.; Tani, Y.; Ueda, S.; Agusa, T.; Toyoda, K.; Kuwae, M.; Oda, H.; Tanabe, S.; Urabe, J.

2011-12-01

Recently in East Asia the amount of fossil fuel combustion have increased with economic growth. It has caused a problem of trans-boundary air pollution in the whole of eastern Asia. Furthermore, Asian dust storms contribute episodically to the global aerosol load. However, the effects of increased Asian dusts on aquatic ecosystems are not well understood. If biologically important nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are transported via air dust, the atmospheric deposition of the dust may have serious impacts on recipient aquatic ecosystems because the biological production is limited by these nutrient elements. A previous report using sedimentary records has evaluated that atmospheric P inputs to the alpine lakes in the United States increased fivefold following the increased western settlement to this country during the nineteenth century. Since P is the most deficient nutrient for production in many lakes increase in P loading through atmospheric deposition of anthropogenically-derived dust might greatly affect the lake ecosystems. We examined fossil pigments and zooplankton remains from Pb-dated sediments taken from a high mountain lake of Hourai-Numa, located in the Towada-Hachimantai National Park of Japan, to uncover historical changes in the phyto- and zooplankton community over the past 100 years. Simultaneously, we measured the biogeochemical variables of TOC, TN, TP, δ13C, δ15N, and 206Pb/207Pb, 208Pb/207Pb in the sediments to identify environmental factors causing such changes. As a result, despite little anthropogenic activities in the watersheds, alpine lakes in Japan Islands increased algal and herbivore plankton biomasses by 3-6 folds for recent years depending on terrestrial the surrounded vegetations and landscape conditions. Biological and biogeochemical proxies recorded in the lake sediments indicate that this eutrophication occurred after the 1990s when P deposition increased due to atmospheric loading transported from Asian

Long-term variability of dust events in Iceland (1949-2011)

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Dagsson-Waldhauserova, P.; Arnalds, O.; Olafsson, H.

2014-12-01

The long-term frequency of atmospheric dust observations was investigated for the southern part of Iceland and interpreted together with earlier results obtained from northeastern (NE) Iceland (Dagsson-Waldhauserova et al., 2013). In total, over 34 dust days per year on average occurred in Iceland based on conventionally used synoptic codes for dust observations. However, frequent volcanic eruptions, with the re-suspension of volcanic materials and dust haze, increased the number of dust events fourfold (135 dust days annually). The position of the Icelandic Low determined whether dust events occurred in the NE (16.4 dust days annually) or in the southern (S) part of Iceland (about 18 dust days annually). The decade with the most frequent dust days in S Iceland was the 1960s, but the 2000s in NE Iceland. A total of 32 severe dust storms (visibility typically warm, occurring during summer/autumn (May-September) and during mild southwesterly winds, while the subarctic dust events (S Iceland) were mainly cold, occurring during winter/spring (March-May) and during strong northeasterly winds. About half of the dust events in S Iceland occurred in winter or at sub-zero temperatures. A good correlation was found between particulate matter (PM10) concentrations and visibility during dust observations at the stations Vík and Stórhöfði. This study shows that Iceland is among the dustiest areas of the world and that dust is emitted year-round.

Single-particle characterization of 'Asian Dust' certified reference materials using low-Z particle electron probe X-ray microanalysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Hee Jin; Ro, Chul-Un

2006-01-01

In order to clearly elucidate whether Asian Dust particles experience chemical modification during long-range transport, it is necessary to characterize soil particles where Asian Dust particles originate. If chemical compositions of source soil particles are well characterized, then chemical compositions of Asian Dust particles collected outside source regions can be compared with those of source soil particles in order to find out the occurrence of chemical modification. Asian Dust particles are chemically and morphologically heterogeneous, and thus the average composition and the average aerodynamic diameter (obtainable by bulk analysis) are not much relevant if the chemical modifications of the particles must be followed. The major elemental composition and abundance of the particle types that are potential subjects of chemical modification can only be obtained using single-particle analysis. A single particle analytical technique, named low-Z particle electron probe X-ray microanalysis (low-Z particle EPMA), was applied to characterize two certified reference materials (CRMs) for Asian Dust particles, which were collected from a loess plateau area and a desert of China. The CRMs were defined by bulk analyses to provide certified concentrations for 13 chemical elements. Using the low-Z particle EPMA technique, the concentrations of major chemical species such as aluminosilicates, SiO 2 , CaCO 3 , and carbonaceous species were obtained. Elemental concentrations obtained by the low-Z particle EPMA are close to the certified values, with considering that the single particle and bulk analyses employ very different approaches. There are still some discrepancies between those concentration values, resulting from analyses of particles with different sizes, different sample amounts analyzed, and uncertainties involved in the single particle analysis

Asian Dust Storm Elevates Children’s Respiratory Health Risks: A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Children’s Clinic Visits across Taipei (Taiwan)

OpenAIRE

Yu, Hwa-Lung; Chien, Lung-Chang; Yang, Chiang-Hsing

2012-01-01

Concerns have been raised about the adverse impact of Asian dust storms (ADS) on human health; however, few studies have examined the effect of these events on children's health. Using databases from the Taiwan National Health Insurance and Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency, this study investigates the documented daily visits of children to respiratory clinics during and after ADS that occurred from 1997 to 2007 among 12 districts across Taipei City by applying a Bayesian structural addi...

Reply to Comment by Xu et al. on "Sr-Nd isotope composition and clay mineral assemblages in eolian dust from the central Philippine Sea over the last 600 kyr: Implications for the transport mechanism of Asian dust" by Seo et al.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Inah; Lee, Yong Il; Yoo, Chan Min; Kim, Hyung Jeek; Hyeong, Kiseong

2016-12-01

Against Xu et al. (2016), who argued that East Asian Desert (EAD) dust that traveled on East Asian Winter Monsoon winds dominates over Central Asian Desert (CAD) dust in the Philippine Sea with presentation of additional data, we reconfirm Seo et al.'s (2014) conclusion that CAD dust carried on the Prevailing Westerlies and Trade Winds dominates over EAD dust in overall dust budget of the central Philippine Sea. The relative contribution of dust from EADs and CADs using clay mineral composition should be evaluated with elimination of mineralogical contribution from the volcanic end-member which is enriched in kaolinite and overestimate the contribution of EAD dust.

Variability in the correlation between Asian dust storms and chlorophyll a concentration from the North to Equatorial Pacific.

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Sai-Chun Tan

Full Text Available A long-term record of Asian dust storms showed seven high-occurrence-frequency centers in China. The intrusion of Asian dust into the downwind seas, including the China seas, the Sea of Japan, the subarctic North Pacific, the North Pacific subtropical gyre, and the western and eastern Equatorial Pacific, has been shown to add nutrients to ocean ecosystems and enhance their biological activities. To explore the relationship between the transported dust from various sources to the six seas and oceanic biological activities with different nutrient conditions, the correlation between monthly chlorophyll a concentration in each sea and monthly dust storm occurrence frequencies reaching the sea during 1997-2007 was examined in this study. No correlations were observed between dust and chlorophyll a concentration in the 50 m China seas and the North Pacific subtropical gyre, the correlation coefficients were in the range 0.32-0.57. The correlation coefficients for the western and eastern Equatorial Pacific were relatively low (<0.36. These correlation coefficients were further interpreted in terms of the geographical distributions of dust sources, the transport pathways, the dust deposition, the nutrient conditions of oceans, and the probability of dust storms reaching the seas.

Can Asian Dust Trigger Phytoplankton Blooms in the Oligotrophic Northern South China Sea?

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Wang, Sheng Hsiang; Hsu, Nai-Yung Christina; Tsay, Si-Chee; Lin, Neng-Huei; Sayer, Andrew M.; Huang, Shih-Jen; Lau, William K. M.

2012-01-01

Satellite data estimate a high dust deposition flux (approximately 18 g m(exp-2 a(exp-1) into the northern South China Sea (SCS). However, observational evidence concerning any biological response to dust fertilization is sparse. In this study, we combined long-term aerosol and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) measurements from satellite sensors (MODIS and SeaWiFS) with a 16-year record of dust events from surface PM10 observations to investigate dust transport, flux, and the changes in Chl-a concentration over the northern SCS. Our result revealed that readily identifiable strong dust events over this region, although relatively rare (6 cases since 1994) and accounting for only a small proportion of the total dust deposition (approximately 0.28 g m(exp-2 a(exp-1), do occur and could significantly enhance phytoplankton blooms. Following such events, the Chl-a concentration increased up to 4-fold, and generally doubled the springtime background value (0.15 mg m(exp-3). We suggest these heavy dust events contain readily bioavailable iron and enhance the phytoplankton growth in the oligotrophic northern SCS.

Characterization of individual ice residual particles by the single droplet freezing method: a case study in the Asian dust outflow region

Science.gov (United States)

Iwata, Ayumi; Matsuki, Atsushi

2018-02-01

In order to better characterize ice nucleating (IN) aerosol particles in the atmosphere, we investigated the chemical composition, mixing state, and morphology of atmospheric aerosols that nucleate ice under conditions relevant for mixed-phase clouds. Five standard mineral dust samples (quartz, K-feldspar, Na-feldspar, Arizona test dust, and Asian dust source particles) were compared with actual aerosol particles collected from the west coast of Japan (the city of Kanazawa) during Asian dust events in February and April 2016. Following droplet activation by particles deposited on a hydrophobic Si (silicon) wafer substrate under supersaturated air, individual IN particles were located using an optical microscope by gradually cooling the temperature to -30 °C. For the aerosol samples, both the IN active particles and non-active particles were analyzed individually by atomic force microscopy (AFM), micro-Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Heterogeneous ice nucleation in all standard mineral dust samples tested in this study was observed at consistently higher temperatures (e.g., -22.2 to -24.2 °C with K-feldspar) than the homogeneous freezing temperature (-36.5 °C). Meanwhile, most of the IN active atmospheric particles formed ice below -28 °C, i.e., at lower temperatures than the standard mineral dust samples of pure components. The most abundant IN active particles above -30 °C were predominantly irregular solid particles that showed clay mineral characteristics (or mixtures of several mineral components). Other than clay, Ca-rich particles internally mixed with other components, such as sulfate, were also regarded as IN active particle types. Moreover, sea salt particles were predominantly found in the non-active fraction, and internal mixing with sea salt clearly acted as a significant inhibiting agent for the ice nucleation activity of mineral dust particles. Also, relatively

Raman lidar measurement of water vapor and ice clouds associated with Asian dust layer over Tsukuba, Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Sakai, Tetsu; Nagai, Tomohiro; Nakazato, Masahisa; Matsumura, Takatsugu

2004-03-01

The vertical distributions of particle extinction, backscattering, depolarization, and water vapor mixing ratio were measured using a Raman lidar over Tsukuba (36.1°N, 140.1°E), Japan, on 23-24 April 2001. Ice clouds associated with the Asian dust layer were observed at an altitude of ~6-9 km. The relative humidities in the cloud layer were close to the ice saturation values and the temperature at the top of the cloud layer was ~-35°C, suggesting that the Asian dust acted as ice nuclei at the high temperatures. The meteorological analysis suggested that the ice-saturated region was formed near the top of the dust layer where the moist air ascended in slantwise fashion above the cold-frontal zone associated with extratropical cyclone.

Detection of Asian Dust Storm Using MODIS Measurements

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Yong Xie

2017-08-01

Full Text Available 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, an algorithm based on the multi-spectral technique for detecting dust aerosols was developed by combining measurements of moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS reflective solar bands and thermal emissive bands. Data from dust events that occurred during the past several years were collected as training data for spectral and statistical analyses. According to the spectral curves of various scene types, a series of spectral bands was selected individually or jointly, and corresponding thresholds were defined for step-by-step scene classification. The multi-spectral algorithm was applied mainly to detect dust storms in Asia. The detection results were validated not only visually with MODIS true color images, but also quantitatively with products of Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI and Cloud Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP. The validations showed that this multi-spectral detection algorithm was suitable to monitor dust aerosols in the selected study areas.

Modification of Asian-dust particles transported by different routes - A case study

Science.gov (United States)

Zaizen, Yuji; Naoe, Hiroaki; Takahashi, Hiroshi; Okada, Kikuo

2014-11-01

Two separate Asian dust events occurred before and after the passage of a cold front over Japan on 21 March 2010. According to back trajectories and a model simulation, the two dusty air-masses originated from the same region in Mongoria or northern China and were transported over different routes to Japan. Samples of aerosol particles from both airmasses were collected at Tsukuba and Mt. Haruna and examined by single-particle analysis using a transmission electron microscope and an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer. The mixing properties of mineral aerosol were quite different in the two airmasses and size ranges. In the prefrontal airmass, which were associated with pollution, most of fine (mixed with sulfate. On the contrary, mineral aerosols in the postfront airmass, which were relatively natural, were mostly externally mixed. In the latter case, the internal mixing was associated with Ca, however in the former case, mixing processes not concerning mineralogy was suggested.

Decreased Pulmonary Function in School Children in Western Japan after Exposures to Asian Desert Dusts and Its Association with Interleukin-8

OpenAIRE

Masanari Watanabe; Hisashi Noma; Jun Kurai; Hiroyuki Sano; Rumiko Saito; Satoshi Abe; Yutaka Kimura; Setsuya Aiba; Mitsuo Oshimura; Akira Yamasaki; Eiji Shimizu

2015-01-01

The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of Asian dust storms (ADS) on pulmonary function of school children and the relationship of this effect with interleukin-8. Morning peak expiratory flow (PEF) was measured daily in 399 children from April to May 2012 and in 384 of these children from March to May 2013. The data were analyzed for an association between ADS events and PEF by linear mixed models. Interleukin-8 transcriptional activity was assessed in THP-G8 cells stimul...

Spectral optical properties of long-range transport Asian dust and pollution aerosols over Northeast Asia in 2007 and 2008

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J. Jung

2010-06-01

Full Text Available As a part of the IGAC (International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Mega-cities program, aerosol physical and optical properties were continuously measured from March 2007 to March 2008 at an urban site (37.57° N, 126.94° E in Seoul, Korea. Spectral optical properties of long-range transported Asian dust and pollution aerosols have been investigated based on the year long measurement data. Optically measured black carbon/thermally measured elemental carbon (BC/EC ratio showed clear monthly variation with high values in summer and low values in winter mainly due to the enhancement of light attenuation by the internal mixing of EC. Novel approach has been suggested to retrieve the spectral light absorption coefficient (b_abs from Aethalometer raw data by using BC/EC ratio. Mass absorption efficiency, σ_abs (=b_abs/EC at 550 nm was determined to be 9.0±1.3, 8.9±1.5, 9.5±2.0, and 10.3±1.7 m² g⁻¹ in spring, summer, fall, and winter, respectively with an annual mean of 9.4±1.8 m² g⁻¹. Threshold values to classify severe haze events were suggested in this study. Increasing trend of aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA with wavelength was observed during Asian dust events while little spectral dependence of SSA was observed during long-range transport pollution (LTP events. Satellite aerosol optical thickness (AOT and Hysplit air mass backward trajectory analyses as well as chemical analysis were performed to characterize the dependence of spectral optical properties on aerosol type. Results from this study can provide useful information for studies on regional air quality and aerosol's effects on climate change.

The Influence of Asian Dust, Haze, Mist, and Fog on Hospital Visits for Airway Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jinkyeong; Lim, Myoung Nam; Hong, Yoonki; Kim, Woo Jin

2015-10-01

Asian dust is known to have harmful effects on the respiratory system. Respiratory conditions are also influenced by environmental conditions regardless of the presence of pollutants. The same pollutant can have different effects on the airway when the air is dry compared with when it is humid. We investigated hospital visits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in relation to the environmental conditions. We conducted a retrospective study using the Korean National Health Insurance Service claims database of patients who visited hospitals in Chuncheon between January 2006 and April 2012. Asian dust, haze, mist, and fog days were determined using reports from the Korea Meteorological Administration. Hospital visits for asthma or COPD on the index days were compared with the comparison days. We used two-way case-crossover techniques with one to two matching. The mean hospital visits for asthma and COPD were 59.37 ± 34.01 and 10.04 ± 6.18 per day, respectively. Hospital visits for asthma significantly increased at lag0 and lag1 for Asian dust (relative risk [RR], 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.19; pfog (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.75-0.97; pfog, which occur in humid air conditions, showed the opposite effects on airway diseases, after adjusting to the pollutants. It would require more research to investigate the effects of various air conditions on airway diseases.

Implementation of dust emission and chemistry into the Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system and initial application to an Asian dust storm episode

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K. Wang

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ modeling system version 4.7 is further developed to enhance its capability in simulating the photochemical cycles in the presence of dust particles. The new model treatments implemented in CMAQ v4.7 in this work include two online dust emission schemes (i.e., the Zender and Westphal schemes, nine dust-related heterogeneous reactions, an updated aerosol inorganic thermodynamic module ISORROPIA II with an explicit treatment of crustal species, and the interface between ISORROPIA II and the new dust treatments. The resulting improved CMAQ (referred to as CMAQ-Dust, offline-coupled with the Weather Research and Forecast model (WRF, is applied to the April 2001 dust storm episode over the trans-Pacific domain to examine the impact of new model treatments and understand associated uncertainties. WRF/CMAQ-Dust produces reasonable spatial distribution of dust emissions and captures the dust outbreak events, with the total dust emissions of ~111 and 223 Tg when using the Zender scheme with an erodible fraction of 0.5 and 1.0, respectively. The model system can reproduce well observed meteorological and chemical concentrations, with significant improvements for suspended particulate matter (PM, PM with aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm, and aerosol optical depth than the default CMAQ v4.7. The sensitivity studies show that the inclusion of crustal species reduces the concentration of PM with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm (PM_2.5 over polluted areas. The heterogeneous chemistry occurring on dust particles acts as a sink for some species (e.g., as a lower limit estimate, reducing O₃ by up to 3.8 ppb (~9% and SO₂ by up to 0.3 ppb (~27% and as a source for some others (e.g., increasing fine-mode SO₄²⁻ by up to 1.1 μg m⁻³ (~12% and PM_2.5 by up to 1.4 μg m⁻³ (~3% over the domain. The

[Process study on hysteresis of vegetation cover influencing sand-dust events].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xing-Kui; Wang, Xiao-Tao; Zhang, Feng

2009-02-15

Data analysis from satellite and weather stations during 1982-2000 shows nonlinear relationship between vegetation cover and sand-dust events is present in most part of China. Vegetation cover ratio in summer can impact significantly on the frequency of sand-dust storms from winter to spring in the source regions of sand-dust events. It is not quite clear about the hysteresis that vegetation cover in summer influence sand-dust events during winter and spring. A quasi-geostrophic barotropic model is used under the condition of 3 magnitude of frictional coefficient to investigate the cause of the hysteresis. Wind velocity shows a greatest decline at 90% during 72 h as initial wind velocity is 10 m/s for magnitude of frictional coefficient between atmosphere and water surface, greatest decline at 100% during 18 h for magnitude of frictional coefficient between atmosphere and bare soil and a 100% reduction of wind speed during 1 h for magnitude of frictional coefficient between atmosphere and vegetation cover. Observation and simulation prove that residual root and stem from summervegetation are one of factors to influence sand-dust events happened during winter and spring. Air inhibition from residual root and stem is a most important reason for hysteresis that vegetation cover influence sand-dust events.

Biogeochemical Impact of Long-Range Transported Dust over Northern South China Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Tsay, Si-Chee; Wang, S. H.; Hsu, N. C.

2011-01-01

Transpacific transport and impact of Asian dust aerosols have been well documented (e.g., results from ACE-Asia and regional follow-on campaigns), but little is known about dust invasion to the South China Sea (SCS). On 19-21 March 2010, a fierce Asian dust storm affected large areas from the Gobi deserts to the West Pacific, including Taiwan and Hong Kong. As a pilot study of the 7-SEAS (Seven South East Asian Studies) in the northern SCS, detailed characteristics of long-range transported dust aerosols were first observed by a comprehensive set of ground-based instruments deployed at the Dongsha islands (20deg42'52" N, 116deg43'51" E). Aerosol measurements such as particle mass concentrations, size distribution, optical properties, hygroscopicity, and vertical profiles help illustrate the evolution of this dust outbreak. Our results indicate that these dust particles were mixed with anthropogenic and marine aerosols, and transported near the surface. Satellite assessment of biogeochemical impact of dust deposition into open oceans is hindered by our current inability in retrieving areal dust properties and ocean colors over an extensive period of time, particularly under the influence of cloudy conditions. In this paper, we analyze the changes of retrieved Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration over the northern SCS, considered as oligotophic waters in the spring, from long-term SeaWiFS measurements since 1997. Over the past decade, six long-range transported dust events are identified based on spatiotemporal evolutions of PM10 measurements from regional monitoring stations, with the aid of trajectory analysis. Multi-year composites of Chl-a imagery for dust event and non-dust background during March-April are applied to overcome insufficient retrievals of Chl-a due to cloudy environment. Due to anthropogenic modification within a shallow boundary layer off the densely populated and industrial southeast coast of China, the iron ion activation of deliquescent dust

Characterization of individual ice residual particles by the single droplet freezing method: a case study in the Asian dust outflow region

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A. Iwata

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In order to better characterize ice nucleating (IN aerosol particles in the atmosphere, we investigated the chemical composition, mixing state, and morphology of atmospheric aerosols that nucleate ice under conditions relevant for mixed-phase clouds. Five standard mineral dust samples (quartz, K-feldspar, Na-feldspar, Arizona test dust, and Asian dust source particles were compared with actual aerosol particles collected from the west coast of Japan (the city of Kanazawa during Asian dust events in February and April 2016. Following droplet activation by particles deposited on a hydrophobic Si (silicon wafer substrate under supersaturated air, individual IN particles were located using an optical microscope by gradually cooling the temperature to −30 °C. For the aerosol samples, both the IN active particles and non-active particles were analyzed individually by atomic force microscopy (AFM, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX. Heterogeneous ice nucleation in all standard mineral dust samples tested in this study was observed at consistently higher temperatures (e.g., −22.2 to −24.2 °C with K-feldspar than the homogeneous freezing temperature (−36.5 °C. Meanwhile, most of the IN active atmospheric particles formed ice below −28 °C, i.e., at lower temperatures than the standard mineral dust samples of pure components. The most abundant IN active particles above −30 °C were predominantly irregular solid particles that showed clay mineral characteristics (or mixtures of several mineral components. Other than clay, Ca-rich particles internally mixed with other components, such as sulfate, were also regarded as IN active particle types. Moreover, sea salt particles were predominantly found in the non-active fraction, and internal mixing with sea salt clearly acted as a significant inhibiting agent for the ice nucleation activity of mineral

The concentration, source and deposition flux of ammonium and nitrate in atmospheric particles during dust events at a coastal site in northern China

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Jianhua; Liu, Xiaohuan; Yao, Xiaohong; Zhang, Ruifeng; Chen, Xiaojing; Lin, Xuehui; Gao, Huiwang; Liu, Ruhai

2018-01-01

Asian dust has been reported to carry anthropogenic reactive nitrogen during transport from source areas to the oceans. In this study, we attempted to characterize NH4+ and NO3- in atmospheric particles collected at a coastal site in northern China during spring dust events from 2008 to 2011. Based on the mass concentrations of NH4+ and NO3- in each total suspended particle (TSP) sample, the samples can be classified into increasing or decreasing types. In Category 1, the concentrations of NH4+ and NO3- were 20-440 % higher in dust day samples relative to samples collected immediately before or after a dust event. These concentrations decreased by 10-75 % in the dust day samples in Categories 2 and 3. Back trajectory analysis suggested that multiple factors, such as the transport distance prior to the reception site, the mixing layer depth on the transport route and the residence time across highly polluted regions, might affect the concentrations of NH4+ and NO3-. NH4+ in the dust day samples was likely either in the form of ammonium salts existing separately to dust aerosols or as the residual of incomplete reactions between ammonium salts and carbonate salts. NO3- in the dust day samples was attributed to various formation processes during the long-range transport. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) receptor model results showed that the contribution of soil dust increased from 23 to 36 % on dust days, with decreasing contributions from local anthropogenic inputs and associated secondary aerosols. The estimated deposition flux of NNH4++NO3- varied greatly from event to event; e.g., the dry deposition flux of NNH4++NO3- increased by 9-285 % in Category 1 but decreased by 46-73 % in Category 2. In Category 3, the average dry deposition fluxes of particulate nitrate and ammonium decreased by 46 % and increased by 10 %, respectively, leading to 11-48 % decrease in the fluxes of NNH4++NO3-.

Atmospheric dust events in central Asia: Relationship to wind, soil type, and land use

Science.gov (United States)

Pi, Huawei; Sharratt, Brenton; Lei, Jiaqiang

2017-06-01

Xinjiang Province in northwest China is one of the most important source regions of atmospheric dust in the world. Spatial-temporal characteristics of dust events in the province were investigated by time series analysis of annual dust event frequency and meteorological data collected at 101 meteorological stations from 1960 to 2007. Blowing dust frequency (BDF) and dust storm frequency (DSF) decreased with time in North, South, and East Xinjiang whereas floating dust frequency (FDF) decreased with time only in South and East Xinjiang. Dust concentrations were lower in North than in South Xinjiang and decreased with time in East Xinjiang. Wind significantly influenced the temporal trend in FDF, BDF, and DSF in South Xinjiang and DSF in North Xinjiang. Frequency of dust events was smaller by an order of magnitude in North (10.9 d yr-1) than in South Xinjiang (111.3 d yr-1), possibly due in part to higher annual precipitation in North Xinjiang. Floating dust was most frequently observed in East and South Xinjiang, while blowing dust was most frequently observed in North Xinjiang. The high frequency of floating dust in East and South Xinjiang is likely due to the enclosed terrain that characterizes these regions. Land use and soil type also influenced dust events. Although climate influences frequency of dust events, the occurrence of these events may be reduced most effectively by imposing better land management practices in deciduous forests or orchards characterized by saline soils in respectively North and East Xinjiang and meadows characterized by Guanyu soils in South Xinjiang.

Saharan Dust Event Impacts on Cloud Formation and Radiation over Western Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Bangert, M.; Nenes, A.; Vogel, B.; Vogel, H.; Barahona, D.; Karydis, V. A.; Kumar, P.; Kottmeier, C.; Blahak, U.

2013-01-01

We investigated the impact of mineral dust particles on clouds, radiation and atmospheric state during a strong Saharan dust event over Europe in May 2008, applying a comprehensive online-coupled regional model framework that explicitly treats particle-microphysics and chemical composition. Sophisticated parameterizations for aerosol activation and ice nucleation, together with two-moment cloud microphysics are used to calculate the interaction of the different particles with clouds depending on their physical and chemical properties. The impact of dust on cloud droplet number concentration was found to be low, with just a slight increase in cloud droplet number concentration for both uncoated and coated dust. For temperatures lower than the level of homogeneous freezing, no significant impact of dust on the number and mass concentration of ice crystals was found, though the concentration of frozen dust particles reached up to 100 l-1 during the ice nucleation events. Mineral dust particles were found to have the largest impact on clouds in a temperature range between freezing level and the level of homogeneous freezing, where they determined the number concentration of ice crystals due to efficient heterogeneous freezing of the dust particles and modified the glaciation of mixed phase clouds. Our simulations show that during the dust events, ice crystals concentrations were increased twofold in this temperature range (compared to if dust interactions are neglected). This had a significant impact on the cloud optical properties, causing a reduction in the incoming short-wave radiation at the surface up to -75Wm-2. Including the direct interaction of dust with radiation caused an additional reduction in the incoming short-wave radiation by 40 to 80Wm-2, and the incoming long-wave radiation at the surface was increased significantly in the order of +10Wm-2. The strong radiative forcings associated with dust caused a reduction in surface temperature in the order of -0

Correlation between Yellow Dust and Radioactivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

AIZaabia, Mouza A; Kim, Byoung-Jik

2015-01-01

In East Asia, yellow dust or Asian Dust (AD) outbreaks are among the largest contributors of wind-blown dust that carry natural and anthropogenic radionuclides and subsequently alter their concentration and distribution throughout the environment. Although the Korean Peninsula has been experiencing AD events since ancient times, the research has tended to focus on the transport routes and characteristics of AD, rather than on its impact on radionuclide activity levels. This paper examines the relationship between radionuclide concentration in the air and the frequency of dusty days in South Korea during AD intrusion events. It also investigates whether increased radionuclide concentration is a function of either more mass or more dust contamination. In this study, significant linear correlations of gamma-emitting radionuclides were found with mass of dust and occurrence frequency of AD. Regardless of the source origin of the dust, 137 Cs and 7 Be concentration primarily depended on dust mass in the filter. Nonetheless, the correlations were greatly distorted in 2011 and in the spring season, particularly the correlations with AD days that were far below that of the correlations obtained for the whole study period. A possible explanation of these conflicting results is that a change in the dust source could appreciably alter the concentration, deposition, and distribution of airborne radionuclides

Long-range atmospheric transport of volatile monocarboxylic acids with Asian dust over a high mountain snow site, central Japan

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T. Mochizuki

2016-11-01

Full Text Available To understand the long-range transport of monocarboxylic acids from the Asian continent to the Japanese islands, we collected snowpack samples from a pit sequence (depth ca. 6 m at the Murodo-Daira snowfield near the summit of Mt. Tateyama, central Japan, in 2009 and 2011. Snow samples (n = 16 were analyzed for normal (C1–C10, branched chain (iC4–iC6, aromatic (benzoic and toluic acid isomers, and hydroxyl (glycolic and lactic monocarboxylic acids, together with inorganic ions and dissolved organic carbon (DOC. Acetic acid (C2 was found to be a dominant species (average 125 ng g−1, followed by formic acid (C1 (85.7 ng g−1 and isopentanoic acid (iC5 (20.0 ng g−1. We found a strong correlation (r =  0.88 between formic plus acetic acids and non-sea-salt Ca2+ that is a proxy of Asian dust. Contributions of total monocarboxylic acids to DOC in 2009 (21.2 ± 11.6 % were higher than that in 2011 (3.75 ± 2.62 %, being consistent with higher intensity of Asian dust in 2009 than in 2011. Formic plus acetic acids also showed a positive correlation (r =  0.90 with benzoic acid that is a tracer of automobile exhaust, indicating that monocarboxylic acids and their precursors are largely emitted from anthropogenic sources in China and/or secondarily produced in the atmosphere by photochemical processing. In addition, the ratio of formic plus acetic acids to nss–Ca2+ (0.27 was significantly higher than those (0.00036–0.0018 obtained for reference dust materials of Chinese loess deposits from the Tengger and Gobi deserts. This result suggests that volatile and semi-volatile organic acids are adsorbed on the alkaline dust particles during long-range atmospheric transport. Entrainment of organic acids by dusts is supported by a good correlation (r = 0.87 between formic plus acetic acids and pH of melt snow samples. Our study suggests that Asian alkaline dusts may be a carrier of volatile monocarboxylic

Saharan dust event impacts on cloud formation and radiation over Western Europe

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M. Bangert

2012-05-01

Full Text Available We investigated the impact of mineral dust particles on clouds, radiation and atmospheric state during a strong Saharan dust event over Europe in May 2008, applying a comprehensive online-coupled regional model framework that explicitly treats particle microphysics and chemical composition. Sophisticated parameterizations for aerosol activation and ice nucleation, together with two-moment cloud microphysics are used to calculate the interaction of the different particles with clouds depending on their physical and chemical properties.

The impact of dust on cloud droplet number concentration was found to be low, with just a slight increase in cloud droplet number concentration for both uncoated and coated dust. For temperatures lower than the level of homogeneous freezing, no significant impact of dust on the number and mass concentration of ice crystals was found, though the concentration of frozen dust particles reached up to 100 l⁻¹ during the ice nucleation events. Mineral dust particles were found to have the largest impact on clouds in a temperature range between freezing level and the level of homogeneous freezing, where they determined the number concentration of ice crystals due to efficient heterogeneous freezing of the dust particles and modified the glaciation of mixed phase clouds.

Our simulations show that during the dust events, ice crystals concentrations were increased twofold in this temperature range (compared to if dust interactions are neglected. This had a significant impact on the cloud optical properties, causing a reduction in the incoming short-wave radiation at the surface up to −75 W m⁻². Including the direct interaction of dust with radiation caused an additional reduction in the incoming short-wave radiation by 40 to 80 W m⁻², and the incoming long-wave radiation at the surface was increased significantly in the order of +10 W m⁻².

The

The potential influence of Asian and African mineral dust on ice, mixed-phase and liquid water clouds

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A. Wiacek

2010-09-01

Full Text Available This modelling study explores the availability of mineral dust particles as ice nuclei for interactions with ice, mixed-phase and liquid water clouds, also tracking the particles' history of cloud-processing. We performed 61 320 one-week forward trajectory calculations originating near the surface of major dust emitting regions in Africa and Asia using high-resolution meteorological analysis fields for the year 2007. Dust-bearing trajectories were assumed to be those coinciding with known dust emission seasons, without explicitly modelling dust emission and deposition processes. We found that dust emissions from Asian deserts lead to a higher potential for interactions with high ice clouds, despite being the climatologically much smaller dust emission source. This is due to Asian regions experiencing significantly more ascent than African regions, with strongest ascent in the Asian Taklimakan desert at ~25%, ~40% and 10% of trajectories ascending to 300 hPa in spring, summer and fall, respectively. The specific humidity at each trajectory's starting point was transported in a Lagrangian manner and relative humidities with respect to water and ice were calculated in 6-h steps downstream, allowing us to estimate the formation of liquid, mixed-phase and ice clouds. Downstream of the investigated dust sources, practically none of the simulated air parcels reached conditions of homogeneous ice nucleation (T≲−40 °C along trajectories that have not experienced water saturation first. By far the largest fraction of cloud forming trajectories entered conditions of mixed-phase clouds, where mineral dust will potentially exert the biggest influence. The majority of trajectories also passed through atmospheric regions supersaturated with respect to ice but subsaturated with respect to water, where so-called "warm ice clouds" (T≳−40 °C theoretically may form prior to supercooled water or mixed-phase clouds. The importance of "warm ice

Urban particle size distributions during two contrasting dust events originating from Taklimakan and Gobi Deserts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Suping; Yu, Ye; Xia, Dunsheng; Yin, Daiying; He, Jianjun; Liu, Na; Li, Fang

2015-01-01

The dust origins of the two events were identified using HYSPLIT trajectory model and MODIS and CALIPSO satellite data to understand the particle size distribution during two contrasting dust events originated from Taklimakan and Gobi deserts. The supermicron particles significantly increased during the dust events. The dust event from Gobi desert affected significantly on the particles larger than 2.5 μm, while that from Taklimakan desert impacted obviously on the particles in 1.0–2.5 μm. It is found that the particle size distributions and their modal parameters such as VMD (volume median diameter) have significant difference for varying dust origins. The dust from Taklimakan desert was finer than that from Gobi desert also probably due to other influencing factors such as mixing between dust and urban emissions. Our findings illustrated the capacity of combining in situ, satellite data and trajectory model to characterize large-scale dust plumes with a variety of aerosol parameters. - Highlights: • Dust particle size distributions had large differences for varying origins. • Dust originating from Taklimakan Desert was finer than that from Gobi Desert. • Effect of dust on the supermicron particles was obvious. • PM_1_0 concentrations increased by a factor of 3.4–25.6 during the dust event. - Dust particle size distributions had large differences for varying origins, which may be also related to other factors such as mixing between dust and urban emissions.

Quantitative estimates of Asian dust input to the western Philippine Sea in the mid-late Quaternary and its potential significance for paleoenvironment

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Xu, Zhaokai; Li, Tiegang; Clift, Peter D.; Lim, Dhongil; Wan, Shiming; Chen, Hongjin; Tang, Zheng; Jiang, Fuqing; Xiong, Zhifang

2015-09-01

We present a new high-resolution multiproxy data set of Sr-Nd isotopes, rare earth element, soluble iron, and total organic carbon data from International Marine Global Change Study Core MD06-3047 located in the western Philippine Sea. We integrate our new data with published clay mineralogy, rare earth element chemistry, thermocline depth, and δ13C differences between benthic and planktonic foraminifera, in order to quantitatively constrain Asian dust input to the basin. We explore the relationship between Philippine Sea and high-latitude Pacific eolian fluxes, as well as its significance for marine productivity and atmospheric CO2 during the mid-late Quaternary. Three different indices indicate that Asian dust contributes between ˜15% and ˜50% to the detrital fraction of the sediments. Eolian dust flux in Core MD06-3047 is similar to that in the polar southern Pacific sediment. Coherent changes for most dust flux maximum/minimum indicate that dust generation in interhemispheric source areas might have a common response to climatic variation over the mid-late Quaternary. Furthermore, we note relatively good coherence between Asian dust input, soluble iron concentration, local marine productivity, and even global atmospheric CO2 concentration over the entire study interval. This suggests that dust-borne iron fertilization of marine phytoplankton might have been a periodic process operating at glacial/interglacial time scales over the past 700 ka. We suggest that strengthening of the biological pump in the Philippine Sea, and elsewhere in the tropical western Pacific during the mid-late Quaternary glacial periods may contribute to the lowering of atmospheric CO2 concentrations during ice ages.

Investigation of Three-Dimensional Evolution of East Asian Dust Storm by Modeling and Remote Sensing Measurements

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Jiawei Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The three-dimensional evolution of an East Asian dust storm during 23–26 April 2009 was investigated by utilizing a regional air quality model system (RAQMS and satellite measurements. This severe dust storm hit Mt. Tai in east China with daily mean PM10 concentration reaching 1400 μg/m3 and the model captured the PM10 variation reasonably well. Modeled spatial distributions of AOD and vertical profiles of aerosol extinction coefficient during the dust storm were compared with MODIS and CALIPSO data, demonstrating that RAQMS was able to reproduce the 3D structure and the evolution of the dust storm reasonably well. During early days of the dust storm, daily mean dust-induced AOD exceeded 2.0 over dust source regions (the Gobi desert and the Taklamakan desert and was in a range of 1.2–1.8 over the North China Plain, accounting for about 98% and up to 90% of total AOD over corresponding areas, respectively. The top of the dust storm reached about 8 km over east China, with high dust concentration locating at around 40°N. Dust aerosol below 2 km was transported southeastward off the Gobi desert while dust above 2 km was transported out of China along 40°–45°N.

Correlation between Yellow Dust and Radioactivity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

AIZaabia, Mouza A [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Byoung-Jik [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

In East Asia, yellow dust or Asian Dust (AD) outbreaks are among the largest contributors of wind-blown dust that carry natural and anthropogenic radionuclides and subsequently alter their concentration and distribution throughout the environment. Although the Korean Peninsula has been experiencing AD events since ancient times, the research has tended to focus on the transport routes and characteristics of AD, rather than on its impact on radionuclide activity levels. This paper examines the relationship between radionuclide concentration in the air and the frequency of dusty days in South Korea during AD intrusion events. It also investigates whether increased radionuclide concentration is a function of either more mass or more dust contamination. In this study, significant linear correlations of gamma-emitting radionuclides were found with mass of dust and occurrence frequency of AD. Regardless of the source origin of the dust, {sup 137}Cs and {sup 7}Be concentration primarily depended on dust mass in the filter. Nonetheless, the correlations were greatly distorted in 2011 and in the spring season, particularly the correlations with AD days that were far below that of the correlations obtained for the whole study period. A possible explanation of these conflicting results is that a change in the dust source could appreciably alter the concentration, deposition, and distribution of airborne radionuclides.

DMS photochemistry during the Asian dust-storm period in the Spring of 2001: model simulations vs. field observations.

Science.gov (United States)

Shon, Zang-Ho; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Swan, Hilton; Lee, Gangwoong; Kim, Yoo-Keun

2005-01-01

This study examines the local/regional DMS oxidation chemistry on Jeju Island (33.17 degrees N, 126.10 degrees E) during the Asian dust-storm (ADS) period of April 2001. Three ADS events were observed during the periods of April 10-12, 13-14, and 25-26, respectively. For comparative purposes, a non-Asian-dust-storm (NADS) period was also considered in this study, which represents the entire measurement periods in April except the ADS events. The atmospheric concentrations of DMS and SO2 were measured at a ground station on Jeju Island, Korea, as part of the ACE-Asia intensive operation. DMS (means of 34-52 pptv) and SO2 (means of 0.96-1.14 ppbv) levels measured during the ADS period were higher than those (mean of 0.45 ppbv) during the NADS period. The enhanced DMS levels during the ADS period were likely due to the increase in DMS flux under reduced oxidant levels (OH and NO3). SO2 levels between the two contrasting periods were affected sensitively by some factors such as air mass origins. The diurnal variation patterns of DMS observed during the two periods were largely different from those seen in the background environment (e.g., the marine boundary layer (MBL)). In contrast to the MBL, the maximum DMS value during the ADS period was seen in the late afternoon at about sunset; this reversed pattern appears to be regulated by certain factors (e.g., enhanced NO3 oxidation). The sea-to-air fluxes of DMS between the ADS and NADS periods were calculated based on the mass-balance photochemical-modeling approach; their results were clearly distinguished with the values of 4.4 and 2.4 micromole m(-2) day(-1), respectively. This study confirmed that the contribution of DMS oxidation to observed SO2 levels on Jeju Island was not significant during our study period regardless of ADS or NADS periods.

Effects of Asian sand dust particles on the respiratory and immune system.

OpenAIRE

Honda, Akiko; Matsuda, Yugo; Murayama, Rumiko; Tsuji, Kenshi; Nishikawa, Masataka; Koike, Eiko; Yoshida, Seiichi; Ichinose, Takamichi; Takano, Hirohisa

2013-01-01

Epidemiologic studies have reported that Asian sand dust (ASD) particles can affect respiratory health; however, the mechanisms remain unclear. We investigated the effects of ASD on airway epithelial cells and immune cells, and their contributing factors to the effects. Human airway epithelial cells were exposed to ASD collected on 1-3 May (ASD1) and on 12-14 May (ASD2) 2011 in Japan and heat-treated ASD1 for excluding heat-sensitive substances (H-ASD) at a concentration of 0, 3, 30 or 90 µg ...

Revealing the meteorological drivers of the September 2015 severe dust event in the Eastern Mediterranean

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P. Gasch

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In September 2015 one of the severest and most unusual dust events on record occurred in the Eastern Mediterranean. Surprisingly, operational dust transport models were unable to forecast the event. This study details the reasons for this failure and presents simulations of the event at convection-permitting resolution using the modelling system ICON-ART. The results allow for an in-depth analysis of the influence of the synoptic situation, the complex interaction of multiple driving atmospheric systems and the mineral dust radiative effect on the dust event. A comparison of the results with observations reveals the quality of the simulation results with respect to structure and timing of the dust transport. The forecast of the dust event is improved decisively. The event is triggered by the unusually early occurrence of an active Red Sea trough situation with an easterly axis over Mesopotamia. The connected sustained organized mesoscale convection produces multiple cold-pool outflows responsible for intense dust emissions. Complexity is added by the interaction with an intense heat low, the inland-penetrating Eastern Mediterranean sea breeze and the widespread occurrence of supercritical flow conditions and subsequent hydraulic jumps in the vicinity of the Dead Sea Rift Valley. The newly implemented mineral dust radiation interaction leads to systematically more intense and faster propagating cold-pool outflows.

Orbital time scale records of Asian eolian dust from the Sea of Japan since the early Pliocene

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wenfang; De Vleeschouwer, David; Shen, Ji; Zhang, Zeke; Zeng, Lin

2018-05-01

A high-resolution potassium content record of sediments from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1422 drilled in the northern Sea of Japan was employed to yield an astronomical timescale for this ∼205 m thick sedimentary archive. The K content was quantified using the natural gamma radiation (NGR) data routinely measured on DV JOIDES Resolution. The U1422 K (wt.%) series shows an increasing trend with time, which parallels the growth of North Hemisphere ice sheets since ∼4 Ma, as revealed by the global benthic foraminifer's oxygen isotope stack (LR04). We propose that K content variations reflect changes in the relative contributions of Asian eolian dust and volcanic weathering products, in response to changes in global ice volume. Using the shipboard age model, constrained by palaeomagnetism and nanofossils datums, we tuned the U1422 K content variations to the LR04 stack. Our tuned age model for site U1422 goes back to 3.9 Ma. The studied record indicates that Asian dust generation is enhanced during periods of global cooling. The synchronous variations between the U1422 K record and the LR04 stack also suggest that global cooling played a dominant role in promoting the central Asian aridification since ∼3.9 Ma, while the uplift of Tibetan Plateau plays a secondary role, considering many disagreements still exists between the timing and amplitude of the Qinghai-Tibetan uplift and the evolution of central Asian aridity since the early Pliocene.

Excess 228Th in the airborne dust: An indicator of continental dust from the East Asian deserts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirose, K.; Sugimura, Y.

1984-01-01

Thorium isotopes in the airborne dust collected at Tsukuba Science City in Japan from January 1981 to December 1982 show clear seasonal variations. Especially 228 Th in the airborne particles have a typical maximum concentration between February and April, which is about an order of magnitude higher than during the remainder of the year. According to the result of size distribution of thorium isotope-bearing particles in the air, about 53% of 228 Th is associated with the particles less than 1.6 μm aerodynamic diameter. These results reveal that 228 Th in the airborne particles is present in fine soily matters originating from the East Asian deserts. (orig.)

Correlation between Asian dust storms and worsening asthma in Western Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Masanari; Yamasaki, Akira; Burioka, Naoto; Kurai, Jun; Yoneda, Kazuhiko; Yoshida, Atsushi; Igishi, Tadashi; Fukuoka, Yasushi; Nakamoto, Masaki; Takeuchi, Hiromi; Suyama, Hisashi; Tatsukawa, Toshiyuki; Chikumi, Hiroki; Matsumoto, Shingo; Sako, Takanori; Hasegawa, Yasuyuki; Okazaki, Ryota; Horasaki, Kazunori; Shimizu, Eiji

2011-09-01

Severe wind storms during spring in East Asia, called Asian dust storms (ADS), have been assessed in the past for their effect on health in Asian countries. Our objective was to study the ADS association with asthma symptoms in adult patients in Japan. We designed a telephone survey to assess ADS influence on upper and lower respiratory, ocular and cutaneous symptoms in 98 patients with adult asthma from April to May 2007. Peak expiratory flow (PEF) was also measured from February to May. Worsening lower respiratory symptoms were noted by 22 of 98 patients during ADS in April, when Japanese cedar pollen levels also increased. During ADS in May, however, Japanese cedar and cypress pollen levels were not elevated, 11 patients had worsening of lower respiratory symptoms. None required emergency treatment for the exacerbation. Lower respiratory symptoms worsening most were cough and sputum; this was more common in patients with allergic rhinitis or atopy than in those without (P storm. We found that ADS aggravated lower respiratory symptoms in adult patients with asthma, but this influence was mild.

Characterization of major pollution events (dust, haze, and two festival events) at Agra, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Pachauri, Tripti; Singla, Vyoma; Satsangi, Aparna; Lakhani, Anita; Kumari, K Maharaj

2013-08-01

Total suspended particulate (TSP) samples were collected during dust, haze, and two festival events (Holi and Diwali) from February 2009 to June 2010. Pollutant gases (NO2, SO2, and O3) along with the meteorological parameters were also measured during the four pollution events at Agra. The concentration of pollutant gases decreases during dust events (DEs), but the levels of the gases increase during other pollution events indicating the impact of anthropogenic emissions. The mass concentrations were about two times higher during pollution events than normal days (NDs). High TSP concentrations during Holi and Diwali events may be attributed to anthropogenic activities while increased combustion sources in addition to stagnant meteorological conditions contributed to high TSP mass during haze events. On the other hand, long-range transport of atmospheric particles plays a major role during DEs. In the dust samples, Ca(2+), Cl(-), NO3 (-), and SO4 (2-) were the most abundant ions and Ca(2+) alone accounted for 22 % of the total ionic mass, while during haze event, the concentrations of secondary aerosols species, viz., NO3 (-), SO4 (2-), and NH4 (+), were 3.6, 3.3, and 5.1 times higher than the normal days. During Diwali, SO4 (2-) concentration (17.8 μg m(-3)) was highest followed by NO3 (-), K(+), and Cl(-) while the Holi samples were strongly enriched with Cl(-) and K(+) which together made up 32.7 % of the total water-soluble ions. The ion balances indicate that the haze samples were acidic. On the other hand, Holi, Diwali, and DE samples were enriched with cations. The carbonaceous aerosol shows strong variation with the highest concentration during Holi followed by haze, Diwali, DEs, and NDs. However, the secondary organic carbon concentration follows the order haze > DEs > Diwali > Holi > NDs. The scanning electron microscope/EDX results indicate that KCl and carbon-rich particles were more dominant during Holi and haze events while DE samples were enriched

Impact of Asian Aerosols on Precipitation Over California: An Observational and Model Based Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Naeger, Aaron R.; Molthan, Andrew L.; Zavodsky, Bradley T.; Creamean, Jessie M.

2015-01-01

Dust and pollution emissions from Asia are often transported across the Pacific Ocean to over the western United States. Therefore, it is essential to fully understand the impact of these aerosols on clouds and precipitation forming over the eastern Pacific and western United States, especially during atmospheric river events that account for up to half of California's annual precipitation and can lead to widespread flooding. In order for numerical modeling simulations to accurately represent the present and future regional climate of the western United States, we must account for the aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions associated with Asian dust and pollution aerosols. Therefore, we have constructed a detailed study utilizing multi-sensor satellite observations, NOAA-led field campaign measurements, and targeted numerical modeling studies where Asian aerosols interacted with cloud and precipitation processes over the western United States. In particular, we utilize aerosol optical depth retrievals from the NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-11), and Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT) to effectively detect and monitor the trans-Pacific transport of Asian dust and pollution. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals are used in assimilating the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) in order to provide the model with an accurate representation of the aerosol spatial distribution across the Pacific. We conduct WRF-Chem model simulations of several cold-season atmospheric river events that interacted with Asian aerosols and brought significant precipitation over California during February-March 2011 when the NOAA CalWater field campaign was ongoing. The CalWater field campaign consisted of aircraft and surface measurements of aerosol and precipitation processes that help extensively validate our WRF

The global distribution of mineral dust

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tegen, I; Schepanski, K

2009-01-01

Dust aerosol particles produced by wind erosion in arid and semi arid regions affect climate and air quality, but the magnitude of these effects is largely unquantified. The major dust source regions include the Sahara, the Arabian and Asian deserts; global annual dust emissions are currently estimated to range between 1000 and 3000 Mt/yr. Dust aerosol can be transported over long distances of thousands of kilometers, e.g. from source regions in the Saharan desert over the North Atlantic, or from the Asian deserts towards the Pacific Ocean. The atmospheric dust load varies considerably on different timescales. While dust aerosol distribution and dust effects are important on global scales, they strongly depend on dust emissions that are controlled on small spatial and temporal scales.

Dust, Climate, and Human Health

Science.gov (United States)

Maynard, Nancy G.

2003-01-01

Air pollution from both natural and anthropogenic causes is considered to be one of the most serious world-wide environment-related health problems, and is expected to become worse with changes in the global climate. Dust storms from the atmospheric transport of desert soil dust that has been lifted and carried by the winds - often over significant distances - have become an increasingly important emerging air quality issue for many populations. Recent studies have shown that the dust storms can cause significant health impacts from the dust itself as well as the accompanying pollutants, pesticides, metals, salt, plant debris, and other inorganic and organic materials, including viable microorganisms (bacteria, viruses and fungi). For example, thousands of tons of Asian desert sediments, some containing pesticides and herbicides from farming regions, are commonly transported into the Arctic during dust storm events. These chemicals have been identified in animal and human tissues among Arctic indigenous populations. Millions of tons of airborne desert dust are being tracked by satellite imagery, which clearly shows the magnitude as well as the temporal and spatial variability of dust storms across the "dust belt" regions of North Africa, the Middle East, and China. This paper summarizes the most recent findings on the effects of airborne desert dust on human health as well as potential climate influences on dust and health.

Promotion Effect of Asian Dust on Phytoplankton Growth and Potential Dissolved Organic Phosphorus Utilization in the South China Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Qiang; Liu, Ying; Shi, Jie; Zhang, Chao; Gong, Xiang; Yao, Xiaohong; Guo, Xinyu; Gao, Huiwang

2018-03-01

Dust deposition is an important nutrient source to the South China Sea (SCS), but few in situ experiments were conducted on phytoplankton response to the deposition. We conducted onboard incubation experiments at three stations near Luzon Strait in the SCS, with addition of multiple dissolved inorganic nutrients, Asian dust, and rainwater. From our results, nitrogen and phosphorus were both urgently needed for phytoplankton growth in the SCS, indicated by the evident Chl a response to the addition of nitrogen and phosphorus together. Almost no evident response was observed by adding phosphorus or iron alone to incubation waters, although a delayed response of Chl a in mass concentration was observed by adding nitrogen alone. The latter implied a possible utilization of dissolved organic phosphorus because of insufficient dissolved inorganic phosphorus in incubation waters. Under such nutrient condition, Asian dust showed an apparent promotion effect on phytoplankton growth by providing sufficient amounts of nitrogen but low phosphorus. Meanwhile, it was found that large sized (> 5 μm) phytoplankton community showed different responses to dust addition at different stations. At stations A3 and A6, Chaetoceros spp. became the dominant species during the bloom period, while at station WG2, Nitzschia spp. became dominant. In combination with different initial nutrients and Chl a levels at the three stations, the different phytoplankton community evolution implied the response difference to external inputs between oligotrophic (stations A3 and A6) and ultraoligotrophic (station WG2) conditions in the SCS.

Role of Chinese wind-blown dust in enhancing environmental pollution in Metropolitan Seoul

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Wonnyon [Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Korea University, Seoul 136-713 (Korea, Republic of); Doh, Seong-Jae [Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Korea University, Seoul 136-713 (Korea, Republic of)], E-mail: sjdoh@korea.ac.kr; Yu, Yongjae; Lee, Meehye [Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Korea University, Seoul 136-713 (Korea, Republic of)

2008-05-15

A suite of rock magnetic experiments and intensive microscopic observations were carried out on Asian dust deposits in Seoul, Korea, collected on 19 and 23 March 2002, 9 April 2002 and 12 April 2003. Desert-sand and loess from the dust source regions in China were also analyzed as a comparison. Asian dust showed a higher magnetic concentration than the source region samples, indicating a significant influx of magnetic particles into Asian dust had occurred during its transportation. Electron microscopy identified carbon-bearing iron-oxides as the added material. These iron-oxides were likely to have been produced by anthropogenic pollution (fossil fuel combustion) while the wind-blown dusts passing across the industrial areas of eastern China and western Korea. Such wind-paths were confirmed by a simulation of the air-mass trajectories. The magnetic technique appears to be useful for determining the anthropogenic pollution of Asian dust. - Magnetic quantification of anthropogenic pollution of Asian dust.

Role of Chinese wind-blown dust in enhancing environmental pollution in Metropolitan Seoul

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Wonnyon; Doh, Seong-Jae; Yu, Yongjae; Lee, Meehye

2008-01-01

A suite of rock magnetic experiments and intensive microscopic observations were carried out on Asian dust deposits in Seoul, Korea, collected on 19 and 23 March 2002, 9 April 2002 and 12 April 2003. Desert-sand and loess from the dust source regions in China were also analyzed as a comparison. Asian dust showed a higher magnetic concentration than the source region samples, indicating a significant influx of magnetic particles into Asian dust had occurred during its transportation. Electron microscopy identified carbon-bearing iron-oxides as the added material. These iron-oxides were likely to have been produced by anthropogenic pollution (fossil fuel combustion) while the wind-blown dusts passing across the industrial areas of eastern China and western Korea. Such wind-paths were confirmed by a simulation of the air-mass trajectories. The magnetic technique appears to be useful for determining the anthropogenic pollution of Asian dust. - Magnetic quantification of anthropogenic pollution of Asian dust

Evidence for Asian dust effects from aerosol plume measurements during INTEX-B 2006 near Whistler, BC

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W. R. Leaitch

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Several cases of aerosol plumes resulting from trans-Pacific transport were observed between 2 km and 5.3 km at Whistler, BC from 22 April 2006 to 15 May 2006. The fine particle (<1 μm chemical composition of most of the plumes was dominated by sulphate that ranged from 1–5 μg m⁻³ as measured with a Quadrapole Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (Q-AMS. Coarse particles (>1 μm were enhanced in all sulphate plumes. Fine particle organic mass concentrations were relatively low in most plumes and were nominally anti-correlated with the increases in the number concentrations of coarse particles. The ion chemistry of coarse particles sampled at Whistler Peak was dominated by calcium, sodium, nitrate, sulphate and formate. Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy of coarse particles sampled from the NCAR C-130 aircraft relatively close to Whistler indicated carbonate, potassium and organic functional groups, in particular the carboxyl group. Asian plumes reaching Whistler, BC during the INTEX-B study were not only significantly reduced of fine particle organic material, but organic compounds were attached to coarse particles in significant quantities. Suspension of dust with deposited organic material and scavenging of organic materials by dust near anthropogenic sources are suggested, and if any secondary organic aerosol (SOA was formed during transport from Asian source regions across the Pacific it was principally associated with the coarse particles. An average of profiles indicates that trans-Pacific transport between 2 and 5 km during this period increased ozone by about 10 ppbv and fine particle sulphate by 0.2–0.5 μg m⁻³. The mean sizes of the fine particles in the sulphate plumes were larger when dust particles were present and smaller when the fine particle organic mass concentration was larger and dust was absent. The coarse particles of dust act to accumulate sulphate, nitrate and organic material in larger particles

Dust events in Beijing, China (2004–2006: comparison of ground-based measurements with columnar integrated observations

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Z. J. Wu

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Ambient particle number size distributions spanning three years were used to characterize the frequency and intensity of atmospheric dust events in the urban areas of Beijing, China in combination with AERONET sun/sky radiometer data. Dust events were classified into two types based on the differences in particle number and volume size distributions and local weather conditions. This categorization was confirmed by aerosol index images, columnar aerosol optical properties, and vertical potential temperature profiles. During the type-1 events, dust particles dominated the total particle volume concentration (<10 μm, with a relative share over 70%. Anthropogenic particles in the Aitken and accumulation mode played a subordinate role here because of high wind speeds (>4 m s⁻¹. The type-2 events occurred in rather stagnant air masses and were characterized by a lower volume fraction of coarse mode particles (on average, 55%. Columnar optical properties showed that the superposition of dust and anthropogenic aerosols in type-2 events resulted in a much higher AOD (average: 1.51 than for the rather pure dust aerosols in type-1 events (average AOD: 0.36. A discrepancy was found between the ground-based and column integrated particle volume size distributions, especially for the coarse mode particles. This discrepancy likely originates from both the limited comparability of particle volume size distributions derived from Sun photometer and in situ number size distributions, and the inhomogeneous vertical distribution of particles during dust events.

Numerical study of Asian dust transport during the springtime of 2001 simulated with the Chemical Weather Forecasting System (CFORS) model

Science.gov (United States)

Uno, Itsushi; Satake, Shinsuke; Carmichael, Gregory R.; Tang, Youhua; Wang, Zifa; Takemura, Toshihiko; Sugimoto, Nobuo; Shimizu, Atsushi; Murayama, Toshiyuki; Cahill, Thomas A.; Cliff, Steven; Uematsu, Mitsuo; Ohta, Sachio; Quinn, Patricia K.; Bates, Timothy S.

2004-10-01

The regional-scale aerosol transport model Chemical Weather Forecasting System (CFORS) is used for analysis of large-scale dust phenomena during the Asian Pacific Regional Characterization Experiment (ACE-Asia) intensive observation. Dust modeling results are examined with the surface weather reports, satellite-derived dust index (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) Aerosol Index (AI)), Mie-scattering lidar observation, and surface aerosol observations. The CFORS dust results are shown to accurately reproduce many of the important observed features. Model analysis shows that the simulated dust vertical loading correlates well with TOMS AI and that the dust loading is transported with the meandering of the synoptic-scale temperature field at the 500-hPa level. Quantitative examination of aerosol optical depth shows that model predictions are within 20% difference of the lidar observations for the major dust episodes. The structure of the ACE-Asia Perfect Dust Storm, which occurred in early April, is clarified with the help of the CFORS model analysis. This storm consisted of two boundary layer components and one elevated dust (>6-km height) feature (resulting from the movement of two large low-pressure systems). Time variation of the CFORS dust fields shows the correct onset timing of the elevated dust for each observation site, but the model results tend to overpredict dust concentrations at lower latitude sites. The horizontal transport flux at 130°E longitude is examined, and the overall dust transport flux at 130°E during March-April is evaluated to be 55 Tg.

Quantification of the lithogenic carbon pump following a dust deposition event

Science.gov (United States)

Bressac, M.; Guieu, C.; Doxaran, D.; Bourrin, F.; Desboeufs, K.; Leblond, N.; Ridame, C.

2013-08-01

Lithogenic particles, such as desert dust, have been postulated to influence particulate organic carbon (POC) export to the deep ocean by acting as mineral ballasts. However, an accurate understanding and quantification of the POC-dust association that occurs within the upper ocean is required in order to affine the "ballast hypothesis". In the framework of the DUNE project, two artificial seedings were performed seven days apart within large mesocosms. A suite of optical and biogeochemical measurements were used to quantify surface POC export following simulated dust events within a low-nutrient low-chlorophyll ecosystem. The two successive seedings led to a 2.3-6.7 fold higher POC flux as compared to the POC flux observed in controlled mesocosms. A simple linear regression analysis revealed that the lithogenic fluxes explained more than 85% of the variance in POC fluxes. At the scale of a dust deposition event, we estimated that 42-50% of POC fluxes were strictly associated with lithogenic particles through an aggregation process. Lithogenic ballasting also likely impacted the remaining POC fraction which resulted from the fertilization effect. The observations support the "ballast hypothesis" and provide a quantitative estimation of the surface POC export abiotically triggered by dust deposition. In this work, we demonstrate that the strength of such a "lithogenic carbon pump" depends on the biogeochemical conditions of the water column at the time of deposition. Based on these observations, we suggest that this "lithogenic carbon pump" could represent a major component of the biological pump in oceanic areas subjected to intense atmospheric forcing.

Lead isotopes combined with a sequential extraction procedure for source apportionment in the dry deposition of Asian dust and non-Asian dust

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Pyeong-Koo; Yu, Soonyoung

2016-01-01

Lead isotopic compositions were determined in leachates that were generated using sequential extractions of dry deposition samples of Asian dust (AD) and non-Asian dust (NAD) and Chinese desert soils, and used to apportion Pb sources. Results showed significant differences in "2"0"6Pb/"2"0"7Pb and "2"0"6Pb/"2"0"4Pb isotopic compositions in non-residual fractions between the dry deposition samples and the Chinese desert soils while "2"0"6Pb/"2"0"7Pb and "2"0"6Pb/"2"0"4Pb isotopic compositions in residual fraction of the dry deposition of AD and NAD were similar to the mean "2"0"6Pb/"2"0"7Pb and "2"0"6Pb/"2"0"4Pb in residual fraction of the Alashan Plateau soil. These results indicate that the geogenic materials of the dry deposition of AD and NAD were largely influenced by the Alashan Plateau soil, while the secondary sources of the dry deposition were different from those of the Chinese desert soils. In particular, the lead isotopic compositions in non-residual fractions of the dry deposition were homogenous, which implies that the non-residual four fractions (F1 to F4) shared the primary anthropogenic origin. "2"0"6Pb/"2"0"7Pb values and the predominant wind directions in the study area suggested that airborne particulates of heavily industrialized Chinese cities were one of the main Pb sources. Source apportionment calculations showed that the average proportion of anthropogenic Pb in the dry deposition of AD and NAD was 87% and 95% respectively in total Pb extraction, 92% and 97% in non-residual fractions, 15% and 49% in residual fraction. Approximately 81% and 80% of the anthropogenic Pb was contributed by coal combustion in China in the dry deposition of AD and NAD respectively while the remainder was derived from industrial Pb contamination. The research result proposes that sequential extractions with Pb isotope analysis are a useful tool for the discrimination of anthropogenic and geogenic origins in highly contaminated AD and NAD. - Highlights: �

Dust, Pollution, and Biomass Burning Aerosols in Asian Pacific: A Column Satellite-Surface Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Tsay, Si-Chee

2004-01-01

Airborne dusts from northern China contribute a significant part of the air quality problem and, to some extent, regional climatic impact in Asia during spring-time. However, with the economical growth in China, increases in the emission of air pollutants generated from industrial and vehicular sources will not only impact the radiation balance, but adverse health effects to humans all year round. In addition, both of these dust and air pollution clouds can transport swiftly across the Pacific reaching North America within a few days, possessing an even larger scale effect. The Asian dust and air pollution aerosols can be detected by its colored appearance on current Earth observing satellites (e.g., MODIS, SeaWiFS, TOMS, etc.) and its evolution monitored by satellites and surface network. Biomass burning has been a regular practice for land clearing and land conversion in many countries, especially those in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. However, the unique climatology of Southeast Asia is very different than that of Africa and South America, such that large-scale biomass burning causes smoke to interact extensively with clouds during the peak-burning season of March to April. Significant global sources of greenhouse gases (e.g., CO2, CH4), chemically active gases (e.g., NO, CO, HC, CH3Br), and atmospheric aerosols are produced by biomass burning processes. These gases influence the Earth-atmosphere system, impacting both global climate and tropospheric chemistry. Some aerosols can serve as cloud condensation nuclei, which play an important role in determining cloud lifetime and precipitation, hence, altering the earth's radiation and water budget. Biomass burning also affects the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen and carbon compounds from the soil to the atmosphere; the hydrological cycle (i.e., run off and evaporation); land surface reflectivity and emissivity; as well as ecosystem biodiversity and stability. Two new initiatives, EAST-AIRE (East

Overview of Asian Biomass Burning and Dust Aerosols Measured during the Dongsha Experiment in the Spring of 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, N.; Tsay, S.; Wang, S.; Sheu, G.; Chi, K.; Lee, C.; Wang, J.

2010-12-01

launched four times per day during the IOPs. This experiment provides a relatively complete dataset of aerosol chemistry and physical observations conducted in the source/sink region for below marine boundary layer and lower free troposphere of biomass burning/air pollutants in the northern SE Asia. This presentation will give an overview of this experiment and its preliminary results, including a severe and unusual Asian dust event that was observed in Dognsha Island.

Modeling a typical winter-time dust event over the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Kalenderski, Stoitchko

2013-02-20

We used WRF-Chem, a regional meteorological model coupled with an aerosol-chemistry component, to simulate various aspects of the dust phenomena over the Arabian Peninsula and Red Sea during a typical winter-time dust event that occurred in January 2009. The model predicted that the total amount of emitted dust was 18.3 Tg for the entire dust outburst period and that the two maximum daily rates were ?2.4 Tg day-1 and ?1.5 Tg day-1, corresponding to two periods with the highest aerosol optical depth that were well captured by ground-and satellite-based observations. The model predicted that the dust plume was thick, extensive, and mixed in a deep boundary layer at an altitude of 3-4 km. Its spatial distribution was modeled to be consistent with typical spatial patterns of dust emissions. We utilized MODIS-Aqua and Solar Village AERONET measurements of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) to evaluate the radiative impact of aerosols. Our results clearly indicated that the presence of dust particles in the atmosphere caused a significant reduction in the amount of solar radiation reaching the surface during the dust event. We also found that dust aerosols have significant impact on the energy and nutrient balances of the Red Sea. Our results showed that the simulated cooling under the dust plume reached 100 W m-2, which could have profound effects on both the sea surface temperature and circulation. Further analysis of dust generation and its spatial and temporal variability is extremely important for future projections and for better understanding of the climate and ecological history of the Red Sea.

Modeling a typical winter-time dust event over the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Kalenderski

2013-02-01

Full Text Available We used WRF-Chem, a regional meteorological model coupled with an aerosol-chemistry component, to simulate various aspects of the dust phenomena over the Arabian Peninsula and Red Sea during a typical winter-time dust event that occurred in January 2009. The model predicted that the total amount of emitted dust was 18.3 Tg for the entire dust outburst period and that the two maximum daily rates were ~2.4 Tg day⁻¹ and ~1.5 Tg day⁻¹, corresponding to two periods with the highest aerosol optical depth that were well captured by ground- and satellite-based observations. The model predicted that the dust plume was thick, extensive, and mixed in a deep boundary layer at an altitude of 3–4 km. Its spatial distribution was modeled to be consistent with typical spatial patterns of dust emissions. We utilized MODIS-Aqua and Solar Village AERONET measurements of the aerosol optical depth (AOD to evaluate the radiative impact of aerosols. Our results clearly indicated that the presence of dust particles in the atmosphere caused a significant reduction in the amount of solar radiation reaching the surface during the dust event. We also found that dust aerosols have significant impact on the energy and nutrient balances of the Red Sea. Our results showed that the simulated cooling under the dust plume reached 100 W m⁻², which could have profound effects on both the sea surface temperature and circulation. Further analysis of dust generation and its spatial and temporal variability is extremely important for future projections and for better understanding of the climate and ecological history of the Red Sea.

Effects of dust storm events on weekly clinic visits related to pulmonary tuberculosis disease in Minqin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yun; Wang, Ruoyu; Ming, Jing; Liu, Guangxiu; Chen, Tuo; Liu, Xinfeng; Liu, Haixia; Zhen, Yunhe; Cheng, Guodong

2016-02-01

Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is a major public health problem in China. Minqin, a Northwest county of China, has a very high number of annual PTB clinic visits and it is also known for its severe dust storms. The epidemic usually begins in February and ends in July, while the dust storms mainly occur throughout spring and early summer, thereby suggesting that there might be a close link between the causative agent of PTB and dust storms. We investigated the general impact of dust storms on PTB over time by analyzing the variation in weekly clinic visits in Minqin during 2005-2012. We used the Mann-Whitney-Pettitt test and a regression model to determine the seasonal periodicity of PTB and dust storms in a time series, as well as assessing the relationships between meteorological variables and weekly PTB clinic visits. After comparing the number of weekly PTB cases in Gansu province with dust storm events, we detected a clear link between the population dynamics of PTB and climate events, i.e., the onset of epidemics and dust storms (defined by an atmospheric index) occurred in almost the same mean week. Thus, particulate matter might be the cause of PTB outbreaks on dust storm days. It is highly likely that the significant decline in annual clinic visits was closely associated with improvements in the local environment, which prevented desertification and decreased the frequency of dust storm events. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first population-based study to provide clear evidence that a PTB epidemic was affected by dust storms in China, which may give insights into the association between this environmental problem and the evolution of epidemic disease.

Decreased Pulmonary Function in School Children in Western Japan after Exposures to Asian Desert Dusts and Its Association with Interleukin-8

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masanari Watanabe

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of Asian dust storms (ADS on pulmonary function of school children and the relationship of this effect with interleukin-8. Morning peak expiratory flow (PEF was measured daily in 399 children from April to May 2012 and in 384 of these children from March to May 2013. The data were analyzed for an association between ADS events and PEF by linear mixed models. Interleukin-8 transcriptional activity was assessed in THP-G8 cells stimulated by airborne particles collected on ADS days. Seven ADS days were identified: April 23 and 24, 2012; March 8 to 10, 2013; and March 19 and 20, 2013. Changes in PEF after ADS exposure were −8.17 L/min (95% confidence interval, −11.40 to −4.93 in 2012 and −1.17 L/min (−4.07 to 1.74 in 2013, and there was a significant difference between 2012 and 2013. Interleukin-8 transcriptional activity was significantly higher in 2012 at 10.6±2.9-fold compared to 3.7±0.4 in March 8 to 10, 2013, and 2.3±0.2 in March 19 and 20, 2013. The influence of ADS events on pulmonary function of children differs with each ADS event and may be related to interleukin-8 production.

Decreased Pulmonary Function in School Children in Western Japan after Exposures to Asian Desert Dusts and Its Association with Interleukin-8

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Masanari; Kurai, Jun; Sano, Hiroyuki; Saito, Rumiko; Kimura, Yutaka; Aiba, Setsuya; Oshimura, Mitsuo; Yamasaki, Akira; Shimizu, Eiji

2015-01-01

The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of Asian dust storms (ADS) on pulmonary function of school children and the relationship of this effect with interleukin-8. Morning peak expiratory flow (PEF) was measured daily in 399 children from April to May 2012 and in 384 of these children from March to May 2013. The data were analyzed for an association between ADS events and PEF by linear mixed models. Interleukin-8 transcriptional activity was assessed in THP-G8 cells stimulated by airborne particles collected on ADS days. Seven ADS days were identified: April 23 and 24, 2012; March 8 to 10, 2013; and March 19 and 20, 2013. Changes in PEF after ADS exposure were −8.17 L/min (95% confidence interval, −11.40 to −4.93) in 2012 and −1.17 L/min (−4.07 to 1.74) in 2013, and there was a significant difference between 2012 and 2013. Interleukin-8 transcriptional activity was significantly higher in 2012 at 10.6 ± 2.9-fold compared to 3.7 ± 0.4 in March 8 to 10, 2013, and 2.3 ± 0.2 in March 19 and 20, 2013. The influence of ADS events on pulmonary function of children differs with each ADS event and may be related to interleukin-8 production. PMID:26060816

Insights into a dust event transported through Beijing in spring 2012: Morphology, chemical composition and impact on surface aerosols

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, Wei [State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Faculty of Environmental and Symbiotic Sciences, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, Kumamoto 862-8502 (Japan); Niu, Hongya [State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Key Laboratory of Resource Exploration Research of Hebei Province, Hebei University of Engineering, Handan, Hebei 056038 (China); Zhang, Daizhou [Faculty of Environmental and Symbiotic Sciences, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, Kumamoto 862-8502 (Japan); Wu, Zhijun [State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Chen, Chen [State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center, Beijing 100044 (China); Wu, Yusheng; Shang, Dongjie [State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Hu, Min, E-mail: minhu@pku.edu.cn [State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

2016-09-15

Multiple approaches were used to investigate the evolution of surface aerosols in Beijing during the passage of a dust event at high altitude, which was from the Gobi areas of southern Mongolia and covered a wide range of North China. Single particle analysis with electron microscope showed that the majority of coarse particles were mineral ones, and most of them were in the size range of 1–7 μm with a peak of number concentration at about 3.5 μm. Based on elemental composition and morphology, the mineral particles could be classified into several groups, including Si-rich (71%), Ca-rich (15%), Fe-rich (6%), and halite-rich (2%), etc., and they were the main contributors to the aerosol optical depth as the dust occurred. The size distributions of surface aerosols were significantly affected by the dust intrusion. The average number concentration of accumulation mode particles during the event was about 400 cm{sup −3}, which was much lower than that in heavily polluted days (6300 cm{sup −3}). At the stage of floating dust, the number concentration of accumulation mode particles decreased, and coarse particles contributed to total volume concentration of particulate matter as much as 90%. The accumulation mode particles collected in this stage were mostly in the size range of 0.2–0.5 μm, and were rectangular or spherical. They were considered to be particles consisting of ammonium sulfate. New particle formation (NPF) was observed around noon in the three days during the dust event, indicating that the passage of the dust was probably favorable for NPF. - Highlights: • A dust event transported at high altitude through Beijing was investigated. • The dust event caused high variation in surface aerosol number concentrations. • Fine particles in the floating dust period probably consisted of ammonium sulfate. • Passage of the dust induced a favorable condition for new particle formation.

Insights into a dust event transported through Beijing in spring 2012: Morphology, chemical composition and impact on surface aerosols

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Wei; Niu, Hongya; Zhang, Daizhou; Wu, Zhijun; Chen, Chen; Wu, Yusheng; Shang, Dongjie; Hu, Min

2016-01-01

Multiple approaches were used to investigate the evolution of surface aerosols in Beijing during the passage of a dust event at high altitude, which was from the Gobi areas of southern Mongolia and covered a wide range of North China. Single particle analysis with electron microscope showed that the majority of coarse particles were mineral ones, and most of them were in the size range of 1–7 μm with a peak of number concentration at about 3.5 μm. Based on elemental composition and morphology, the mineral particles could be classified into several groups, including Si-rich (71%), Ca-rich (15%), Fe-rich (6%), and halite-rich (2%), etc., and they were the main contributors to the aerosol optical depth as the dust occurred. The size distributions of surface aerosols were significantly affected by the dust intrusion. The average number concentration of accumulation mode particles during the event was about 400 cm"−"3, which was much lower than that in heavily polluted days (6300 cm"−"3). At the stage of floating dust, the number concentration of accumulation mode particles decreased, and coarse particles contributed to total volume concentration of particulate matter as much as 90%. The accumulation mode particles collected in this stage were mostly in the size range of 0.2–0.5 μm, and were rectangular or spherical. They were considered to be particles consisting of ammonium sulfate. New particle formation (NPF) was observed around noon in the three days during the dust event, indicating that the passage of the dust was probably favorable for NPF. - Highlights: • A dust event transported at high altitude through Beijing was investigated. • The dust event caused high variation in surface aerosol number concentrations. • Fine particles in the floating dust period probably consisted of ammonium sulfate. • Passage of the dust induced a favorable condition for new particle formation.

Spatial variability of excess mortality during prolonged dust events in a high-density city: a time-stratified spatial regression approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Man Sing; Ho, Hung Chak; Yang, Lin; Shi, Wenzhong; Yang, Jinxin; Chan, Ta-Chien

2017-07-24

Dust events have long been recognized to be associated with a higher mortality risk. However, no study has investigated how prolonged dust events affect the spatial variability of mortality across districts in a downwind city. In this study, we applied a spatial regression approach to estimate the district-level mortality during two extreme dust events in Hong Kong. We compared spatial and non-spatial models to evaluate the ability of each regression to estimate mortality. We also compared prolonged dust events with non-dust events to determine the influences of community factors on mortality across the city. The density of a built environment (estimated by the sky view factor) had positive association with excess mortality in each district, while socioeconomic deprivation contributed by lower income and lower education induced higher mortality impact in each territory planning unit during a prolonged dust event. Based on the model comparison, spatial error modelling with the 1st order of queen contiguity consistently outperformed other models. The high-risk areas with higher increase in mortality were located in an urban high-density environment with higher socioeconomic deprivation. Our model design shows the ability to predict spatial variability of mortality risk during an extreme weather event that is not able to be estimated based on traditional time-series analysis or ecological studies. Our spatial protocol can be used for public health surveillance, sustainable planning and disaster preparation when relevant data are available.

Characterization of Dust Properties at the Source Region During ACE-Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Tsay, Si-Chee; Lau, William (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

ACE (Aerosol Characterization Experiment)-Asia is designed to study the compelling variability in spatial and temporal scale of both pollution-derived and naturally-occurring aerosols, which often exist in high concentrations over eastern Asia and along the rim of the western Pacific. The phase-I of ACE-Asia was conducted from March-May 2001 in the vicinity of the Gobi desert, east coast of China, Yellow Sea, Korea, and Japan, along the pathway of Kosa (severe events that blanket East Asia with yellow desert dust, peaked in the Spring season). Asian dust typically originates in desert areas far from polluted urban regions. During transport, dust layers can interact with anthropogenic sulfate and soot aerosols from heavily polluted urban areas. Added to the complex effects of clouds and natural marine aerosols, dust particles reaching the marine environment can have drastically different properties than those from the source. Thus, understanding the unique temporal and spatial variations of Asian dust is of special importance in regional-to-global climate issues such as radiative forcing, the hydrological cycle, and primary biological productivity in the mid-Pacific Ocean. During ACE-Asia we have measured continuously aerosol optical/radiative properties, column precipitable water amount, and surface reflectivity over homogeneous areas from surface. The inclusion of flux measurements permits the determination of dust aerosol radiative flux in addition to measurements of loading and optical thickness. At the time of the Terra/MODIS overpass, these ground-based observations can provide valuable data to compare with MODIS retrievals over land. Preliminary results will be presented and discussed their implications in regional climatic effects.

Effects of two Asian sand dusts transported from the dust source regions of Inner Mongolia and northeast China on murine lung eosinophilia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Miao, E-mail: hemiao.cmu@gmail.com [Environment and Chronic Non-communicable Disease Research Center, College of Public Health, China Medical University, 11001 Shenyang (China); Department of Health Sciences, Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences, 870-1201 Oita (Japan); Ichinose, Takamichi, E-mail: ichinose@oita-nhs.ac.jp [Department of Health Sciences, Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences, 870-1201 Oita (Japan); Song, Yuan, E-mail: freude@med.uoeh-u.ac.jp [Department of Immunology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Iseigaoka, Yahata-nishi-ku, Kitakyushu, 807-8555 Fukuoka (Japan); Yoshida, Yasuhiro, E-mail: songyuan1107@163.com [Department of Immunology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Iseigaoka, Yahata-nishi-ku, Kitakyushu, 807-8555 Fukuoka (Japan); Arashidani, Keiichi, E-mail: arashi@snow.ocn.ne.jp [Department of Immunology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Iseigaoka, Yahata-nishi-ku, Kitakyushu, 807-8555 Fukuoka (Japan); Yoshida, Seiichi, E-mail: syoshida@oita-nhs.ac.jp [Department of Health Sciences, Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences, 870-1201 Oita (Japan); Liu, Boying, E-mail: boyingliu321@gmail.com [Environment and Chronic Non-communicable Disease Research Center, College of Public Health, China Medical University, 11001 Shenyang (China); Department of Health Sciences, Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences, 870-1201 Oita (Japan); Nishikawa, Masataka, E-mail: mnishi@nies.go.jp [Environmental Chemistry Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 305-8506 Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan); Takano, Hirohisa, E-mail: htakano@health.env.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Environmental Health Division, Department of Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto daigaku-Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8530 (Japan); and others

2013-11-01

The quality and quantity of toxic materials adsorbed onto Asian sand dust (ASD) are different based on dust source regions and passage routes. The aggravating effects of two ASDs (ASD1 and ASD2) transported from the source regions of Inner Mongolia and northeast China on lung eosinophilia were compared to clarify the role of toxic materials in ASD. The ASDs contained different amounts of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and β-glucan (ASD1 < ASD2) and SiO{sub 2} (ASD1 > ASD2). CD-1 mice were instilled intratracheally with ASD1, ASD2 and/or ovalbumin (OVA) four times at 2-week intervals. ASD1 and ASD2 enhanced eosinophil recruitment induced by OVA in the submucosa of the airway, with goblet cell proliferation in the bronchial epithelium. ASD1 and ASD2 synergistically increased OVA-induced eosinophil-relevant cytokines interleukin-5 (IL-5), IL-13 (ASD1 < ASD2) and chemokine eotaxin (ASD1 > ASD2) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. ASD2 aggravating effects on lung eosinophilia were greater than ASD1. The role of LPS and β-glucan in ASD2 on the production of pro-inflammatory mediators was assessed using in vitro bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from wild type, Toll-like receptor 2-deficient (TLR2 −/−), TLR4 −/−, and MyD88 −/− mice (on Balb/c background). ASD2-stimulated TLR2 −/− BMDMs enhanced IL-6, IL-12, TNF-α, MCP-1 and MIP-1α secretion compared with ASD2-stimulated TLR4 −/− BMDMs. Protein expression from ASD2-stimulated MyD88 −/− BMDM were very low or undetectable. The in vitro results indicate that lung eosinophilia caused by ASD is TLR4 dependent. Therefore, the aggravation of OVA-related lung eosinophilia by ASD may be dependent on toxic substances derived from microbes, such as LPS, rather than SiO{sub 2}. - Highlights: • Asian sand dust (ASD) from the deserts of China causes serious respiratory problems. • The aggravating effects of two ASDs on lung eosinophilia were compared. • The ASDs contained different LPS and β-glucan (ASD1

Effects of two Asian sand dusts transported from the dust source regions of Inner Mongolia and northeast China on murine lung eosinophilia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Miao; Ichinose, Takamichi; Song, Yuan; Yoshida, Yasuhiro; Arashidani, Keiichi; Yoshida, Seiichi; Liu, Boying; Nishikawa, Masataka; Takano, Hirohisa

2013-01-01

The quality and quantity of toxic materials adsorbed onto Asian sand dust (ASD) are different based on dust source regions and passage routes. The aggravating effects of two ASDs (ASD1 and ASD2) transported from the source regions of Inner Mongolia and northeast China on lung eosinophilia were compared to clarify the role of toxic materials in ASD. The ASDs contained different amounts of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and β-glucan (ASD1 2 (ASD1 > ASD2). CD-1 mice were instilled intratracheally with ASD1, ASD2 and/or ovalbumin (OVA) four times at 2-week intervals. ASD1 and ASD2 enhanced eosinophil recruitment induced by OVA in the submucosa of the airway, with goblet cell proliferation in the bronchial epithelium. ASD1 and ASD2 synergistically increased OVA-induced eosinophil-relevant cytokines interleukin-5 (IL-5), IL-13 (ASD1 ASD2) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. ASD2 aggravating effects on lung eosinophilia were greater than ASD1. The role of LPS and β-glucan in ASD2 on the production of pro-inflammatory mediators was assessed using in vitro bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from wild type, Toll-like receptor 2-deficient (TLR2 −/−), TLR4 −/−, and MyD88 −/− mice (on Balb/c background). ASD2-stimulated TLR2 −/− BMDMs enhanced IL-6, IL-12, TNF-α, MCP-1 and MIP-1α secretion compared with ASD2-stimulated TLR4 −/− BMDMs. Protein expression from ASD2-stimulated MyD88 −/− BMDM were very low or undetectable. The in vitro results indicate that lung eosinophilia caused by ASD is TLR4 dependent. Therefore, the aggravation of OVA-related lung eosinophilia by ASD may be dependent on toxic substances derived from microbes, such as LPS, rather than SiO 2 . - Highlights: • Asian sand dust (ASD) from the deserts of China causes serious respiratory problems. • The aggravating effects of two ASDs on lung eosinophilia were compared. • The ASDs contained different LPS and β-glucan (ASD1 2 (ASD1 > ASD2). • The ASD2 aggravating effects on lung

Direct observations of the atmospheric processing of Asian mineral dust

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. C. Sullivan

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The accumulation of secondary acids and ammonium on individual mineral dust particles during ACE-Asia has been measured with an online single-particle mass spectrometer, the ATOFMS. Changes in the amounts of sulphate, nitrate, and chloride mixed with dust particles correlate with air masses from different source regions. The uptake of secondary acids depended on the individual dust particle mineralogy; high amounts of nitrate accumulated on calcium-rich dust while high amounts of sulphate accumulated on aluminosilicate-rich dust. Oxidation of S(IV to S(VI by iron in the aluminosilicate dust is a possible explanation for this enrichment of sulphate, which has important consequences for the fertilization of remote oceans by soluble iron. This study shows the segregation of sulphate from nitrate and chloride in individual aged dust particles for the first time. A transport and aging timeline provides an explanation for the observed segregation. Our data suggests that sulphate became mixed with the dust first. This implies that the transport pathway is more important than the reaction kinetics in determining which species accumulate on mineral dust. Early in the study, dust particles in volcanically influenced air masses were mixed predominately with sulphate. Dust mixed with chloride then dominated over sulphate and nitrate when a major dust front reached the R. V. Ronald Brown. We hypothesize that the rapid increase in chloride on dust was due to mixing with HCl(g released from acidified sea salt particles induced by heterogeneous reaction with volcanic SO2(g, prior to the arrival of the dust front. The amount of ammonium mixed with dust correlated strongly with the total amount of secondary acid reaction products in the dust. Submicron dust and ammonium sulphate were internally mixed, contrary to frequent reports that they exist as external mixtures. The size distribution of the mixing state of dust with these secondary species validates previous

Asian Dust Weather Categorization with Satellite and Surface Observations

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Lin, Tang-Huang; Hsu, N. Christina; Tsay, Si-Chee; Huang, Shih-Jen

2011-01-01

This study categorizes various dust weather types by means of satellite remote sensing over central Asia. Airborne dust particles can be identified by satellite remote sensing because of the different optical properties exhibited by coarse and fine particles (i.e. varying particle sizes). If a correlation can be established between the retrieved aerosol optical properties and surface visibility, the intensity of dust weather can be more effectively and consistently discerned using satellite rather than surface observations. In this article, datasets consisting of collocated products from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Aqua and surface measurements are analysed. The results indicate an exponential relationship between the surface visibility and the satellite-retrieved aerosol optical depth, which is subsequently used to categorize the dust weather. The satellite-derived spatial frequency distributions in the dust weather types are consistent with China s weather station reports during 2003, indicating that dust weather classification using satellite data is highly feasible. Although the period during the springtime from 2004 to 2007 may be not sufficient for statistical significance, our results reveal an increasing tendency in both intensity and frequency of dust weather over central Asia during this time period.

A long Saharan dust event over the western Mediterranean: Lidar, Sun photometer observations, and regional dust modeling

Science.gov (United States)

PéRez, C.; Nickovic, S.; Baldasano, J. M.; Sicard, M.; Rocadenbosch, F.; Cachorro, V. E.

2006-08-01

A long Saharan dust event affected the western Mediterranean in the period 12-28 June 2002. Dust was present mainly between 1- and 5-km height affecting most parts of the Iberian Peninsula and reaching western/central Europe. Intensive backscatter lidar observations over Barcelona (Spain) and Sun photometer data from two stations (El Arenosillo, Spain, and Avignon, France) are used to evaluate different configurations the Dust Regional Atmospheric Modeling (DREAM) system. DREAM currently operates dust forecasts over the Mediterranean region (http://www.bsc.es/projects/earthscience/DREAM/) considering four particle size bins while only the first two are relevant for long-range transport analysis since their life time is larger than 12 hours. A more detailed bin method is implemented, and two different dust distributions at sources are compared to the operational version. Evaluations are performed at two wavelengths (532 and 1064 nm). The dust horizontal and vertical structure simulated by DREAM shows very good qualitative agreement when compared to SeaWIFS satellite images and lidar height-time displays over Barcelona. When evaluating the modeled aerosol optical depth (AOD) against Sun photometer data, significant improvements are achieved with the use of the new detailed bin method. In general, the model underpredicts the AOD for increasing Ångström exponents because of the influence of anthropogenic pollution in the boundary layer. In fact, the modeled AOD is highly anticorrelated with the observed Ångström exponents. Avignon shows higher influence of small anthropogenic aerosols which explains the better results of the model at the wavelength of 1064 nm over this location. The uncertainties of backscatter lidar inversions (20-30%) are in the same order of magnitude as the differences between the model experiments. Better model results are obtained when comparing to lidar because most of the anthropogenic effect is removed.

Size-segregated fluxes of mineral dust from a desert area of northern China by eddy covariance

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G. Fratini

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Mineral dust emission accounts for a substantial portion of particles present in the troposphere. It is emitted mostly from desert areas, mainly through intense storm episodes. The aim of this work was to quantify size-segregated fluxes of mineral dust particles emitted during storm events occurring in desert areas of northern China (Alashan desert, Inner Mongolia, known to act as one of the strongest sources of mineral dust particles in the Asian continent. Long-range transport of mineral dust emitted in this area is responsible for the high particle concentrations reached in densely populated areas, including the city of Beijing. Based on a theoretical analysis, an eddy covariance system was built to get size-segregated fluxes of mineral dust particles with optical diameters ranging between 0.26 and 7.00 µm. The system was optimised to measure fluxes under intense storm event conditions. It was tested in two sites located in the Chinese portion of the Gobi desert. During the field campaign, an intense wind erosion event, classified as a "weak dust storm", was recorded in one of them. Data obtained during this event indicate that particle number fluxes were dominated by the finer fraction, whereas in terms of mass, coarser particle accounted for the largest portion. It was found that during the storm event, ratios of size-segregated particle mass fluxes remained substantially constant and a simple parameterization of particle emission from total mass fluxes was possible. A strong correlation was also found between particle mass fluxes and the friction velocity. This relationship is extremely useful to investigate mechanisms of particle formation by wind erosion.

Dust Deposition Events on Mt. Elbrus, Caucasus Mountains in the 21st Century Reconstructed from the Shallow Firn and Ice Cores (Invited)

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Shahgedanova, M.; Kutuzov, S.; Mikhalenko, V.; Ginot, P.; Lavrentiev, I.

2013-12-01

This paper presents and discusses a record of dust deposition events reconstructed from the shallow firn and ice cores extracted on the Western Plateau, Mt. Elbrus, Caucasus Mountains, Russia. A combination of SEVIRI imagery, HYSPLIT trajectory model, meteorological and atmospheric optical depth data were used to establish timing of deposition events and source regions of dust with very high temporal (hours) and spatial (c. 50-100 km) resolution. The source regions of the desert dust transported to Mt. Elbrus were primarily located in the Middle East, in particular in eastern Syria and in the Syrian Desert at the border between Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Jordan. Northern Sahara, the foothills of the Djebel Akhdar Mountains in eastern Libya and the border region between Libya and Algeria were other important sources of desert dust. Dust sources in the Sahara were natural (e.g. palaeolakes and alluvial deposits in the foothills) while in the Middle East, dust entrainment occurred from both natural (e.g. dry river beds) and anthropogenic (e.g. agricultural fields) sources. The overall majority of dust deposition events occurred between March and June and, less frequently, dust deposition events occurred in February and October. In all cases, dust deposition was associated with depressions causing strong surface wind and dust uplift in the source areas, transportation of dust to the Caucasus with a strong south-westerly flow from the Sahara or southerly flow from the Middle East, merging of the dust clouds with precipitation-bearing weather fronts and precipitation over the Caucasus region. The Saharan depressions were vigorous and associated with stronger daily wind speeds of 20-30 m/s at the 700 hPa level; depressions forming over the Middle East and the associated wind speeds were weaker at 12-15 m/s. The Saharan depressions were less frequent than those carrying dust from the Middle East but higher dust loads were associated with the Saharan depressions. A higher

Detection and monitoring of two dust storm events by multispectral modis images.

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mehta P.S.; Kunte, P.D.

of Oman, over Arabian Sea to the coast of Pakistan. The dust storm lasted over the Arabian Sea till 30^th March. MODIS sensors on both Terra and Aqua Satellites captured images of both events. From the difference in emissive/transmissive nature...

A Climatology of Dust-Emission Events over North Africa Based on 27 Years of Surface Observations

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Cowie, S.; Knippertz, P.; Schepanski, K.

2012-04-01

The huge quantity of mineral dust emitted annually from North Africa makes this area crucial to the global dust cycle. Once in the atmosphere, dust aerosols have a significant impact on the global radiation budget, clouds, the carbon cycle and can even act as a fertilizer to rain forests in South America. Current model estimates of dust production from North Africa are uncertain. At the heart of this problem is insufficient understanding of key dust emitting processes such as haboobs (cold pools generated through evaporation of convective precipitation), low-level jets (LLJs), and dry convection (dust devils and dust plumes). Scarce observations in this region, in particular in the Sahara, make model evaluation difficult. This work uses long-term surface observations from the MIDAS data set (~120 stations in the arid part of North Africa) to explore the diurnal, seasonal, decadal and geographical variations in dust emission events and their associated wind thresholds. The threshold values are determined from probability density functions of observed 10-minute anemomenter wind speeds. Emission events are defined using the present weather codes (WW) of SYNOP reports. These codes represent events of smaller intensity such as "Dust or sand raised by wind" to severe dust storms. During the 27-year study period (1984-2011) stations are required to have a minimum of 1000 dust observations to be included in the analysis. Dust emission frequency (DEF) is calculated for different time intervals (e.g. monthly, 3-hourly) taking into account the different number of measurements available at each station. North of 25°N a maximum during March-May is evident and relatively consistent over the whole North African region. Wind-speed thresholds for dust emission north of 25°N are higher than south of 25°N in the Sahel, where station-to-station variability is larger, and enhanced DEF activity during February-March is observed. The variability in this region is closely linked to the

Dust Aerosols at the Source Region During ACE-ASIA: A Surface/Satellite Perspective

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Tsay, Si-Chee; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

ACE (Aerosol Characterization Experiment)-Asia is designed to study the compelling variability in spatial and temporal scale of both pollution-derived and naturally occurring aerosols, which often exist in high concentrations over eastern Asia and along the rim of the western Pacific. The phase-I of ACE-Asia was conducted from March-May 2001 in the vicinity of the Gobi desert, East Coast of China, Yellow Sea, Korea, and Japan, along the pathway of Kosa (severe events that blanket East Asia with yellow desert dust, peaked in the Spring season). Asian dust typically originates in desert areas far from polluted urban regions. During transport, dust layers can interact with anthropogenic sulfate and soot aerosols from heavily polluted urban areas. Added to the complex effects of clouds and natural marine aerosols, dust particles reaching the marine environment can have drastically different properties than those from the source. Thus, understanding the unique temporal and spatial variations of Asian dust is of special importance in regional-to-global climate issues such as radiative forcing, the hydrological cycle, and primary biological productivity in the mid-Pacific Ocean. During ACE-Asia we have measured continuously aerosol physical/optical/radiative properties, column precipitable water amount, and surface reflectivity over homogeneous areas from surface. The inclusion of flux measurements permits the determination of dust aerosol radiative flux in addition to measurements of loading and optical thickness. At the time of the Terra/MODIS, SeaWiFS, TOMS and other satellite overpasses, these ground-based observations can provide valuable data to compare with satellite retrievals over land. Preliminary results will be presented and discussed their implications in regional climatic effects.

Evaluation of Demographics and Social Life Events of Asian (Elephas maximus and African Elephants (Loxodonta africana in North American Zoos.

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Natalia A Prado-Oviedo

Full Text Available This study quantified social life events hypothesized to affect the welfare of zoo African and Asian elephants, focusing on animals that were part of a large multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional elephant welfare study in North America. Age was calculated based on recorded birth dates and an age-based account of life event data for each elephant was compiled. These event histories included facility transfers, births and deaths of offspring, and births and deaths of non-offspring herd mates. Each event was evaluated as a total number of events per elephant, lifetime rate of event exposure, and age at first event exposure. These were then compared across three categories: species (African vs. Asian; sex (male vs. female; and origin (imported vs. captive-born. Mean age distributions differed (p<0.05 between the categories: African elephants were 6 years younger than Asian elephants, males were 12 years younger than females, and captive-born elephants were 20 years younger than imported elephants. Overall, the number of transfers ranged from 0 to 10, with a 33% higher age-adjusted transfer rate for imported African than imported Asian elephants, and 37% lower rate for imported females than males (p<0.05. Other differences (p<0.05 included a 96% higher rate of offspring births for captive-born females than those imported from range countries, a 159% higher rate of birthing event exposures for captive-born males than for their imported counterparts, and Asian elephant females being 4 years younger than African females when they produced their first calf. In summarizing demographic and social life events of elephants in North American zoos, we found both qualitative and quantitative differences in the early lives of imported versus captive-born elephants that could have long-term welfare implications.

Transpacific Transport of Dust to North American High-Elevation Sites: Integrated Dataset and Model Outputs

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Kassianov, E.; Pekour, M. S.; Flynn, C. J.; Berg, L. K.; Beranek, J.; Zelenyuk, A.; Zhao, C.; Leung, L. R.; Ma, P. L.; Riihimaki, L.; Fast, J. D.; Barnard, J.; Hallar, G. G.; McCubbin, I.; Eloranta, E. W.; McComiskey, A. C.; Rasch, P. J.

2017-12-01

Understanding the effects of dust on the regional and global climate requires detailed information on particle size distributions and their changes with distance from the source. Awareness is now growing about the tendency of the dust coarse mode with moderate ( 3.5 µm) volume median diameter (VMD) to be rather insensitive to complex removal processes associated with long-range transport of dust from the main sources. Our study, with a focus on the transpacific transport of dust, demonstrates that the impact of coarse mode aerosol (VMD 3µm) is well defined at the high-elevation mountain-top Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL, about 3.2 km MSL) and nearby Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Mobile Facility (AMF) during March 2011. Significant amounts of coarse mode aerosol are also found at the nearest Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) site. Outputs from the high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem) show that the major dust event is likely associated with transpacific transport of Asian and African plumes. Satellite data, including the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) aerosol optical depth (AOD) and plume height from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) lidar data provide the observational support of the WRF-Chem simulations. Our study complements previous findings by indicating that the quasi-static nature of the coarse mode appears to be a reasonable approximation for Asian and African dust despite expected frequent orographic precipitation over mountainous regions in the western United States.

Asian dust storm elevates children's respiratory health risks: a spatiotemporal analysis of children's clinic visits across Taipei (Taiwan.

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Hwa-Lung Yu

Full Text Available Concerns have been raised about the adverse impact of Asian dust storms (ADS on human health; however, few studies have examined the effect of these events on children's health. Using databases from the Taiwan National Health Insurance and Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency, this study investigates the documented daily visits of children to respiratory clinics during and after ADS that occurred from 1997 to 2007 among 12 districts across Taipei City by applying a Bayesian structural additive regressive model controlled for spatial and temporal patterns. This study finds that the significantly impact of elevated children's respiratory clinic visits happened after ADS. Five of the seven lagged days had increasing percentages of relative rate, which was consecutively elevated from a 2-day to a 5-day lag by 0.63%∼2.19% for preschool children (i.e., 0∼6 years of age and 0.72%∼3.17% for school children (i.e., 7∼14 years of age. The spatial pattern of clinic visits indicated that geographical heterogeneity was possibly associated with the clinic's location and accessibility. Moreover, day-of-week effects were elevated on Monday, Friday, and Saturday. We concluded that ADS may significantly increase the risks of respiratory diseases consecutively in the week after exposure, especially in school children.

Major dust events in Europe during marine isotope stage 5 (130–74 ka: a climatic interpretation of the "markers"

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D.-D. Rousseau

2013-09-01

Full Text Available At present, major dust storms are occurring at mid-latitudes in the Middle East and Asia, as well as at low latitudes in Northern Africa and in Australia. Western Europe, though, does not experience such dramatic climate events, except for some African dust reaching it from the Sahara. This modern situation is of particular interest, in the context of future climate projections, since the present interglacial is usually interpreted, in this context, as an analog of the warm Eemian interval. European terrestrial records show, however, major dust events during the penultimate interglacial and early glacial. These events are easily observed in loess records by their whitish-color deposits, which lie above and below dark chernozem paleosols in Central European records of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS 5 age. We describe here the base of the Dolni Vestonice (DV loess sequence, Czech Republic, as the reference of such records. The dust is deposited during intervals that are characterized by poor vegetation – manifested by high δ13C values and low magnetic susceptibility – while the fine sand and clay in the deposits shows grain sizes that are clearly different from the overlying pleniglacial loess deposits. Some of these dust events have been previously described as "Markers" or Marker Silts (MS by one of us (G. Kukla, and are dated at about 111–109 ka and 93–92 ka, with a third and last one slightly visible at about 75–73 ka. Other events correspond to the loess material of Kukla's cycles, and are described as eolian silts (ES; they are observed in the same DV sequence and are dated at about 106–105 ka, 88–86 ka, and 78.5–77 ka. These dates are determined by considering the OSL ages with their errors measured on the studied sequence, and the comparison with Greenland ice-core and European speleothem chronologies. The fine eolian deposits mentioned above, MS as well as ES, correspond to short events that lasted about 2 ka; they are

1500-year Record of trans-Pacific Dust Flux collected from the Denali Ice Core, Mt. Hunter, Alaska

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Saylor, P. L.; Osterberg, E. C.; Koffman, B. G.; Winski, D.; Ferris, D. G.; Kreutz, K. J.; Wake, C. P.; Handley, M.; Campbell, S. W.

2016-12-01

Mineral dust aerosols are a critical component of the climate system through their influence on atmospheric radiative forcing, ocean productivity, and surface albedo. Dust aerosols derived from Asian deserts are known to reach as far as Europe through efficient transport in the upper tropospheric westerlies. While centennially-to-millennially resolved Asian dust records exist over the late Holocene from North Pacific marine sediment cores and Asian loess deposits, a high-resolution (sub-annual to decadal) record of trans-Pacific dust flux will significantly improve our understanding of North Pacific dust-climate interactions and provide paleoclimatological context for 20th century dust activity. Here we present an annually resolved 1500-year record of trans-Pacific dust transport based on chemical and physical dust measurements in parallel Alaskan ice cores (208 m to bedrock) collected from the summit plateau of Mt. Hunter in Denali National Park. The cores were sampled at high resolution using a continuous melter system with discrete analyses for major ions (Dionex ion chromatograph), trace elements (Element2 inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer), and stable water isotope ratios (Picarro laser ringdown spectroscopy), and continuous flow analysis for dust concentration and size distribution (Klotz Abakus). We compare the ice core dust record to instrumental aerosol stations, satellite observations, and dust model data from the instrumental period, and evaluate climatic controls on dust emission and trans-Pacific transport using climate reanalysis data, to inform dust-climate relationships over the past 1500 years. Physical particulate and chemical data demonstrate remarkable fidelity at sub-annual resolution, with both displaying a strong springtime peak consistent with periods of high dust activity over Asian desert source regions. Preliminary results suggest volumetric mode typically ranges from 4.5 - 6.5 um, with a mean value of 5.5 um. Preliminary

Pancam and Microscopic Imager observations of dust on the Spirit Rover: Cleaning events, spectral properties, and aggregates

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Vaughan, Alicia F.; Johnson, Jeffrey R.; Herkenhoff, Kenneth E.; Sullivan, Robert; Landis, Geoffrey A.; Goetz, Walter; Madsen, Morten B.

2010-01-01

This work describes dust deposits on the Spirit Rover over 2000 sols through examination of Pancam and Microscopic Imager observations of specific locations on the rover body, including portions of the solar array, Pancam and Mini-TES calibration targets, and the magnets. This data set reveals the three "cleaning events" experienced by Spirit to date, the spectral properties of dust, and the tendency of dust particles to form aggregates 100 um and larger.

Bacterial diversity and composition during rain events with and without Saharan dust influence reaching a high mountain lake in the Alps.

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Peter, Hannes; Hörtnagl, Paul; Reche, Isabel; Sommaruga, Ruben

2014-12-01

The diversity of airborne microorganisms that potentially reach aquatic ecosystems during rain events is poorly explored. Here, we used a culture-independent approach to characterize bacterial assemblages during rain events with and without Saharan dust influence arriving to a high mountain lake in the Austrian Alps. Bacterial assemblage composition differed significantly between samples with and without Saharan dust influence. Although alpha diversity indices were within the same range in both sample categories, rain events with Atlantic or continental origins were dominated by Betaproteobacteria, whereas those with Saharan dust intrusions were dominated by Gammaproteobacteria. The high diversity and evenness observed in all samples suggests that different sources of bacteria contributed to the airborne assemblage collected at the lake shore. During experiments with bacterial assemblages collected during rain events with Saharan dust influence, cell numbers rapidly increased in sterile lake water from initially ∼3 × 103 cell ml-1 to 3.6-11.1 x105 cells ml-1 within 4-5 days, and initially, rare taxa dominated at the end of the experiment. Our study documents the dispersal of viable bacteria associated to Saharan dust intrusions travelling northwards as far as 47° latitude.

Environmentally dependent dust chemistry of a super Asian dust storm in March 2010: observation and simulation

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Q. Wang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Near-surface and vertical in situ measurements of atmospheric particles were conducted in Shanghai during 19–23 March 2010 to explore the transport and chemical evolution of dust particles in a super dust storm. An air quality model with optimized physical dust emission scheme and newly implemented dust chemistry was utilized to study the impact of dust chemistry on regional air quality. Two discontinuous dust periods were observed with one traveling over northern China (DS1 and the other passing over the coastal regions of eastern China (DS2. Stronger mixing extents between dust and anthropogenic emissions were found in DS2, reflected by the higher SO2 ∕ PM10 and NO2 ∕ PM10 ratios as well as typical pollution elemental species such as As, Cd, Pb, and Zn. As a result, the concentrations of SO42− and NO3− and the ratio of Ca2+ ∕ Ca were more elevated in DS2 than in DS1 but opposite for the [NH4+] ∕ [SO42−+NO3−] ratio, suggesting the heterogeneous reactions between calcites and acid gases were significantly promoted in DS2 due to the higher level of relative humidity and gaseous pollution precursors. Lidar observation showed a columnar effect on the vertical structure of particle optical properties in DS1 that dust dominantly accounted for ∼ 80–90 % of the total particle extinction from near the ground to ∼ 700 m. In contrast, the dust plumes in DS2 were restrained within lower altitudes while the extinction from spherical particles exhibited a maximum at a high altitude of ∼ 800 m. The model simulation reproduced relatively consistent results with observations that strong impacts of dust heterogeneous reactions on secondary aerosol formation occurred in areas where the anthropogenic emissions were intensive. Compared to the sulfate simulation, the nitrate formation on dust is suggested to be improved in the future modeling efforts.

Environmentally dependent dust chemistry of a super Asian dust storm in March 2010: observation and simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qiongzhen; Dong, Xinyi; Fu, Joshua S.; Xu, Jian; Deng, Congrui; Jiang, Yilun; Fu, Qingyan; Lin, Yanfen; Huang, Kan; Zhuang, Guoshun

2018-03-01

Near-surface and vertical in situ measurements of atmospheric particles were conducted in Shanghai during 19-23 March 2010 to explore the transport and chemical evolution of dust particles in a super dust storm. An air quality model with optimized physical dust emission scheme and newly implemented dust chemistry was utilized to study the impact of dust chemistry on regional air quality. Two discontinuous dust periods were observed with one traveling over northern China (DS1) and the other passing over the coastal regions of eastern China (DS2). Stronger mixing extents between dust and anthropogenic emissions were found in DS2, reflected by the higher SO2 / PM10 and NO2 / PM10 ratios as well as typical pollution elemental species such as As, Cd, Pb, and Zn. As a result, the concentrations of SO42- and NO3- and the ratio of Ca2+ / Ca were more elevated in DS2 than in DS1 but opposite for the [NH4+] / [SO42-+NO3-] ratio, suggesting the heterogeneous reactions between calcites and acid gases were significantly promoted in DS2 due to the higher level of relative humidity and gaseous pollution precursors. Lidar observation showed a columnar effect on the vertical structure of particle optical properties in DS1 that dust dominantly accounted for ˜ 80-90 % of the total particle extinction from near the ground to ˜ 700 m. In contrast, the dust plumes in DS2 were restrained within lower altitudes while the extinction from spherical particles exhibited a maximum at a high altitude of ˜ 800 m. The model simulation reproduced relatively consistent results with observations that strong impacts of dust heterogeneous reactions on secondary aerosol formation occurred in areas where the anthropogenic emissions were intensive. Compared to the sulfate simulation, the nitrate formation on dust is suggested to be improved in the future modeling efforts.

Correlation between Asian Dust and Specific Radioactivities of Fission Products Included in Airborne Samples in Tokushima, Shikoku Island, Japan, Due to the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakama, M.; Nagano, Y.; Kitade, T.; Shikino, O.; Nakayama, S.

2014-01-01

Radioactive fission product 131 I released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (FD-NPP) was first detected on March 23, 2011 in an airborne aerosol sample collected at Tokushima, Shikoku Island, located in western Japan. Two other radioactive fission products, 134 Cs and 137 Cs were also observed in a sample collected from April 2 to 4, 2011. The maximum specific radioactivities observed in this work were about 2.5 to 3.5 mBq×m -3 in a airborne aerosol sample collected on April 6. During the course of the continuous monitoring, we also made our first observation of seasonal Asian Dust and those fission products associated with the FDNPP accident concurrently from May 2 to 5, 2011. We found that the specific radioactivities of 134 Cs and 137 Cs decreased drastically only during the period of Asian Dust. And also, it was found that this trend was very similar to the atmospheric elemental concentration (ng×m -3 ) variation of stable cesium ( 133 Cs) quantified by elemental analyses using our developed ICP-DRC-MS instrument

Quantification of the lithogenic carbon pump following a simulated dust-deposition event in large mesocosms

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Bressac, M.; Guieu, C.; Doxaran, D.; Bourrin, F.; Desboeufs, K.; Leblond, N.; Ridame, C.

2014-02-01

Lithogenic particles, such as desert dust, have been postulated to influence particulate organic carbon (POC) export to the deep ocean by acting as mineral ballasts. However, an accurate understanding and quantification of the POC-dust association that occurs within the upper ocean is required in order to refine the "ballast hypothesis". In the framework of the DUNE (a DUst experiment in a low-Nutrient, low-chlorophyll Ecosystem) project, two artificial seedings were performed seven days apart within large mesocosms. A suite of optical and biogeochemical measurements were used to quantify surface POC export following simulated dust events within a low-nutrient, low-chlorophyll ecosystem. The two successive seedings led to a 2.3-6.7-fold higher POC flux than the POC flux observed in controlled mesocosms. A simple linear regression analysis revealed that the lithogenic fluxes explained more than 85% of the variance in POC fluxes. On the scale of a dust-deposition event, we estimated that 42-50% of POC fluxes were strictly associated with lithogenic particles (through aggregation and most probably sorption processes). Lithogenic ballasting also likely impacted the remaining POC fraction which resulted from the fertilization effect. The observations support the "ballast hypothesis" and provide a quantitative estimation of the surface POC export abiotically triggered by dust deposition. In this work, we demonstrate that the strength of such a "lithogenic carbon pump" depends on the biogeochemical conditions of the water column at the time of deposition. Based on these observations, we suggest that this lithogenic carbon pump could represent a major component of the biological pump in oceanic areas subjected to intense atmospheric forcing.

Change of iron species and iron solubility in Asian dust during the long-range transport from western China to Japan

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Y. Takahashi

2011-11-01

Full Text Available In the North Pacific, transport and deposition of mineral dust from Asia appear to be one of major sources of iron which can regulate growth of phytoplankton in the ocean. In this process, it is essential to identify chemical species of iron contained in Asian dust, because bioavailability of iron in the ocean is strongly influenced by the solubility of iron, which in turn is dependent on iron species in the dust. Here, we report that clay minerals (illite and chlorite in the dusts near the source collected at Aksu (western China can be transformed into ferrihydrite by atmospheric chemical processes during their long-range transport to eastern China (Qingdao and Japan (Tsukuba based on the speciation by X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS and other methods such as X-ray diffraction and chemical extraction. As a result, Fe molar ratio in Aksu (illite : chlorite : ferrihydrite = 70 : 25 : 5 was changed to that in Tsukuba (illite : chlorite : ferrihydrite = 65 : 10 : 25. Moreover, leaching experiments were conducted to study the change of iron solubility. It was found that the iron solubility for the dust in Tsukuba (soluble iron fraction: 11.8 % and 1.10 % for synthetic rain water and seawater, respectively was larger than that in Aksu (4.1 % and 0.28 %, respectively, showing that iron in the dust after the transport becomes more soluble possibly due to the formation of ferrihydrite in the atmosphere. Our findings suggested that secondary formation of ferrihydrite during the transport should be considered as one of important processes in evaluating the supply of soluble iron to seawater.

Simulated variations of eolian dust from inner Asian deserts at the mid-Pliocene, last glacial maximum, and present day: contributions from the regional tectonic uplift and global climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shi, Zhengguo; Liu, Xiaodong; An, Zhisheng [Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Loess Quaternary Geology (SKLLQG), Institute of Earth Environment, Xi' an (China); Yi, Bingqi; Yang, Ping [Texas A and M University, College Station, TX (United States); Mahowald, Natalie [Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States)

2011-12-15

Northern Tibetan Plateau uplift and global climate change are regarded as two important factors responsible for a remarkable increase in dust concentration originating from inner Asian deserts during the Pliocene-Pleistocene period. Dust cycles during the mid-Pliocene, last glacial maximum (LGM), and present day are simulated with a global climate model, based on reconstructed dust source scenarios, to evaluate the relative contributions of the two factors to the increment of dust sedimentation fluxes. In the focused downwind regions of the Chinese Loess Plateau/North Pacific, the model generally produces a light eolian dust mass accumulation rate (MAR) of 7.1/0.28 g/cm{sup 2}/kyr during the mid-Pliocene, a heavier MAR of 11.6/0.87 g/cm{sup 2}/kyr at present, and the heaviest MAR of 24.5/1.15 g/cm{sup 2}/kyr during the LGM. Our results are in good agreement with marine and terrestrial observations. These MAR increases can be attributed to both regional tectonic uplift and global climate change. Comparatively, the climatic factors, including the ice sheet and sea surface temperature changes, have modulated the regional surface wind field and controlled the intensity of sedimentation flux over the Loess Plateau. The impact of the Tibetan Plateau uplift, which increased the areas of inland deserts, is more important over the North Pacific. The dust MAR has been widely used in previous studies as an indicator of inland Asian aridity; however, based on the present results, the interpretation needs to be considered with greater caution that the MAR is actually not only controlled by the source areas but the surface wind velocity. (orig.)

Comparison of Key Absorption and Optical Properties Between Pure and Transported Anthropogenic Dust over East and Central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Bi, Jianrong; Huang, Jianping; Holben, Brent N.; Zhang, Guolong

2016-01-01

Asian dust particulate is one of the primary aerosol constituents in the Earth-atmosphere system that exerts profound influences on environmental quality, human health, the marine biogeochemical cycle, and Earth's climate. To date, the absorptive capacity of dust aerosol generated from the Asian desert region is still an open question. In this article, we compile columnar key absorption and optical properties of mineral dust over East and Central Asian areas by utilizing the multiyear quality-assured datasets observed at 13 sites of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). We identify two types of Asian dust according to threshold criteria from previously published literature. (1) The particles with high aerosol optical depth at 440 nm (AOD(440) > or = 0.4) and a low Angstrom wavelength exponent at 440-870 nm (alpha or = 0.4 and 0.2 < alpha < 0.6 are designated as Transported Anthropogenic Dust (TDU), which is mainly dominated by dust aerosol and might mix with other anthropogenic aerosol types. Our results reveal that the primary components of high AOD days are predominantly dust over East and Central Asian regions, even if their variations rely on different sources, distance from the source, emission mechanisms, and meteorological characteristics. The overall mean and standard deviation of single-scattering albedo, asymmetry factor, real part and imaginary part of complex refractive index at 550 nm for Asian PDU are 0.935 +/- 0.014, 0.742 +/- 0.008, 1.526 +/- 0.029, and 0.00226 +/- 0.00056, respectively, while corresponding values are 0.921 +/- 0.021, 0.723 +/- 0.009, 1.521 +/- 0.025, and 0.00364 +/- 0.0014 for Asian TDU. Aerosol shortwave direct radiative effects at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), at the surface (SFC), and in the atmospheric layer (ATM) for Asian PDU (alpha < 0.2) and TDU (0.2 < alpha < 0.6) computed in this study, are a factor of 2 smaller than the results of Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds (OPAC) mineral-accumulated (mineral-acc.) and

Modeling the Transport and Radiative Forcing of Taklimakan Dust over the Tibetan Plateau: A case study in the summer of 2006

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Siyu; Huang, J.; Zhao, Chun; Qian, Yun; Leung, Lai-Yung R.; Yang, Ben

2013-01-30

The Weather Research and Forecasting model with chemistry (WRF-Chem) is used to investigate an intense dust storm event during 26 to 30 July 2006 that originated over the Taklimakan Desert (TD) and transported to the northern slope of Tibetan Plateau (TP). The dust storm is initiated by the approach of a strong cold frontal system over the TD. In summer, the meridional transport of TD dust to the TP is favored by the thermal effect of the TP and the weakening of the East Asian westerly winds. During this dust storm, the transport of TD dust over the TP is further enhanced by the passage of the cold front. As a result, TD dust breaks through the planetary boundary layer and extends to the upper troposphere over the northern TP. TD dust flux arrived at the TP with a value of 6.6 Gg/day in this 5 day event but decays quickly during the southward migration over the TP due to dry deposition. The simulations show that TD dust cools the atmosphere near the surface and heats the atmosphere above with a maximum heating rate of 0.11 K day-1 at ~7 km over the TP. The event-averaged net radiative forcings of TD dust over the TP are -3.97, 1.61, and -5.58 Wm-2 at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), in the atmosphere, and at the surface, respectively. The promising performance of WRF-Chem in simulating dust and its radiative forcing provides confidence for use in further investigation of climatic impact of TD dust over the TP.

Large Contribution of Coarse Mode to Aerosol Microphysical and Optical Properties: Evidence from Ground-Based Observations of a Transpacific Dust Outbreak at a High-Elevation North American Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kassianov, E. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Pekour, M. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Flynn, C. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Berg, L. K. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Beranek, J. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Zelenyuk, A. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Zhao, C. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Leung, L. R. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Ma, P. L. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Riihimaki, L. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Fast, J. D. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Barnard, J. [University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada; Hallar, A. G. [Storm Peak Laboratory, Desert Research Institute, Steamboat Springs, Colorado; McCubbin, I. B. [Storm Peak Laboratory, Desert Research Institute, Steamboat Springs, Colorado; Eloranta, E. W. [University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin; McComiskey, A. [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, Colorado; Rasch, P. J. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

2017-05-01

Our work is motivated by previous studies of the long-range trans-Atlantic transport of Saharan dust and the observed quasi-static nature of coarse mode aerosol with a volume median diameter (VMD) of approximately 3.5 µm. We examine coarse mode contributions from the trans-Pacific transport of Asian dust to North American aerosol microphysical and optical properties using a dataset collected at the high-elevation, mountain-top Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL, 3.22 km above sea level [ASL]) and the nearby Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF, 2.76 km ASL). Data collected during the SPL Cloud Property Validation Experiment (STORMVEX, March 2011) are complemented by quasi-global high-resolution model simulations coupled with aerosol chemistry. We identify dust event associated mostly with Asian plume (about 70% of dust mass) where the coarse mode with moderate (~4 µm) VMD is distinct and contributes substantially to aerosol microphysical (up to 70% for total volume) and optical (up to 45% for total scattering and aerosol optical depth) properties. Our results, when compared with previous Saharan dust studies, suggest a fairly invariant behavior of coarse mode dust aerosols. If confirmed in additional studies, this invariant behavior may simplify considerably model parameterizations for complex and size-dependent processes associated with dust transport and removal.

Communication plan for windblown dust.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-05-01

Windblown dust events occur in Arizona, and blowing dust has been considered a contributing factor to serious crashes on the : segment of Interstate 10 (I10) between Phoenix and Tucson, as well as on other Arizona roadways. Arizonas dust events...

Impact of air pollution on deposition of mineral dust: Implications for ocean productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, S.; Horrowitz, L. W.; Levy, H.; Moxim, W. J.

2003-12-01

Atmospheric dust aerosols originating from arid regions are simulated in an atmospheric global chemical transport model. Based on model results and observations of dust oncentration, we hypothesize that Asian dust over the North Pacific is mostly hydrophilic and removed efficiently by both ice and droplet nucleation processes. By contrast, African dust over the tropical Atlantic is mostly hydrophobic and removed by ice, but not droplet, nucleation. We suggest that Asian dust is transformed into hydrophilic aerosols by chemical reactions with air pollutants over East Asia, which produce high levels of readily soluble materials on the surface of dust particles. A model of chemical aging will be presented for the hygroscopic transformation of mineral dust in the atmosphere. The model predicts that evolving air pollution in East Asia could have caused an increase of dust deposition to the coastal oceans off Asia and a decrease by as much as 50 percent in the eastern North Pacific. Insofar as iron from dust deposition fuels diatom blooms in the North Pacific Ocean, this decrease could have potential consequences on ocean biology.

Iron content and solubility in dust from high-alpine snow along a north-south transect of High Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guangjian Wu

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This study describes the dissolved and insoluble iron fraction of dust (mineral aerosol in high-alpine snow samples collected along a north-south transect across High Asia (Eastern Tien Shan, Qilian Shan, and Southern Tibetan Plateau. This dust provides the basic chemical properties of mid- and high-level tropospheric Asian dust that can supply the limiting iron nutrient for phytoplankton growth in the North Pacific. The iron content in Asian dust averages 4.95% in Eastern Tien Shan, 3.38–5.41% along Qilian Shan and 3.85% in the Southern Tibetan Plateau. The iron fractional solubility averages about 0.25% in Eastern Tien Shan, 0.05–2% along Qilian Shan and 1.5% in the Southern Tibetan Plateau. Among the controlling factors that can affect iron solubility in Asian dust, such as dust composition and particle grain size, acidity seems to be the most significant and can increase the iron solubility by one or two orders of magnitude with acidification of pH=0.66. Our results reveal that iron solubility of dust in the remote downwind sites is higher than that in high-alpine snow, confirming the strong pH-dependence of iron solubility, and indicating that Asian dust shows a large variation in iron solubility on a regional scale.

Asian sand dust enhances ovalbumin-induced eosinophil recruitment in the alveoli and airway of mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiyoshi, Kyoko; Ichinose, Takamichi; Sadakane, Kaori; Takano, Hirohisa; Nishikawa, Masataka; Mori, Ikuko; Yanagisawa, Rie; Yoshida, Seiichi; Kumagai, Yoshito; Tomura, Shigeo; Shibamoto, Takayuki

2005-01-01

Asian sand dust (ASD) containing sulfate (SO 4 2- ) reportedly causes adverse respiratory health effects but there is no experimental study showing the effect of ASD toward allergic respiratory diseases. The effects of ASD and ASD plus SO 4 2- toward allergic lung inflammation induced by ovalbumin (OVA) were investigated in this study. ICR mice were administered intratracheally with saline; ASD alone (sample from Shapotou desert); and ASD plus SO 4 2- (ASD-SO 4 ); OVA+ASD; OVA+ASD-SO 4 . ASD or ASD-SO 4 alone caused mild nutrophilic inflammation in the bronchi and alveoli. ASD and ASD-SO 4 increased pro-inflammatory mediators, such as Keratinocyte chemoattractant (KC) and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1 alpha, in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF). ASD and ASD-SO 4 enhanced eosinophil recruitment induced by OVA in the alveoli and in the submucosa of the airway, which has a goblet cell proliferation in the bronchial epithelium. However, a further increase of eosinophils by addition of SO 4 2- was not observed. The two sand dusts synergistically increased interleukin-5 (IL-5) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), which were associated with OVA, in BALF. However, the increased levels of IL-5 were lower in the OVA+ASD-SO 4 group than in the OVA+ASD group. ASD caused the adjuvant effects to specific-IgG1 production by OVA, but not to specific-IgE. These results suggest that the enhancement of eosinophil recruitment in the lung is mediated by synergistically increased IL-5 and MCP-1. IgG1 antibodies may play an important role in the enhancement of allergic reaction caused by OVA and sand dust. However, extra sulfate may not contribute to an increase of eosinophils

Iron content and solubility in dust from high-alpine snow along a north-south transect of High Asia

OpenAIRE

Wu, Guangjian; Zhang, Chenglong; Li, Zhongqin; Zhang, Xuelei; Gao, Shaopeng

2012-01-01

This study describes the dissolved and insoluble iron fraction of dust (mineral aerosol) in high-alpine snow samples collected along a north-south transect across High Asia (Eastern Tien Shan, Qilian Shan, and Southern Tibetan Plateau). This dust provides the basic chemical properties of mid- and high-level tropospheric Asian dust that can supply the limiting iron nutrient for phytoplankton growth in the North Pacific. The iron content in Asian dust averages 4.95% in Eastern Tien Shan, 3.38–5...

Correlation between Asian Dust and Specific Radioactivities of Fission Products Included in Airborne Samples in Tokushima, Shikoku Island, Japan, Due to the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sakama, M., E-mail: minorusakama@tokushima-u.ac.jp [Department of Radiological Science, Division of Biomedical Information Sciences, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima 770-8509 (Japan); Nagano, Y. [Department of Radiological Science, Division of Biomedical Information Sciences, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima 770-8509 (Japan); Kitade, T. [Department of Laboratory, M and S Instruments Inc., Osaka 532-0005 (Japan); Shikino, O. [Department of Inorganic Analysis, PerkinElmer Japan Co. Ltd., Yokohama 240-0005 (Japan); Nakayama, S. [Department of Nuclear Science, Institute of Socio-Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima 770-8502 (Japan)

2014-06-15

Radioactive fission product {sup 131}I released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (FD-NPP) was first detected on March 23, 2011 in an airborne aerosol sample collected at Tokushima, Shikoku Island, located in western Japan. Two other radioactive fission products, {sup 134}Cs and {sup 137}Cs were also observed in a sample collected from April 2 to 4, 2011. The maximum specific radioactivities observed in this work were about 2.5 to 3.5 mBq×m{sup -3} in a airborne aerosol sample collected on April 6. During the course of the continuous monitoring, we also made our first observation of seasonal Asian Dust and those fission products associated with the FDNPP accident concurrently from May 2 to 5, 2011. We found that the specific radioactivities of {sup 134}Cs and {sup 137}Cs decreased drastically only during the period of Asian Dust. And also, it was found that this trend was very similar to the atmospheric elemental concentration (ng×m{sup -3}) variation of stable cesium ({sup 133}Cs) quantified by elemental analyses using our developed ICP-DRC-MS instrument.

South Asian Ethnicity as a Risk Factor for Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events after Renal Transplantation

Science.gov (United States)

Vangala, Sai K.; Silver, Samuel A.; Wong, Steven C.W.; Huang, Michael; Rapi, Lindita; Nash, Michelle M.; Zaltzman, Jeffrey S.

2011-01-01

Summary Background and objectives South Asians (SAs) comprise 25% of all Canadian visible minorities. SAs constitute a group at high risk for cardiovascular disease in the general population, but the risk in SA kidney transplant recipients has never been studied. Design, setting, participants, & measurements In a cohort study of 864 kidney recipients transplanted from 1998 to 2007 and followed to June 2009, we identified risk factors including ethnicity associated with major cardiac events (MACEs, a composite of nonfatal myocardial infarction, coronary intervention, and cardiac death) within and beyond 3 months after transplant. Kaplan-Meier methodology and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to determine risk factors for MACEs. Results There was no difference among SAs (n = 139), whites (n = 550), blacks (n = 65), or East Asians (n = 110) in baseline risk, including pre-existing cardiac disease. Post-transplant MACE rate in SAs was 4.4/100 patient-years compared with 1.31, 1.16, and 1.61/100 patient-years in whites, blacks, and East Asians, respectively (P diabetes, systolic BP, and prior cardiac disease. SAs also experienced more MACEs within 3 months after transplant compared with whites (P < 0.0001), blacks (P = 0.04), and East Asians (P = 0.006). However, graft and patient survival was similar to other groups. Conclusions SA ethnicity is an independent risk factor for post-transplant cardiac events. Further study of this high-risk group is warranted. PMID:20884776

DASCH ON KU Cyg: A ∼ 5 YEAR DUST ACCRETION EVENT IN ∼ 1900

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Sumin; Grindlay, Jonathan; Los, Edward; Servillat, Mathieu

2011-01-01

KU Cyg is an eclipsing binary consisting of an F-type star accreting through a large accretion disk from a K5III red giant. Here we present the discovery of a 5 year dip around 1900 found from its 100 year DASCH light curve. It showed a ∼0.5 mag slow fading from 1899 to 1903 and brightened back around 1904 on a relatively shorter timescale. The light curve shape of the 1899-1904 fading-brightening event differs from the dust production and dispersion process observed in R Coronae Borealis stars, which usually has a faster fading and slower recovery, and for KU Cyg is probably related to the accretion disk surrounding the F star. The slow fading in KU Cyg is probably caused by increases in dust extinction in the disk, and the subsequent quick brightening may be due to the evaporation of dust transported inward through the disk. The extinction excess which caused the fading may arise from increased mass transfer rate in the system or from dust clump ejections from the K giant.

Simulation of dust production in ITER transient events

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pestchanyi, S. [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Germany)

2007-07-01

The tritium retention problem is a critical issue for the tokamak ITER performance. Tritium is trapped in redeposited T-C layers and at the surface of carbon dust, where it is retained in form of various hydrocarbons. The area of dust surface and hence, the amount of tritium deposited on the surface depends on the dust amount and of the dust sizes. The carbon dust appears as a result of brittle destruction at the surface of the carbon fibre composite (CFC) which is now the reference armour material for the most loaded part of tokamak divertor. Stationary heat flux on the ITER divertor armour does not cause its brittle destruction and does not produce dust. However, according to the modern understanding of tokamak fusion devices performance, the most attractive regime of ITER operation is the ELMy H mode. This regime is associated with a repetitive short time increase of heat flux at the CFC divertor armour of 2-3 orders of magnitude over its stationary value during edge localized modes (ELMs). Under influence of these severe heat shocks CFC armour can crack due to the thermostress, producing a dust of carbon. Besides, a carbon dust produced during disruptions due to brittle destruction of the armour under influence of thermoshock. Most of the modern tokamaks do not produce the ELMs powerful enough to cause CFC brittle destruction at the divertor surface, except of very special regimes in JET. This is why the CFC erosion and dust production could be investigated now only theoretically and experimentally in plasma guns and electron beam facilities. Simulation of the CFC brittle destruction has been done using the code PEGASUS already developed and tested in FZK for simulation of erosion for ITER candidate materials under the heat shocks. After upgrades the code was used for simulation of the amount of carbon dust particles and of the distribution of their sizes. The code has been tested against available experimental data from the plasma gun MK-200UG and from the

Simulation of dust production in ITER transient events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pestchanyi, S.

2007-01-01

The tritium retention problem is a critical issue for the tokamak ITER performance. Tritium is trapped in redeposited T-C layers and at the surface of carbon dust, where it is retained in form of various hydrocarbons. The area of dust surface and hence, the amount of tritium deposited on the surface depends on the dust amount and of the dust sizes. The carbon dust appears as a result of brittle destruction at the surface of the carbon fibre composite (CFC) which is now the reference armour material for the most loaded part of tokamak divertor. Stationary heat flux on the ITER divertor armour does not cause its brittle destruction and does not produce dust. However, according to the modern understanding of tokamak fusion devices performance, the most attractive regime of ITER operation is the ELMy H mode. This regime is associated with a repetitive short time increase of heat flux at the CFC divertor armour of 2-3 orders of magnitude over its stationary value during edge localized modes (ELMs). Under influence of these severe heat shocks CFC armour can crack due to the thermostress, producing a dust of carbon. Besides, a carbon dust produced during disruptions due to brittle destruction of the armour under influence of thermoshock. Most of the modern tokamaks do not produce the ELMs powerful enough to cause CFC brittle destruction at the divertor surface, except of very special regimes in JET. This is why the CFC erosion and dust production could be investigated now only theoretically and experimentally in plasma guns and electron beam facilities. Simulation of the CFC brittle destruction has been done using the code PEGASUS already developed and tested in FZK for simulation of erosion for ITER candidate materials under the heat shocks. After upgrades the code was used for simulation of the amount of carbon dust particles and of the distribution of their sizes. The code has been tested against available experimental data from the plasma gun MK-200UG and from the

Evolution of aerosol chemistry in Xi'an, inland China, during the dust storm period of 2013 - Part 1: Sources, chemical forms and formation mechanisms of nitrate and sulfate

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, G. H.; Cheng, C. L.; Huang, Y.; Tao, J.; Ren, Y. Q.; Wu, F.; Meng, J. J.; Li, J. J.; Cheng, Y. T.; Cao, J. J.; Liu, S. X.; Zhang, T.; Zhang, R.; Chen, Y. B.

2014-11-01

were secondarily produced via this pathway, with the remaining derived from the Gobi desert and Loess Plateau, while SO42- in the event almost entirely originated from the desert regions. Such cases are different from those in the East Asian continental outflow region, where during Asia dust storm events SO42- is secondarily produced and concentrates in sub-micrometer particles as (NH4)2SO4 and/or NH4HSO4. To the best of our knowledge, the current work for the first time revealed an infant state of the East Asian dust ageing process in the regions near the source, which is helpful for researchers to understand the panorama of East Asian dust ageing process from the desert area to the downwind region.

Simulation of dust production in ITER transient events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pestchanyi, S.E.; Landman, I.S.

2008-01-01

Dust production from the divertor armour during edge-localised modes (ELMs) has been investigated. Analysis of available experimental data on the dust particle production and the particles distribution on size for the MPG-8 graphite and for NB31 carbon fibre composite (CFC) under the disruption-like surface heat load allowed revealing the unknown mechanical parameters of the NB31 CFC. Using these data the code PEGASUS-3D has been fitted and verified for simulation of the dust production by ELMs. First simulation of the dust production for the ELM of 1 MJ/m 2 heat load and 0.5 ms time duration has been calculated

Simulation of dust production in ITER transient events

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pestchanyi, S.E. [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institute for Pulsed Power and Microwave Technology, P.B. 3640, D-76021 Karlsruhe (Germany)], E-mail: sergey.pestchanyi@ihm.fzk.de; Landman, I.S. [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institute for Pulsed Power and Microwave Technology, P.B. 3640, D-76021 Karlsruhe (Germany)

2008-12-15

Dust production from the divertor armour during edge-localised modes (ELMs) has been investigated. Analysis of available experimental data on the dust particle production and the particles distribution on size for the MPG-8 graphite and for NB31 carbon fibre composite (CFC) under the disruption-like surface heat load allowed revealing the unknown mechanical parameters of the NB31 CFC. Using these data the code PEGASUS-3D has been fitted and verified for simulation of the dust production by ELMs. First simulation of the dust production for the ELM of 1 MJ/m{sup 2} heat load and 0.5 ms time duration has been calculated.

Injection of mineral dust into the free troposphere during fire events observed with polarization lidar at Limassol, Cyprus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Nisantzi

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Four-year observations (2010–2014 with EARLINET polarization lidar and AERONET sun/sky photometer at Limassol (34.7° N, 33° E, Cyprus, were used to study the soil dust content in lofted fire smoke plumes advected from Turkey. This first systematic attempt to characterize less than 3-day-old smoke plumes in terms of particle linear depolarization ratio (PDR, measured with lidar, contributes to the more general effort to properly describe the life cycle of free-tropospheric smoke–dust mixtures from the emission event to phases of long-range transport (> 4 days after emission. We found significant PDR differences with values from 9 to 18% in lofted aerosol layers when Turkish fires contributed to the aerosol burden and of 3–13 % when Turkish fires were absent. High Ångström exponents of 1.4–2.2 during all these events with lofted smoke layers, occurring between 1 and 3 km height, suggest the absence of a pronounced particle coarse mode. When plotted vs. travel time (spatial distance between Limassol and last fire area, PDR decreased strongly from initial values around 16–18% (1 day travel to 4–8% after 4 days of travel caused by deposition processes. This behavior was found to be in close agreement with findings described in the literature. Computation of particle extinction coefficient and mass concentrations, derived from the lidar observations, separately for fine-mode dust, coarse-mode dust, and non-dust aerosol components show extinction-related dust fractions on the order of 10% (for PDR =4%, travel times > 4 days and 50% (PDR =15%, 1 day travel time and respective mass-related dust fractions of 25% (PDR =4% to 80% (PDR =15%. Biomass burning should therefore be considered as another source of free tropospheric soil dust.

Saharan dust particles in snow samples of Alps and Apennines during an exceptional event of transboundary air pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Telloli, Chiara; Chicca, Milvia; Pepi, Salvatore; Vaccaro, Carmela

2017-12-21

Southern European countries are often affected in summer by transboundary air pollution from Saharan dust. However, very few studies deal with Saharan dust pollution at high altitudes in winter. In Italy, the exceptional event occurred on February 19, 2014, colored in red the entire mountain range (Alps and Apennines) and allowed to characterize the particulate matter deposited on snow from a morphological and chemical point of view. Snow samples were collected after this event in four areas in the Alps and one in the Apennines. The particulate matter of the melted snow samples was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). These analyses confirmed the presence of Saharan dust particle components in all areas with similar percentages, supported also by the positive correlations between Mg-Ca, Al-Ca, Al-Mg, and Al-K in all samples.

Difference in Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Responses Induced in THP1 Cells by Particulate Matter Collected on Days with and without ASIAN Dust Storms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masanari Watanabe

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The associations between particulate matter from Asian dust storms (ADS and health disorders differ among studies, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, ADS and non-ADS particles were tested for their potential to induce pro-inflammatory cytokines associated with adverse respiratory effects. Particulate matter was collected in Japan during four periods in 2013 (2 × ADS periods; 2 × non-ADS. THP1 cells were exposed to this particulate matter, and the levels of various interleukins (ILs, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α were measured. Levels of IL-2 increased significantly following exposure to all particulate matter samples (compared to levels in a solvent control. Increased levels of IL-10 and TNF-α were also observed following exposure to particles collected during three (one ADS and two non-ADS and two (one ADS and one non-ADS collection periods, respectively. Thus, the effects of particulate matter on cytokine responses differed according to collection period, and the effects of ADS particles differed for each ADS event. Additionally, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by ADS particles were not always higher than those induced by non-ADS particles.

In a subgroup of high-risk Asians, telmisartan was non-inferior to ramipril and better tolerated in the prevention of cardiovascular events.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio L Dans

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Results of the recently published ONTARGET study (The Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial showed that telmisartan (80 mg/day was non-inferior to ramipril (10 mg/day in reducing cardiovascular events. Clinicians in Asia doubt tolerability of these doses for their patients. We therefore analyzed data from this study and a parallel study TRANSCEND (Telmisartan Randomized Assessment Study in ACE Intolerant Subjects with Cardiovascular Disease. Our objectives were to compare Asians and non-Asians with respect to the following: 1 Effectiveness of telmisartan vs. ramipril in reducing cardiovascular events;2 Proportions who reached the full dose of telmisartan, ramipril or placebo; and3 Proportions of overall discontinuations, and discontinuations due to adverse effects.The ONTARGET study randomized 25,620 patients at risk of cardiovascular events to ramipril, telmisartan, or their combination. The primary composite endpoint was death caused by cardiovascular disease, acute MI, stroke, and hospitalization because of congestive heart failure. TRANSCEND randomized 5926 high-risk patients with a history of intolerance to ACE-inhibitors to telmisartan or placebo. The primary outcome was the same. In this substudy, we compared Asians and non-Asians as to how well they tolerated telmisartan (given in both studies and ramipril (given in ONTARGET.1 Telmisartan was non-inferior to ramipril in lowering the primary endpoint among Asians (RR = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.74, 1.13; 2 more Asians achieved the full dose of either drug; 3 less withdrew (overall; and 4 less withdrew for adverse effects. Furthermore, telmisartan was better tolerated than ramipril. This advantage was greater among Asians.Although Asians had lower BMI than non-Asians, Asians tolerated both drugs better. Regulatory agencies require reporting of safety and effectiveness data by ethnicity, but few comply with this requirement. This study shows that safety data

A 12-year observation of water-soluble ions in TSP aerosols collected at a remote marine location in the western North Pacific: an outflow region of Asian dust

Science.gov (United States)

Boreddy, S. K. R.; Kawamura, K.

2015-06-01

In order to characterize the long-term trend of remote marine aerosols, a 12-year observation was conducted for water-soluble ions in TSP (total suspended particulate) aerosols collected from 2001 to 2012 in the Asian outflow region at Chichijima Island in the western North Pacific. We found a clear difference in chemical composition between the continentally affected and marine background air masses over the observation site. Asian continental air masses are delivered from late autumn to spring, whereas marine air masses were dominated in summer. Concentrations of non-sea salt (nss-) SO42-, NO3-, NH4+, nss-K+ and nss-Ca2+ are high in winter and spring and low in summer. On the other hand, MSA- (methanesulfonate) exhibits higher concentrations during spring and winter, probably due to springtime dust bloom or due to the direct continental transport of MSA- to the observation site. We could not find any clear decadal trend for Na+, Cl-, Mg2+ and nss-Ca2+ in all seasons, although there exists a clear seasonal trend. However, concentrations of nss-SO42- continuously decreased from 2007 to 2012, probably due to the decreased SO2 emissions in East Asia especially in China. In contrast, nss-K+ and MSA- concentrations continuously increased from 2001 to 2012 during winter and spring seasons, demonstrating that biomass burning and/or terrestrial biological emissions in East Asia are being increasingly transported from the Asian continent to the western North Pacific. This study also demonstrates that Asian dusts can act as an important source of nutrients for phytoplankton and thus sea-to-air emission of dimethyl sulfide over the western North Pacific.

PM10 composition during an intense Saharan dust transport event over Athens (Greece)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Remoundaki, E.; Bourliva, A.; Kokkalis, P.; Mamouri, R.E.; Papayannis, A.; Grigoratos, T.; Samara, C.; Tsezos, M.

2011-01-01

The influence of Saharan dust on the air quality of Southern European big cities became a priority during the last decade. The present study reports results on PM 10 monitored at an urban site at 14 m above ground level during an intense Saharan dust transport event. The elemental composition was determined by Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (EDXRF) for 12 elements: Si, Al, Fe, K, Ca, Mg, Ti, S, Ni, Cu, Zn and Mn. PM 10 concentrations exceeded the EU limit (50 μg/m 3 ) several times during the sampling period. Simultaneous maxima have been observed for the elements of crustal origin. The concentrations of all the elements presented a common maximum, corresponding to the date where the atmosphere was heavily charged with particulate matter permanently for an interval of about 10 h. Sulfur and heavy metal concentrations were also associated to local emissions. Mineral dust represented the largest fraction of PM 10 reaching 79%. Seven days back trajectories have shown that the air masses arriving over Athens, originated from Western Sahara. Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) revealed that particle agglomerates were abundant, most of them having sizes < 2 μm. Aluminosilicates were predominant in dust particles also rich in calcium which was distributed between calcite, dolomite, gypsum and Ca-Si particles. These results were consistent with the origin of the dust particles and the elemental composition results. Sulfur and heavy metals were associated to very fine particles < 1 μm. - Highlights: → The paper focuses on the contribution of Saharan dust in PM10 levels at an urban site. → High Ca and Fe, calcite, illite and smectites and poor quartz contents are related to source-regions. → The data sets presented are in very good agreement and are also strongly confirmed by literature. → Dust contribution in PM10 can be of comparable importance for both an urban and a remote location. �

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of ambient aerosols collected from Okinawa Island in the western North Pacific Rim, an outflow region of Asian dusts and pollutants

Science.gov (United States)

Kunwar, Bhagawati; Kawamura, Kimitaka; Zhu, Chunmao

2016-04-01

Stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios were measured for total carbon (TC) and nitrogen (TN), respectively, in aerosol (TSP) samples collected at Cape Hedo, Okinawa, an outflow region of Asian pollutants, during 2009-2010. The averaged δ13C and δ15N ratios are -22.2‰ and +12.5‰, respectively. The δ13C values are similar in both spring (-22.5‰) and winter (-22.5‰), suggesting the similar sources and/or source regions. We found that δ13C from Okinawa aerosols are ca. 2‰ higher than those reported from Chinese megacities probably due to photochemical aging of organic aerosols. A strong correlation (r = 0.81) was found between nss-Ca and TSP, suggesting that springtime aerosols are influenced from Asian dusts. However, carbonates in the Asian dusts were titrated with acidic species such as sulfuric acid and oxalic acid during atmospheric transport although two samples suggested the presence of remaining carbonate. No correlations were found between δ13C and tracer compounds (levoglucosan, elemental carbon, oxalic acid, and Na+). During winter and spring, coal burning is significant source in China. Based on isotopic mass balance, contribution of coal burning origin particles to total aerosol carbon was estimated as ca. 97% in winter, which is probably associated with the high emissions in China. Contribution of NO3- to TN was on average 45% whereas that of NH4+ was 18%. These results suggest that vehicular exhaust is an important source of TN in Okinawa aerosols. Concentration of water-soluble organic nitrogen (WSON) is higher in summer, suggesting that WSON is more emitted from the ocean in warmer season whereas inorganic nitrogen is more emitted in winter and spring from pollution sources in the Asian continent.

Extracting lunar dust parameters from image charge signals produced by the Lunar Dust Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, J.; Kempf, S.; Horanyi, M.; Szalay, J.

2015-12-01

The Lunar Dust Experiment (LDEX) onboard the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is an impact ionization dust detector used to characterize the lunar dust exosphere generated by the impacts of large interplanetary particles and meteor streams (Horanyi et al., 2015). In addition to the mass and speed of these lofted particles, LDEX is sensitive to their charge. The resulting signatures of impact events therefore provide valuable information about not only the ambient plasma environment, but also the speed vectors of these dust grains. Here, impact events produced from LDEX's calibration at the Dust Accelerator Laboratory are analyzed using an image charge model derived from the electrostatic simulation program, Coulomb. We show that parameters such as dust grain speed, size, charge, and position of entry into LDEX can be recovered and applied to data collected during LADEE's seven-month mission.

Phylogenetic analysis of atmospheric halotolerant bacterial communities at high altitude in an Asian dust (KOSA) arrival region, Suzu City

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maki, Teruya, E-mail: makiteru@t.kanazawa-u.ac.jp [College of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192 (Japan); Susuki, Shinzi; Kobayashi, Fumihisa [College of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192 (Japan); Kakikawa, Makiko [Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192 (Japan); Tobo, Yutaka [Frontier Science Organization, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192 (Japan); Yamada, Maromu [Faculty of Environmental and Symbiotic Science, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, 3-1-100 Tsukide, Kumamoto 862-8502 (Japan); Higashi, Tomomi [Hygiene, Kanazawa University School of Medicine, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-8640 (Japan); Matsuki, Atsushi; Hong, Chunsang [Frontier Science Organization, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192 (Japan); Hasegawa, Hiroshi [College of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192 (Japan); Iwasaka, Yasunobu [Frontier Science Organization, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192 (Japan)

2010-09-15

The microbial communities transported by Asian desert dust (KOSA) events have attracted much attention as bioaerosols because the transported microorganisms are thought to influence the downwind ecosystems in Korea and Japan. However, the atmospheric microbial community has not been investigated at high altitude in the KOSA arrival area. In this study, to estimate the viability and diversity of atmospheric halotolerant bacteria, which are expected to resist to various environmental stresses as well as high salinities, bioaerosol samples were collected at 10 and 600 m above the ground within the KOSA arrival area, Suzu City, Japan, during KOSA events. During the sampling period, the particle numbers at 600 m were higher than those at 10 m, suggesting that large particles of aerosol fall from the high altitude of 600 m to the ground surface. The microorganisms in bioaerosol samples grew in media containing up to 15% NaCl concentrations demonstrating the viability of the halotolerant bacteria in bioaerosol samples. The PCR-DGGE analysis using 16S rDNA revealed that the bacterial species in NaCl-amended cultures were similar to the bacteria detected from the genomic DNA directly extracted from the bioaerosol samples. The 16S rDNA sequences of bacterial communities in bioaerosol samples were classified into 4 phylotypes belonging to the Bacilluscereus or Bacillussubtilis group. The bioaerosol samples collected at 600 m included 2 phylotypes belonging to B. subtilis, and one phylotype among all 4 phylotypes was identical between the samples at 10 and 600 m. In the atmosphere at 600 m, the halotolerant bacterial community was expected to remain viable, and the species composition was expected to include a few species of the genus Bacillus. During this investigation period, these atmospheric bacteria may have been vertically transported to the ground surface, where the long-range KOSA particle transport from China is frequently observed.

Phylogenetic analysis of atmospheric halotolerant bacterial communities at high altitude in an Asian dust (KOSA) arrival region, Suzu City

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maki, Teruya; Susuki, Shinzi; Kobayashi, Fumihisa; Kakikawa, Makiko; Tobo, Yutaka; Yamada, Maromu; Higashi, Tomomi; Matsuki, Atsushi; Hong, Chunsang; Hasegawa, Hiroshi; Iwasaka, Yasunobu

2010-01-01

The microbial communities transported by Asian desert dust (KOSA) events have attracted much attention as bioaerosols because the transported microorganisms are thought to influence the downwind ecosystems in Korea and Japan. However, the atmospheric microbial community has not been investigated at high altitude in the KOSA arrival area. In this study, to estimate the viability and diversity of atmospheric halotolerant bacteria, which are expected to resist to various environmental stresses as well as high salinities, bioaerosol samples were collected at 10 and 600 m above the ground within the KOSA arrival area, Suzu City, Japan, during KOSA events. During the sampling period, the particle numbers at 600 m were higher than those at 10 m, suggesting that large particles of aerosol fall from the high altitude of 600 m to the ground surface. The microorganisms in bioaerosol samples grew in media containing up to 15% NaCl concentrations demonstrating the viability of the halotolerant bacteria in bioaerosol samples. The PCR-DGGE analysis using 16S rDNA revealed that the bacterial species in NaCl-amended cultures were similar to the bacteria detected from the genomic DNA directly extracted from the bioaerosol samples. The 16S rDNA sequences of bacterial communities in bioaerosol samples were classified into 4 phylotypes belonging to the Bacilluscereus or Bacillussubtilis group. The bioaerosol samples collected at 600 m included 2 phylotypes belonging to B. subtilis, and one phylotype among all 4 phylotypes was identical between the samples at 10 and 600 m. In the atmosphere at 600 m, the halotolerant bacterial community was expected to remain viable, and the species composition was expected to include a few species of the genus Bacillus. During this investigation period, these atmospheric bacteria may have been vertically transported to the ground surface, where the long-range KOSA particle transport from China is frequently observed.

Characteristics of mineral dust impacting the Persian Gulf

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmady-Birgani, Hesam; McQueen, Kenneth G.; Mirnejad, Hassan

2018-02-01

It is generally assumed that severe dust events in western Iran could be responsible for elevated levels of toxic and radioactive elements in the region. Over a period of 5 months, from January 2012 to May 2012, dust particles in the size range PM10 (i.e. chemical compositions of dust and aerosol samples collected during the non-dusty periods and during two severe dust events. Results of ICP-MS analysis of components indicate that during dust events the concentrations of major elements such as Ca, Mg, Al and K increase relative to ambient conditions when Fe and trace elements such as Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn are in higher proportions. Toxic trace elements that are generally ascribed to human activities, including industrial and urban pollution, are thus proportionately more abundant in the dust under calm conditions than during dust events, when their concentration is diluted by more abundant mineral particles of quartz, calcite and clay. The variability of chemical species during two dust events, noted by tracking the dust plumes in satellite images, was also assessed and the results relate to two different source areas, namely northern Iraq and northwestern Syria.

Enhancement and identification of dust events in the south-west ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

in dust source regions, which have a negative impact on human health ... Keywords. MODIS; dust storm; visible; infrared; remote sensing; brightness temperature. 1 ... clouds can often be misinterpreted as dust. In order to ... dust aerosol outbreaks over land using satellite ... models were also used to track air parcels arriving.

Characterization of Dust Properties Near Source Region During ACE-Asia: A Column Satellite-Surface Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Tsay, S. -C.; Ji, Q.; Chu, A.; Hsu, C.; Holben, B.; Campbell, J.; Welton, E. J.; Shu, P. K.

2002-01-01

Many recent field experiments are designed to study the compelling variability in spatial and temporal scale of both pollution-derived and naturally occurring aerosols, which often exist in high concentrations over eastern/southeastern Asia and along the rim of the western Pacific. For example, the ACE-Asia was conducted from March-May 2001 in the vicinity of the Taklimakan and Gobi deserts, East Coast of China, Yellow Sea, Korea, and Japan, along the pathway of Kosa (severe events that blanket East Asia with yellow desert dust, peaked in the Spring season). Asian dust typically originates in desert areas far from polluted urban regions. During transport, dust layers can interact with anthropogenic sulfate and soot aerosols from heavily polluted urban areas. Added to the complex effects of clouds and natural marine aerosols, dust particles reaching the marine environment can have drastically different properties than those from the source. Thus, understanding the unique temporal and spatial variations of Asian aerosols is of special importance in regional-to-global climate issues such as radiative forcing, the hydrological cycle, and primary biological productivity in the mid-Pacific Ocean. During ACE-Asia we have measured continuously aerosol physical/optical/radiative properties, column precipitable water amount, and surface reflectivity over homogeneous areas from surface. The inclusion of flux measurements permits the determination of aerosol radiative flux in addition to measurements of loading and optical depth. At the time of the Terra/MODIS, SeaWiFS, TOMS and other satellite overpasses, these ground-based observations can provide valuable data to compare with satellite retrievals over land. Preliminary results will be presented and discussed their implications in regional climatic effects.

Abrupt climatic events recorded by the Ili loess during the last glaciation in Central Asia: Evidence from grain-size and minerals

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Yougui; Zeng, Mengxiu; Chen, Xiuling; Li, Yue; Chang, Hong; An, Zhisheng; Guo, Xiaohua

2018-04-01

The loess record of Central Asia provides an important archive of regional climate and environmental changes. In contrast to the widely investigated loess deposits in the Chinese Loess Plateau, Central Asian loess-paleosol sequences remain poorly understood. Here, we present an aeolian loess section in the southern Ili Basin. Based on granularity and mineralogical analyses, we reconstruct climatic changes during the last glaciation. The results indicated that most of the abrupt climatic events (such as Dansgaard-Oeschger events and Heinrich events) were imprinted in this loess section, although their amplitudes and ages showed some differences. Compared with the millennial oscillations recoded in loess and stalagmites in East Asia, the arid Central Asia responded more sensitively to the warming events than to the cooling events. The shifting trajectory of westerlies across Central Asia played an important role in dust deposition during the stadials. The North Atlantic climatic signals may have been transmitted from Central Asia to the East Asian monsoon regions via the westerlies.

The effect of mineral dust transport on PM10 concentrations and physical properties in Istanbul during 2007-2014

Science.gov (United States)

Flores, Rosa M.; Kaya, Nefel; Eşer, Övgü; Saltan, Şehnaz

2017-11-01

Mineral dust is the most significant source of natural particulate matter. In urban regions, where > 50% of the world population is currently living, local emissions of particulate matter are further aggravated by mineral dust loadings from deserts. The megacity of Istanbul is located in an area sensitive to local pollution due to transportation (i.e., private cars, public transportation, aircrafts, ships, heavy diesel trucks, etc.), industrial emissions, residential heating, and long-range transport from Europe, Asia, and deserts. In this work, the effect of desert dust transport on PM10 concentrations and physical properties was investigated for the period of 2007-2014 in the touristic area of Aksaray, Istanbul. The Dust Regional Atmospheric Model (DREAM8b) was used to predict dust loading in Istanbul during dust transport events. Variations on surface PM10 concentrations were investigated according to seasons and during dust transport events. Cluster analysis of air mass backward trajectories was useful to understand frequency analysis and air mass trajectory dependence of PM10 concentrations on dust loadings. The effect of desert dust transport on aerosol optical depths was also investigated. It was observed that PM10 concentrations exceeded the air quality standard of 50 μg m- 3 50% of the time during the study period. The largest number of exceedances in air quality standard occurred during the spring and winter seasons. Approximately 40-60% of the dust loading occurs during the spring. Desert dust and non-desert dust sources contribute to 22-72% and 48-81% of the ground-level PM10 concentrations in Aksaray, Istanbul during the study period. Averaged AOD observed during dust transport events in spring and summer ranged 0.35-0.55. Cluster analysis resolved over 82% the variability of individual air mass backward trajectories into 5 clusters. Overall, air masses arriving to Istanbul at 500 m are equally distributed into northern (52%) and southern (48

PM{sub 10} composition during an intense Saharan dust transport event over Athens (Greece)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Remoundaki, E., E-mail: remound@metal.ntua.gr [National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Laboratory of Environmental Science and Engineering, Heroon Polytechniou 9, 15780 Zografou (Greece); Bourliva, A. [Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Department of Geology, 54124 Thessaloniki (Greece); Hellenic Open University, School of Science and Technology, 26335 Patras (Greece); Kokkalis, P.; Mamouri, R.E.; Papayannis, A. [National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Laser Remote Sensing Laboratory, Heroon Polytechniou 9, 15780 Zografou (Greece); Grigoratos, T.; Samara, C. [Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Department of Chemistry, Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, 54124 Thessaloniki (Greece); Tsezos, M. [National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Laboratory of Environmental Science and Engineering, Heroon Polytechniou 9, 15780 Zografou (Greece)

2011-09-15

The influence of Saharan dust on the air quality of Southern European big cities became a priority during the last decade. The present study reports results on PM{sub 10} monitored at an urban site at 14 m above ground level during an intense Saharan dust transport event. The elemental composition was determined by Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (EDXRF) for 12 elements: Si, Al, Fe, K, Ca, Mg, Ti, S, Ni, Cu, Zn and Mn. PM{sub 10} concentrations exceeded the EU limit (50 {mu}g/m{sup 3}) several times during the sampling period. Simultaneous maxima have been observed for the elements of crustal origin. The concentrations of all the elements presented a common maximum, corresponding to the date where the atmosphere was heavily charged with particulate matter permanently for an interval of about 10 h. Sulfur and heavy metal concentrations were also associated to local emissions. Mineral dust represented the largest fraction of PM{sub 10} reaching 79%. Seven days back trajectories have shown that the air masses arriving over Athens, originated from Western Sahara. Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) revealed that particle agglomerates were abundant, most of them having sizes < 2 {mu}m. Aluminosilicates were predominant in dust particles also rich in calcium which was distributed between calcite, dolomite, gypsum and Ca-Si particles. These results were consistent with the origin of the dust particles and the elemental composition results. Sulfur and heavy metals were associated to very fine particles < 1 {mu}m. - Highlights: {yields} The paper focuses on the contribution of Saharan dust in PM10 levels at an urban site. {yields} High Ca and Fe, calcite, illite and smectites and poor quartz contents are related to source-regions. {yields} The data sets presented are in very good agreement and are also strongly confirmed by literature. {yields} Dust contribution in PM10 can be of comparable importance for

Long-term variability of dust events in Iceland (1949-2011)

OpenAIRE

Dagsson-Waldhauserova, Pavla; Arnalds, Olafur; Ólafsson, Haraldur

2014-01-01

The long-term frequency of atmospheric dust observations was investigated for the southern part of Iceland and interpreted together with earlier results obtained from northeastern (NE) Iceland (Dagsson-Waldhauserova et al., 2013). In total, over 34 dust days per year on average occurred in Iceland based on conventionally used synoptic codes for dust observations. However, frequent volcanic eruptions, with the re-suspension of volcanic materials and dust haze, increased the n...

Composite study of aerosol export events from East Asia and North America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Luan

2013-02-01

Full Text Available We use satellite observations of aerosol optical depth (AOD from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS together with the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model to contrast export of aerosols from East Asia and North America during 2004–2010. The GEOS-Chem model reproduces the spatial distribution and temporal variations of Asian aerosol outflow generally well, although a low bias (−30% is found in the model fine mode AOD, particularly during summer. We use the model to identify 244 aerosol pollution export events from E. Asia and 251 export events from N. America over our 7-year study period. When these events are composited by season, we find that the AOD in the outflow is enhanced by 50–100% relative to seasonal mean values. The composite Asian plume splits into one branch going poleward to the Arctic in 3–4 days, with the other crossing the Pacific Ocean in 6–8 days. A fraction of the aerosols is trapped in the subtropical Pacific High during spring and summer. The N. American plume travels to the northeast Atlantic, reaching Europe after 4–5 days. Part of the composite plume turns anticyclonically in the Azores High, where it slowly decays. Both the Asian and N. American export events are favored by a dipole structure in sea-level pressure anomalies, associated with mid-latitude cyclone activity over the respective source regions. This dipole structure during outflow events is a strong feature for all seasons except summer, when convection becomes more important. The observed AOD in the E. Asian outflow exhibits stronger seasonality, with a spring maximum, than the N. American outflow, with a broad spring/summer maximum. The large spring AOD in the Asian outflow is the result of enhanced sulfate and dust aerosol concentrations, but is also due to a larger export efficiency of sulfate and SO₂ from the Asian boundary layer relative to the N. American boundary layer. While the N. American sulfate outflow

On the dust load and rainfall relationship in South Asia: an analysis from CMIP5

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Charu; Ganguly, Dilip; Dash, S. K.

2018-01-01

This study is aimed at examining the consistency of the relationship between load of dust and rainfall simulated by different climate models and its implication for the Indian summer monsoon system. Monthly mean outputs of 12 climate models, obtained from the archive of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) for the period 1951-2004, are analyzed to investigate the relationship between dust and rainfall. Comparative analysis of the model simulated precipitation with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) gridded rainfall, CRU TS3.21 and GPCP version 2.2 data sets show significant differences between the spatial patterns of JJAS rainfall as well as annual cycle of rainfall simulated by various models and observations. Similarly, significant inter-model differences are also noted in the simulation of load of dust, nevertheless it is further noted that most of the CMIP5 models are able to capture the major dust sources across the study region. Although the scatter plot analysis and the lead-lag pattern correlation between the dust load and the rainfall show strong relationship between the dust load over distant sources and the rainfall in the South Asian region in individual models, the temporal scale of this association indicates large differences amongst the models. Our results caution that it would be pre-mature to draw any robust conclusions on the time scale of the relationship between dust and the rainfall in the South Asian region based on either CMIP5 results or limited number of previous studies. Hence, we would like to emphasize upon the fact that any conclusions drawn on the relationship between the dust load and the South Asian rainfall using model simulation is highly dependent on the degree of complexity incorporated in those models such as the representation of aerosol life cycle, their interaction with clouds, precipitation and other components of the climate system.

Isotopic evidences for provenances of east asian dust

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Jiedong; Chen Jun; Li Gaojun; Ji Junfeng; Rao Wenbo

2007-01-01

Based on systematical investigations on Nd-Sr isotopes of both the <75μm and <5μm silicate fractions of loess, sand, river and lacustrine sediment samples for ten major deserts, gobi, the Loess Plateau, and the northeast part of the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau, the following results are obtained. (1) Three isotopic regions of Chinese deserts are identified. Region A (Aland A2), which is the deserts on the northern boundary of China with the highest ε Nd (0)>-7.0. Region B, which is the deserts on the northern margin of Tibetan Plateau with ε Nd (0) ranges form -11.9 to -7.4. Region C, which is the deserts on the Ordos Plateau with the lowest ε nd (0)<-11.5. The distribution of the three isotopic regions is controlled by the tectonic setting in North China. (2) The reliable isotope ranges of the Loess Plateau are 87 Sr/ 86 Sr from 0.71784 to 0.71944, ε Nd (0) from -9.2 to -11.3, which fall in Region B of the Qaiham Desert, Badain Jaran Desert and Tengger Desert. This indicates that the possibility of the Gurbantunggut Desert, Hunlun Buir sandy land, Onqin Daga sandy land, Horqin sandy land, the Hobq Desert and Mu Us Desert, as provenances for the loess are excluded. The isotopic range of the northeast part of the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau coincides with those of the Badain Jaran Desert and Tengger Desert, and loess in the Loess Plateau, suggesting that the predominant source area of the Loess Plateau is most likely to be the northeast part of the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau, and the Qaidam Desert, Badain Jaran Desert and Tengger Desert are middle transport stations of loess materials. (3) The comparison with isotopic data of dust extracted from snow deposits at Greenland and sediments of North Pacific confirms the Badain Jaran Desert, Tengger Desert and the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau to be main source. (4) The analyzed results for dust samples in Beijing region demonstrate that aeolian dust in normal time in 2006 is mostly derived from mixing of Region B and bed rock soil

Aerosol optical, microphysical and radiative forcing properties during variable intensity African dust events in the Iberian Peninsula

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández, A. J.; Molero, F.; Salvador, P.; Revuelta, A.; Becerril-Valle, M.; Gómez-Moreno, F. J.; Artíñano, B.; Pujadas, M.

2017-11-01

Aerosol measurements at two AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) sites of the Iberian Peninsula: Madrid (40°.45N, 3.72W) and La Coruña (43°.36N, 8°.42W) have been analyzed for the period 2012-2015 to assess aerosol optical properties (intensive and extensive) throughout the atmospheric column and their radiative forcing (RF) and radiative forcing efficiency (RFeff) estimates at the Bottom and Top Of Atmosphere (BOA and TOA respectively). Specific conditions as dust-free and African dust have been considered for the study. Unprecedented, this work uses the quantification of the African dust aerosol at ground level which allows us to study such AERONET products at different intensity levels of African events: Low (L), High (H) and very high (VH). The statistical difference between dust-free and African dust conditions on the aforementioned parameters, quantified by means of the non-parametric Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, is quite clear in Madrid, however it is not in La Coruña. Scattering Angstrom Exponent (SAE) and Absorption Angstrom Exponent (AAE) were found to be 1.64 ± 0.29 and 1.14 ± 0.23 respectively in Madrid for dust-free conditions because typical aerosol sources are traffic emissions and residential heating, and black carbon is an important compound in this aerosol kind. On the other hand, SAE and AAE were 0.96 ± 0.60 and 1.44 ± 0.51 for African dust conditions in this location. RF (at shortwave radiation) seems to decrease as the African dust contribution at ground level is larger which indicates the cooling effect of African dust aerosol in Madrid. We have also proved the potential of a 2D-cluster analysis based on AAE and SAE to differentiate both situations in Madrid. Conversely, it is suggested that aerosols observed in La Coruña under dust-free conditions might come from different sources. Then, SAE and AAE are not good enough indicators to distinguish between dust-free and African dust conditions. Besides, as La Coruña is at a further distance

Solar-Panel Dust Accumulation and Cleanings

Science.gov (United States)

2005-01-01

Air-fall dust accumulates on the solar panels of NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the solar arrays. Pre-launch models predicted steady dust accumulation. However, the rovers have been blessed with occasional wind events that clear significant amounts of dust from the solar panels. This graph shows the effects of those panel-cleaning events on the amount of electricity generated by Spirit's solar panels. The horizontal scale is the number of Martian days (sols) after Spirit's Jan. 4, 2005, (Universal Time) landing on Mars. The vertical scale indicates output from the rover's solar panels as a fraction of the amount produced when the clean panels first opened. Note that the gradual declines are interrupted by occasional sharp increases, such as a dust-cleaning event on sol 420.

Long-term dust aerosol production from natural sources in Iceland.

Science.gov (United States)

Dagsson-Waldhauserova, Pavla; Arnalds, Olafur; Olafsson, Haraldur

2017-02-01

Iceland is a volcanic island in the North Atlantic Ocean with maritime climate. In spite of moist climate, large areas are with limited vegetation cover where >40% of Iceland is classified with considerable to very severe erosion and 21% of Iceland is volcanic sandy deserts. Not only do natural emissions from these sources influenced by strong winds affect regional air quality in Iceland ("Reykjavik haze"), but dust particles are transported over the Atlantic ocean and Arctic Ocean >1000 km at times. The aim of this paper is to place Icelandic dust production area into international perspective, present long-term frequency of dust storm events in northeast Iceland, and estimate dust aerosol concentrations during reported dust events. Meteorological observations with dust presence codes and related visibility were used to identify the frequency and the long-term changes in dust production in northeast Iceland. There were annually 16.4 days on average with reported dust observations on weather stations within the northeastern erosion area, indicating extreme dust plume activity and erosion within the northeastern deserts, even though the area is covered with snow during the major part of winter. During the 2000s the highest occurrence of dust events in six decades was reported. We have measured saltation and Aeolian transport during dust/volcanic ash storms in Iceland, which give some of the most intense wind erosion events ever measured. Icelandic dust affects the ecosystems over much of Iceland and causes regional haze. It is likely to affect the ecosystems of the oceans around Iceland, and it brings dust that lowers the albedo of the Icelandic glaciers, increasing melt-off due to global warming. The study indicates that Icelandic dust may contribute to the Arctic air pollution. Long-term records of meteorological dust observations from Northeast Iceland indicate the frequency of dust events from Icelandic deserts. The research involves a 60-year period and

Preliminary studies on applications of micro-PIXE to atmospheric aerosols

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasahara, M.; Ma, C.-J.; Kamiya, T.; Sakai, T.

2001-01-01

To characterize the physical and chemical properties of the individual aerosol particles during Asian dust storm in Japan, micro-PIXE technique was applied in this study. Aerosol particles were sampled in Kyoto, Japan from the middle of March to the end of April 1999. Mass concentration in Asian dust storm events was roughly 3-5 times higher than that of the highest concentration measured in non-Asian dust storm seasons. Single particles were generally sharp-edged and irregular in shape and contained mostly crustal elements such as Si, Fe and Ca. Although in soils of the desert and loess areas in northwest of China S and Cl were not detected, significant concentrations of S and Cl were detected in coarse fraction during Asian dust storm event. Nearly all single particles in the coarse fraction existed as a mixed state of soil components and S

Long-term variability of dust-storms in Iceland

Science.gov (United States)

Dagsson-Waldhauserová, Pavla; Ólafsson, Haraldur; Arnalds, Ólafur

2013-04-01

Iceland is a volcanic island in the North Atlantic Ocean with maritime climate. In spite of moist climate, large areas are with limited vegetation cover where >40% of Iceland is classified with considerable to very severe erosion and 21% of Iceland are volcanic sandy deserts. Natural emissions from these sources influenced by strong winds affect not only regional air quality in Iceland ("Reykjavik haze") but dust particles are transported over the Atlantic ocean and Arctic Ocean > 1000 km at times. The study places Icelandic dust production area into international perspective, present long term frequency of dust storm events in NE Iceland, and estimate dust aerosol concentrations during reported dust events. Meteorological observations with dust presence codes and related visibility were used to identify the frequency and the long-term changes in dust production in NE Iceland. There were annually 16.4 days on average with reported dust observations on weather stations within the NE erosion area, indicating extreme dust plume activity and erosion within the NE deserts, even though the area is covered with snow during the major part of winter. During the 2000s the highest occurrence of dust events in six decades was reported. We have measured saltation and aeolian transport during dust/volcanic ash storms in Iceland which give some of the most intense wind erosion events ever measured. Icelandic dust affects the ecosystems over much of Iceland and causes regional haze. It is likely to affect the ecosystems of the oceans around Iceland, and it brings dust that lowers the albedo of the Icelandic glaciers, increasing melt-off due to global warming. The study indicates that Icelandic dust is not only a substantial source for regional air pollution, but may be considered to contribute to the Arctic haze phenomena and Arctic air pollution.

Dust and Biological Aerosols from the Sahara and Asia Influence Precipitation in the Western US

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Creamean, Jessie; Suski, Kaitlyn; Rosenfeld, Daniel; Cazorla, Alberto; DeMott, Paul J.; Sullivan, Ryan C.; White, Allen B.; Ralph, F. M.; Minnis, Patrick; Comstock, Jennifer M.; Tomlinson, Jason M.; Prather, Kimberly

2013-03-29

Winter storms in California’s Sierra Nevada increase seasonal snowpack and provide critical water resources for the state. Thus, the mechanisms influencing precipitation in this region have been the subject of research for decades. Previous studies suggest Asian dust enhances cloud ice and precipitation (1), while few studies consider biological aerosols as an important global source of ice nuclei (IN). Here, we show that dust and biological aerosols transported from as far as the Sahara were present in glaciated high-altitude clouds coincident with elevated IN concentrations and ice-induced precipitation. This study presents the first direct cloud and precipitation measurements showing that Saharan and Asian dust and biological aerosols likely serve as IN and play an important role in orographic precipitation processes over the western United States.

Assessment of state-of-the-art dust emission scheme in GEOS

Science.gov (United States)

Darmenov, A.; Liu, X.; Prigent, C.

2017-12-01

The GEOS modeling system has been extended with state-of-the-art parameterization of dust emissions based on the vertical flux formulation described in Kok et al., 2014. The new dust scheme was coupled with the GOCART and MAM aerosol models. In the present study we compared dust emissions, aerosol optical depth (AOD) and radiative fluxes from GEOS experiments with the standard and new dust emissions. AOD from the model experiments were also compared with AERONET and satellite based AOD product. Based on this comparative analysis we concluded that the new parameterization improved the GEOS capability to model dust aerosols originating from African sources, however it led to overestimation of dust emissions from Asian and Middle-Eastern sources. Further regional tuning of key parameters controlling the threshold friction velocity may be required in order to attain more definitive and uniform improvement in the dust modeling skill with the newly implemented dust emissions scheme.

Climatology of atmospheric circulation patterns of Arabian dust in western Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Najafi, Mohammad Saeed; Sarraf, B S; Zarrin, A; Rasouli, A A

2017-08-28

Being in vicinity of vast deserts, the west and southwest of Iran are characterized by high levels of dust events, which have adverse consequences on human health, ecosystems, and environment. Using ground based dataset of dust events in western Iran and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data, the atmospheric circulation patterns of dust events in the Arabian region and west of Iran are identified. The atmospheric circulation patterns which lead to dust events in the Arabian region and western Iran were classified into two main categories: the Shamal dust events that occurs in warm period of year and the frontal dust events as cold period pattern. In frontal dust events, the western trough or blocking pattern at mid-level leads to frontogenesis, instability, and air uplift at lower levels of troposphere in the southwest of Asia. Non-frontal is other pattern of dust event in the cold period and dust generation are due to the regional circulation systems at the lower level of troposphere. In Shamal wind pattern, the Saudi Arabian anticyclone, Turkmenistan anticyclone, and Zagros thermal low play the key roles in formation of this pattern. Summer and transitional patterns are two sub-categories of summer Shamal wind pattern. In summer trough pattern, the mid-tropospheric trough leads to intensify the surface thermal systems in the Middle East and causes instability and rising of wind speed in the region. In synthetic pattern of Shamal wind and summer trough, dust is created by the impact of a trough in mid-levels of troposphere as well as existing the mentioned regional systems which are contributed in formation of summer Shamal wind pattern.

History of Asian American psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Leong, Frederick T L; Okazaki, Sumie

2009-10-01

An overview of the history of Asian American psychology is provided by reviewing the context for the development of the field as well as the early founding of the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA). The presidents of AAPA as well as key events and conferences are noted. The involvement of AAPA leaders in national mental health policies and activities are reviewed. The substantive areas of Asian American psychology and the education and training of Asian American psychologists are also discussed. The article ends with some comments about the future of Asian American psychology. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Cavity Ring-Down Measurement of Aerosol Optical Properties During the Asian Dust Above Monterey Experiment and DOE Aerosol Intensive Operating Period

Science.gov (United States)

Ricci, K.; Strawa, A. W.; Provencal, R.; Castaneda, R.; Bucholtz, A.; Schmid, B.

2004-01-01

Large uncertainties in the effects of aerosols on climate require improved in-situ measurements of extinction coefficient and single-scattering albedo. This paper describes preliminary results from Cadenza, a new continuous wave cavity ring-down (CW-CRD) instrument designed to address these uncertainties. Cadenza measures the aerosol extinction coefficient for 675 nm and 1550 nm light, and simultaneously measures the scattering coefficient at 675 nm. In the past year Cadenza was deployed in the Asian Dust Above Monterey (ADAM) and DOE Aerosol Intensive Operating Period (IOP) field projects. During these flights Cadenza produced measurements of aerosol extinction in the range from 0.2 to 300/Mm with an estimated precision of 0.1/Mm for 1550 nm light and 0.2/Mm for 675 nm light. Cadenza data from the ADAM and Aerosol IOP missions compared favorably with data from the other instruments aboard the CIRPAS Twin Otter aircraft and participating in those projects. We present comparisons between the Cadenza measurements and those from a TSI nephelometer, Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP), and the AATS 14 sun-photometer. Measurements of the optical properties of smoke and dust plumes sampled during these campaigns are presented and estimates of heating rates due to these plumes are made.

[Geochemical characteristics and sources of atmospheric particulates in Shanghai during dust storm event].

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Peng; Zheng, Xiang-min; Zhou, Li-min

2013-05-01

Atmospheric particulates were sampled from three sampling sites of Putuo, Minhang and Qingpu Districts in Shanghai between Oct. , 2009 and Oct. , 2010. In addition, particulate samples were also collected from Nantong, Zhengzhou, Xi'an, and Beijing city where dust storm dust transported along during spring. Element compositions of atmospheric particulates were determined by XRF and ICP-MS. The concentrations of major and trace elements in atmospheric particulates from Putuo, Minhang and Qingpu Districts were similar, indicating their common source. The UCC standardization distribution map showed that the major element composition of dust storm samples was similar to that of loess in northwestern China, indicating that the dust storm dust was mainly derived from Western desert and partly from local area. The REE partition patterns of dust storm dusts among different cities along dust transport route were similar to each other, as well as to those of northern loess, which indicates that the dust storm samples may have the same material source as loess, which mainly comes from crust material. However, the REE partition patterns of non-dust storm particulates were different among the studied cities, and different from those of loess, which suggests that the non-dust storm samples may be mixed with non-crust source material, which is different from dust storm dust and loess. The major element composition and REE partition pattern are effective indicators for source tracing of dust storm dust.

Asian sand dust enhances murine lung inflammation caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Miao; Ichinose, Takamichi; Yoshida, Seiichi; Yamamoto, Shoji; Inoue, Ken-ichiro; Takano, Hirohisa; Yanagisawa, Rie; Nishikawa, Masataka; Mori, Ikuko; Sun, Guifan; Shibamoto, Takayuki

2012-01-01

Inhaling concomitants from Asian sand dust (ASD) may result in exacerbation of pneumonia by the pathogen. The exacerbating effect of ASD on pneumonia induced by Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) was investigated in ICR mice. The organic substances adsorbed onto ASD collected from the atmosphere of Iki-island in Japan were excluded by heat treatment at 360 °C for 30 min. ICR mice were instilled intratracheally with ASD at doses of 0.05 mg or 0.2 mg/mouse four times at 2-week intervals (total dose of 0.2 mg or 0.8 mg/mouse) and were administrated with ASD in the presence or absence of KP at the last intratracheal instillation. Pathologically, ASD caused exacerbation of pneumonia by KP as shown by increased inflammatory cells within the bronchiolar and the alveolar compartments. ASD enhanced the neutrophil number dose dependently as well as the expression of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, IFN-γ, TNF-α) and chemokines (KC, MCP-1, MIP-1α) related to KP in BALF. In an in vitro study using RAW264.7 cells, combined treatment of ASD and KP increased gene expression of IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-β, KC, MCP-1, and MIP-1α. The same treatment tended to increase the protein level of IL-1β, TNF-α and MCP-1 in a culture medium compared to each treatment alone. The combined treatment tended to increase the gene expression of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), and NALP3, ASC and caspase-1 compared with KP alone. These results suggest that the exacerbation of pneumonia by ASD + KP was due to the enhanced production of pro-inflammatory mediators via activation of TLR2 and NALP3 inflammasome pathways in alveolar macrophages.

Asian sand dust enhances murine lung inflammation caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Miao [Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Public Health, China Medical University, 11001, Shenyang (China); Ichinose, Takamichi; Yoshida, Seiichi [Department of Health Sciences, Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences, 870-1201, Oita (Japan); Yamamoto, Shoji; Inoue, Ken-ichiro; Takano, Hirohisa; Yanagisawa, Rie [Pathophysiology Research Team, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 305-8506, Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan); Nishikawa, Masataka; Mori, Ikuko [Environmental Chemistry Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 305-8506, Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan); Sun, Guifan [Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Public Health, China Medical University, 11001, Shenyang (China); Shibamoto, Takayuki, E-mail: tshibamoto@ucdavis.edu [Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 (United States)

2012-01-15

Inhaling concomitants from Asian sand dust (ASD) may result in exacerbation of pneumonia by the pathogen. The exacerbating effect of ASD on pneumonia induced by Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) was investigated in ICR mice. The organic substances adsorbed onto ASD collected from the atmosphere of Iki-island in Japan were excluded by heat treatment at 360 °C for 30 min. ICR mice were instilled intratracheally with ASD at doses of 0.05 mg or 0.2 mg/mouse four times at 2-week intervals (total dose of 0.2 mg or 0.8 mg/mouse) and were administrated with ASD in the presence or absence of KP at the last intratracheal instillation. Pathologically, ASD caused exacerbation of pneumonia by KP as shown by increased inflammatory cells within the bronchiolar and the alveolar compartments. ASD enhanced the neutrophil number dose dependently as well as the expression of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, IFN-γ, TNF-α) and chemokines (KC, MCP-1, MIP-1α) related to KP in BALF. In an in vitro study using RAW264.7 cells, combined treatment of ASD and KP increased gene expression of IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-β, KC, MCP-1, and MIP-1α. The same treatment tended to increase the protein level of IL-1β, TNF-α and MCP-1 in a culture medium compared to each treatment alone. The combined treatment tended to increase the gene expression of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), and NALP3, ASC and caspase-1 compared with KP alone. These results suggest that the exacerbation of pneumonia by ASD + KP was due to the enhanced production of pro-inflammatory mediators via activation of TLR2 and NALP3 inflammasome pathways in alveolar macrophages.

Exploration of the psychological impact and adaptation to cardiac events in South Asians in the UK: a qualitative study

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharyya, Mimi; Stevenson, Fiona; Walters, Kate

2016-01-01

Objective There is little research on how different ethnic groups adapt after an acute cardiac event. This qualitative study explores between-ethnicity and within-ethnicity variation in adaptation, and the psychological impact of an acute cardiac event among UK South Asian and white British people. Setting We purposively sampled people by ethnic group from general practices in London who had a new myocardial infarction, angina or acute arrhythmia in the preceding 18 months. Participants We conducted 28 semistructured interviews for exploring the psychological symptoms, experiences and adaptations following a cardiac event among South Asians (Indian and Bangladeshi) in comparison to white British people. Data were analysed using a thematic ‘framework’ approach. Results Findings showed heterogeneity in experiences of the cardiac event and its subsequent psychological and physical impact. Adaptation to the event related predominantly to life circumstances, personal attitudes and employment status. Anxiety and low mood symptoms were common sequelae, especially in the Bangladeshi group. Indian men tended to normalise symptoms and the cardiac event, and reported less negative mood symptoms than other groups. Fear of physical exertion, particularly heavy lifting, persisted across the groups. Some people across all ethnic groups indicated the need for more psychological therapy postcardiac event. Socioeconomic circumstances, age and prior work status appeared to be more important in relation to adaptation after a cardiac event than ethnic status. Conclusions Heterogeneity in views and experiences related to the socioeconomic background, age and work status of the participants along with some cultural influences. Rehabilitation programmes should be flexibly tailored for individuals in particular and where relevant, specific support should be provided for returning to work. PMID:27401355

Dust plume formation in the free troposphere and aerosol size distribution during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment in North Africa

KAUST Repository

Khan, Basit Ali; Stenchikov, Georgiy L.; Weinzierl, Bernadett; Kalenderski, Stoitchko; Osipov, Sergey

2015-01-01

, this study combines model simulations and dust observations collected during the first stage of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM-I), which sampled dust events that extended from Morocco to Portugal, and investigated the spatial distribution

Asian Dust Observed During the KORUS Air Quality Mission Creates Significant Super-Micron NO3-, NH4+, and SO42- Aerosols.

Science.gov (United States)

Heim, E. W.; Dibb, J. E.; Scheuer, E. M.

2017-12-01

The KORUS mission was a collaborative effort between the Korean Institute of Environmental Research and NASA. KORUS provided a comprehensive assessment of air quality in Korea during early 2016. The intensive sampling campaign was timed to assess local photochemistry during increasing solar insolation and biogenic emissions; after the April peak in outflow of pollution and dust from central China. Chinese outflow is well characterized by Silica-Calcium rich dust. Despite the effort to avoid the period with strongest dust outflow, Ca2+ was well represented in all bulk (particle diameters up to 4.5 micron) aerosol filter samples filter measurements and submicron measurements of NH4+, SO42, and NO3- made by AMS indicates substantial super-micron fractions of these anthropogenic ions at times during KORUS-AQ. During the dustiest samples (Ca2+ > 1.5ug/m3) we see marked increases in super-micron concentration of NH4+, SO42-, and NO3-, m = 1.113 ug/m3 , 2.621 ug/m3 , 4.413 ug/m3, with the super-micron contribution to total concentration averaging 47%, 45%, and 81% respectively. In contrast, low dust days (Ca2+ < 0.2ug/m3) the super-micron concentrations averaged 0.262 ug/m3, 0.510 ug/m3, -0.029 ug/m3, respectively and accounted for just 20%, 14%, and 8% of total mass. During the dust events, samples that have trajectories passing over industrial centers in eastern China approached equivalence balance between Ca2++ NH4+ and SO42-+NO3-. In contrast dusty samples that did not pass over these industrial centers during transport to the West Sea and Korea maintained excess cations, dominantly Ca2+. This suggests that dust can act as an important carrier of Chinese pollution to Korea when this saturated dust reaches the peninsula.

Life events and difficulties and their association with antenatal distress in White and South Asian women in the UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Traviss, Gemma D; Meer, Shaista; West, Robert M; House, Allan O

2013-05-01

Symptoms of distress during pregnancy are common and often go unnoticed. There is a well-established relation between life events and depression. The current study aims to explore the association between life events and difficulties, and symptoms of emotional and somatic distress during pregnancy in White and South Asian women in the UK. 100 pregnant women attending routine antenatal appointments were interviewed using the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (LEDS). We investigated the frequency and type of events experienced in the year prior to conception and during pregnancy, as predictors for somatic and emotional distress, measured using the GHQ-28. Non-severe stressors accounted for over 90 % of those reported, half of which (43-53 %) were health and reproduction-related. Somatic symptoms were associated with the number of non-severe events, and number of children and emotional symptoms were associated with non-marked difficulties. There was little evidence of an association between severe events and distress. Ethnicity had little effect on any associations although South Asian women were at slightly higher odds of experiencing emotional symptoms, which appear to be buffered by social support. In routine antenatal care it is important to assess both emotional and somatic symptoms. Health professionals need to be sensitive to the health, social, cultural and environmental circumstances of women during pregnancy and ensure appropriate support is in place, particularly for multi-parous women. Regression models explained a small but significant amount of the variance in distress symptoms. Further work is necessary to explore other contributory factors and also the mechanisms through which stressors have their effect.

Impact of atmospheric circulation types on southwest Asian dust and Indian summer monsoon rainfall

Science.gov (United States)

Kaskaoutis, D. G.; Houssos, E. E.; Solmon, F.; Legrand, M.; Rashki, A.; Dumka, U. C.; Francois, P.; Gautam, R.; Singh, R. P.

2018-03-01

This study examines the meteorological feedback on dust aerosols and rainfall over the Arabian Sea and India during the summer monsoon using satellite data, re-analysis and a regional climate model. Based on days with excess aerosol loading over the central Ganges basin during May - September, two distinct atmospheric circulation types (weather clusters) are identified, which are associated with different dust-aerosol and rainfall distributions over south Asia, highlighting the role of meteorology on dust emissions and monsoon rainfall. Each cluster is characterized by different patterns of mean sea level pressure (MSLP), geopotential height at 700 hPa (Z700) and wind fields at 1000 hPa and at 700 hPa, thus modulating changes in dust-aerosol loading over the Arabian Sea. One cluster is associated with deepening of the Indian/Pakistan thermal low leading to (i) increased cyclonicity and thermal convection over northwestern India and Arabian Peninsula, (ii) intensification of the southwest monsoon off the Horn of Africa, iii) increase in dust emissions from Rub-Al-Khali and Somalian deserts, (iv) excess dust accumulation over the Arabian Sea and, (v) strengthening of the convergence of humid air masses and larger precipitation over Indian landmass compared to the other cluster. The RegCM4.4 model simulations for dust-aerosol and precipitation distributions support the meteorological fields and satellite observations, while the precipitation over India is positively correlated with the aerosol loading over the Arabian Sea on daily basis for both weather clusters. This study highlights the key role of meteorology and atmospheric dynamics on dust life cycle and rainfall over the monsoon-influenced south Asia.

Occupational dermatoses: An Asian perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatia, Riti; Sharma, Vinod Kumar

2017-01-01

Occupational dermatoses contribute to a significant portion of work-related diseases, especially in Asia, where a major portion of the workforce is in the unorganized sector. This review article is focussed on the frequency and pattern of occupational skin diseases reported across Asian countries and type of allergens implicated in different occupations. The literature was searched systematically using key words 'occupational dermatoses,' 'occupational skin disease' and name of each Asian country. Ninty five full-text articles were considered relevant and evaluated. Some of the dermatoses seen in industrial workers in Asian countries are similar to those in Western countries, including dermatoses due to chromate in construction and electroplating workers, epoxy resin, and chromate in painters, wood dust in workers in the furniture industry, azo dyes in textile workers and formaldehyde and chromates in those working in the leather and dyeing industries, dermatoses in domestic workers, chefs and health-care workers. Dermatoses in workers engaged in agriculture, beedi (tiny cigars) manufacture, agarbatti (incense sticks) production, fish processing, carpet weaving, sanitation and those working in coffee plantations and coal mines appear to be unique to Asian countries. Recognition of clinical patterns and geographic variations in occupational skin diseases will provide an impetus to further strengthen future research in these areas, as well as improving their management.

Exploration of the psychological impact and adaptation to cardiac events in South Asians in the UK: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharyya, Mimi; Stevenson, Fiona; Walters, Kate

2016-07-08

There is little research on how different ethnic groups adapt after an acute cardiac event. This qualitative study explores between-ethnicity and within-ethnicity variation in adaptation, and the psychological impact of an acute cardiac event among UK South Asian and white British people. We purposively sampled people by ethnic group from general practices in London who had a new myocardial infarction, angina or acute arrhythmia in the preceding 18 months. We conducted 28 semistructured interviews for exploring the psychological symptoms, experiences and adaptations following a cardiac event among South Asians (Indian and Bangladeshi) in comparison to white British people. Data were analysed using a thematic 'framework' approach. Findings showed heterogeneity in experiences of the cardiac event and its subsequent psychological and physical impact. Adaptation to the event related predominantly to life circumstances, personal attitudes and employment status. Anxiety and low mood symptoms were common sequelae, especially in the Bangladeshi group. Indian men tended to normalise symptoms and the cardiac event, and reported less negative mood symptoms than other groups. Fear of physical exertion, particularly heavy lifting, persisted across the groups. Some people across all ethnic groups indicated the need for more psychological therapy postcardiac event. Socioeconomic circumstances, age and prior work status appeared to be more important in relation to adaptation after a cardiac event than ethnic status. Heterogeneity in views and experiences related to the socioeconomic background, age and work status of the participants along with some cultural influences. Rehabilitation programmes should be flexibly tailored for individuals in particular and where relevant, specific support should be provided for returning to work. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Dust Storm Feature Identification and Tracking from 4D Simulation Data

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, M.; Yang, C. P.

2016-12-01

Dust storms cause significant damage to health, property and the environment worldwide every year. To help mitigate the damage, dust forecasting models simulate and predict upcoming dust events, providing valuable information to scientists, decision makers, and the public. Normally, the model simulations are conducted in four-dimensions (i.e., latitude, longitude, elevation and time) and represent three-dimensional (3D), spatial heterogeneous features of the storm and its evolution over space and time. This research investigates and proposes an automatic multi-threshold, region-growing based identification algorithm to identify critical dust storm features, and track the evolution process of dust storm events through space and time. In addition, a spatiotemporal data model is proposed, which can support the characterization and representation of dust storm events and their dynamic patterns. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations for the algorithm are conducted to test the sensitivity, and capability of identify and track dust storm events. This study has the potential to assist a better early warning system for decision-makers and the public, thus making hazard mitigation plans more effective.

WRF-Chem Model Simulations of Arizona Dust Storms

Science.gov (United States)

Mohebbi, A.; Chang, H. I.; Hondula, D.

2017-12-01

The online Weather Research and Forecasting model with coupled chemistry module (WRF-Chem) is applied to simulate the transport, deposition and emission of the dust aerosols in an intense dust outbreak event that took place on July 5th, 2011 over Arizona. Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART), Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA), and University of Cologne (UoC) parameterization schemes for dust emission were evaluated. The model was found to simulate well the synoptic meteorological conditions also widely documented in previous studies. The chemistry module performance in reproducing the atmospheric desert dust load was evaluated using the horizontal field of the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro (MODIS) radiometer Terra/Aqua and Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) satellites employing standard Dark Target (DT) and Deep Blue (DB) algorithms. To assess the temporal variability of the dust storm, Particulate Matter mass concentration data (PM10 and PM2.5) from Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (AZDEQ) ground-based air quality stations were used. The promising performance of WRF-Chem indicate that the model is capable of simulating the right timing and loading of a dust event in the planetary-boundary-layer (PBL) which can be used to forecast approaching severe dust events and to communicate an effective early warning.

Stressful life events preceding the onset of depression in Asian patients with major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Subin; Hatim, Ahmad; Si, Tian-Mei; Jeon, Hong Jin; Srisurapanont, Manit; Bautista, Dianne; Liu, Shen-ing; Chua, Hong Choon; Hong, Jin Pyo

2015-12-01

Previous studies have identified the significant role of stressful life events in the onset of depressive episodes. However, there is a paucity of cross-national studies on stressful life events that precede depression. We aimed to compare types of stressful life events associated with the onset of depressive episodes in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in five Asian countries. A total of 507 outpatients with MDD were recruited in China (n = 114), South Korea (n = 101), Malaysia (n = 90), Thailand (n = 103) and Taiwan (n = 99). All patients were assessed with the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview and the List of Threatening Experiences. The prevalence of each type of stressful life events was calculated and compared between each country. The type of stressful life event that preceded the onset of a depressive episode differed between patients in China and Taiwan and those in South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand. Patients in China and Taiwan were less likely to report interpersonal relationship problems and occupational/financial problems than patients in South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand. Understanding the nature and basis of culturally determined susceptibilities to specific stressful life events is critical for establishing a policy of depression prevention and providing effective counseling services for depressed patients. © The Author(s) 2015.

The Effect of Asian Dust Aerosols on Cloud Properties and Radiative Forcing from MODIS and CERES

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jianping; Minnis, Patrick; Lin, Bing; Wang, Tianhe; Yi, Yuhong; Hu, Yongxiang; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Ayers, Kirk

2005-01-01

The effects of dust storms on cloud properties and radiative forcing are analyzed over northwestern China from April 2001 to June 2004 using data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments on the Aqua and Terra satellites. On average, ice cloud effective particle diameter, optical depth and ice water path of the cirrus clouds under dust polluted conditions are 11%, 32.8%, and 42% less, respectively, than those derived from ice clouds in dust-free atmospheric environments. The humidity differences are larger in the dusty region than in the dust-free region, and may be caused by removal of moisture by wet dust precipitation. Due to changes in cloud microphysics, the instantaneous net radiative forcing is reduced from -71.2 W/m2 for dust contaminated clouds to -182.7 W/m2 for dust-free clouds. The reduced cooling effects of dusts may lead to a net warming of 1 W/m2, which, if confirmed, would be the strongest aerosol forcing during later winter and early spring dust storm seasons over the studied region.

A SHORT-DURATION EVENT AS THE CAUSE OF DUST EJECTION FROM MAIN-BELT COMET P/2012 F5 (GIBBS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moreno, F. [Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomia s/n, E-18008 Granada (Spain); Licandro, J.; Cabrera-Lavers, A., E-mail: fernando@iaa.es [Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, c/Via Lactea s/n, E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain)

2012-12-10

We present observations and an interpretative model of the dust environment of the Main-Belt Comet P/2010 F5 (Gibbs). The narrow dust trails observed can be interpreted unequivocally as an impulsive event that took place around 2011 July 1 with an uncertainty of {+-}10 days, and a duration of less than a day, possibly of the order of a few hours. The best Monte Carlo dust model fits to the observed trail brightness imply ejection velocities in the range 8-10 cm s{sup -1} for particle sizes between 30 cm and 130 {mu}m. This weak dependence of velocity on size contrasts with that expected from ice sublimation and agrees with that found recently for (596) Scheila, a likely impacted asteroid. The particles seen in the trail are found to follow a power-law size distribution of index Almost-Equal-To -3.7. Assuming that the slowest particles were ejected at the escape velocity of the nucleus, its size is constrained to about 200-300 m in diameter. The total ejected dust mass is {approx}> 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 8} kg, which represents approximately 4%-20% of the nucleus mass.

Dust fluxes linked to intensification of Prevailing Westerlies and Trade Winds stimulated Ethmodiscus rex giant diatom blooms in the southern Mariana Trench, western tropical Pacific at onset of the Last Glacial Maximum

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, D.; Luo, M.; Algeo, T. J.; Chen, L.

2017-12-01

The strontium (Sr) and neodymium (Nd) isotope compositions and clay-mineral assemblages of the detrital fraction of sediments in the southern Mariana Trench together with major- and trace-elements concentrations of bulk sediments have been determined to trace the sediment provenance and investigate the relationship between Asian dust input and blooms of the giant diatom Ethmodiscus rex. Enrichment of barium (Ba) in relative to upper continental crust (UCC) and low average Rb/K ratios in all study cores point to both hydrothermal and volcaniclastic inputs to the sediments. Both the Sr-Nd isotope compositions and the clay-mineral assemblages of the detrital fraction reflect a two-component mixing system consisting of Mariana arc volcaniclastics and eolian Asian dust. A decrease in smectite content and an increase in illite content just before formation of laminated diatom mats (LDMs) suggest a change in the source of the eolian dust from eastern Asian deserts (EADs) to central Asian deserts (CADs) at the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This observation suggests a causal linkage between atmospheric circulation patterns, the sources of eolian Asian dust, and marine productivity in the western Pacific region. We postulate that the shift to CAD-sourced dust may have played a greater role in promoting biological productivity in the oligotrophic western Pacific Ocean during the LGM than previously realized.

Mortality associated with particulate concentration and Asian dust storms in Metropolitan Taipei

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yu-Chun; Lin, Yu-Kai

2015-09-01

This study evaluates mortality risks from all causes, circulatory diseases, and respiratory diseases associated with particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations and Asian dust storms (ADS) from 2000 to 2008 in Metropolitan Taipei. This study uses a distributed lag non-linear model with Poisson distribution to estimate the cumulative 5-day (lags 0-4) relative risks (RRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) of cause-specific mortality associated with daily PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations, as well as ADS, for total (all ages) and elderly (≥65 years) populations based on study periods (ADS frequently inflicted period: 2000-2004; and less inflicted period: 2005-2008). Risks associated with ADS characteristics, including inflicted season (winter and spring), strength (the ratio of stations with Pollutant Standard Index >100 is increase in PM10 from 10 μg/m3 to 50 μg/m3 was associated with increased all-cause mortality risk with cumulative 5-day RR of 1.10 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.17) for the total population and 1.10 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.18) for elders. Mortality from circulatory diseases for the elderly was related to increased PM2.5 from 5 μg/m3 to 30 μg/m3, with cumulative 5-day RR of 1.21 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.44) from 2005 to 2008. Compared with normal days, the mortality from all causes and circulatory diseases for the elderly population was associated with winter ADS with RRs of 1.05 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.08) and 1.08 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.15), respectively. Moreover, all-cause mortality was associated with shorter and less area-affected ADS with an RR of 1.04 for total and elderly populations from 2000 to 2004. Population health risk differed not only with PM concentration but also with ADS characteristics.

Effect of exposure to an Asian dust storm on fractional exhaled nitric oxide in adult asthma patients in Western Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Masanari; Kurai, Jun; Sano, Hiroyuki; Shimizu, Eiji

2015-01-01

Epidemiological investigations indicate that an Asian dust storm (ADS) can aggravate respiratory disorders. However, the effects of ADS on airway inflammation remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of exposure to ADS with airway inflammation. The subjects were 33 adult patients with asthma who measured daily peak flow expiratory (PEF) from March to May 2012. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) was measured before and after ADS. The FeNO values were 13.8±13.7 ppb before the ADS and 20.3±19.0 ppb after the ADS, with no significant difference. There was also no significant association of PEF with ADS exposure. However, the increase of FeNO after ADS exposure was proportional to the decrease of PEF (R=-0.78, P<0.0001). These results suggest that airway inflammation aggravated by ADS exposure may induce a decrease in pulmonary function in some adult patients with asthma.

Dust, Elemental Carbon and Other Impurities on Central Asian Glaciers: Origin and Radiative Forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Schmale, J.; Flanner, M.; Kang, S.; Sprenger, M.; Zhang, Q.; Li, Y.; Guo, J.; Schwikowski, M.

2015-12-01

In Central Asia, more than 60 % of the population depends on water stored in glaciers and mountain snow. While temperature, precipitation and dynamic processes are key drivers of glacial change, deposition of light absorbing impurities such as mineral dust and black carbon can lead to accelerated melting through surface albedo reduction. Here, we discuss the origin of deposited mineral dust and black carbon and their impacts on albedo change and radiative forcing (RF). 218 snow samples were taken from 13 snow pits on 4 glaciers, Abramov (Pamir), Suek, Glacier No. 354 and Golubin (Tien Shan), representing deposition between summer 2012 and 2014. They were analyzed for elemental and organic carbon by a thermo-optical method, mineral dust by gravimetry, and iron by ICP-MS. Back trajectory ensembles were released every 6 hours with the Lagranto model for the covered period at all sites. Boundary layer "footprints" were calculated to estimate general source regions and combined with MODIS fire counts for potential fire contributions. Albedo reduction due to black carbon and mineral dust was calculated with the Snow-Ice-Aerosol-Radiative model (SNICAR), and surface spectral irradiances were derived from atmospheric radiative transfer calculations to determine the RF under clear-sky and all sky conditions using local radiation measurements. Dust contributions came from Central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Sahara and partly the Taklimakan. Fire contributions were higher in 2014 and generally came from the West and North. We find that EC exerts roughly 3 times more RF than mineral dust in fresh and relatively fresh snow (~5 W/m2) and up to 6 times more in snow that experienced melting (> 10 W/m2) even though EC concentrations (average per snow pit from 90 to 700 ng/g) were up to two orders of magnitude lower than mineral dust (10 to 140 μg/g).

Atmosphere aerosol/dust composition over central Asia and western Siberia derived from snow/ice core records and calibrated with NASA remote sensing data

Science.gov (United States)

Aizen, V. B.; Aizen, E. M.; Joswiak, D. R.; Surazakov, A. B.; Takeuchi, N.

2007-12-01

The vast arid and semi-arid regions of central Asia, Mongolia, and Northern China are the world's second largest source of atmospheric mineral dust. In recent years, severe dust storms in Asia have intensified in frequency, duration, and areal coverage. However, limited spatial and temporal extent of aerosol measurements precludes definitive statements to be made regarding relationship between the Asian aerosol generation and climate. It has been well known that glaciers are the natural archives of environmental records related to past climate and aerosol generation. In our research, we utilized central Asian and western Siberia shallow ice-core records recovered from Altai, Tien Shan and Pamir mountain glaciers. Despite the fact that ice-core data may extend climate/aerosol records back in time, their sparse coverage is inadequate to document aerosol spatial distribution. The NASA products from Aura, Terra and Aqua satellite missions address this gap identifying aerosol sources, transport pathways, and area of deposition. The main objective of our research is to evaluate an affect of climate variability on dynamics of Asian aerosol loading to atmosphere and changes in aerosol transport pathways. Dust particle, major and rare earth element analysis from dust aerosols deposited and accumulated in Altai, Tien Shan and Pamir glaciers suggests that loess from Tajikistan, Afghanistan and north-western China are main sources of aerosol loading into the upper troposphere over the central Asia and western Siberia. At the same time, the soluble ionic component of the ice-cores, related to aerosol generated from evaporate deposits, demonstrated both anthropogenic and natural impacts on atmospheric chemistry over these regions. Large perturbations of Ca2+ derived from CaCO3- rich dust transported from Goby Desert to Altai and Tien Shan. Origin and pathway of the ice-core aerosol depositions for the last 10-years were identified through calibrating ice-core records with dust

Occupational dermatoses: An Asian perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riti Bhatia

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Occupational dermatoses contribute to a significant portion of work-related diseases, especially in Asia, where a major portion of the workforce is in the unorganized sector. This review article is focussed on the frequency and pattern of occupational skin diseases reported across Asian countries and type of allergens implicated in different occupations. The literature was searched systematically using key words 'occupational dermatoses,' 'occupational skin disease' and name of each Asian country. Ninty five full-text articles were considered relevant and evaluated. Some of the dermatoses seen in industrial workers in Asian countries are similar to those in Western countries, including dermatoses due to chromate in construction and electroplating workers, epoxy resin, and chromate in painters, wood dust in workers in the furniture industry, azo dyes in textile workers and formaldehyde and chromates in those working in the leather and dyeing industries, dermatoses in domestic workers, chefs and health-care workers. Dermatoses in workers engaged in agriculture, beedi (tiny cigars manufacture, agarbatti (incense sticks production, fish processing, carpet weaving, sanitation and those working in coffee plantations and coal mines appear to be unique to Asian countries. Recognition of clinical patterns and geographic variations in occupational skin diseases will provide an impetus to further strengthen future research in these areas, as well as improving their management.

Effect of chemical mixing state on the hygroscopicity and cloud nucleation properties of calcium mineral dust particles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. C. Sullivan

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Atmospheric mineral dust particles can alter cloud properties and thus climate by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN that form cloud droplets. The CCN activation properties of various calcium mineral dust particles were studied experimentally to investigate the consequences of field observations showing the segregation of sulphate from nitrate and chloride between individual aged Asian dust particles, and the enrichment of oxalic acid in Asian dust. Each mineral's observed apparent hygroscopicity was primarily controlled by its solubility, which determines the degree to which the mineral's intrinsic hygroscopicity can be expressed. The significant increase in hygroscopicity caused by mixing soluble hygroscopic material with insoluble mineral particles is also presented. Insoluble minerals including calcium carbonate, representing fresh unprocessed dust, and calcium sulphate, representing atmospherically processed dust, had similarly small apparent hygroscopicities. Their activation is accurately described by a deliquescence limit following the Kelvin effect and corresponded to an apparent single-hygroscopicity parameter, κ, of ~0.001. Soluble calcium chloride and calcium nitrate, representing atmospherically processed mineral dust particles, were much more hygroscopic, activating similar to ammonium sulphate with κ~0.5. Calcium oxalate monohydrate (κ=0.05 was significantly less CCN-active than oxalic acid (κ=0.3, but not as inactive as its low solubility would predict. These results indicate that the common assumption that all mineral dust particles become more hygroscopic and CCN-active after atmospheric processing should be revisited. Calcium sulphate and calcium oxalate are two realistic proxies for aged mineral dust that remain non-hygroscopic. The dust's apparent hygroscopicity will be controlled by its chemical mixing state, which is determined by its mineralogy and the chemical reaction pathways it experiences

Ice nucleation by surrogates for atmospheric mineral dust and mineral dust/sulfate particles at cirrus temperatures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. M. Archuleta

2005-01-01

Full Text Available This study examines the potential role of some types of mineral dust and mineral dust with sulfuric acid coatings as heterogeneous ice nuclei at cirrus temperatures. Commercially-available nanoscale powder samples of aluminum oxide, alumina-silicate and iron oxide were used as surrogates for atmospheric mineral dust particles, with and without multilayer coverage of sulfuric acid. A sample of Asian dust aerosol particles was also studied. Measurements of ice nucleation were made using a continuous-flow ice-thermal diffusion chamber (CFDC operated to expose size-selected aerosol particles to temperatures between -45 and -60°C and a range of relative humidity above ice-saturated conditions. Pure metal oxide particles supported heterogeneous ice nucleation at lower relative humidities than those required to homogeneously freeze sulfuric acid solution particles at sizes larger than about 50 nm. The ice nucleation behavior of the same metal oxides coated with sulfuric acid indicate heterogeneous freezing at lower relative humidities than those calculated for homogeneous freezing of the diluted particle coatings. The effect of soluble coatings on the ice activation relative humidity varied with the respective uncoated core particle types, but for all types the heterogeneous freezing rates increased with particle size for the same thermodynamic conditions. For a selected size of 200 nm, the natural mineral dust particles were the most effective ice nuclei tested, supporting heterogeneous ice formation at an ice relative humidity of approximately 135%, irrespective of temperature. Modified homogeneous freezing parameterizations and theoretical formulations are shown to have application to the description of heterogeneous freezing of mineral dust-like particles with soluble coatings.

Simulation of the mineral dust content over Western Africa from the event to the annual scale with the CHIMERE-DUST model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Schmechtig

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The chemistry and transport model CHIMERE-DUST have been used to simulate the mineral dust cycle over the Sahara in 2006. Surface measurements deployed during the AMMA field campaign allow to test the capability of the model to correctly reproduce the atmospheric dust load and surface concentrations from the daily to the seasonal time-scale. The simulated monthly mean Aerosol Optical Depths (AOD and surface concentrations are significantly correlated with the measured ones. The simulated daily concentrations and hourly AOD are in the same range of magnitude than the observed ones despite relatively high simulated dust emissions. The level of agreement between the simulations and the observations has been quantified at different time scales using statistical parameters classically used to evaluate air quality models. The capability of the model to reproduce the altitude of the dust transport was tested for two contrasted cases of low and high altitude transport. These results highlight the sensitivity of the simulations to the surface winds used as external forcing and the necessity to further constrain the dust mass budget at the regional scale.

How do the optical properties of Asian aerosols change when they cross the Pacific?

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, E. V.; Jaffe, D. A.

2009-12-01

Primary and secondary aerosols from Asia may have important climate implications. These aerosols are emitted locally, but can then be lofted into the free troposphere and advected across the Pacific. In this analysis we used observations from the Mount Bachelor Observatory (MBO) in conjunction with satellite data to identify the dominant aerosol types in specific Asian plumes that crossed the Pacific. In situ data from MBO is used to understand the observed changes in radiative properties. A suite of gas phase and aerosol measurements were made during spring 2008 and spring 2009 at MBO (2763 masl), located in central Oregon. Here we focus on observations of dry sub-μm aerosol scattering (σsp) and absorption (σap), made with an integrating nephelometer and a particle soot absorption photometer (PSAP). Using a combination of backward trajectory calculations and satellite observations, we identified 7 well defined plumes of Asian origin. These plumes included the highest σsp (34.8 Mm-1 hourly average) and σap (4.8 Mm-1 hourly average) observed at MBO over the 2008 and 2009 spring campaigns. Of interest in this analysis is 1) whether the intensive optical properties differ between these 7 Asian events, 2) whether these differences can be linked to differences in composition, and 3) whether the intensive optical properties differ from those observed closer to the Asian source region. Preliminary results show that the plumes clustered in terms of their optical properties; plumes hypothesized to contain a large fraction of mineral dust were the most distinct. We also observed larger variability in the average scattering Ångstrom exponent of the plumes and a higher average single scatter albedo than observations closer to the Asian coast. This work will be extended to compare observations at MBO with the most recent observations from Asia as they become available.

Dust mobilization by high-speed vapor flow under LOVA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuki, K.; Suzuki, S.; Ebara, S.; Yokomine, T.; Shimizu, A.

2006-01-01

In the safety analysis on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the ingress of coolant (ICE) event and the loss of vacuum (LOVA) event are considered as one of the most serious accident. On the assumption of LOVA occurring after ICE, it is inferable that activated dusts are under the wet condition. Transport behavior of in-vessel activated dusts under the wet condition is not well understood in comparison with the dry case. In this study, we experimentally investigated the entrainment behavior of dust under LOVA after ICE. We measured dust entrainment by high-speed humid airflow with phase change. Graphite dusts and glass beads are used as substitutions for mobile inventory. The relations among the relative humidity, the entrainment of particles in the exhaust gas flow and the adhesion rate of dust particles on the pipe wall have been made clear, as has the distribution profile of dust deposition on the pipe wall. The entrainment ratio decreased as the relative humidity increased and increased as the initial pressure difference increased

A comparison of the physical properties of desert dust retrieved from the sunphotometer observation of major events in the Sahara, Sahel, and Arabian Peninsula

KAUST Repository

Masmoudi, Mohamed

2015-05-01

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. The objective of this work is to assess the variability of the size-distribution, real (n) and imaginary (k) parts of the refractive index, asymmetry parameter (g), and single scattering albedo (SSA) of desert dust events observed in the Sahara, Sahel, and Arabian Peninsula areas. For this we use the level-2 inversions of 14 AERONET sunphotometers representative of the area of study. In the dataset, the dust-dominated events are discriminated on the basis of their large optical depth and low (<. 0.3) Ångström exponent (α) calculated between 440. nm and 870. nm. In all the volume size-distributions a coarse mode (CM) of particles is observed but a fine mode (FM) of particles with radii. <. 0.2. μm is also present. The volume fraction represented by the FM is lower (3%) during the most intense dust storms than during moderate ones (12%). The inter-site variability of the characteristics of the CM-dominated situations is found to be non-significant and at 440, 675, 870, and 1020. nm a common set of values can be adopted for n (1.54 ± 0.03, 1.53 ± 0.02, 1.50 ± 0.02, 1.48 ± 0.02), k (0.0037 ± 0.0007, 0.0012 ± 0.0002, 0.0011 ± 0.0002, 0.0012 ± 0.0002), g (0.77 ± 0.01, 0.74 ± 0.01, 0.73 ± 0.01, 0.74 ± 0.01), and the SSA (0.90 ± 0.02, 0.97 ± 0.01, 0.98 ± 0.01, 0.98 ± 0.01). However; during the less intense dust-events the growing influence of the FM leads to regional differentiation of the dust properties and 2 main areas can be distinguished: 1) the relatively clean central Sahara/Sahel, and 2) the more polluted continuum constituted by the Mediterranean coast and the Arabian Peninsula.

A comparison of the physical properties of desert dust retrieved from the sunphotometer observation of major events in the Sahara, Sahel, and Arabian Peninsula

KAUST Repository

Masmoudi, Mohamed; Alfaro, Sté phane C.; El Metwally, Mossad

2015-01-01

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. The objective of this work is to assess the variability of the size-distribution, real (n) and imaginary (k) parts of the refractive index, asymmetry parameter (g), and single scattering albedo (SSA) of desert dust events observed in the Sahara, Sahel, and Arabian Peninsula areas. For this we use the level-2 inversions of 14 AERONET sunphotometers representative of the area of study. In the dataset, the dust-dominated events are discriminated on the basis of their large optical depth and low (<. 0.3) Ångström exponent (α) calculated between 440. nm and 870. nm. In all the volume size-distributions a coarse mode (CM) of particles is observed but a fine mode (FM) of particles with radii. <. 0.2. μm is also present. The volume fraction represented by the FM is lower (3%) during the most intense dust storms than during moderate ones (12%). The inter-site variability of the characteristics of the CM-dominated situations is found to be non-significant and at 440, 675, 870, and 1020. nm a common set of values can be adopted for n (1.54 ± 0.03, 1.53 ± 0.02, 1.50 ± 0.02, 1.48 ± 0.02), k (0.0037 ± 0.0007, 0.0012 ± 0.0002, 0.0011 ± 0.0002, 0.0012 ± 0.0002), g (0.77 ± 0.01, 0.74 ± 0.01, 0.73 ± 0.01, 0.74 ± 0.01), and the SSA (0.90 ± 0.02, 0.97 ± 0.01, 0.98 ± 0.01, 0.98 ± 0.01). However; during the less intense dust-events the growing influence of the FM leads to regional differentiation of the dust properties and 2 main areas can be distinguished: 1) the relatively clean central Sahara/Sahel, and 2) the more polluted continuum constituted by the Mediterranean coast and the Arabian Peninsula.

Phytoplankton growth response to Asian dust addition in the northwest Pacific Ocean versus the Yellow Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chao; Gao, Huiwang; Yao, Xiaohong; Shi, Zongbo; Shi, Jinhui; Yu, Yang; Meng, Ling; Guo, Xinyu

2018-02-01

In this study, five on-board microcosm experiments were performed in the subtropical gyre, the Kuroshio Extension region of the northwest Pacific Ocean (NWPO), and the Yellow Sea (YS) in order to investigate phytoplankton growth following the addition of artificially modified mineral dust (AM dust) and various nutrients (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), N + P, and N + P + Fe). The two experiments carried out with AM-dust addition in the subtropical gyre showed a maximum chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration increase of 1.7- and 2.8-fold, while the cell abundance of large-sized phytoplankton ( > 5 µm) showed a 1.8- and 3.9-fold increase, respectively, relative to the controls. However, in the Kuroshio Extension region and the YS, the increases in maximum Chl a and cell abundance of large-sized phytoplankton following AM-dust addition were at most 1.3-fold and 1.7-fold larger than those in the controls, respectively. A net conversion efficiency index (NCEI) newly proposed in this study, size-fractionated Chl a, and the abundance of large-sized phytoplankton were analysed to determine which nutrients contribute to supporting phytoplankton growth. Our results demonstrate that a combination of nutrients, N-P or N + P + Fe, is responsible for phytoplankton growth in the subtropical gyre following AM-dust addition. Single nutrient addition, i.e., N in the Kuroshio Extension region and P or N in the YS, controls the phytoplankton growth following AM-dust addition. In the AM-dust-addition experiments, in which the increased N-P or P was identified to determine phytoplankton growth, the dissolved inorganic P from AM dust (8.6 nmol L-1) was much lower than the theoretically estimated minimum P demand (˜ 20 nmol L-1) for phytoplankton growth. These observations suggest that additional supply augments the bioavailable P stock in incubated seawater with AM-dust addition, most likely due to an enhanced solubility of P from AM dust or the remineralization of the dissolved

Supporting Asian patients with metastatic breast cancer during ixabepilone therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bourdeanu, Laura; Wong, Siu-Fun

2010-05-01

Ixabepilone is currently FDA-approved in metastatic breast cancer, and most patients in the registrational trials were Caucasian. Studies in Asian populations receiving other cytotoxic agents have revealed differential pharmacokinetics and clinical outcomes. As such, clinicians should understand the possible contributions of Asian ethnicity and culture to the clinical profile of ixabepilone. Studies in Asian patients receiving other chemotherapeutics reported altered toxicity profiles for myelosuppression, neurotoxicity and gastrointestinal symptoms. Encouragingly, the limited clinical data in Asian patients receiving ixabepilone suggest that efficacy and toxicity in these women resemble those reported in the ixabepilone registrational trials. The reader will better understand how Asian genetics and culture may influence treatment outcomes and patient attitudes toward therapy and interaction with caregivers. Management of ixabepilone-related adverse events is also discussed with an emphasis on special considerations for Asian patients. Awareness of possible altered drug response in Asian patients will aid clinicians in monitoring for toxicity, recognizing the need for dose modification and educating patients. Sensitivity to cultural aspects that are unique to Asians may improve adherence, reporting of adverse events and trust among Asian patients receiving ixabepilone.

Dust storms and their impact on ocean and human health: dust in Earth's atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, Dale W.; Kellog, Christina A.

2004-01-01

Satellite imagery has greatly influenced our understanding of dust activity on a global scale. A number of different satellites such as NASA's Earth-Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and Se-viewing Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) acquire daily global-scale data used to produce imagery for monitoring dust storm formation and movement. This global-scale imagery has documented the frequent transmission of dust storm-derived soils through Earth's atmosphere and the magnitude of many of these events. While various research projects have been undertaken to understand this normal planetary process, little has been done to address its impact on ocean and human health. This review will address the ability of dust storms to influence marine microbial population densities and transport of soil-associated toxins and pathogenic microorganisms to marine environments. The implications of dust on ocean and human health in this emerging scientific field will be discussed.

Temporal and spatial variations in sand and dust storm events in East Asia from 2007 to 2016: Relationships with surface conditions and climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Linchang; Che, Huizheng; Xue, Min; Zhang, Tianhang; Wang, Hong; Wang, Yaqiang; Zhou, Chunhong; Zhao, Hujia; Gui, Ke; Zheng, Yu; Sun, Tianze; Liang, Yuanxin; Sun, Enwei; Zhang, Hengde; Zhang, Xiaoye

2018-08-15

We analyzed the frequency and intensity of sand and dust storms (SDSs) in East Asia from 2007 to 2016 using observational data from ground stations, numerical modeling, and vegetation indices obtained from both satellite and reanalysis data. The relationships of SDSs with surface conditions and the synoptic circulation pattern were also analyzed. The statistical analyses demonstrated that the number and intensity of SDS events recorded in spring during 2007 to 2016 showed a decreasing trend. The total number of spring SDSs decreased from at least ten events per year before 2011 to less than ten events per year after 2011. The overall average annual variation of the surface dust concentration in the main dust source regions decreased 33.24μg/m 3 (-1.75%) annually. The variation in the temperatures near and below the ground surface and the amount of precipitation and soil moisture all favored an improvement in vegetation coverage, which reduced the intensity and frequency of SDSs. The strong winds accompanying the influx of cold air from high latitudes showed a decreasing trend, leading to a decrease in the number of SDSs and playing a key role in the decadal decrease of SDSs. The decrease in the intensity of the polar vortex during study period was closely related to the decrease in the intensity and frequency of SDSs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hypervelocity dust particle impacts observed by the Giotto Magnetometer and Plasma Experiments

OpenAIRE

Neubauer, F. M.; Glassmeier, K. H.; Coates, A. J.; Goldstein, R.; Acuña, M. H.; Musmann, G.

1990-01-01

We report thirteen very short events in the magnetic field of the inner magnetic pile‐up region of comet Halley observed by the Giotto magnetometer experiment together with simultaneous plasma data obtained by the Johnstone plasma analyzer and the ion mass spectrometer experiments. The events are due to dust impacts in the milligram range on the spacecraft at the relative velocity between the cemetery dust and the spacecraft of 68 km/sec. They are generally consistent with dust impact events ...

The relationship between gorgonian coral (Cnidaria: Gorgonacea) diseases and African dust storms

Science.gov (United States)

Weir-Brush, J. R.; Garrison, V.H.; Smith, G.W.; Shinn, E.A.

2004-01-01

The number of reports of coral diseases has increased throughout the world in the last 20 years. Aspergillosis, which primarily affects Gorgonia ventalina and G. flabellum, is one of the few diseases to be characterized. This disease is caused by Aspergillus sydowii, a terrestrial fungus with a worldwide distribution. Upon infection, colonies may lose tissue, and ultimately, mortality may occur if the infection is not sequestered. The spores of A. sydowii are African dust storms transport and deposit pathogens, we collected air samples from both dust storms and periods of nondust in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Because we focused on fungal pathogens and used A. sydowii as a model, we isolated and cultured fungi on various types of media. Fungi including Aspergillus spp. were isolated from air samples taken from dust events and non-dust events. Twenty-three separate cultures and seven genera were isolated from dust event samples whereas eight cultures from five genera were isolated from non-dust air samples. Three isolates from the Virgin Islands dust event samples morphologically identified as Aspergillus spp. produced signs of aspergillosis in seafans, and the original pathogens were re-isolated from those diseased seafans fulfilling Koch's Postulates. This research supports the hypothesis that African dust storms transport across the Atlantic Ocean and deposit potential coral pathogens in the Caribbean.

Control of dust production in ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez-Rodrigo, L.; Ciattaglia, S.; Elbez-Uzan, J.

2006-01-01

In the last years dust has been observed in a number of fusion devices and is being studied more in detail for understanding in particular the physical phenomena related to its formation, its composition, physical and chemical characteristics, and the amount of produced dust. The extrapolation of dust formation to ITER predicts (with large error bars), a large mass of dust production with a scattered size distribution. To evaluate the impact of dust on safety, assumptions have also been made on radionuclide inventory, and mobility in off-normal events, as well as any postulated contributions the dust may make to effluents or accidental releases. Solid activation products in structures are generally not readily mobilisable in incidental and accidental situations, so that activated dust, tritium and activated corrosions products are the important in-vessel source terms in postulated scenarios that assume a mobilisation and release of some fraction of this inventory. Such a release would require the simultaneous leak or bypass of several robust confinement barriers. Further concerns for dust may be the potential for chemical reactions between dust and coolant in the event of an in-vessel leak, and the theoretical possibility of a dust explosion, either of which could in principle cause a pressure rise that challenges one or more of the confinement barriers. Although these hazards can - and will - be controlled by other measures in the ITER design, application of the principle of Defence in Depth dictates that the dust inventory should also be minimised and controlled to prevent the potential hazard. A well-coordinated R-and-D programme is required to support this dust production control. This document provides from the safety point of view, an overview of existing data given in '' Dossier d'Options de Surete '', the first safety report presented in 2001 to the French Safety Authorities, and ITER documents; it also gathers information on status of studies on activated

Short-term variability of mineral dust, metals and carbon emission from road dust resuspension

Science.gov (United States)

Amato, Fulvio; Schaap, Martijn; Denier van der Gon, Hugo A. C.; Pandolfi, Marco; Alastuey, Andrés; Keuken, Menno; Querol, Xavier

2013-08-01

Particulate matter (PM) pollution in cities has severe impact on morbidity and mortality of their population. In these cities, road dust resuspension contributes largely to PM and airborne heavy metals concentrations. However, the short-term variation of emission through resuspension is not well described in the air quality models, hampering a reliable description of air pollution and related health effects. In this study we experimentally show that the emission strength of resuspension varies widely among road dust components/sources. Our results offer the first experimental evidence of different emission rates for mineral dust, heavy metals and carbon fractions due to traffic-induced resuspension. Also, the same component (or source) recovers differently in a road in Barcelona (Spain) and a road in Utrecht (The Netherlands). This finding has important implications on atmospheric pollution modelling, mostly for mineral dust, heavy metals and carbon species. After rain events, recoveries were generally faster in Barcelona rather than in Utrecht. The largest difference was found for the mineral dust (Al, Si, Ca). Tyre wear particles (organic carbon and zinc) recovered faster than other road dust particles in both cities. The source apportionment of road dust mass provides useful information for air quality management.

An overview of mineral dust modeling over East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Siyu; Huang, Jianping; Qian, Yun; Zhao, Chun; Kang, Litai; Yang, Ben; Wang, Yong; Liu, Yuzhi; Yuan, Tiangang; Wang, Tianhe; Ma, Xiaojun; Zhang, Guolong

2017-08-01

East Asian dust (EAD) exerts considerable impacts on the energy balance and climate/climate change of the earth system through its influence on solar and terrestrial radiation, cloud properties, and precipitation efficiency. Providing an accurate description of the life cycle and climate effects of EAD is therefore critical to better understanding of climate change and socioeconomic development in East Asia and even worldwide. Dust modeling has undergone substantial development since the late 1990s, associated with improved understanding of the role of EAD in the earth system. Here, we review the achievements and progress made in recent decades in terms of dust modeling research, including dust emissions, long-range transport, radiative forcing (RF), and climate effects of dust particles over East Asia. Numerous efforts in dust/EAD modeling have been directed towards furnishing more sophisticated physical and chemical processes into the models on higher spatial resolutions. Meanwhile, more systematic observations and more advanced retrieval methods for instruments that address EAD related science issues have made it possible to evaluate model results and quantify the role of EAD in the earth system, and to further reduce the uncertainties in EAD simulations. Though much progress has been made, large discrepancies and knowledge gaps still exist among EAD simulations. The deficiencies and limitations that pertain to the performance of the EAD simulations referred to in the present study are also discussed.

Simulation and analysis of synoptic scale dust storms over the Arabian Peninsula

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Beegum, S. Naseema; Gherboudj, Imen; Chaouch, Naira; Temimi, Marouane; Ghedira, Hosni

2018-01-01

Dust storms are among the most severe environmental problems in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The predictability of seven dust events, viz. D1: April 2-4, 2014; D2: February 23-24, 2015; D3: April 1-3, 2015; D4: March 26-28, 2016; D5: August 3-5, 2016; D6: March 13-14, 2017 and D7:March 19-21, 2017, are investigated over the Arabian Peninsula using a regionally adapted chemistry transport model CHIMERE coupled with the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model. The hourly forecast products of particulate matter concentrations (PM10) and aerosol optical depths (AOD) are compared against both satellite-based (MSG/SEVRI RGB dust, MODIS Deep Blue Aerosol Optical Depth: DB-AOD, Ozone Monitoring Instrument observed UV Aerosol Absorption Index: OMI-AI) and ground-based (AERONET AOD) remote sensing products. The spatial pattern and the time series of the simulations show good agreement with the observations in terms of the dust intensity as well as the spatiotemporal distribution. The causative mechanisms of these dust events are identified by the concurrent analyses of the meteorological data. From these seven storms, five are associated with synoptic scale meteorological processes, such as prefrontal storms (D1 and D7), postfrontal storms of short (D2), and long (D3) duration types, and a summer shamal storm (D6). However, the storms D4 and D6 are partly associated with mesoscale convective type dust episodes known as haboobs. The socio-economic impacts of the dust events have been assessed by estimating the horizontal visibility, air quality index (AQI), and the dust deposition flux (DDF) from the forecasted dust concentrations. During the extreme dust events, the horizontal visibility drops to near-zero values co-occurred withhazardous levels of AQI and extremely high dust deposition flux (250 μg cm- 2 day- 1).

Onset of frequent dust storms in northern China at ~AD 1100.

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He, Yuxin; Zhao, Cheng; Song, Mu; Liu, Weiguo; Chen, Fahu; Zhang, Dian; Liu, Zhonghui

2015-11-26

Dust storms in northern China strongly affect the living and health of people there and the dusts could travel a full circle of the globe in a short time. Historically, more frequent dust storms occurred during cool periods, particularly the Little Ice Age (LIA), generally attributed to the strengthened Siberian High. However, limited by chronological uncertainties in proxy records, this mechanism may not fully reveal the causes of dust storm frequency changes. Here we present a late Holocene dust record from the Qaidam Basin, where hydrological changes were previously reconstructed, and examine dust records from northern China, including the ones from historical documents. The records, being broadly consistent, indicate the onset of frequent dust storms at ~AD 1100. Further, peaked dust storm events occurred at episodes of high total solar irradiance or warm-dry conditions in source regions, superimposed on the high background of frequent dust storms within the cool LIA period. We thus suggest that besides strong wind activities, the centennial-scale dust storm events over the last 1000 years appear to be linked to the increased availability of dust source. With the anticipated global warming and deteriorating vegetation coverage, frequent occurrence of dust storms in northern China would be expected to persist.

Aerosol-ozone correlations during dust transport episodes

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P. Bonasoni

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Its location in the Mediterranean region and its physical characteristics render Mt. Cimone (44°11′ N, 10°42′ E, the highest peak of the Italian northern Apennines (2165 m asl, particularly suitable to study the transport of air masses from the north African desert area to Europe. During these northward transports 12 dust events were registered in measurements of the aerosol concentration at the station during the period June–December 2000, allowing the study of the impact of mineral dust transports on free tropospheric ozone concentrations, which were also measured at Mt. Cimone. Three-dimensional backward trajectories were used to determine the air mass origin, while TOMS Aerosol Index data for the Mt. Cimone area were used to confirm the presence of absorbing aerosol over the measurement site. A trajectory statistical analysis allowed identifying the main source areas of ozone and aerosols. The analysis of these back trajectories showed that central Europe and north and central Italy are the major pollution source areas for ozone and fine aerosol, whereas the north African desert regions were the most important source areas for coarse aerosol and low ozone concentrations. During dust events, the Mt. Cimone mean volume concentration for coarse particles was 6.18 µm3/cm3 compared to 0.63 µm3/cm3 in dust-free conditions, while the ozone concentrations were 4% to 21% lower than the monthly mean background values. Our observations show that surface ozone concentrations were lower than the background values in air masses coming from north Africa, and when these air masses were also rich in coarse particles, the lowest ozone values were registered. Moreover, preliminary results on the possible impact of the dust events on PM10 and ozone values measured in Italian urban and rural areas showed that during the greater number of the considered dust events, significant PM10 increases and ozone decreases have occurred in the Po valley.

Differences in Characteristics and Outcomes Between Asian and Non-Asian Patients in the TIAregistry.org.

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Hoshino, Takao; Uchiyama, Shinichiro; Wong, Lawrence K S; Sissani, Leila; Albers, Gregory W; Bornstein, Natan M; Caplan, Louis R; Donnan, Geoffrey A; Ferro, José M; Hennerici, Michael G; Labreuche, Julien; Lavallée, Philippa C; Molina, Carlos; Rothwell, Peter M; Steg, Philippe Gabriel; Touboul, Pierre-Jean; Vicaut, Éric; Amarenco, Pierre

2017-07-01

This study provides the contemporary causes and prognosis of transient ischemic attack (TIA) and minor stroke in Asians and the direct comparisons with non-Asians. The TIAregistry.org enrolled 4789 patients (1149 Asians and 3640 non-Asians) with a TIA or minor ischemic stroke within 7 days of onset. Every participating facility had systems dedicated to urgent intervention of TIA/stroke patients by specialists. The primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal stroke, and nonfatal acute coronary syndrome. Approximately 80% of patients were evaluated within 24 hours of symptom onset. At 1 year, there were no differences in the rates of composite cardiovascular events (6.8% versus 6.0%; P =0.38) and stroke (6.0% versus 4.8%; P =0.11) between Asians and non-Asians. Asians had a lower risk of cerebrovascular disease (stroke or TIA) than non-Asians (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.63-0.98; P =0.03); the difference was primarily driven by a lower rate of TIA in Asians (4.2% versus 8.3%; P <0.001). Moderately severe bleeding was more frequent in Asians (0.8% versus 0.3%; P =0.02). In multivariable analysis, multiple acute infarcts ( P =0.005) and alcohol consumption ( P =0.02) were independent predictors of stroke recurrence in Asians, whereas intracranial stenosis ( P <0.001), ABCD 2 score ( P <0.001), atrial fibrillation ( P =0.008), extracranial stenosis ( P =0.03), and previous stroke or TIA ( P =0.03) were independent predictors in non-Asians. The short-term stroke risk after a TIA or minor stroke was lower than expected when urgent evidence-based care was delivered, irrespective of race/ethnicity or region. However, the predictors of stroke were different for Asians and non-Asians. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

Possible influences of Asian dust aerosols on cloud properties and radiative forcing observed from MODIS and CERES

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Huang, Jianping; Minnis, Patrick; Lin, Bing; Wang, Tianhe; Yi, Yuhong; Hu, Yongxiang; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Ayers, Kirk

2006-03-01

The effects of dust storms on cloud properties and Radiative Forcing (RF) are analyzed over Northwestern China from April 2001 to June 2004 using data collected by the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments on the Aqua and Terra satellites. On average, ice cloud effective particle diameter, optical depth and ice water path of cirrus clouds under dust polluted conditions are 11%, 32.8%, and 42% less, respectively, than those derived from ice clouds in dust-free atmospheric environments. Due to changes in cloud microphysics, the instantaneous net RF is increased from -161.6 W/m2 for dust-free clouds to -118.6 W/m2 for dust-contaminated clouds.

Bioprocess of Kosa bioaerosols: effect of ultraviolet radiation on airborne bacteria within Kosa (Asian dust).

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Kobayashi, Fumihisa; Maki, Teruya; Kakikawa, Makiko; Yamada, Maromu; Puspitasari, Findya; Iwasaka, Yasunobu

2015-05-01

Kosa (Asian dust) is a well-known weather phenomenon in which aerosols are carried by the westerly winds from inland China to East Asia. Recently, the frequency of this phenomenon and the extent of damage caused have been increasing. The airborne bacteria within Kosa are called Kosa bioaerosols. Kosa bioaerosols have affected ecosystems, human health and agricultural productivity in downwind areas. In order to develop a new and useful bacterial source and to identify the source region of Kosa bioaerosols, sampling, isolation, identification, measurement of ultraviolet (UV) radiation tolerance and experimental simulation of UV radiation conditions were performed during Kosa bioaerosol transportation. We sampled these bioaerosols using a Cessna 404 airplane and a bioaerosol sampler at an altitude of approximately 2900 m over the Noto Peninsula on March 27, 2010. The bioaerosol particles were isolated and identified as Bacillus sp. BASZHR 1001. The results of the UV irradiation experiment showed that the UV radiation tolerance of Kosa bioaerosol bacteria was very high compared with that of a soil bacterium. Moreover, the UV radiation tolerance of Kosa bioaerosol spores was higher than that of soil bacterial spores. This suggested that Kosa bioaerosols are transported across the atmosphere as living spores. Similarly, by the experimental simulation of UV radiation conditions, the limited source region of this Kosa bioaerosol was found to be southern Russia and there was a possibility of transport from the Kosa source area. Copyright © 2014 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of Asian dust particles on immune adjuvant effects and airway inflammation in asthma model mice.

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Jun Kurai

Full Text Available An Asian dust storm (ADS contains airborne particles that affect conditions such as asthma, but the mechanism of exacerbation is unclear. The objective of this study was to compare immune adjuvant effects and airway inflammation induced by airborne particles collected on ADS days and the original ADS soil (CJ-1 soil in asthma model mice.Airborne particles were collected on ADS days in western Japan. NC/Nga mice were co-sensitized by intranasal instillation with ADS airborne particles and/or Dermatophagoides farinae (Df, and with CJ-1 soil and/or Df for 5 consecutive days. Df-sensitized mice were stimulated with Df challenge intranasally at 7 days after the last Df sensitization. At 24 hours after challenge, serum allergen specific antibody, differential leukocyte count and inflammatory cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF were measured, and airway inflammation was examined histopathologically.Co-sensitization with ADS airborne particles and Df increased the neutrophil and eosinophil counts in BALF. Augmentation of airway inflammation was also observed in peribronchiolar and perivascular lung areas. Df-specific serum IgE was significantly elevated by ADS airborne particles, but not by CJ-1 soil. Levels of interleukin (IL-5, IL-13, IL-6, and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 were higher in BALF in mice treated with ADS airborne particles.These results suggest that substances attached to ADS airborne particles that are not in the original ADS soil may play important roles in immune adjuvant effects and airway inflammation.

The Spatial Variation of Dust Particulate Matter Concentrations during Two Icelandic Dust Storms in 2015

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Pavla Dagsson-Waldhauserova

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Particulate matter mass concentrations and size fractions of PM1, PM2.5, PM4, PM10, and PM15 measured in transversal horizontal profile of two dust storms in southwestern Iceland are presented. Images from a camera network were used to estimate the visibility and spatial extent of measured dust events. Numerical simulations were used to calculate the total dust flux from the sources as 180,000 and 280,000 tons for each storm. The mean PM15 concentrations inside of the dust plumes varied from 10 to 1600 µg·m−3 (PM10 = 7 to 583 µg·m−3. The mean PM1 concentrations were 97–241 µg·m−3 with a maximum of 261 µg·m−3 for the first storm. The PM1/PM2.5 ratios of >0.9 and PM1/PM10 ratios of 0.34–0.63 show that suspension of volcanic materials in Iceland causes air pollution with extremely high PM1 concentrations, similar to polluted urban areas in Europe or Asia. Icelandic volcanic dust consists of a higher proportion of submicron particles compared to crustal dust. Both dust storms occurred in relatively densely inhabited areas of Iceland. First results on size partitioning of Icelandic dust presented here should challenge health authorities to enhance research in relation to dust and shows the need for public dust warning systems.

Inter-annual changes of Biomass Burning and Desert Dust and their impact over East Asia

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DONG, X.; Fu, J. S.; Huang, K.

2014-12-01

Impact of mineral dust and biomass burning aerosols on air quality has been well documented in the last few decades, but the knowledge about their interactions with anthropogenic emission and their impacts on regional climate is very limited (IPCC, 2007). While East Asia is greatly affected by dust storms in spring from Taklamakan and Gobi deserts (Huang et al., 2010; Li et al., 2012), it also suffers from significant biomass burning emission from Southeast Asia during the same season. Observations from both surface monitoring and satellite data indicated that mineral dust and biomass burning aerosols may approach to coastal area of East Asia simultaneously, thus have a very unique impact on the local atmospheric environment and regional climate. In this study, we first investigated the inter-annual variations of biomass burning and dust aerosols emission for 5 consecutive years from 2006-2010 to estimate the upper and lower limits and correlation with meteorology conditions, and then evaluate their impacts with a chemical transport system. Our preliminary results indicated that biomass burning has a strong correlation with precipitation over Southeast Asia, which could drive the emission varying from 542 Tg in 2008 to 945 Tg in 2010, according to FLAMBE emission inventory (Reid et al., 2009). Mineral dust also demonstrated a strong dependence on wind filed. These inter-annual/annual variations will also lead to different findings and impacts on air quality in East Asia. Reference: Huang, K., et al. (2010), Mixing of Asian dust with pollution aerosol and the transformation of aerosol components during the dust storm over China in spring 2007, Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 115. IPCC (2007), Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, New York. Li, J., et al. (2012), Mixing of Asian mineral dust with anthropogenic pollutants over East Asia: a model case study of a super-duststorm in

Microarray Analysis of Gene Expression Alteration in Human Middle Ear Epithelial Cells Induced by Asian Sand Dust.

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Go, Yoon Young; Park, Moo Kyun; Kwon, Jee Young; Seo, Young Rok; Chae, Sung-Won; Song, Jae-Jun

2015-12-01

The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the gene expression profile of Asian sand dust (ASD)-treated human middle ear epithelial cell (HMEEC) using microarray analysis. The HMEEC was treated with ASD (400 µg/mL) and total RNA was extracted for microarray analysis. Molecular pathways among differentially expressed genes were further analyzed. For selected genes, the changes in gene expression were confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. A total of 1,274 genes were differentially expressed by ASD. Among them, 1,138 genes were 2 folds up-regulated, whereas 136 genes were 2 folds down-regulated. Up-regulated genes were mainly involved in cellular processes, including apoptosis, cell differentiation, and cell proliferation. Down-regulated genes affected cellular processes, including apoptosis, cell cycle, cell differentiation, and cell proliferation. The 10 genes including ADM, CCL5, EDN1, EGR1, FOS, GHRL, JUN, SOCS3, TNF, and TNFSF10 were identified as main modulators in up-regulated genes. A total of 11 genes including CSF3, DKK1, FOSL1, FST, TERT, MMP13, PTHLH, SPRY2, TGFBR2, THBS1, and TIMP1 acted as main components of pathway associated with 2-fold down regulated genes. We identified the differentially expressed genes in ASD-treated HMEEC. Our work indicates that air pollutant like ASD, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of otitis media.

Surface observation of sand and dust storm in East Asia and its application in CUACE/Dust

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Y. Q. Wang

2008-02-01

Full Text Available The spatial-temporal distributions and sources of sand and dust storm (SDS in East Asia from 2001 to 2006 were investigated on the basis of visibility and PM₁₀ data from the routine SDS and weather monitoring networks run by CMA (China Meteorological Administration. A power functional relationships between PM₁₀ and visibility was found among various regions generally with a good correlation (r²=0.90, especially in Asian SDS source regions. In addition, three SDS occurrence centers, i.e. western China, Mongolia and northern China, were identified with the Mongolia source contributing more dust to the downwind areas including Korea and Japan than other two sources. Generally, high PM₁₀ concentrations were observed in most areas of northern China. The highest value was obtained in the center of western China with a spring daily mean value of 876 μgm⁻³, and the value in other source regions exceeds 200 μgm⁻³. These data sets together with the satellite observations in China form the main observation database for the evaluation and data assimilation of CUACE/Dust system – an operational SDS forecasting system for East Asia.

Density, recruitment and growth performance of Asian green mussel (Perna viridis in Marudu Bay, Northeast Malaysian Borneo, three years after a massive mortality event

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Afizah Mohd Taib

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Density, recruitment and growth performance of Asian green mussel (Perna viridis in a particular coastal marine environment can be affected by many factors, including environmental change, pollution, disease outbreak and massive mortality event. The present study was conducted to determine the density, recruitment and growth performance of farmed Asian green mussel in Marudu Bay, three years after a mass mortality event. The study was carried out for 12 months between April 2013 and March 2014. The length frequency data of 1,308 individuals of green mussel were analyzed using the latest version of the FAO-ICLARM Fish Stock Assessment Tools (FiSAT II. The result showed that the green mussel recruitment in Marudu Bay occurs throughout the year with two major peaks i.e. February and July which coincided with the monsoon seasons. The asymptotic length (L∞, growth coefficient (K and growth performance index (φ’ of the farmed Asian green mussel in Marudu Bay are relatively high at 113.4 mm, 1.7 year-1 and 4.34, respectively. However, despite good culture location, the settlement density of green mussel in the bay was low. We suspected that the low settlement density could be influenced by the ecological effects due to the long term suspension of the culture substrates and the physiochemical properties of the water in Marudu Bay. Nevertheless, chlorophyll-á measurement alone was not able to justify if food scarcity has resulted in high mortality of the farmed Asian green mussel in Marudu Bay.

High Proportions of Sub-micron Particulate Matter in Icelandic Dust Storms in 2015

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Dagsson Waldhauserova, Pavla; Arnalds, Olafur; Olafsson, Haraldur; Magnusdottir, Agnes

2017-04-01

Iceland is extremely active dust region and desert areas of over 44,000 km2 acknowledge Iceland as the largest Arctic and European desert. Frequent dust events, up to 135 dust days annually, transport dust particles far distances towards the Arctic and Europe. Satellite MODIS pictures have revealed dust plumes exceeding 1,000 km. The annual dust deposition was calculated as 40.1 million tons yr-1. Two dust storms were measured in transverse horizontal profile about 90 km far from different dust sources in southwestern Iceland in the summer of 2015. Aerosol monitor DustTrak DRX 8533EP was used to measure PM mass concentrations corresponding to PM1, PM2.5, PM4, PM10 and the total PM15 at several places within the dust plume. Images from camera network operated by the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration were used to estimate the visibility and spatial extent of measured dust events. A numerical simulation of surface winds was carried out with the numerical model HIRLAM with horizontal resolution of 5 km and used to calculate the total dust flux from the sources. The in situ measurements inside the dust plumes showed that aeolian dust can be very fine. The study highlights that suspended volcanic dust in Iceland causes air pollution with extremely high PM1 concentrations comparable to the polluted urban stations in Europe or Asia rather than reported dust event observations from around the world. The PM1/PM2.5 ratios are generally low during dust storms outside of Iceland, much lower than > 0.9 and PM1/PM10 ratios of 0.34-0.63 found in our study. It shows that Icelandic volcanic dust consists of higher proportion of submicron particles compared to crustal dust. The submicron particles are predicted to travel long distances. Moreover, such submicron particles pose considerable health risk because of high potential for entering the lungs. Icelandic volcanic glass has often fine pipe-vesicular structures known from asbestos and high content of heavy metals. Previous

Aerosol radiative forcing during African desert dust events (2005–2010 over Southeastern Spain

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A. Valenzuela

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The daily (24 h averages of the aerosol radiative forcing (ARF at the surface and the top of the atmosphere (TOA were calculated during desert dust events over Granada (southeastern Spain from 2005 to 2010. A radiative transfer model (SBDART was utilized to simulate the solar irradiance values (0.31–2.8 μm at the surface and TOA, using as input aerosol properties retrieved from CIMEL sun photometer measurements via an inversion methodology that uses the sky radiance measurements in principal plane configuration and a spheroid particle shape approximation. This inversion methodology was checked by means of simulated data from aerosol models, and the derived aerosol properties were satisfactorily compared against well-known AERONET products. Good agreement was found over a common spectral interval (0.2–4.0 μm between the simulated SBDART global irradiances at surface and those provided by AERONET. In addition, simulated SBDART solar global irradiances at the surface have been successfully validated against CM-11 pyranometer measurements. The comparison indicates that the radiative transfer model slightly overestimates (mean bias of 3% the experimental solar global irradiance. These results show that the aerosol optical properties used to estimate ARF represent appropriately the aerosol properties observed during desert dust outbreak over the study area. The ARF mean monthly values computed during desert dust events ranged from −13 ± 8 W m⁻² to −34 ± 15 W m⁻² at surface, from −4 ± 3 W m⁻² to −13 ± 7 W m⁻² at TOA and from +6 ± 4 to +21 ± 12 W m⁻² in the atmosphere. We have checked if the differences found in aerosol optical properties among desert dust sectors translate to differences in ARF. The mean ARF at surface (TOA were −20 ± 12 (−5 ± 5 W m⁻², −21 ± 9 (−7 ± 5 W m⁻² and −18 ± 9 (−6 ± 5 W m⁻² for sector A

Airborne Dust, "The Good Guy or the Bad Guy": How Much do We Know?

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Tsay, Si-Chee

2010-01-01

Processes in generating, transporting, and dissipating the airborne dust particles are global phenomena -African dust regularly reaching the Alps; Asian dust seasonally crossing the Pacific into North America, and ultimately the Atlantic into Europe. One of the vital biogeochemical roles dust storms play in Earth's ecosystem is routinely mobilizing mineral dust, as a source of iron, from deserts into oceans for fertilizing the growth of phytoplankton -the basis of the oceanic food chain. Similarly, these dust-laden airs also supply crucial nutrients for the soil of tropical rain forests, the so-called womb of life that hosts 50-90% of the species on Earth. With massive amounts of dust lifted from desert regions and injected into the atmosphere, however, these dust storms often affect daily activities in dramatic ways: pushing grit through windows and doors, forcing people to stay indoors, causing breathing problems, reducing visibility and delaying flights, and by and large creating chaos. Thus, both increasing and decreasing concentrations of doses result in harmful biological effects; so do the airborne dust particles to our Living Earth. Since 1997 NASA has been successfully launching a series of satellites - the Earth Observing System - to intensively study, and gain a better understanding of, the Earth as an integrated system. Through participation in many satellite remote-sensing/retrieval and validation projects over the years, we have gradually developed and refined the SMART (Surface-sensing Measurements for Atmospheric Radiative Transfer) and COMMIT (Chemical, Optical & Microphysical Measurements of In-situ Troposphere) mobile observatories, a suite of surface remote sensing and in-situ instruments that proved to be vital in providing high temporal measurements, which complement the satellite observations. In this talk, we will present SMART-COMMIT which has played key roles, serving as network or supersite, in major international research projects such

Development of High-Resolution Dynamic Dust Source Function - A Case Study with a Strong Dust Storm in a Regional Model

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Kim, Dongchul; Chin, Mian; Kemp, Eric M.; Tao, Zhining; Peters-Lidard, Christa D.; Ginoux, Paul

2017-01-01

A high-resolution dynamic dust source has been developed in the NASA Unified-Weather Research and Forecasting (NU-WRF) model to improve the existing coarse static dust source. In the new dust source map, topographic depression is in 1-km resolution and surface bareness is derived using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The new dust source better resolves the complex topographic distribution over the Western United States where its magnitude is higher than the existing, coarser resolution static source. A case study is conducted with an extreme dust storm that occurred in Phoenix, Arizona in 0203 UTC July 6, 2011. The NU-WRF model with the new high-resolution dynamic dust source is able to successfully capture the dust storm, which was not achieved with the old source identification. However the case study also reveals several challenges in reproducing the time evolution of the short-lived, extreme dust storm events.

Development of High-Resolution Dynamic Dust Source Function -A Case Study with a Strong Dust Storm in a Regional Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Dongchul; Chin, Mian; Kemp, Eric M; Tao, Zhining; Peters-Lidard, Christa D; Ginoux, Paul

2017-06-01

A high-resolution dynamic dust source has been developed in the NASA Unified-Weather Research and Forecasting (NU-WRF) model to improve the existing coarse static dust source. In the new dust source map, topographic depression is in 1-km resolution and surface bareness is derived using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The new dust source better resolves the complex topographic distribution over the Western United States where its magnitude is higher than the existing, coarser resolution static source. A case study is conducted with an extreme dust storm that occurred in Phoenix, Arizona in 02-03 UTC July 6, 2011. The NU-WRF model with the new high-resolution dynamic dust source is able to successfully capture the dust storm, which was not achieved with the old source identification. However the case study also reveals several challenges in reproducing the time evolution of the short-lived, extreme dust storm events.

Spatial and Temporal Variation of the Extreme Saharan Dust Event over Turkey in March 2016

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Hakki Baltaci

2017-02-01

Full Text Available In this study, the influence of an extraordinary Saharan dust episode over Turkey on 23–24 March 2016 and the atmospheric conditions that triggered this event were evaluated in detail. PM10 (particulate matter less than 10 μm observations from 97 air quality stations, METAR (Meteorological Terminal Aviation Routine Weather Report observations at 64 airports, atmospheric soundings, and satellite products were used for the analysis. To determine the surface and upper levels of atmospheric circulation, National Centers of Environmental Prediction (NCEP/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR Reanalysis data were applied to the extreme dust episodes. On 23 March 2016, high southwesterly winds due to the interaction between surface low- and high-pressure centers over Italy and Levant basin brought thick dust particles from Libya to Turkey. The daily PM10 data from 43 stations exceeded their long-term spring means over Turkey (especially at the northern and western stations. As a consequence of the longitudinal movement of the surface low from Italy to the Balkan Peninsula, and the quasi-stationary conditions of the surface high-pressure center allowed for the penetration of strong south and southwesterly winds to inner parts of the country on the following day. As a consequence, 100%, 90%, 88%, and 87% of the monitoring stations in Marmara (NW Turkey, central Anatolia, western (Aegean and northern (Black Sea regions of Turkey, respectively, exhibited above-normal daily PM10 values. In addition, while strong subsidence at the low levels of the atmosphere plays a significant role in having excessive daily PM10 values in Black Sea, dry atmospheric conditions and thick inversion level near the ground surface of Marmara ensured this region to have peak PM10 values ~00 Local Time (LT.

Recalibration of the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events risk score in a multiethnic Asian population.

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Chan, Mark Y; Shah, Bimal R; Gao, Fei; Sim, Ling Ling; Chua, Terrance; Tan, Huay Cheem; Yeo, Tiong Cheng; Ong, Hean Yee; Foo, David; Goh, Ping Ping; Surrun, Soondal K; Pieper, Karen S; Granger, Christopher B; Koh, Tian Hai; Salim, Agus; Tai, E Shyong

2011-08-01

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a leading cause of mortality in Asia. However, quantitative risk scores to predict mortality after AMI were developed without the participation of Asian countries. We evaluated the performance of the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) in-hospital mortality risk score, directly and after recalibration, in a large Singaporean cohort representing 3 major Asian ethnicities. The GRACE cohort included 11,389 patients, predominantly of European descent, hospitalized for AMI or unstable angina from 2002 to 2003. The Singapore cohort included 10,100 Chinese, 3,005 Malay, and 2,046 Indian patients hospitalized for AMI from 2002 to 2005.Using the original GRACE score, predicted in-hospital mortality was 2.4% (Chinese), 2.0% (Malay), and 1.6% (Indian). However, observed in-hospital mortality was much greater at 9.8% (Chinese), 7.6% (Malay), and 6.4% (Indian). The c statistic for Chinese, Malays, and Indians was 0.86, 0.86, and 0.84, respectively, and the Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic was 250, 56, and 41, respectively. Recalibration of the GRACE score, using the mean-centered constants derived from the Singapore cohort, did not change the c statistic but substantially improved the Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic to 90, 24, and 18, respectively. The recalibrated GRACE score predicted in-hospital mortality as follows: 7.7% (Chinese), 6.0% (Malay), and 5.2% (Indian). In this large cohort of 3 major Asian ethnicities, the original GRACE score, derived from populations outside Asia, underestimated in-hospital mortality after AMI. Recalibration improved risk estimation substantially and may help adapt externally developed risk scores for local practice. Copyright © 2011 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Long-term dust climatology in the western United States reconstructed from routine aerosol ground monitoring

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D. Q. Tong

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This study introduces an observation-based dust identification approach and applies it to reconstruct long-term dust climatology in the western United States. Long-term dust climatology is important for quantifying the effects of atmospheric aerosols on regional and global climate. Although many routine aerosol monitoring networks exist, it is often difficult to obtain dust records from these networks, because these monitors are either deployed far away from dust active regions (most likely collocated with dense population or contaminated by anthropogenic sources and other natural sources, such as wildfires and vegetation detritus. Here we propose an approach to identify local dust events relying solely on aerosol mass and composition from general-purpose aerosol measurements. Through analyzing the chemical and physical characteristics of aerosol observations during satellite-detected dust episodes, we select five indicators to be used to identify local dust records: (1 high PM₁₀ concentrations; (2 low PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ratio; (3 higher concentrations and percentage of crustal elements; (4 lower percentage of anthropogenic pollutants; and (5 low enrichment factors of anthropogenic elements. After establishing these identification criteria, we conduct hierarchical cluster analysis for all validated aerosol measurement data over 68 IMPROVE sites in the western United States. A total of 182 local dust events were identified over 30 of the 68 locations from 2000 to 2007. These locations are either close to the four US Deserts, namely the Great Basin Desert, the Mojave Desert, the Sonoran Desert, and the Chihuahuan Desert, or in the high wind power region (Colorado. During the eight-year study period, the total number of dust events displays an interesting four-year activity cycle (one in 2000–2003 and the other in 2004–2007. The years of 2003, 2002 and 2007 are the three most active dust periods, with 46, 31 and 24

A Model of Dust-like Spherically Symmetric Gravitational Collapse without Event Horizon Formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piñol M.

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Some dynamical aspects of gravitational collapse are explored in this paper. A time- dependent spherically symmetric metric is proposed and the corresponding Einstein field equations are derived. An ultrarelativistic dust-like stress-momentum tensor is considered to obtain analytical solutions of these equations, with the perfect fluid con- sisting of two purely radial fluxes — the inwards flux of collapsing matter and the outwards flux of thermally emitted radiation. Thermal emission is calculated by means of a simplistic but illustrative model of uninteracting collapsing shells. Our results show an asymptotic approach to a maximal space-time deformation without the formation of event horizons. The size of the body is slightly larger than the Schwarzschild radius during most of its lifetime, so that there is no contradiction with either observations or previous theorems on black holes. The relation of the latter with our results is scruti- nized in detail.

The 9.2 ka event in Asian summer monsoon area: the strongest millennial scale collapse of the monsoon during the Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wenchao; Yan, Hong; Dodson, John; Cheng, Peng; Liu, Chengcheng; Li, Jianyong; Lu, Fengyan; Zhou, Weijian; An, Zhisheng

2018-04-01

Numerous Holocene paleo-proxy records exhibit a series of centennial-millennial scale rapid climatic events. Unlike the widely acknowledged 8.2 ka climate anomaly, the likelihood of a significant climate excursion at around 9.2 cal ka BP, which has been notably recognized in some studies, remains to be fully clarified in terms of its magnitude and intensity, as well as its characteristics and spatial distributions in a range of paleoclimatic records. In this study, a peat sediment profile from the Dajiuhu Basin in central China was collected with several geochemical proxies and a pollen analysis carried out to help improve understanding of the climate changes around 9.2 cal ka BP. The results show that the peat development was interrupted abruptly at around 9.2 cal ka BP, when the chemical weathering strength decreased and the tree-pollen declined. This suggests that a strong drier regional climatic event occurred at around 9.2 cal ka BP in central China, which was, in turn, probably connected to the rapid 9.2 ka climate event co-developing worldwide. In addition, based on the synthesis of our peat records and the other Holocene hydrological records from Asian summer monsoon (ASM) region, we further found that the 9.2 ka event probably constituted the strongest abrupt collapse of the Asian monsoon system during the full Holocene interval. The correlations between ASM and the atmospheric 14C production rate, the North Atlantic drift ice records and Greenland temperature indicated that the weakened ASM event at around 9.2 cal ka BP could be interpreted by the co-influence of external and internal factors, related to the changes of the solar activity and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).

RECORD-4 multicenter phase 2 trial of second-line everolimus in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: Asian versus non-Asian population subanalysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Lin; Alyasova, Anna; Ye, Dingwei; Ridolfi, Antonia; Dezzani, Luca; Motzer, Robert J

2018-02-17

RECORD-4 assessed everolimus in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) who progressed after 1 prior anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or cytokine and reinforced the clinical benefit of second-line everolimus. Because of the high percentage of patients from China enrolled in RECORD-4 (41%) and some reported differences in responses to certain targeted agents between Chinese and Western patients, this subanalysis evaluated outcomes in Asian versus non-Asian patients. RECORD-4 enrolled patients with clear cell mRCC into 3 cohorts based on prior first-line therapy: sunitinib, other anti-VEGF (sorafenib, bevacizumab, pazopanib, other), or cytokines. Patients received everolimus 10 mg/d until progression of disease (RECIST, v1.0) or intolerance. Primary end point was progression-free survival per investigator review. Data cutoff was Sept 1, 2014. Among Asian (n = 55) versus non-Asian (n = 79) patients, 98% versus 84% had good/intermediate MSKCC prognosis; 73% versus 65% were men, and 85% versus 73% were < 65 years of age. All (100%) Asian patients were of Chinese ethnicity. Median duration of exposure was 5.5 mo for Asian and 6.0 mo for non-Asian patients. Among Asian versus non-Asian patients, median progression-free survival (months) was 7.4 versus 7.8 overall, 7.4 versus 4.0 with prior sunitinib, and 5.7 versus 9.2 with prior other anti-VEGFs. Clinical benefit rate was similar between populations: 74.5% (95% CI 61.0-85.3) for Asian patients and 74.7% (95% CI 63.6-83.8) for non-Asian patients. Most patients achieved stable disease as best overall response (Asian, 63.6%; non-Asian, 69.6%). Overall rate of grade 3/4 adverse events appeared similar for Asian (58%) and non-Asian patients (54%). This RECORD-4 subanalysis demonstrated comparable efficacy and adverse event profiles of second-line everolimus in Asian and non-Asian patients. Efficacy and safety outcomes by prior therapy should be interpreted with caution because of small

Ecological Restoration Programs Induced Amelioration of the Dust Pollution in North China Plain

Science.gov (United States)

Long, X.; Tie, X.; Li, G.; Junji, C.

2017-12-01

With Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land cover product (MCD12Q1), we quantitatively evaluate the ecological restoration programs (ERP) induced land cover change in China by calculating gridded the land use fraction (LUF). We clearly capture two obvious vegetation (grass and forest) protective barriers arise between the dust source region DSR and North China Plain NCP from 2011 to 2013. The WRF-DUST model is applied to investigate the impact of ERPs on dust pollution from 2 to 8 March 2016, corresponding to a national dust storm event over China. Despite some model biases, the WRF-DUST model reasonably reproduced the temporal variations of dust storm event, involving IOA of 0.96 and NMB of 2% for DSR, with IOA of 0.83 and NMB of -15% for downwind area of NCP. Generally, the WRF-DUST model well capture the spatial variations and evolutions of dust storm events with episode-average [PMC] correlation coefficient (R) of 0.77, especially the dust storm outbreak and transport evolution, involving daily average [PMC] R of 0.9 and 0.73 on 4-5 March, respectively. It is found that the ERPs generally reduce the dust pollution in NCP, especially for BTH, involving upper dust pollution control benefits of -15.3% (-21.0 μg m-3) for BTH, and -6.2% (-9.3 μg m-3) for NCP. We are the first to conduct model sensitivity studies to quantitatively evaluate the impacts of the ERPs on the dust pollution in NCP. And our narrative is independently based on first-hand sources, whereas government statistics.

Young Asian Dutch constructing Asianness: Understanding the role of Asian popular culture

OpenAIRE

Kartosen, R.A.

2016-01-01

This doctoral thesis is about young Asian Dutch, panethnic Asian identities and identifications, and Asian/Asian Dutch popular culture. It addresses several pressing questions, including: why do young Asian Dutch, who were born and/or raised in the Netherlands, identify as Asian and construct Asian identities? What is the content or meaning of these Asian identities and identifications young Asian Dutch imagine? And how do these relate to young Asian Dutch’ Dutch and homeland identities and i...

Microbes and Microstructure: Dust's Role in the Snowpack Evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Lieblappen, R.; Courville, Z.; Fegyveresi, J. M.; Barbato, R.; Thurston, A.

2017-12-01

Dust is a primary vehicle for transporting microbial communities to polar and alpine snowpacks both through wind distribution (dry deposition) and snowfall events (wet deposition). The resulting microbial community diversity in the snowpack may then resemble the source material properties rather than its new habitat. Dust also has a strong influence on the microstructural properties of snow, resulting in changes to radiative and mechanical properties. As local reductions in snowpack albedo lead to enhanced melting and a heterogeneous snow surface, the microbial communities are also impacted. Here we study the impact of the changing microstructure in the snowpack, its influence on microbial function, and the fate of dust particles within the snow matrix. We seek to quantify the changes in respiration and water availability with the onset of melt. Polar samples were collected from the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica in February, 2017, while alpine samples were collected from Silverton, CO from October to May, 2017 as part of the Colorado Dust on Snow (CDOS) network. At each site, coincident meteorological data provides temperature, wind, and radiative measurements. Samples were collected immediately following dust deposition events and after subsequent snowpack evolution. We used x-ray micro-computed tomography to quantify the microstructural evolution of the snow, while also imaging the microstructural distribution of the dust within the snow. The dust was then collected and analyzed for chemical and microbial activity.

Coupling Mars' Dust and Water Cycles: Effects on Dust Lifting Vigor, Spatial Extent and Seasonality

Science.gov (United States)

Kahre, M. A.; Hollingsworth, J. L.; Haberle, R. M.; Montmessin, F.

2012-01-01

The dust cycle is an important component of Mars' current climate system. Airborne dust affects the radiative balance of the atmosphere, thus greatly influencing the thermal and dynamical state of the atmosphere. Dust raising events on Mars occur at spatial scales ranging from meters to planet-wide. Although the occurrence and season of large regional and global dust storms are highly variable from one year to the next, there are many features of the dust cycle that occur year after year. Generally, a low-level dust haze is maintained during northern spring and summer, while elevated levels of atmospheric dust occur during northern autumn and winter. During years without global-scale dust storms, two peaks in total dust loading were observed by MGS/TES: one peak occurred before northern winter solstice at Ls 200-240, and one peak occurred after northern winter solstice at L(sub s) 305-340. These maxima in dust loading are thought to be associated with transient eddy activity in the northern hemisphere, which has been observed to maximize pre- and post-solstice. Interactive dust cycle studies with Mars General Circulation Models (MGCMs) have included the lifting, transport, and sedimentation of radiatively active dust. Although the predicted global dust loadings from these simulations capture some aspects of the observed dust cycle, there are marked differences between the simulated and observed dust cycles. Most notably, the maximum dust loading is robustly predicted by models to occur near northern winter solstice and is due to dust lifting associated with down slope flows on the flanks of the Hellas basin. Thus far, models have had difficulty simulating the observed pre- and post- solstice peaks in dust loading. Interactive dust cycle studies typically have not included the formation of water ice clouds or their radiative effects. Water ice clouds can influence the dust cycle by scavenging dust from atmosphere and by interacting with solar and infrared radiation

Young Asian Dutch constructing Asianness: Understanding the role of Asian popular culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kartosen, R.A.

2016-01-01

This doctoral thesis is about young Asian Dutch, panethnic Asian identities and identifications, and Asian/Asian Dutch popular culture. It addresses several pressing questions, including: why do young Asian Dutch, who were born and/or raised in the Netherlands, identify as Asian and construct Asian

Significant impacts of heterogeneous reactions on the chemical composition and mixing state of dust particles: A case study during dust events over northern China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhe; Pan, Xiaole; Uno, Itsushi; Li, Jie; Wang, Zifa; Chen, Xueshun; Fu, Pingqing; Yang, Ting; Kobayashi, Hiroshi; Shimizu, Atsushi; Sugimoto, Nobuo; Yamamoto, Shigekazu

2017-06-01

The impact of heterogeneous reactions on the chemical components and mixing state of dust particles are investigated by observations and an air quality model over northern China between March 27, 2015 and April 2, 2015. Synergetic observations were conducted using a polarization optical particle counter (POPC), a depolarized two-wavelength Lidar and filter samples in Beijing. During this period, dust plume passed through Beijing on March 28, and flew back on March 29 because of synoptic weather changes. Mineral dust mixed with anthropogenic pollutants was simulated using the Nested Air Quality Prediction Modeling System (NAQPMS) to examine the role of heterogeneous processes on the dust. A comparison of observations shows that the NAQPMS successfully reproduces the time series of the vertical profile, particulate matter concentration, and chemical components of fine mode (diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) and coarse mode (2.5 μm mixed with dust particles. The significant alterations of the chemical composition and mixing state of particles due to heterogeneous reactions are important for the direct and indirect climate effects of dust and anthropogenic aerosols.

Hypervelocity dust particle impacts observed by the Giotto magnetometer and plasma experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Neubauer, F. M.; Glassmeier, K.-H.; Coates, A. J.; Goldstein, R.; Acuna, M. H.

1990-01-01

This paper describes 13 very short events in the magnetic field of the inner magnetic pile-up region of Comet Halley observed by the Giotto magnetometer experiment together with simultaneous plasma data obtained by the Johnstone plasma analyzer and the ion mass spectrometer experiments. The events are due to dust impacts in the milligram range on the spacecraft at the relative velocity between the cometary dust and the spacecraft of 68 km/sec. They are generally consistent with dust impact events derived from spacecraft attitude perturbations by the Giotto camera. Their characteristic shape generally involves a sudden decrease in magnetic-field magnitude, a subsequent overshoot beyond initial field values, and an asymptotic approach to the initial field (somewhat reminiscent of the magnetic-field signature after the AMPTE releases in the solar wind). These observations give a new way of analyzing ultra-fast dust particles incident on a spacecraft.

Climate instability and tipping points in the Late Devonian: Detection of the Hangenberg Event in an open oceanic island arc in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Carmichael, A.; Waters, J. A.; Batchelor, C. J.; Coleman, D. M.; Suttner, T. J.; Kido, E.; Moore, L. M.; Chadimová, Leona

2016-01-01

Roč. 32, 1 April (2016), s. 213-231 ISSN 1342-937X Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : Central Asian Orogenic Belt * chemostratigraphy * Devonian-Carboniferous * Hangenberg Event * West Junggar Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 6.959, year: 2016

Scattering Phase Functions of Constituents of Mineral Dust Aerosols ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... Montmorillonte, Hematite, Calcite and Quartz. The behaviour of these constituents as observed by their phase functions provide information on the optical properties and radiative effects of the mineral dust types and is therefore useful on regional and global scales in assessing radiative impacts of dust outbreak events.

Dust Rains Deliver Diverse Assemblages of Microorganisms to the Eastern Mediterranean

Science.gov (United States)

Itani, Ghida Nouhad; Smith, Colin Andrew

2016-03-01

Dust rains may be particularly effective at delivering microorganisms, yet their biodiversities have been seldom examined. During 2011 and 2012 in Beirut, Lebanon, 16 of 21 collected rainfalls appeared dusty. Trajectory modelling of air mass origins was consistent with North African sources and at least one Southwest Asian source. As much as ~4 g particulate matter, ~20 μg DNA, and 50 million colony forming units were found deposited per square meter during rainfalls each lasting less than one day. Sequencing of 93 bacteria and 25 fungi cultured from rain samples revealed diverse bacterial phyla, both Gram positive and negative, and Ascomycota fungi. Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis of amplified 16S rDNA of 13 rains revealed distinct and diverse assemblages of bacteria. Dust rain 16S libraries yielded 131 sequences matching, in decreasing order of abundance, Betaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Epsilonproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Deltaproteobacteria. Clean rain 16S libraries yielded 33 sequences matching only Betaproteobacteria family Oxalobacteraceae. Microbial composition varied between dust rains, and more diverse and different microbes were found in dust rains than clean rains. These results show that dust rains deliver diverse communities of microorganisms that may be complex products of revived desert soil species and fertilized cloud species.

Influences of natural emission sources (wildfires and Saharan dust) on the urban organic aerosol in Barcelona (Western Mediterranean Basis) during a PM event.

Science.gov (United States)

van Drooge, Barend L; Lopez, Jordi F; Grimalt, Joan O

2012-11-01

The urban air quality in Barcelona in the Western Mediterranean Basin is characterized by overall high particulate matter (PM) concentrations, due to intensive local anthropogenic emissions and specific meteorological conditions. Moreover, on several days, especially in summer, natural PM sources, such as long-range transported Saharan dust from Northern Africa or wildfires on the Iberian Peninsula and around the Mediterranean Basin, may influence the levels and composition of the organic aerosol. In the second half of July 2009, daily collected PM(10) filter samples in an urban background site in Barcelona were analyzed on organic tracer compounds representing several emission sources. During this period, an important PM peak event was observed. Individual organic compound concentrations increased two to five times during this event. Although highest increase was observed for the organic tracer of biomass burning, the contribution to the organic aerosol was estimated to be around 6 %. Organic tracers that could be related to Saharan dust showed no correlation with the PM and OC levels, while this was the case for those related to fossil fuel combustion from traffic emissions. Moreover, a change in the meteorological conditions gave way to an overall increase of the urban background contamination. Long-range atmospheric transport of organic compounds from primary emissions sources (i.e., wildfires and Saharan dust) has a relatively moderate impact on the organic aerosol in an urban area where the local emissions are dominating.

Description of an establishment event by the invasive Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis in a suburban landscape in the northeastern United States.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helen Hull-Sanders

Full Text Available The establishment of non-native species is commonly described as occurring in three phases: arrival, establishment, and dispersal. Both arrival and dispersal by the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis Motschulsky, a xylophagous Cerambycid native to China and the Korean peninsula, has been documented for multiple locations in both North America and Europe, however the transitional phase, establishment, is not well understood for this species due to the need to rapidly remove populations to prevent dispersal and assist eradication, and the evident variation in the behavior of populations. Here we describe the dynamics of an establishment event for the Asian longhorned beetle in a small, isolated population within the regulated quarantine zone near Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. These data were collected during an opportunity afforded by logistical limits on the Cooperative Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication Program administered by state, federal, and local government partners. Seventy-one infested red maple (Acer rubrum trees and 456 interspersed un-infested trees were surveyed in an isolated, recently established population within a ~0.29 ha stand in a suburban wetland conservation area in which nearly 90% of the trees were host species, and nearly 80% were Acer rubrum. Tree-ring analyses show that within this establishing population, Asian longhorned beetles initially infested one or two A. rubrum, before moving through the stand to infest additional A. rubrum based not on distance or direction, but on tree size, with infestation biased towards trees with larger trunk diameters. Survey data from the larger landscape suggest this population may have generated long-distance dispersers (~1400 m, and that these dispersal events occurred before the originally infested host trees were fully exploited by the beetle. The distribution and intensity of damage documented in this population suggest dispersal here may have been spatially more

Hypervelocity dust particle impacts observed by the Giotto magnetometer and plasma experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neubauer, F.M.; Glassmeier, K.H.; Goldstein, R.; Acuna, M.H.; Musmann, G.; Coates, A.J.

1990-01-01

The authors report thirteen very short events in the magnetic field of the inner magnetic pile-up region of comet Halley observed by the Giotto magnetometer experiment together with simultaneous plasma data obtained by the Johnstone plasma analyzer and the ion mass spectrometer experiments. The events are due to dust impacts in the milligram range on the spacecraft at the relative velocity between the cometary dust and the spacecraft of 68 km/sec. They are generally consistent with dust impact events derived from spacecraft attitude perturbations by the Giotto camera [Curdt and Keller, private communication]. Their characteristic shape generally involves a sudden decrease in magnetic field magnitude, a subsequent overshoot beyond initial field values and an asymptotic approach to the initial field somewhat reminiscent of the magnetic field signature after the AMPTE releases in the solar wind. These observations give a new way of analyzing ultra-fast dust particles incident on a spacecraft

Measuring Dust Emission from the Mojave Desert (USA) by Daily Remote-Camera Observations and Wind-Erosion Measurements: Bearing on "Unseen" Sources and Global Dust Abundance

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, R. L.; Urban, F.; Goldstein, H. L.; Fulton, R.

2017-12-01

A large gap in understanding the effects of atmospheric dust at all spatial scales is uncertainty about how much and whence dust is emitted annually. Digital recording of dust emission at high spatial and temporal resolution would, together with periodic flux measurements, support improved estimates of local-scale dust flux where infrastructure could support remote internet enabled cameras. Such recording would also elucidate wind-erosion dynamics when combined with meteorological data. Remote camera recording of dust-emitting settings on and around Soda Lake (Mojave Desert) was conducted every 15 minutes during daylight between 10 Nov. 2010 and 31 Dec. 2016 and images uploaded to a web server. Examination of 135,000 images revealed frequent dust events, termed "dust days" when plumes obscured mountains beyond source areas. Such days averaged 68 (sd=10) per year (2011 through 2016). We examined satellite retrievals (MODIS, GOES) for dust events during six cloudless days of highest and longest duration dust emission but none were observed. From Apr. 2000 through May 2013, aeolian sediments collected at three sites were sampled and weighed. Estimates of the emitted mass of silt- and clay-size fractions were made on the basis of measured horizontal mass flux, particle sizes of sediment in collectors, and roughly determined areas of dust generation. Over this period, nearly 4 Tg yr-1 of dust (as particulate matter flood in the basin in late Dec. 2010 that deposited flood sediment across the lake basin. Increased emission was likely related to the availability of fresh, unanchored flood sediment. Within the Mojave and Great Basin deserts of North America, many settings akin to those at Soda Lake similarly emit dust that is rarely detected in satellite retrievals. These findings strongly imply that local and regional dust emissions from western North America are far underestimated and that, by extension to relatively small dust-source areas across all drylands, global

Interannual Similarity in the Martian Atmosphere During the Dust Storm Season

Science.gov (United States)

Kass, D. M.; Kleinboehl, A.; McCleese, D. J.; Schofield, J. T.; Smith, M. D.

2016-01-01

We find that during the dusty season on Mars (southern spring and summer) of years without a global dust storm there are three large regional-scale dust storms. The storms are labeled A, B, and C in seasonal order. This classification is based on examining the zonal mean 50 Pa (approximately 25 km) daytime temperature retrievals from TES/MGS and MCS/MRO over 6 Mars Years. Regional-scale storms are defined as events where the temperature exceeds 200 K. Examining the MCS dust field at 50 Pa indicates that warming in the Southern Hemisphere is dominated by direct heating, while northern high latitude warming is a dynamical response. A storms are springtime planet encircling Southern Hemisphere events. B storms are southern polar events that begin near perihelion and last through the solstice. C storms are southern summertime events starting well after the end of the B storm. C storms show the most interannual variability.

An electrostatic detector for dust measurement on HT-7 tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ling, B.L.; Zhang, X.D.; Ti, A.; Gao, X.

2007-01-01

An electrostatic dust detector has been successfully developed to measure dust event in situ and in real time on the HT-7 tokamak. For measuring dust near the edge plasmas and preventing interference of electrons and ions, the shielding plates were designed and installed around the dust detector. The electric signal of dust has been successfully measured during LHCD discharges on HT-7 tokamak. The measured dust signal was in good agreement with bursts appeared on multi-channel H α radiation and on multi-channel ECE diagnostics. Diagnostics of the spectrum and the measurement of impurity emission during dust bursts were studied in detail. It is interesting that there is a delay between dust bursts and CIII line emission. It is observed that the delay time between dust signal and measured CIII line emission is about 0.3 ms in the HT-7 tokamak

Linkages between observed, modeled Saharan dust loading and meningitis in Senegal during 2012 and 2013

Science.gov (United States)

Diokhane, Aminata Mbow; Jenkins, Gregory S.; Manga, Noel; Drame, Mamadou S.; Mbodji, Boubacar

2016-04-01

The Sahara desert transports large quantities of dust over the Sahelian region during the Northern Hemisphere winter and spring seasons (December-April). In episodic events, high dust concentrations are found at the surface, negatively impacting respiratory health. Bacterial meningitis in particular is known to affect populations that live in the Sahelian zones, which is otherwise known as the meningitis belt. During the winter and spring of 2012, suspected meningitis cases (SMCs) were with three times higher than in 2013. We show higher surface particular matter concentrations at Dakar, Senegal and elevated atmospheric dust loading in Senegal for the period of 1 January-31 May during 2012 relative to 2013. We analyze simulated particulate matter over Senegal from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model during 2012 and 2013. The results show higher simulated dust concentrations during the winter season of 2012 for Senegal. The WRF model correctly captures the large dust events from 1 January-31 March but has shown less skill during April and May for simulated dust concentrations. The results also show that the boundary conditions are the key feature for correctly simulating large dust events and initial conditions are less important.

Vulnerability Assessment of Dust Storms in the United States under a Changing Climate Scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Severe weather events, such as flooding, drought, forest fires, and dust storms can have a serious impact on human health. Dust storm events are not well predicted in the United States, however they are expected to become more frequent as global climate warms through the 21st cen...

Peach leaf responses to soil and cement dust pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Maletsika, Persefoni A; Nanos, George D; Stavroulakis, George G

2015-10-01

Dust pollution can negatively affect plant productivity in hot, dry and with high irradiance areas during summer. Soil or cement dust were applied on peach trees growing in a Mediterranean area with the above climatic characteristics. Soil and cement dust accumulation onto the leaves decreased the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) available to the leaves without causing any shade effect. Soil and mainly cement dust deposition onto the leaves decreased stomatal conductance, photosynthetic and transpiration rates, and water use efficiency due possibly to stomatal blockage and other leaf cellular effects. In early autumn, rain events removed soil dust and leaf functions partly recovered, while cement dust created a crust partially remaining onto the leaves and causing more permanent stress. Leaf characteristics were differentially affected by the two dusts studied due to their different hydraulic properties. Leaf total chlorophyll decreased and total phenol content increased with dust accumulation late in the summer compared to control leaves due to intense oxidative stress. The two dusts did not cause serious metal imbalances to the leaves, except of lower leaf K content.

Study on an intense dust storm over Greece

Science.gov (United States)

Kaskaoutis, D. G.; Kambezidis, H. D.; Nastos, P. T.; Kosmopoulos, P. G.

Springtime constitutes the most favorable period for Sahara dust outbreaks and transport over Eastern Mediterranean. This study investigates the aerosol properties during April 2005 using remote-sensing and ground-based measurements. Three dust events with high aerosol optical depth (AOD) values have been observed during the measuring period, with duration of two days, i.e. 11-12, 16-17 and 25-26 April 2005. In this paper we mainly focus on the intense dust event of 16-17 April 2005, when a thick dust layer transported from Libya affected the whole Greek territory. Very high AOD values obtained from Aqua-MODIS sensor were observed over Greece (mean 2.42 ± 1.25) on 17 April, while the respective mean April value was 0.31 ± 0.09. The AOD at 550 nm (AOD 550) values over Crete were even larger, reaching ˜4.0. As a consequence, the PM 10 concentrations over Athens dramatically increased reaching up to 200 μg m -3. On the other hand, the fine-mode fraction values obtained from Terra-MODIS showed a substantial decrease in the whole Greek area on 17 April with values below 0.2 in the Southern regions. The intense dust layer showed a complex behavior concerning its spatial and temporal evolution and allowed us to study the changes in the optical properties of the desert dust particles along their transport routes due to the mixing processes with other aerosol types. The results from different measurements (ground-based and remote-sensing) did not contradict each other and, therefore, are adequate for monitoring of dust load over the Eastern Mediterranean.

An Extensive Study on Dynamical aspects of Dust Storm over the United Arab Emirates during 18-20 March 2012

Science.gov (United States)

Basha, Ghouse; Phanikumar, Devulapalli V.; Ouarda, Taha B. M. J.

2015-04-01

On 18 March 2012, a super dust storm event occurred over Middle East (ME) and lasted for several hours. Following to this, another dust storm occurred on early morning of 20 March 2012 with almost higher intensity. Both these storms reduced the horizontal visibility to few hundreds of meters and represented as one of the most intense and long duration dust storms over United Arab Emirates (UAE) in recent times. These storms also reduced the air quality in most parts of the ME implying the shutdown of Airports, schools and hundreds of people were hospitalized with respirational problems. In the context of the above, we have made a detailed study on the dynamical processes leading to triggering of dust storm over UAE and neighboring regions. We have also analyzed its impact on surface, and vertical profiles of background parameters and aerosols during the dust storm period by using ground-based, space borne, dust forecasting model, and reanalysis data sets. The synoptic and dynamic conditions responsible for the occurrence of the dust storm are discussed extensively by using European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA interim reanalysis data sets. The Impact of dust storm on surface and upper air radiosonde measurements and aerosol optical properties are also investigated before, during and after the dust storm event. During the dust storm, surface temperature decreased by 15oC when compared to before and after the event. PM10 values significantly increased maximum of about 1600µg/m3. Spatial variation of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) from Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index (AI) exhibited very high values during the event and source region can be identified of dust transport to our region with this figure. The total attenuated backscatter at 550nm from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite shows the vertical extent of dust up to 8km. The dynamics of this event is

Young Stellar Variability of GM Cephei by Circumstellar Dust Clumps

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Po-Chieh; Chen, Wen-Ping; Hu, Chia-Ling; Burkhonov, Otabek; Ehgamberdiev, Shuhrat; Liu, Jinzhong; Naito, Hiroyuki; Pakstiene, Erika; Qvam, Jan Kare Trandem; Rätz, Stefanie; Semkov, Evgeni

2018-04-01

UX Orionis stars are a sub-type of Herbig Ae/be or T Tauri stars exhibiting sporadic extinction of stellar light due to circumstellar dust obscuration. GM Cep is such an UX Orionis star in the young (∼ 4 Myr) open cluster Trumpler 37 at ∼ 900 pc, showing a prominent infrared access, H-alpha emission, and flare activity. Our multi-color photometric monitoring from 2009 to 2016 showed (i) sporadic brightening on a time scale of days due to young stellar accretion, (ii) cyclic, but not strictly periodical, occultation events, each lasting for a couple months, with a probable recurrence time of about two years, (iii) normal dust reddening as the star became redder when dimmer, (iv) the unusual "blueing" phenomena near the brightness minima, during which the star appeared bluer when dimmer, and (v) a noticeable polarization, from 3 to 9 percent in g', r', and i' -bands. The occultation events may be caused by dust clumps, signifying the density inhomogeneity in a young stellar disk from grain coagulation to planetesimal formation. The level of polarization was anti-correlated with the brightness in the bright state, when the dust clump backscattered stellar light. We discussed two potential hypotheses: orbiting dust clumps versus dust clumps along a spiral arm structure.

Impact of Middle Eastern dust storms on indoor and outdoor composition of bioaerosol

Science.gov (United States)

Soleimani, Zahra; Goudarzi, Gholamreza; Sorooshian, Armin; Marzouni, Mohammad Bagherian; Maleki, Heidar

2016-08-01

The presence of microbes in airborne aerosol particles, especially dust, is a major public health concern in desert regions. This study is the first of its kind to examine the effect of dust storms on indoor and outdoor microbial air quality at a hospital on the western side of Iran (city of Ahvaz), which is notorious for being highly vulnerable to dust emissions. Air samples were collected inside and outside of the hospital environment for six months, with the unique advantage of this study being that the region and duration of measurements allow for a clear comparison between dusty and normal days. On normal days, the average concentrations (outdoor/indoor) of bacteria and fungi were 423/329 cfu m-3 and 596/386 cfu m-3, respectively, which increased to 1257/406 cfu m-3 and 1116/550 cfu m-3 on dust event days. Indoor/Outdoor ratios for bacteria and fungi are lower on dust event days (0.26-0.60) versus normal days (0.44-0.95). Bacillus spp., Micrococcus spp., Streptomyces spp., and Staphylococcus spp. were the dominant bacteria both indoors and outdoors on normal and dust event days. Gram positive bacteria exhibited higher concentrations than Gram negative bacteria in both outdoor and indoor air samples as well as during both normal and dust event days. The data suggest that Gram positive bacteria are more resistant to undesirable outdoor conditions (e.g., high incident solar radiation) as compared to Gram negative ones. These results have implications for other populated arid regions where more stringent control of indoor air quality can greatly benefit public health.

Atmospheric Electricity Effects of Eastern Mediterranean Dust Storms

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Shai; Yair, Yoav; Yaniv, Roy; Price, Colin

2016-04-01

We present atmospheric electrical measurements conducted at the Wise Observatory (WO) in Mizpe-Ramon (30035'N, 34045'E) and Mt. Hermon (30024'N, 35051'E), Israel, during two massive and unique dust storms that occurred over the Eastern Mediterranean region on February 10-11 and September 08-12, 2015. The first event transported Saharan dust from Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula in advance of a warm front of a Cyprus low pressure system. In the second event, dust particles were transported from the Syrian desert, which dominates the north-east border with Iraq, through flow associated with a shallow Persian trough system. In both events the concentrations of PM10 particles measured by the air-quality monitoring network of the Israeli Ministry of the Environment in Beer-Sheba reached values > 2200 μg m-3. Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) obtained from the AERONET station in Sde-Boker reached values up to 4.0. The gradual intensification of the first event reached peak values on the February 11th > 1200 μg m-3 and an AOT ~ 1.8, while the second dust storm commenced on September 8th with a sharp increase reaching peak values of 2225 μg m-3 and AOT of 4.0. Measurements of the fair weather vertical electric field (Ez) and of the vertical current density (Jz) were conducted continuously with a 1 minute temporal resolution. During the February event, very large fluctuations in the electrical parameters were measured at the WO. The Ez values changed between +1000 and +8000 V m-1 while the Jz fluctuated between -10 and +20 pA m-2 (this is an order of magnitude larger compared to the fair weather current density of ~2 pA m-2. In contrast, during the September event, Ez values registered at WO were between -430 and +10 V m-1 while the Jz fluctuated between -6 and +3 pA m2. For the September event the Hermon site showed Ez and Jz values fluctuating between -460 and +570 V m-1 and -14.5 and +18 pA m-2 respectively. The electric field and current variability, amplitude and the

Asian monsoons in a late Eocene greenhouse world.

Science.gov (United States)

Licht, A; van Cappelle, M; Abels, H A; Ladant, J-B; Trabucho-Alexandre, J; France-Lanord, C; Donnadieu, Y; Vandenberghe, J; Rigaudier, T; Lécuyer, C; Terry, D; Adriaens, R; Boura, A; Guo, Z; Soe, Aung Naing; Quade, J; Dupont-Nivet, G; Jaeger, J-J

2014-09-25

The strong present-day Asian monsoons are thought to have originated between 25 and 22 million years (Myr) ago, driven by Tibetan-Himalayan uplift. However, the existence of older Asian monsoons and their response to enhanced greenhouse conditions such as those in the Eocene period (55-34 Myr ago) are unknown because of the paucity of well-dated records. Here we show late Eocene climate records revealing marked monsoon-like patterns in rainfall and wind south and north of the Tibetan-Himalayan orogen. This is indicated by low oxygen isotope values with strong seasonality in gastropod shells and mammal teeth from Myanmar, and by aeolian dust deposition in northwest China. Our climate simulations support modern-like Eocene monsoonal rainfall and show that a reinforced hydrological cycle responding to enhanced greenhouse conditions counterbalanced the negative effect of lower Tibetan relief on precipitation. These strong monsoons later weakened with the global shift to icehouse conditions 34 Myr ago.

Impact of metals in surface matrices from formal and informal electronic-waste recycling around Metro Manila, the Philippines, and intra-Asian comparison

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujimori, Takashi; Takigami, Hidetaka; Agusa, Tetsuro; Eguchi, Akifumi; Bekki, Kanae; Yoshida, Aya; Terazono, Atsushi; Ballesteros, Florencio C.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We quantified 11 metals in surface matrices from e-waste recycling sites at the Philippines. ► Dust had statistical higher levels of metal contamination and health risk compared to soil. ► Formal and informal sites had different metal contaminations. ► Intra-Asian comparison provided common insight on metal contamination from e-waste recycling. - Abstract: We report concentrations, enrichment factors, and hazard indicators of 11 metals (Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, In, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in soil and dust surface matrices from formal and informal electronic waste (e-waste) recycling sites around Metro Manila, the Philippines, referring to soil guidelines and previous data from various e-waste recycling sites in Asia. Surface dust from e-waste recycling sites had higher levels of metal contamination than surface soil. Comparison of formal and informal e-waste recycling sites (hereafter, “formal” and “informal”) revealed differences in specific contaminants. Formal dust contained a mixture of serious pollutant metals (Ni, Cu, Pb, and Zn) and Cd (polluted modestly), quite high enrichment metals (Ag and In), and crust-derived metals (As, Co, Fe, and Mn). For informal soil, concentration levels of specific metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were similar among Asian recycling sites. Formal dust had significantly higher hazardous risk than the other matrices (p < 0.005), excluding informal dust (p = 0.059, almost significant difference). Thus, workers exposed to formal dust should protect themselves from hazardous toxic metals (Pb and Cu). There is also a high health risk for children ingesting surface matrices from informal e-waste recycling sites.

Discernible rhythm in the spatio/temporal distributions of transatlantic dust

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Ben-Ami

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The differences in North African dust emission regions and transport routes, between the boreal winter and summer, are thoroughly documented. Here we re-examine the spatial and temporal characteristics of dust transport over the tropical and subtropical North Atlantic Ocean, using 10 yr of satellite data, in order to better characterize the different dust transport periods. We see a robust annual triplet: a discernible rhythm of "transatlantic dust weather".

The proposed annual partition is composed of two heavy loading periods, associated here with a northern-route period and southern-route period, and one light-loading period, accompanied by unusually low average optical depth of dust. The two dusty periods are quite different in character: their duration, transport routes, characteristic aerosol loading and frequency of pronounced dust episodes.

The southern-route period lasts ~4 months. It is characterized by a relatively steady southern positioning, low frequency of dust events, low background values and high variance in dust loading. The northern-route period lasts ~6.5 months and is associated with a steady drift northward of ~0.1 latitude day⁻¹, reaching ~1500 km north of the southern-route. The northern period is characterized by higher frequency of dust events, higher (and variable background and smaller variance in dust loading. It is less episodic than the southern period.

Transitions between the periods are brief. Separation between the southern and northern periods is marked by northward latitudinal shift in dust transport and by moderate reduction in the overall dust loading. The second transition, between the northern and southern periods, commences with an abrupt reduction in dust loading and rapid shift southward of ~0.2 latitude day⁻¹, and ~1300 km in total.

Based on cross-correlation analyses, we attribute the observed rhythm to the contrast between the

Dust in Snow in the Colorado River Basin: Spatial Variability in Dust Concentrations, Radiative Forcing, and Snowmelt Rates

Science.gov (United States)

Skiles, M.; Painter, T.; Deems, J. S.; Landry, C.; Bryant, A.

2012-12-01

Since the disturbance of the western US that began with the Anglo settlement in the mid 19th century, the mountain snow cover of the Colorado River Basin (CRB) has been subject to five-fold greater dust loading. This dust deposition accelerates snowmelt through its direct reduction of albedo and its further reduction of albedo by accelerating the growth of snow effective grain size. We have previously quantified the impacts of dust in snow using a 6-year record of dust concentration and energy balance fluxes at the alpine and subalpine towers in the Senator Beck Basin Study Area (SBBSA), San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado, USA. Dust loading exhibited interannual variability, and end of year dust concentrations were not necessarily related to the number of dust deposition events. Radiative forcing enhanced springtime melt by 21 to 51 days with the magnitude of advanced loss being linearly related to total dust concentration at the end of snow cover. To expand our understanding of dust on snow deposition patterns we utilize collections of dust concentration at the Colorado Dust on Snow (CODOS) study sites, established in 2009 along the western side of the CRB, to assess spatial variability in dust loading. In situ sampling of dust stratigraphy and concentration occurs twice each season, once over peak snow water equivalent (15 April), and again during melt (15 May). Dust loading occurs at all sites; dust concentrations are always higher in May, vary between sites, and the highest and lowest dust years were 2009 and 2012, respectively. In the absence of regular sampling and energy balance instrumentation these sites do not allow us to quantify the advanced melt due to dust. To facilitate this a new energy balance site, Grand Mesa Study plot (GMSP), was established for water year 2010 in west central Colorado, 150 km north of SBBSA. Back trajectories indicate similar Colorado Plateau dust sources at both SBBSA and GMSP, yet GMSP exhibits slightly lower dust

Spring Dust Storm Smothers Beijing

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

A few days earlier than usual, a large, dense plume of dust blew southward and eastward from the desert plains of Mongolia-quite smothering to the residents of Beijing. Citizens of northeastern China call this annual event the 'shachenbao,' or 'dust cloud tempest.' However, the tempest normally occurs during the spring time. The dust storm hit Beijing on Friday night, March 15, and began coating everything with a fine, pale brown layer of grit. The region is quite dry; a problem some believe has been exacerbated by decades of deforestation. According to Chinese government estimates, roughly 1 million tons of desert dust and sand blow into Beijing each year. This true-color image was made using two adjacent swaths (click to see the full image) of data from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), flying aboard the OrbView-2 satellite, on March 17, 2002. The massive dust storm (brownish pixels) can easily be distinguished from clouds (bright white pixels) as it blows across northern Japan and eastward toward the open Pacific Ocean. The black regions are gaps between SeaWiFS' viewing swaths and represent areas where no data were collected. Image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE

The potential of the synergistic use of passive and active remote sensing measurements for the validation of a regional dust model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Amiridis

2009-08-01

Full Text Available A long-lasting Saharan dust event affected Europe on 18–23 May 2008. Dust was present in the free troposphere over Greece, in height ranges between the surface and approximately 4–5 km above sea level. The event was monitored by ground-based CIMEL sunphotometric and multi-wavelength combined backscatter/Raman lidar measurements over Athens, Greece. The dust event had the maximum of its intensity on 20 May. Three-dimensional dust spatial distribution over Greece on that day is presented through satellite synergy of passive and active remote sensing using MODIS and CALIPSO data, respectively. For the period under study, the ground-based measurements are used to characterize the dust event and evaluate the latest version of the BSC Dust Regional Atmospheric Modeling (BSC-DREAM system. Comparisons of modeled and measured aerosol optical depths over Athens show that the Saharan dust outbreak is fairly well captured by BSC-DREAM simulations. Evaluation of BSC-DREAM using Raman lidar measurements on 20 May shows that the model consistently reproduces the dust vertical distribution over Athens.

Comparison of two different dust emission mechanisms over the Horqin Sandy Land area: Aerosols contribution and size distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Ju, Tingting; Li, Xiaolan; Zhang, Hongsheng; Cai, Xuhui; Song, Yu

2018-03-01

Dust aerosols (PM10) emission fluxes due to convective turbulent dust emissions (CTDE) and saltation-bombardment and/or aggregation-disintegration dust emissions (SADE) events were comparatively studied using the data obtained from the Naiman station over the Horqin Sandy Land area in Inner Mongolia, China from 2011 to 2015. The annual cumulative dust fluxes released by CTDE events was about one third of that by SADE events, with the order of 103∼104 μg m-2 s-1. The particle size distributions (PSDs) with diameter between 0.1 and 20 μm during CTDE and SADE events over the Horqin Sandy Land area were simulated based on the fragmentation theory, respectively. The results indicated that an improved equation based on fragmentation theory could be applied to describe the PSDs over the Horqin site which may be because the scale-invariant fragmentation theory mainly explains the PSDs of free dust particles on the surface, which differ from the PSDs of suspend airborne dust and the improved equation was more applicable to the PSDs of SADE events because the dust emission mechanism of SADE are saltation bombardment and aggregation disintegration. The number-related mean aerosol diameters (DN) barely varied under different friction velocity (u*) for SADE events, while the volume-related mean aerosol diameters (DV) changed distinctly with the change of u*. For CTDE events, the DN and DV had no obvious relationship with the change of u* because the dominating influence factor during CTDE event was thermal convection rather than u*. The mass-related PSDs usually exhibited a peak between 0.45 and 0.70 μm during SADE events, while for CTDE events there was a wide peak in the range of 0.10 0.70 μm. The results suggest that DN should be not be recommended as an individual parameter to describe the PSDs. The mass-related PSDs can effectively distinguish the SADE and CTDE events.

Synergistic Use of Remote Sensing and Modeling for Tracing Dust Storms in the Mediterranean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. G. Kaskaoutis

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This study focuses on the detection of the dust source region and monitoring of the transport of the dust plume from its primary outflow to final deposition. The application area is the Sahara desert and the eastern Mediterranean, where two dust events occurred during the period 4–6 February 2009, an unusual event for a winter period. The Aqua-MODIS and OMI observations clearly define the spatial distribution of the dust plumes, while the CALIPSO observations of total attenuated backscatter (TAB at 532 nm, depolarization ratio (DR, and attenuated color ratio (1064/532 nm on 5 February 2009 provide a clear view and vertical structure of the dust-laden layer. The dust source region is defined to be near the Chad-Niger-Libyan borders, using satellite observations and model (DREAM output. This dust plume is vertically extended up to 2.5 km and is observed as a mass plume of dust from surface level to that altitude, where the vertical variation of TAB (0.002 to 0.2 and DR (0.2–0.5 implies dust-laden layer with non-spherical particles. CALIPSO profiles show that after the dust plume reached at its highest level, the dust particles start to be deposited over the Mediterranean and the initial dust plume was strongly attenuated, while features of dust were limited below about 1–1.5 km for latitudes northern of ~36° (Greek territory.

Respirable quartz hazard associated with coal mine roof bolter dust

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joy, G.J.; Beck, T.W.; Listak, J.M.

2010-01-01

Pneumoconiosis has been reported to be increasing among underground coal miners in the Southern Appalachian Region. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conducted a study to examine the particle size distribution and quartz content of dust generated by the installation of roof bolts in mines. Forty-six bulk samples of roof bolting machine pre-cleaner cyclone dump dust and collector box dust were collected from 26 underground coal mines. Real-time and integrated airborne respirable dust concentrations were measured on 3 mining sections in 2 mines. The real-time airborne dust concentrations profiles were examined to identify any concentration changes that might be associated with pre-cleaner cyclone dust discharge events. The study showed that bolter dust is a potential inhalation hazard due to the fraction of dust less than 10 μm in size, and the quartz content of the dust. The pre-cleaner cyclone dust was significantly larger than the collector box dust, indicating that the pre-cleaner functioned properly in removing the larger dust size fraction from the airstream. However, the pre-cleaner dust still contained a substantial amount of respirable dust. It was concluded that in order to maintain the effectiveness of a roof bolter dust collector, periodic removal of dust is required. Appropriate work procedures and equipment are necessary to minimize exposure during this cleaning task. 13 refs., 3 tabs., 2 figs.

High-latitude dust in the Earth system

Science.gov (United States)

Bullard, Joanna E; Baddock, Matthew; Bradwell, Tom; Crusius, John; Darlington, Eleanor; Gaiero, Diego; Gasso, Santiago; Gisladottir, Gudrun; Hodgkins, Richard; McCulloch, Robert; NcKenna Neuman, Cheryl; Mockford, Tom; Stewart, Helena; Thorsteinsson, Throstur

2016-01-01

Natural dust is often associated with hot, subtropical deserts, but significant dust events have been reported from cold, high latitudes. This review synthesizes current understanding of high-latitude (≥50°N and ≥40°S) dust source geography and dynamics and provides a prospectus for future research on the topic. Although the fundamental processes controlling aeolian dust emissions in high latitudes are essentially the same as in temperate regions, there are additional processes specific to or enhanced in cold regions. These include low temperatures, humidity, strong winds, permafrost and niveo-aeolian processes all of which can affect the efficiency of dust emission and distribution of sediments. Dust deposition at high latitudes can provide nutrients to the marine system, specifically by contributing iron to high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll oceans; it also affects ice albedo and melt rates. There have been no attempts to quantify systematically the expanse, characteristics, or dynamics of high-latitude dust sources. To address this, we identify and compare the main sources and drivers of dust emissions in the Northern (Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Iceland) and Southern (Antarctica, New Zealand, and Patagonia) Hemispheres. The scarcity of year-round observations and limitations of satellite remote sensing data at high latitudes are discussed. It is estimated that under contemporary conditions high-latitude sources cover >500,000 km2 and contribute at least 80–100 Tg yr−1 of dust to the Earth system (~5% of the global dust budget); both are projected to increase under future climate change scenarios.

High Latitude Dust in the Earth System

Science.gov (United States)

Bullard, Joanna E.; Baddock, Matthew; Bradwell, Tom; Crusius, John; Darlington, Eleanor; Gaiero, Diego; Gasso, Santiago; Gisladottir, Gudrun; Hodgkins, Richard; McCulloch, Robert;

Density currents as a desert dust mobilization mechanism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Solomos

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The formation and propagation of density currents are well studied processes in fluid dynamics with many applications in other science fields. In the atmosphere, density currents are usually meso-β/γ phenomena and are often associated with storm downdrafts. These storms are responsible for the formation of severe dust episodes (haboobs over desert areas. In the present study, the formation of a convective cool pool and the associated dust mobilization are examined for a representative event over the western part of Sahara desert. The physical processes involved in the mobilization of dust are described with the use of the integrated atmospheric-air quality RAMS/ICLAMS model. Dust is effectively produced due to the development of near surface vortices and increased turbulent mixing along the frontal line. Increased dust emissions and recirculation of the elevated particles inside the head of the density current result in the formation of a moving "dust wall". Transport of the dust particles in higher layers – outside of the density current – occurs mainly in three ways: (1 Uplifting of preexisting dust over the frontal line with the aid of the strong updraft (2 Entrainment at the upper part of the density current head due to turbulent mixing (3 Vertical mixing after the dilution of the system. The role of the dust in the associated convective cloud system was found to be limited. Proper representation of convective processes and dust mobilization requires the use of high resolution (cloud resolving model configuration and online parameterization of dust production. Haboob-type dust storms are effective dust sources and should be treated accordingly in dust modeling applications.

Hygroscopicity of mineral dust particles: Roles of chemical mixing state and hygroscopic conversion timescale

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, R. C.; Moore, M. J.; Petters, M. D.; Laskin, A.; Roberts, G. C.; Kreidenweis, S. M.; Prather, K. A.

2009-05-01

Our laboratory investigations of mineral dust particle hygroscopicity are motivated by field observations of the atmospheric processing of dust. During ACE-Asia we observed sulphate and nitrate to be strongly segregated from each other in individual aged Asian dust particles. CCN activation curves of pure calcium minerals as proxies for fresh (calcium carbonate) and aged (calcium sulphate, nitrate, chloride) dust indicate that this mixing state would cause a large fraction of aged dust particles to remain poor warm cloud nucleation potential, contrary to previous assumptions. The enrichment of oxalic acid in calcium-rich dust particles could have similar effects due to the formation of insoluble calcium oxalate. Soluble calcium nitrate and chloride reaction products are hygroscopic and will transform mineral dust into excellent CCN. Generating insoluble mineral particles wet by atomization produced particles with much higher hygroscopicity then when resuspended dry. The atomized particles are likely composed of dissolved residuals and do not properly reflect the chemistry of dry mineral powders. Aerosol flow tube experiments were employed to study the conversion of calcium carbonate into calcium nitrate via heterogeneous reaction with nitric acid, with simultaneous measurements of the reacted particles' chemistry and hygroscopicity. The timescale for this hygroscopic conversion was found to occur on the order of a few hours under tropospheric conditions. This implies that the conversion of non-hygroscopic calcite- containing dust into hygroscopic particles will be controlled by the availability of nitric acid, and not by the atmospheric residence time. Results from recent investigations of the effect of secondary coatings on the ice nucleation properties of dust particles will also be presented. The cloud formation potential of aged dust particles depends on both the quantity and form of the secondary species that have reacted or mixed with the dust. These results

Searching for a Cultural Home: Asian American Youth in the EDM Festival Scene

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Judy Soojin Park

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This article investigates the recent proliferation of Asian American participants in Electronic Dance Music (EDM festivals with a particular focus on those organized by Insomniac Events in Southern California. As Insomniac’s events aim to propagate an ethos of PLUR—Peace, Love, Unity and Respect—reminiscent of historical rave culture, these events promise a space where anyone, regardless of race, class, gender or sexuality, is accepted. Using an interview-based methodology paired with participant observation, I argue that Asian American youth’s status as “perpetual foreigners” and subsequent desire for cultural belonging have motivated their participation in events promoted by Insomniac. Nevertheless, the Asian American participants I interviewed defined notions of belonging, authenticity and subcultural capital in the EDM festival scene in relation to suburban middle-class whiteness and in opposition to urban hip-hop blackness. My research provides a much-needed study of nonwhite participants and how they negotiate their subjectivities in relation to the contemporary EDM festival scene.

Quantifying dust plume formation and aerosol size distribution during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment in North Africa

KAUST Repository

Khan, Basit Ali

2015-01-01

Dust particles mixed in the free troposphere have longer lifetimes than airborne particles near the surface. Their cumulative radiative impact on earth’s meteorological processes and climate might be significant despite their relatively small contribution to total dust abundance. One example is the elevated dust--laden Saharan Air Layer (SAL) over the equatorial North Atlantic, which cools the sea surface and likely suppresses hurricane activity. To understand the formation mechanisms of SAL, we combine model simulations and dust observations collected during the first stage of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM--I), which sampled dust events that extended from Morocco to Portugal, and investigated the spatial distribution and the microphysical, optical, chemical, and radiative properties of Saharan mineral dust. We employed the Weather Research Forecast model coupled with the Chemistry/Aerosol module (WRF--Chem) to reproduce the meteorological environment and spatial and size distributions of dust. The experimental domain covers northwest Africa including the southern Sahara, Morocco and part of the Atlantic Ocean with 5 km horizontal grid spacing and 51 vertical layers. The experiments were run from 20 May to 9 June 2006, covering the period of most intensive dust outbreaks. Comparisons of model results with available airborne and ground--based observations show that WRF--Chem reproduces observed meteorological fields as well as aerosol distribution across the entire region and along the airplane’s tracks. We evaluated several aerosol uplift processes and found that orographic lifting, aerosol transport through the land/sea interface with steep gradients of meteorological characteristics, and interaction of sea breezes with the continental outflow are key mechanisms that form a surface--detached aerosol plume over the ocean. Comparisons of simulated dust size distributions with airplane and ground--based observations are generally good, but suggest

The Tranisiting Dust of Boyajian's Star

Science.gov (United States)

Bodman, Eva; Ellis, Tyler G.; Boyajian, Tabetha S.; Wright, Jason

2018-06-01

From May to October of 2017, Boyajian's Star displayed four days-long dips in observed flux, which are referred to as “Elsie,” “Celeste,” “Skara Brae,” and “Angkor” (Boyajian et al. 2018). This Elsie family dip event was monitored with the Las Cumbres Observatory in three bands, B, r', and i'. Looking at each dip individually, we analyze the multi-band photometry for wavelength dependency in dip depth to constrain properties of the transiting material. We find that all of the dips show non-grey extinction and are consistent with optically thin dust. Interpreting the dips as transiting dust clouds, we constrain the properties of the dust grains and find that the average grain radius is causing the dips is from a separate population.

Earlier vegetation green-up has reduced spring dust storms.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Bihang; Guo, Li; Li, Ning; Chen, Jin; Lin, Henry; Zhang, Xiaoyang; Shen, Miaogen; Rao, Yuhan; Wang, Cong; Ma, Lei

2014-10-24

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 storm outbreaks and satellite-derived vegetation green-up date in Inner Mongolia, Northern China from 1982 to 2008. We find a significant dampening effect of advanced vegetation growth on spring dust storms (r = 0.49, p = 0.01), with a one-day earlier green-up date corresponding to a decrease in annual spring dust storm outbreaks by 3%. Moreover, the higher correlation (r = 0.55, p storm outbreak ratio (the ratio of dust storm outbreaks to times of strong wind events) indicates that such effect is independent of changes in surface wind. Spatially, a negative correlation is detected between areas with advanced green-up dates and regional annual spring dust storms (r = -0.49, p = 0.01). This new insight is valuable for understanding dust storms dynamics under the changing climate. Our findings suggest that dust storms in Inner Mongolia will be further mitigated by the projected earlier vegetation green-up in the warming world.

Assessment of Hydraulic Conditions Supporting the Recruitment of Asian Carp in the Illinois Waterway - A Case Study Using Known Spawning Events of 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Soong, D. T.; Garcia, T.; Duncker, J.; Zhu, Z.; Butler, S.; Diana, M.; Wahl, D.

2016-12-01

The upstream movement of Asian carp in the Illinois Waterway poses a potential threat to the Great Lakes. If established within the Great Lakes, Asian carp may disrupt the food web and harm the ecosystems of the Great Lakes. Understanding the Asian carp reproduction, including the timing and locations of adult spawning and the transport and dispersal of eggs and larvae, is essential information for managing the Asian carp population in the Illinois Waterway. The Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator (FluEgg) model, a Lagrangian particle tracking model, has been used to study the transport and dispersal of eggs and larvae. The FluEgg model inputs are water temperature and hydraulic properties. At present, field measured or modeled hydraulics from steady-state simulations have been used in FluEgg modeling and the applications have shown useful results for evaluating Asian carp reproduction in the Illinois Waterway. However, there is a need to use data based on more representative time-variable hydraulic conditions from spawning to the time larvae reach the Gas Bladder Inflation Stage (GBI). The GBI stage is critical because that is the stage when the young fish seek nursery habitat. In June 2015, Asian carp spawning was observed at two locations along the Illinois Waterway, one below Starved Rock Lock and Dam near Utica, and the one in the La Grange Pool near Havana, Illinois. This study analyzes how hydraulic modeling can improve the predictability of the FluEgg model. An unsteady HEC-RAS hydraulic model of the Illinois Waterway from Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Grafton, Illinois was used to reproduce the June 2015 flood event. Hydraulic data from HEC-RAS modeling, including predicted spatial and temporal discharge, water depth, and shear velocity; and measured water temperature data were used as input to the FluEgg model. FluEgg simulation results illustrate the downstream drifting of eggs and larvae until reaching the GBI stage. These simulation results can be analyzed

Pancam and microscopic imager observations of dust on the Spirit Rovers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vaughan....[], Alicia F.; Johnson, Jeffrey R.; Walter, Goetz

2010-01-01

This work describes dust deposits on the Spirit Rover over 2000 sols through examination of Pancam and Microscopic Imager observations of specific locations on the rover body, including portions of the solar array, Pancam and Mini-TES calibration targets, and the magnets. This data set reveals...... the three "cleaning events" experienced by Spirit to date, the spectral properties of dust, and the tendency of dust particles to form aggregates 100 um and larger...

Synoptic characteristics of dust over the southwest of Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Katiraie-Boroujerdy, P.; Ghahri, F.; Ranjbar Saadatabadi, A.

2012-12-01

Iran is frequently affected by dust events because it is located in arid and semiarid belt of the world. As Khozestan province is in the vicinity of large deserts and also due to especial atmospheric conditions the frequency of dust in this area is increased in the recent years. Therefore it has the destructive affect on the healthcare, economy, social and etc. The study is based on the, sea level, 850 mb and 500 mb weather charts, surface wind field and observations weather data during the period of 1968-2008. By numerical simulation with WRF modeling it has tried to high light provide an answer to how this event produced and reached to Ahwaz. It has been shown in this 40 years, dust events by high strength and frequency occur in July in Ahwaz. Synoptic patterns revealed that for making sever dust event Persian Gulf thermal trough extends to the north west of Iraq and European ridge extends over the Black sea and large part of the Turkey by passing waves of middle level Mediterranean trough from northwest of Iraq and east of Syria. Numerical simulation shows strong surface flow over source regions in northwest of Iraq and east of Syria, creation westerly low level jet in low-lying areas and the increase in friction velocity in the source regions. In the deserts of Iraq and north east of Syria increase in friction velocity to its highest value (approx 0.6 m/s) causes reduction in visibility and by decrease to lowest value (approx 0.4 m/s) visibility reaches up to 600 meters in Ahwaz.

Nurses of Asia: Reflection from Asian Oncology Nursing Society Conference 2015

OpenAIRE

Jimvert I Camarillo

2016-01-01

Another significant milestone from the Executive Board and the Organizing Committee of the Asian Oncology Nursing Society (AONS) transpired last November 20-21, 2015. The 2 nd AONS Conference was held in Seoul, South Korea under the theme of "Flying the Spirits of Asian Oncology Nursing." A total of 687 delegates from USA, Canada, Australia, Romania, and Asian Region supported this groundbreaking event. The objective of this 2-day conference was to facilitate sharing of expertise in the field...

Temporal Evolution of Water and Dust in Comet 9P/Tempel 1 after the Deep Impact Event, as Observed from Spitzer

Science.gov (United States)

Gicquel, Adeline; Bockelée-Morvan, D.; Kelley, M. S.; Woodward, C. E.; Wooden, D. H.

2010-10-01

The Deep Impact (DI) spacecraft encountered comet 9P/Tempel 1 on July 4th, 2005. The spacecraft released an impactor that collided with the comet nucleus and excavated (possibly unprocessed) cometary material in a prominent ejecta plume. Spectral maps covering 20'' x 67'' (1.85''/pixel) were acquired with the IRS instrument on the Spitzer Space Telescope at different times around the DI event: twice before impact (TI-41.3hrs and TI-22.9hrs) and twelve times after impact (between TI+0.67hrs and TI+1027hrs). These IRS observations are stored in the Spitzer data archive and presented by Lisse et al. (2006, Science 313, 635). We present the interpretation of 5.2-7.6 micrometer spectra obtained in the second order of the short-wavelength module (SL2). To reduce the contribution of artifacts in the spectra, 5x5 pixel extraction apertures (9.25''x9.25'') were used. The underlying continuum in the spectra provides information on the grain size distribution and color temperature of the dust ejecta. In order to determine the grain size distribution, we assumed that ejecta consist of a composition of both amorphous carbon and silicates. The grains are assumed to be spherical with sizes in range from 0.1 to 100 micrometers. We used the Mie theory to calculate the optical properties of each material and the temperature of the grain. We constrained the grain size distribution and velocities from the spectra and the temporal evolution of the dust flux. The dust mass and dust/gas ratio in the ejecta cloud are also derived and compared with other values published in the literature.

Direct radiative forcing due to aerosols in Asia during March 2002.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Soon-Ung; Jeong, Jaein I

2008-12-15

The Asian dust aerosol model (ADAM) and the aerosol dynamic model including the gas-aerosol interaction processes together with the Column Radiation Model (CRM) of Community Climate Model 3 and the output of the fifth generation of meso-scale model (MM5) in a grid 60 x 60 km2 in the Asian domain (70-150E, Equator-50N) have been employed to estimate direct radiative forcing of the Asian dust and the anthropogenic aerosols including the BC, OC, secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA), mixed type aerosol (dust+BC+OC+SIA) and sea salt aerosols at the surface, the top of atmosphere (TOA) and in the atmosphere for the period of 1-31 March 2002 during which a severe Asian dust event has been occurred in the model domain. The results indicate that the ADAM model and the aerosol dynamic model simulate quite well the spatial and temporal distributions of the mass concentration of aerosols with the R2 value of more than 0.7. The estimated mean total column aerosol mass in the analysis domain for the whole period is found to be about 78 mg m(-2), of which 66% and 34% are, respectively, contributed by the Asian dust aerosol and all the other anthropogenic aerosols. However, the direct radiative forcing contributed by the Asian dust aerosol is about 22% of the mean radiative forcing at the surface (-6.8 W m(-2)), about 31% at the top of atmosphere (-2.9 W m(-2)) and about 13% in the atmosphere (3.8 W m(-2)), suggesting relatively inefficient contribution of the Asian dust aerosol on the direct radiative forcing compared to the anthropogenic aerosols. The aerosol direct radiative forcing at the surface is mainly contributed by the mixed type aerosol (30%) and the SIA aerosol (25%) while at the top of atmosphere it is mainly contributed by the SIA aerosol (43%) and the Asian dust aerosol (31%) with positively (warming) contributed by BC and mixed type aerosols. The atmosphere is warmed mainly by the mixed type aerosol (55%) and the BC aerosol (26%). However, the largest radiative

Direct radiative forcing due to aerosols in Asia during March 2002

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Soon-Ung; Jeong, Jaein I.

2008-01-01

The Asian dust aerosol model (ADAM) and the aerosol dynamic model including the gas-aerosol interaction processes together with the Column Radiation Model (CRM) of Community Climate Model 3 and the output of the fifth generation of meso-scale model (MM5) in a grid 60 x 60 km 2 in the Asian domain (70-150E, Equator-50N) have been employed to estimate direct radiative forcing of the Asian dust and the anthropogenic aerosols including the BC, OC, secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA), mixed type aerosol (dust + BC + OC + SIA) and sea salt aerosols at the surface, the top of atmosphere (TOA) and in the atmosphere for the period of 1-31 March 2002 during which a severe Asian dust event has been occurred in the model domain. The results indicate that the ADAM model and the aerosol dynamic model simulate quite well the spatial and temporal distributions of the mass concentration of aerosols with the R 2 value of more than 0.7. The estimated mean total column aerosol mass in the analysis domain for the whole period is found to be about 78 mg m -2 , of which 66% and 34% are, respectively, contributed by the Asian dust aerosol and all the other anthropogenic aerosols. However, the direct radiative forcing contributed by the Asian dust aerosol is about 22% of the mean radiative forcing at the surface (- 6.8 W m -2 ), about 31% at the top of atmosphere (- 2.9 W m -2 ) and about 13% in the atmosphere (3.8 W m -2 ), suggesting relatively inefficient contribution of the Asian dust aerosol on the direct radiative forcing compared to the anthropogenic aerosols. The aerosol direct radiative forcing at the surface is mainly contributed by the mixed type aerosol (30%) and the SIA aerosol (25%) while at the top of atmosphere it is mainly contributed by the SIA aerosol (43%) and the Asian dust aerosol (31%) with positively (warming) contributed by BC and mixed type aerosols. The atmosphere is warmed mainly by the mixed type aerosol (55%) and the BC aerosol (26%). However, the largest

Use of SEVIRI images and derived products in a WMO Sand and dust Storm Warning System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MartInez, M A; Ruiz, J; Cuevas, E [Agencia Estatal de MeteorologIa (AEMET) (Spain)], E-mail: mig@inm.es

2009-03-01

The Visible/IR images of SEVIRI (Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager), on board Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites, are used to monitor dust events. Satellite-based detection of dust is a difficult problem due in part to the observing-system limitations. The main difficulty is that the dust can be confused with water/ice clouds. SEVIRI is not as optimal for the viewing of dust as SEAWIFS or MODIS, due to the fact that both of them count with additional short-wavelength channels. However, the SEVIRI 15-minute loop images can detect small dust plumes as well as subtle changes from one image to the next. A description of how the AEMET, former INM, is developing the environment to support MSG satellite imagery to the WMO/GEO Sand and Dust Storm Warning System (SDS WS) for Europe, Africa and Middle East Regional Centre will be briefly presented, together with some on-going operational developments to best monitor dust events.

Statistical analysis of temporal and spatial evolution of in-vessel dust particles in KSTAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kyung-Rae; Hong, Suk-Ho; Nam, Yong-Un; Jung, Jinil; Kim, Woong-Chae

2013-01-01

Images of wide-angle visible standard CCD cameras contain information on in-vessel dusts such as dust creation events (DCEs) that occur during plasma operations, and their velocity. Analyzing the straight line-like dust traces in the shallow cylindrical shell-structured scrape-off layer along the vacuum vessel, a database on the short/long term temporal evolutions, spatial locations of DCEs caused by plasma–dust interaction, and the dust velocity distribution are built. We have studied DCEs of 2010 and 2011 KSTAR campaign

Influence of tropical storms in the Northern Indian Ocean on dust entrainment and long-range transport.

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ramaswamy, V.

to the winter and summer Shamal Winds, tropical cyclones are an important mechanism of dust entrainment and transport of dust in this region. Elevated dust levels were observed in the northern Arabian Sea during most tropical cyclone events. During the study...

Paleo-dust insights onto dust-climate interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Albani, S.; Mahowald, N. M.

2017-12-01

Mineral dust emissions are affected by changing climate conditions, and in turn dust impacts the atmospheric radiation budget, clouds and biogeochemical cycles. Climate and public health dust-related issues call for attention on the fate of the dust cycle in the future, and the representation of the dust cycle is now part of the strategy of the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project phase 4 and the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (PMIP4-CMIP6). Since mineral aerosols are one of the most important natural aerosols, understanding past dust responses to climate in the paleoclimate will allow us to better understand mineral aerosol feedbacks with climate and biogeochemistry in the Anthropocene. Modern observations and paleoclimate records offer the possibility of multiple, complementary views on the global dust cycle, and allow to validate and/or constrain the numerical representation of dust in climate and Earth system models. We present our results from a set of simulations with the Community Earth System Model for different climate states, including present and past climates such as the pre-industrial, the mid-Holocene and the Last Glacial Maximum. A set of simulations including a prognostic dust cycle was thoroughly compared with a wide set of present day observations from different platforms and regions, in order to realistically constrain the magnitude of dust load, surface concentration, deposition, optical properties, and particle size distributions. The magnitude of emissions for past climate regimes was constrained based on compilations of paleodust mass accumulation rates and size distributions, as well as based on information on dust provenance. The comparison with a parallel set of simulations without dust allows estimating the impacts of dust on surface climate. We analyze impacts of dust on the mean and variability of surface temperature and precipitation in each climate state, as well as the impacts that changing dust emissions had

Modeling a typical winter-time dust event over the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Kalenderski, Stoitchko; Stenchikov, Georgiy L.; Zhao, C.

2013-01-01

2009. The model predicted that the total amount of emitted dust was 18.3 Tg for the entire dust outburst period and that the two maximum daily rates were ?2.4 Tg day-1 and ?1.5 Tg day-1, corresponding to two periods with the highest aerosol optical

Atmospheric Dust in the Upper Colorado River Basin: Integrated Analysis of Digital Imagery, Total Suspended Particulate, and Meteorological Data

Science.gov (United States)

Urban, F. E.; Reynolds, R. L.; Neff, J. C.; Fernandez, D. P.; Reheis, M. C.; Goldstein, H.; Grote, E.; Landry, C.

2012-12-01

Improved measurement and observation of dust emission and deposition in the American west would advance understanding of (1) landscape conditions that promote or suppress dust emission, (2) dynamics of dryland and montane ecosystems, (3) premature melting of snow cover that provides critical water supplies, and (4) possible effects of dust on human health. Such understanding can be applied to issues of land management, water-resource management, as well as the safety and well-being of urban and rural inhabitants. We have recently expanded the scope of particulate measurement in the Upper Colorado River basin through the establishment of total-suspended-particulate (TSP) measurement stations located in Utah and Colorado with bi-weekly data (filter) collection, along with protocols for characterizing dust-on-snow (DOS) layers in Colorado mountains. A sub-network of high-resolution digital cameras has been co-located with several of the TSP stations, as well as at other strategic locations. These real-time regional dust-event detection cameras are internet-based and collect digital imagery every 6-15 minutes. Measurements of meteorological conditions to support these collections and observations are provided partly by CLIM-MET stations, four of which were deployed in 1998 in the Canyonlands (Utah) region. These stations provide continuous, near real-time records of the complex interaction of wind, precipitation, vegetation, as well as dust emission and deposition, in different land-use settings. The complementary datasets of dust measurement and observation enable tracking of individual regional dust events. As an example, the first DOS event of water year 2012 (Nov 5, 2011), as documented at Senator Beck Basin, near Silverton, Colorado, was also recorded by the camera at Island-in-the-Sky (200 km to the northwest), as well as in aeolian activity and wind data from the Dugout Ranch CLIM-MET station (170 km to the west-northwest). At these sites, strong winds and the

Respirable dust measured downwind during rock dust application.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, M L; Organiscak, J; Klima, S; Perera, I E

2017-05-01

The Pittsburgh Mining Research Division of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted underground evaluations in an attempt to quantify respirable rock dust generation when using untreated rock dust and rock dust treated with an anticaking additive. Using personal dust monitors, these evaluations measured respirable rock dust levels arising from a flinger-type application of rock dust on rib and roof surfaces. Rock dust with a majority of the respirable component removed was also applied in NIOSH's Bruceton Experimental Mine using a bantam duster. The respirable dust measurements obtained downwind from both of these tests are presented and discussed. This testing did not measure miners' exposure to respirable coal mine dust under acceptable mining practices, but indicates the need for effective continuous administrative controls to be exercised when rock dusting to minimize the measured amount of rock dust in the sampling device.

Simulation of long-range transport aerosols from the Asian Continent to Taiwan by a southward Asian high-pressure system.

Science.gov (United States)

Chuang, Ming-Tung; Fu, Joshua S; Jang, Carey J; Chan, Chang-Chuan; Ni, Pei-Cheng; Lee, Chung-Te

2008-11-15

Aerosol is frequently transported by a southward high-pressure system from the Asian Continent to Taiwan and had been recorded a 100% increase in mass level compared to non-event days from 2002 to 2005. During this time period, PM2.5 sulfate was found to increase as high as 155% on event days as compared to non-event days. In this study, Asian emission estimations, Taiwan Emission Database System (TEDS), and meteorological simulation results from the fifth-generation Mesoscale Model (MM5) were used as inputs for the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model to simulate a long-range transport of PM2.5 event in a southward high-pressure system from the Asian Continent to Taiwan. The simulation on aerosol mass level and the associated aerosol components were found within a reasonable accuracy. During the transport process, the percentage of semi-volatile PM2.5 organic carbon in PM2.5 plume only slightly decreased from 22-24% in Shanghai to 21% near Taiwan. However, the percentage of PM2.5 nitrate in PM2.5 decreased from 16-25% to 1%. In contrast, the percentage of PM2.5 sulfate in PM2.5 increased from 16-19% to 35%. It is interesting to note that the percentage of PM2.5 ammonium and PM2.5 elemental carbon in PM2.5 remained nearly constant. Simulation results revealed that transported pollutants dominate the air quality in Taipei when the southward high-pressure system moved to Taiwan. Such condition demonstrates the dynamic chemical transformation of pollutants during the transport process from continental origin over the sea area and to the downwind land.

Continuous measurements of natural radionuclides on air-borne dust using β-α correlated events. Towards on-line detection of artificial radionuclides in nuclear-fuel reprocessing and its related facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashimoto, Tetsuo; Ishiyama, Hisanobu; Itou, Shigeki

2008-01-01

On the highly sensitive and on-line detection for the contamination of artificial nuclides, much attention has been paid to the elimination of significant problem due to 222 Rn-progenies. A phosfich-type α- and β-ray radiation counter, which was fixed just above the dust-collecting filter paper within a space in a few mm, provides both α- and β-ray pulses during continuous collection of air-borne dust. Both pulse input times were registered into the memory buffer in a pulse time interval analyzing (TIA) system, followed rapidly by the data processing using MTA (multiple TIA) method. Resultant β-α TIA-spectrum (or decay-curve of β-α correlated events) and changes of α- and β-counting rates were displayed instantly on a PC-display with 1 μs time resolution using installed softwares. Thus, three practical values, including β-α correlated event rates (n αβ ), α-(n α ), and β-ray counting rates (n β ) were available from the present TIA-measurement system. A uranium deposited source (as mixture of α- and β-ray emitters), uranium mineral powder sample, and 226 Ra-source (as β-source) showed negligible contribution to β-α correlated events in TIA-spectrum, giving constant α/β counting ratios. In the case of air-borne dust samples, the β-α correlated events in TIA-spectrum showed certainly a presence of 164 μs decay-curve due to 214 Po, based on successive decay process such as 241 Bi(β) → 214 Po(α:T 1/2 =164 μs)→. By using three measuring values, new parameters, R α and R β [equal to (n α or n β ) * (n α + n β )/n αβ ], have been introduced for the highly sensitive and real-time indicators of contamination owing to artificial nuclides, even under the inevitable existence of 222 Rn progenies in the air-borne dust sample. The present radiation measurement system, combined with β-α correlated events, has been proved to be useful for the detection of extremely small contamination with artificial α-nuclides as well as �

The Rhetorical Making of the Asian/Asian American Face: Reading and Writing Asian Eyelids

OpenAIRE

Sano-Franchini, Jennifer

2013-01-01

In The Rhetorical Making of the Asian/Asian American Face: Reading and Writing Asian Eyelids, I examine representations of East Asian blepharoplasty in online video in order to gain a sense of how cultural values change over time. Drawing on scholarship in and around rhetorical theory, cultural rhetorics, Asian American rhetoric, cultural studies, Asian American studies, and postcolonial theory alongside qualitative data analysis of approximately fifty videos and the numerous viewer comments ...

Elevated heat pump effects of dust aerosol over Northwestern China during summer

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Yaoguo; Han, Yongxiang; Ma, Xiaoyan; Liu, Zhaohuan

2018-05-01

The Elevated Heat Pump (EHP) effect demonstrates a significant interaction between the aerosol climatic effect and the monsoon, both are important for climate research. In Northwestern China, the influence of EHP mechanism is still lacking in research. In this study, the EHP effects in Northwestern China are investigated by three sensitivity tests using a WRF-Chem model coupled with the Shao dust emission scheme. Results show that: 1) the anomalous circulation caused by dust aerosols are proved to the existence of EHP effect in Northwestern China; 2) three updrafts over the desert are transported eastward at high altitude and subside in Northeastern China, forming a complete secondary circulation with low-level easterly flow from Badain Jaran and Tengger to Taklimakan; 3) a northeasternerly anomaly flow from Northeastern China can affect the intensity of East Asian summer monsoon (EASM), and increase precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and decrease precipitation in Northeastern China. 4) We present a conceptual model of EHP in Northwestern China to provide a better understanding of the climatic effects of dust aerosols.

Climate change and climate systems influence and control the atmospheric dispersion of desert dust: implications for human health

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, Dale W.; Ragaini, Richard C.

2010-01-01

The global dispersion of desert dust through Earth’s atmosphere is greatly influenced by temperature. Temporal analyses of ice core data have demonstrated that enhanced dust dispersion occurs during glacial events. This is due to an increase in ice cover, which results in an increase in drier terrestrial cover. A shorter temporal analysis of dust dispersion data over the last 40 years has demonstrated an increase in dust transport. Climate systems or events such as the North Atlantic Oscillation, the Indian Ocean subtropical High, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and El Nino-Sothern Oscillation are known to influence global short-term dust dispersion occurrence and transport routes. Anthropogenic influences on dust transport include deforestation, harmful use of topsoil for agriculture as observed during the American Dust Bowl period, and the creation of dry seas (Aral Sea) and lakes (Lake Owens in California and Lake Chad in North Africa) through the diversion of source waters (for irrigation and drinking water supplies). Constituents of desert dust both from source regions (pathogenic microorganisms, organic and inorganic toxins) and those scavenged through atmospheric transport (i.e., industrial and agricultural emissions) are known to directly impact human and ecosystem health. This presentation will present a review of global scale dust storms and how these events can be both a detriment and benefit to various organisms in downwind environments.

Transport of short-lived climate forcers/pollutants (SLCF/P) to the Himalayas during the South Asian summer monsoon onset

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cristofanelli, P; Putero, D; Landi, T C; Marinoni, A; Duchi, R; Calzolari, F; Bonasoni, P; Adhikary, B; Stocchi, P; Verza, G; Vuillermoz, E; Laj, P; Kang, S; Ming, J

2014-01-01

Over the course of six years (2006–2011), equivalent black carbon (eqBC), coarse aerosol mass (PM 1–10 ), and surface ozone (O 3 ), observed during the monsoon onset period at the Nepal Climate Observatory–Pyramid WMO/GAW Global Station (NCO-P, 5079 m a.s.l.), were analyzed to investigate events characterized by a significant increase in these short-lived climate forcers/pollutants (SLCF/P). These events occurred during periods characterized by low (or nearly absent) rain precipitation in the central Himalayas, and they appeared to be related to weakening stages (or ‘breaking’) of the South Asian summer monsoon system. As revealed by the combined analysis of atmospheric circulation, air-mass three-dimensional back trajectories, and satellite measurements of atmospheric aerosol loading, surface open fire, and tropospheric NO x , the large amount of SLCF/P reaching the NCO-P appeared to be related to natural (mineral dust) and anthropogenic emissions occurring within the PBL of central Pakistan (i.e., Thar Desert), the Northwestern Indo-Gangetic plain, and the Himalayan foothills. The systematic occurrence of these events appeared to represent the most important source of SLCF/P inputs into the central Himalayas during the summer monsoon onset period, with possible important implications for the regional climate and for hydrological cycles. (letter)

Trajectory Calculation as Forecasting Support Tool for Dust Storms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sultan Al-Yahyai

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In arid and semiarid regions, dust storms are common during windy seasons. Strong wind can blow loose sand from the dry surface. The rising sand and dust is then transported to other places depending on the wind conditions (speed and direction at different levels of the atmosphere. Considering dust as a moving object in space and time, trajectory calculation then can be used to determine the path it will follow. Trajectory calculation is used as a forecast supporting tool for both operational and research activities. Predefined dust sources can be identified and the trajectories can be precalculated from the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP forecast. In case of long distance transported dust, the tool should allow the operational forecaster to perform online trajectory calculation. This paper presents a case study for using trajectory calculation based on NWP models as a forecast supporting tool in Oman Meteorological Service during some dust storm events. Case study validation results showed a good agreement between the calculated trajectories and the real transport path of the dust storms and hence trajectory calculation can be used at operational centers for warning purposes.

Air particulate pollution studies in Asian countries using nuclear analytical techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hien, P.D.

1998-01-01

Air particulate pollution is regarded as critical in Asian cities. The levels of suspended particulate matter in major Asian cities far exceed the WHO's guideline. Nuclear analytical techniques have been widely used in the studies of air particulate pollution to provide aerosol elemental compositions for the purpose of deriving the structure of emission sources. This paper presents some preliminary observations and findings based on publications in scientific literatures. Data on PM-10 levels and socio-economic indicators are used for searching a relationship between air quality and the level of development across Asia. An inverse linear relationship between PM-10 levels and logarithm of per capita GDP appears to exist, although there are large fluctuations of data caused by the very different climatic and geographical conditions of cities studied. Soil dust is generally a major, or even predominant aerosol source in Asian cities. Other common sources include vehicular emissions, coal and oil combustion, burning of refuse (in open) and biomass (including forest fires). The relevance and the trends of these sources in Asian context are discussed. Multivariate receptor modelling techniques applied in source characterization are illustrated through the cases of Lahore and Hochiminh City. Although having limitations in dealing with mixing and overlapping sources, receptor modelling based on principal component factor analysis has been proven to be uncomplicated and sufficiently reliable for characterising aerosol sources in urban areas. (author)

Articulating Asianness: Young Asian Dutch and non-homeland Asian popular media

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kartosen, R.A.; Tan, E.S.H.

2013-01-01

This study explores Asian Dutch young people’s ethnic-cultural identification in relation to their media consumption, and specifically their consumption of popular media from Asian countries other than their country of origin. A survey was conducted among 486 Asian Dutch (18-35 years old). In

The Impact of Air Pollution, Including Asian Sand Dust, on Respiratory Symptoms and Health-related Quality of Life in Outpatients With Chronic Respiratory Disease in Korea: A Panel Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakao, Motoyuki; Ishihara, Yoko; Kim, Cheol-Hong; Hyun, In-Gyu

2018-05-01

Air pollution is a growing concern in Korea because of transboundary air pollution from mainland China. A panel study was conducted to clarify the effects of air pollution on respiratory symptoms and health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) in outpatients with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Korea. Patients filled out a questionnaire including self-reported HR-QoL in February and were followed up in May and July. The study was conducted from 2013 to 2015, with different participants each year. Air quality parameters were applied in a generalized estimating equation as independent variables to predict factors affecting HR-QoL. Lower physical fitness scores were associated with Asian sand dust events. Daily activity scores were worse when there were high concentrations of particulate matter (PM) less than 10 μm in diameter (PM 10 ). Lower social functioning scores were associated with high PM less than 2.5 μm in diameter and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) concentrations. High NO 2 concentrations also showed a significant association with mental health scores. Weather-related cough was prevalent when PM 10 , NO 2 , or ozone (O 3 ) concentrations were high, regardless of COPD severity. High PM 10 concentrations were associated with worsened wheezing, particularly in COPD patients. The results suggest that PM, NO 2 , and O 3 cause respiratory symptoms leading to HR-QoL deterioration. While some adverse effects of air pollution appeared to occur regardless of COPD, others occurred more often and more intensely in COPD patients. The public sector, therefore, needs to consider tailoring air pollution countermeasures to people with different conditions to minimize adverse health effects.

Ethnopsychopharmacology considerations for Asians and Asian Americans.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Felicia K; Pi, Edmond H

2012-03-01

Asians comprise more than 60% of the world's population and are the fastest growing minority group in the United States. Today's psychiatrist must learn to recognize and appreciate the unique factors that influence mental health outcomes in this group. Asian Americans are affected by psychiatric disorders at similar rates as non-Asians, but are significantly underrepresented in psychiatric clinics. When Asians and Asian Americans do present for psychiatric treatment, they often do so with higher severity of illness, and variable levels of compliance. Studies over the past three decades have suggested that pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of various psychotropic medications may be different in Asians, leading to differences in dosage requirements and side-effect profiles. These variations appear to be largely determined by genetic predisposition, but are also influenced by other factors such as environment, social support, cultural perceptions, and physicians' prescribing habits. In this paper, we provide an overview of biological and socio-cultural issues as they relate to psychopharmacology in Asians and Asian Americans, with the hope that a better understanding of these issues will lead to improved mental health care delivery to this population both in the United States, as well as in Asian countries. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Association between Asian Dust-Borne Air Pollutants and Daily Symptoms on Healthy Subjects: A Web-Based Pilot Study in Yonago, Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abir Majbauddin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available During the spring, Asian dust (AD repeatedly makes its way to Japan, originating from drylands. We evaluated the association between AD-borne air pollutants and daily reported subjective symptoms in healthy subjects. We constructed an Internet questionnaire on daily ocular, nasal, respiratory, and skin symptoms. Forty-two healthy volunteers residents of Yonago (mean age, 33.57 were selected from the self-reporting web-based survey and recorded their symptoms between 1 and 31 of March 2013. We also collected information on levels of suspended particulate matter (SPM, particulate matter < 2.5 µm (PM2.5, sulfur dioxide (SO2, and nitrogen oxide (NOx per hour on each of those days. SPM and PM2.5 were the dominant pollutants recorded throughout the month. A positive correlation was observed between SPM and ocular (r=0.475, p<0.01, nasal (r=0.614, p<0.001, and skin (r=0.445, p<0.05 symptoms. PM2.5 correlations were significant for ocular (r=0.428, p<0.05, nasal (r=0.560, p<0.01, and skin (r=0.437, p<0.05 symptoms. Our findings provide introductory evidence of AD-borne air pollutants and their association with several bodily symptoms in healthy subjects with the implementation of a self-administrated web-based survey application.

Integrated spatiotemporal characterization of dust sources and outbreaks in Central and East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Darmenova, Kremena T.

The potential of atmospheric dust aerosols to modify the Earth's environment and climate has been recognized for some time. However, predicting the diverse impact of dust has several significant challenges. One is to quantify the complex spatial and temporal variability of dust burden in the atmosphere. Another is to quantify the fraction of dust originating from human-made sources. This thesis focuses on the spatiotemporal characterization of sources and dust outbreaks in Central and East Asia by integrating ground-based data, satellite multisensor observations, and modeling. A new regional dust modeling system capable of operating over a span of scales was developed. The modeling system consists of a dust module DuMo, which incorporates several dust emission schemes of different complexity, and the PSU/NCAR mesoscale model MM5, which offers a variety of physical parameterizations and flexible nesting capability. The modeling system was used to perform for the first time a comprehensive study of the timing, duration, and intensity of individual dust events in Central and East Asia. Determining the uncertainties caused by the choice of model physics, especially the boundary layer parameterization, and the dust production scheme was the focus of our study. Implications to assessments of the anthropogenic dust fraction in these regions were also addressed. Focusing on Spring 2001, an analysis of routine surface meteorological observations and satellite multi-sensor data was carried out in conjunction with modeling to determine the extent to which integrated data set can be used to characterize the spatiotemporal distribution of dust plumes at a range of temporal scales, addressing the active dust sources in China and Mongolia, mid-range transport and trans-Pacific, long-range transport of dust outbreaks on a case-by-case basis. This work demonstrates that adequate and consistent characterization of individual dust events is central to establishing a reliable

Dust around the Cool Component of D-Type Symbiotic Binaries

Science.gov (United States)

Jurkic, Tomislav; Kotnik-Karuza, Dubravka

2018-04-01

D type symbiotic binaries are an excellent astrophysical laboratory for investigation of the dust properties and dust formation under the influence of theMira stellar wind and nova activity and of the mass loss and mass transfer between components in such a widely separated system. We present a study of the properties of circumstellar dust in symbiotic Miras by use of long-term near-IR photometry and colour indices. The published JHKL magnitudes of o Ceti, RX Pup, KM Vel, V366 Car, V835 Cen, RR Tel, HM Sge and R Aqr have been collected, analyzed and corrected for short-term variations caused by Mira pulsations. Assuming spherical temperature distribution of the dust in the close neighbourhood of the Mira, the DUSTY code was used to solve the radiative transfer in order to determine the dust temperature and its properties in each particular case. Common dust properties of the symbiotic Miras have been found, suggesting similar conditions in the condensation region of the studied symbiotic Miras. Silicate dust with the inner dust shell radius determined by the dust condensation and with the dust temperature of 900-1200 K can fully explain the observed colour indices. R Aqr is an exception and showed lower dust temperature of 650 K. Obscuration events visible in light curves can be explained by variable dust optical depth with minimal variations of other dust properties. More active symbioticMiras that underwent recent nova outbursts showed higher dust optical depths and larger maximum grain sizes of the order of μm, which means that the post-nova activity could stimulate the dust formation and the grain growth. Optically thicker dust shells and higher dust condensation temperatures have been found in symbiotic Miras compared to their single counterparts, suggesting different conditions for dust production.

Pebble Bed Reactor Dust Production Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abderrafi M. Ougouag; Joshua J. Cogliati

2008-09-01

The operation of pebble bed reactors, including fuel circulation, can generate graphite dust, which in turn could be a concern for internal components; and to the near field in the remote event of a break in the coolant circuits. The design of the reactor system must, therefore, take the dust into account and the operation must include contingencies for dust removal and for mitigation of potential releases. Such planning requires a proper assessment of the dust inventory. This paper presents a predictive model of dust generation in an operating pebble bed with recirculating fuel. In this preliminary work the production model is based on the use of the assumption of proportionality between the dust production and the normal force and distance traveled. The model developed in this work uses the slip distances and the inter-pebble forces computed by the authors’ PEBBLES. The code, based on the discrete element method, simulates the relevant static and kinetic friction interactions between the pebbles as well as the recirculation of the pebbles through the reactor vessel. The interaction between pebbles and walls of the reactor vat is treated using the same approach. The amount of dust produced is proportional to the wear coefficient for adhesive wear (taken from literature) and to the slip volume, the product of the contact area and the slip distance. The paper will compare the predicted volume with the measured production rates. The simulation tallies the dust production based on the location of creation. Two peak production zones from intra pebble forces are predicted within the bed. The first zone is located near the pebble inlet chute due to the speed of the dropping pebbles. The second peak zone occurs lower in the reactor with increased pebble contact force due to the weight of supported pebbles. This paper presents the first use of a Discrete Element Method simulation of pebble bed dust production.

Pebble Bed Reactor Dust Production Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abderrafi M. Ougouag; Joshua J. Cogliati

2008-01-01

The operation of pebble bed reactors, including fuel circulation, can generate graphite dust, which in turn could be a concern for internal components; and to the near field in the remote event of a break in the coolant circuits. The design of the reactor system must, therefore, take the dust into account and the operation must include contingencies for dust removal and for mitigation of potential releases. Such planning requires a proper assessment of the dust inventory. This paper presents a predictive model of dust generation in an operating pebble bed with recirculating fuel. In this preliminary work the production model is based on the use of the assumption of proportionality between the dust production and the normal force and distance traveled. The model developed in this work uses the slip distances and the inter-pebble forces computed by the authors PEBBLES. The code, based on the discrete element method, simulates the relevant static and kinetic friction interactions between the pebbles as well as the recirculation of the pebbles through the reactor vessel. The interaction between pebbles and walls of the reactor vat is treated using the same approach. The amount of dust produced is proportional to the wear coefficient for adhesive wear (taken from literature) and to the slip volume, the product of the contact area and the slip distance. The paper will compare the predicted volume with the measured production rates. The simulation tallies the dust production based on the location of creation. Two peak production zones from intra pebble forces are predicted within the bed. The first zone is located near the pebble inlet chute due to the speed of the dropping pebbles. The second peak zone occurs lower in the reactor with increased pebble contact force due to the weight of supported pebbles. This paper presents the first use of a Discrete Element Method simulation of pebble bed dust production

Legal immigrants: invasion of alien microbial communities during winter occurring desert dust storms.

Science.gov (United States)

Weil, Tobias; De Filippo, Carlotta; Albanese, Davide; Donati, Claudio; Pindo, Massimo; Pavarini, Lorenzo; Carotenuto, Federico; Pasqui, Massimiliano; Poto, Luisa; Gabrieli, Jacopo; Barbante, Carlo; Sattler, Birgit; Cavalieri, Duccio; Miglietta, Franco

2017-03-10

A critical aspect regarding the global dispersion of pathogenic microorganisms is associated with atmospheric movement of soil particles. Especially, desert dust storms can transport alien microorganisms over continental scales and can deposit them in sensitive sink habitats. In winter 2014, the largest ever recorded Saharan dust event in Italy was efficiently deposited on the Dolomite Alps and was sealed between dust-free snow. This provided us the unique opportunity to overcome difficulties in separating dust associated from "domestic" microbes and thus, to determine with high precision microorganisms transported exclusively by desert dust. Our metagenomic analysis revealed that sandstorms can move not only fractions but rather large parts of entire microbial communities far away from their area of origin and that this microbiota contains several of the most stress-resistant organisms on Earth, including highly destructive fungal and bacterial pathogens. In particular, we provide first evidence that winter-occurring dust depositions can favor a rapid microbial contamination of sensitive sink habitats after snowmelt. Airborne microbial depositions accompanying extreme meteorological events represent a realistic threat for ecosystem and public health. Therefore, monitoring the spread and persistence of storm-travelling alien microbes is a priority while considering future trajectories of climatic anomalies as well as anthropogenically driven changes in land use in the source regions.

Effects of Long-Term Dust Exposure on Human Respiratory System Health in Minqin County, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jinyu; Li, Sheng; Wang, Shigong; Shang, Kezheng

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of long-term sand dust exposure on human respiratory health. Dust events break out frequently in Minqin County, northwest China, whereas Pingliang City, northwest China, is rarely influenced by dust events. Therefore, Minqin and Pingliang were selected as sand dust exposure region and control area, respectively. The incidence of respiratory system diseases and symptoms was determined through a structured respiratory health questionnaire (ATS-DLD-78-A) and personal interviews. The subjects comprised 728 farmers (Minqin, 424; Pingliang, 304) aged 40 years or older, who had nondocumented occupational history to industrial dust exposure. Prevalences (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence interval [CI]) of chronic rhinitis, chronic bronchitis, and chronic cough increased 9.6% (3.141, 1.776-5.555), 7.5% (2.468, 1.421-4.286), and 10.2% (1.787, 1.246-2.563) in Minqin comparison with Pingliang, respectively, and the differences were significant (p <.01).

The mtDNA haplogroup P of modern Asian cattle: A genetic legacy of Asian aurochs?

Science.gov (United States)

Noda, Aoi; Yonesaka, Riku; Sasazaki, Shinji

2018-01-01

Background Aurochs (Bos primigenius) were distributed throughout large parts of Eurasia and Northern Africa during the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene, and all modern cattle are derived from the aurochs. Although the mtDNA haplogroups of most modern cattle belong to haplogroups T and I, several additional haplogroups (P, Q, R, C and E) have been identified in modern cattle and aurochs. Haplogroup P was the most common haplogroup in European aurochs, but so far, it has been identified in only three of >3,000 submitted haplotypes of modern Asian cattle. Methodology We sequenced the complete mtDNA D-loop region of 181 Japanese Shorthorn cattle and analyzed these together with representative bovine mtDNA sequences. The haplotype P of Japanese Shorthorn cattle was analyzed along with that of 36 previously published European aurochs and three modern Asian cattle sequences using the hypervariable 410 bp of the D-loop region. Conclusions We detected the mtDNA haplogroup P in Japanese Shorthorn cattle with an extremely high frequency (83/181). Phylogenetic networks revealed two main clusters, designated as Pa for haplogroup P in European aurochs and Pc in modern Asian cattle. We also report the genetic diversity of haplogroup P compared with the sequences of extinct aurochs. No shared haplotypes are observed between the European aurochs and the modern Asian cattle. This finding suggests the possibility of local and secondary introgression events of haplogroup P in northeast Asian cattle, and will contribute to a better understanding of its origin and genetic diversity. PMID:29304129

The mtDNA haplogroup P of modern Asian cattle: A genetic legacy of Asian aurochs?

Science.gov (United States)

Noda, Aoi; Yonesaka, Riku; Sasazaki, Shinji; Mannen, Hideyuki

2018-01-01

Aurochs (Bos primigenius) were distributed throughout large parts of Eurasia and Northern Africa during the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene, and all modern cattle are derived from the aurochs. Although the mtDNA haplogroups of most modern cattle belong to haplogroups T and I, several additional haplogroups (P, Q, R, C and E) have been identified in modern cattle and aurochs. Haplogroup P was the most common haplogroup in European aurochs, but so far, it has been identified in only three of >3,000 submitted haplotypes of modern Asian cattle. We sequenced the complete mtDNA D-loop region of 181 Japanese Shorthorn cattle and analyzed these together with representative bovine mtDNA sequences. The haplotype P of Japanese Shorthorn cattle was analyzed along with that of 36 previously published European aurochs and three modern Asian cattle sequences using the hypervariable 410 bp of the D-loop region. We detected the mtDNA haplogroup P in Japanese Shorthorn cattle with an extremely high frequency (83/181). Phylogenetic networks revealed two main clusters, designated as Pa for haplogroup P in European aurochs and Pc in modern Asian cattle. We also report the genetic diversity of haplogroup P compared with the sequences of extinct aurochs. No shared haplotypes are observed between the European aurochs and the modern Asian cattle. This finding suggests the possibility of local and secondary introgression events of haplogroup P in northeast Asian cattle, and will contribute to a better understanding of its origin and genetic diversity.

Modelling soil dust aerosol in the Bodélé depression during the BoDEx campaign

OpenAIRE

Tegen , I.; Heinold , B.; Todd , M.; Helmert , J.; Washington , R.; Dubovik , O.

2006-01-01

International audience; We present regional model simulations of the dust emission events during the Bodélé Dust Experiment (BoDEx) that was carried out in February and March 2005 in Chad. A box model version of the dust emission model is used to test different input parameters for the emission model, and to compare the dust emissions computed with observed wind speeds to those calculated with wind speeds from the regional model simulation. While field observations indicate that dust producti...

Modelling soil dust aerosol in the Bodélé depression during the BoDEx campaign

OpenAIRE

R. Washington; J. Helmert; M. Todd; B. Heinold; I. Tegen; O. Dubovik

2006-01-01

We present regional model simulations of the dust emission events during the Bodélé Dust Experiment (BoDEx) that was carried out in February and March 2005 in Chad. A box model version of the dust emission model is used to test different input parameters for the emission model, and to compare the dust emissions computed with observed wind speeds to those calculated with wind speeds from the regional model simulation. While field observations indicate that dust production occurs via ...

Global transport of thermophilic bacteria in atmospheric dust.

Science.gov (United States)

Perfumo, Amedea; Marchant, Roger

2010-04-01

Aerosols from dust storms generated in the Sahara-Sahel desert area of Africa are transported north over Europe and periodically result in dry dust precipitation in the Mediterranean region. Samples of dust collected in Turkey and Greece following two distinct desert storm events contained viable thermophilic organisms of the genus Geobacillus, namely G. thermoglucosidasius and G. thermodenitrificans, and the recently reclassified Aeribacillus pallidus (formerly Geobacillus pallidus). We present here evidence that African dust storms create an atmospheric bridge between distant geographical regions and that they are also probably the source of thermophilic geobacilli later deposited over northern Europe by rainfall or dust plumes themselves. The same organisms (99% similarity in the 16S rDNA sequence) were found in dust collected in the Mediterranean region and inhabiting cool soils in Northern Ireland. This study also contributes new insights to the taxonomic identification of Geobacillus sp. Attempts to identify these organisms using 16S rRNA gene sequences have revealed that they contain multiple and diverse copies of the ribosomal RNA operon (up to 10 copies with nine different sequences), which dictates care in interpreting data about the systematics of this genus. © 2010 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Electrodynamic Dust Shield Demonstrator

Science.gov (United States)

Stankie, Charles G.

2013-01-01

The objective of the project was to design and manufacture a device to demonstrate a new technology developed by NASA's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory. The technology itself is a system which uses magnetic principles to remove regolith dust from its surface. This project was to create an enclosure that will be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the invention to The Office of the Chief Technologist. ONE of the most important challenges of space exploration is actually caused by something very small and seemingly insignificant. Dust in space, most notably on the moon and Mars, has caused many unforeseen issues. Dirt and dust on Earth, while a nuisance, can be easily cleaned and kept at bay. However, there is considerably less weathering and erosion in space. As a result, the microscopic particles are extremely rough and abrasive. They are also electrostatically charged, so they cling to everything they make contact with. This was first noted to be a major problem during the Apollo missions. Dust would stick to the spacesuits, and could not be wiped off as predicted. Dust was brought back into the spacecraft, and was even inhaled by astronauts. This is a major health hazard. Atmospheric storms and other events can also cause dust to coat surfaces of spacecraft. This can cause abrasive damage to the craft. The coating can also reduce the effectiveness of thermal insulation and solar panels.' A group of engineers at Kennedy Space Center's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory have developed a new technology, called the Electrodynamic Dust Shield, to help alleviate these problems. It is based off of the electric curtain concept developed at NASA in 1967. "The EDS is an active dust mitigation technology that uses traveling electric fields to transport electrostatically charged dust particles along surfaces. To generate the traveling electric fields, the EDS consists of a multilayer dielectric coating with an embedded thin electrode grid

Impacts of interactive dust and its direct radiative forcing on interannual variations of temperature and precipitation in winter over East Asia: Impacts of Dust on IAVs of Temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lou, Sijia [Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla California USA; Atmospheric Science and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington USA; Russell, Lynn M. [Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla California USA; Yang, Yang [Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla California USA; Atmospheric Science and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington USA; Liu, Ying [Atmospheric Science and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington USA; Singh, Balwinder [Atmospheric Science and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington USA; Ghan, Steven J. [Atmospheric Science and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington USA

2017-08-24

We used 150-year pre-industrial simulations of the Community Earth System Model (CESM) to quantify the impacts of interactively-modeled dust emissions on the interannual variations of temperature and precipitation over East Asia during the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) season. The simulated December-January-February dust column burden and dust optical depth are lower over northern China in the strongest EAWM years than those of the weakest years, with regional mean values lower by 38.3% and 37.2%, respectively. The decrease in dust over the dust source regions (the Taklamakan and Gobi Deserts) and the downwind region (such as the North China Plain) leads to an increase in direct radiative forcing (RF) both at the surface and top of atmosphere by up to 1.5 and 0.75 W m-2, respectively. The effects of EAWM-related variations in surface winds, precipitation and their effects on dust emissions and wet removal contribute about 67% to the total dust-induced variations of direct RF at the surface and partly offset the cooling that occurs with the EAWM strengthening by heating the surface. The variations of surface air temperature induced by the changes in wind and dust emissions increase by 0.4-0.6 K over eastern coastal China, northeastern China, and Japan, which weakens the impact of EAWM on surface air temperature by 3–18% in these regions. The warming results from the combined effects of changes in direct RF and easterly wind anomalies that bring warm air from the ocean to these regions. Moreover, the feedback of the changes in wind on dust emissions weakens the variations of the sea level pressure gradient on the Siberian High while enhancing the Maritime Continent Low. Therefore, cold air is prevented from being transported from Siberia, Kazakhstan, western and central China to the western Pacific Ocean and decreases surface air temperature by 0.6 K and 2 K over central China and the Tibetan Plateau, respectively. Over eastern coastal China, the variations of

A model of environmental behaviour of contaminated dust and its application to determining dust fluxes and residence times

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allott, R.W.; Kelly, M.; Hewitt, C.N.

1994-01-01

A model has been developed to describe the temporal behaviour of the concentrations of a pollutant tracer within the urban environment of Barrow-in-Furness, NW England. The tracer used was 137 Cs derived primarily from wet deposition of the radioactive cloud from the Chernobyl reactor accident. The 137 Cs activity deposited during this primary event was supplemented by a small secondary atmospheric deposition input of resuspended activity. The model was validated against the measured temporal behaviour of 137 Cs in urban dust for two outdoor reservoirs in which the only observed input of dust and activity was by atmospheric deposition. Further modelling studies on other reservoirs (both outdoors and indoors) confirmed the existence of additional input influxes of dust and activity. The model enabled estimates of the magnitudes of these additional fluxes to be made and mean dust mass residence times to be calculated. These residence times correspond to environment half-lives of 170 ± 70 d outdoors and 20 ± 1 d indoors, for reservoirs which only receive a single primary input of a contaminant. Where secondary inputs of pollutants occur, the mean environmental half-lives of the pollutants increase by 50% for outdoor dust reservoirs and over 18-times for indoor reservoirs. This re-contamination of indoor dusts has implications in that attention should be paid to reducing outdoor contamination levels to ensure that attempts to reduce the levels of a pollutant indoors by cleaning are effective. (Author)

Pazopanib Maintenance Therapy in East Asian Women With Advanced Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: Results From AGO-OVAR16 and an East Asian Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jae-Weon; Mahner, Sven; Wu, Ling-Ying; Shoji, Tadahiro; Kim, Byoung-Gie; Zhu, Jian-Qing; Takano, Tadao; Park, Sang-Yoon; Kong, Bei-Hua; Wu, Qiang; Wang, Kung-Liahng; Ngan, Hextan Ys; Liu, Ji-Hong; Wei, Li-Hui; Mitrica, Ionel; Zhang, Pingkuan; Crescenzo, Rocco; Wang, Qiong; Cox, Charles J; Harter, Philipp; du Bois, Andreas

2018-01-01

The recent phase 3 trial AGO-OVAR16 demonstrated that pazopanib maintenance improved median progression-free survival in patients with ovarian cancer whose disease did not progress during first-line treatment. However, this improvement was not seen in the subset of East Asian patients. The current analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of pazopanib maintenance in East Asian patients from AGO-OVAR16 and a separate East Asian study. East Asian patients from AGO-OVAR16 (n = 209) and the East Asian study (N = 145) were randomized 1:1 to receive pazopanib 800 mg/d or placebo for up to 24 months. The primary end point for each study was progression-free survival by RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors) based on investigator assessment. Clinical and genetics data were analyzed separately by study or pooled according to separate predetermined statistical plans. Pazopanib maintenance had a detrimental effect on median progression-free survival versus placebo in East Asian patients from the combined studies (n = 354; 17.9 vs 21.5 months; hazard ratio, 1.114; 95% confidence interval, 0.818-1.518; P = 0.4928). Pazopanib maintenance showed a disadvantage in overall survival in East Asian patients from AGO-OVAR16 versus placebo (hazard ratio, 1.706; 95% confidence interval, 1.010-2.883; P = 0.0465); overall survival analysis was not performed in the East Asian study because of insufficient event numbers. Pazopanib-treated patients had a significantly higher incidence of grade 3 or higher hypertension (27%) and neutropenia (13%) versus placebo. The treatment effect of maintenance pazopanib in East Asian patients seemed to differ from that in non-Asian patients. In study-specific and pooled analyses, none of the potential factors analyzed could satisfactorily explain the different efficacy results of pazopanib in East Asian patients.

F4E R and D programme and results on in-vessel dust and tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Guern, F.; Gulden, W.; Ciattaglia, S.; Counsell, G.; Bengaouer, A.; Brinster, J.; Dabbene, F.; Denkevitz, A.; Jordan, T.; Kuznetsov, M.; Porfiri, M.T.; Redlinger, R.; Roblin, Ph.; Roth, J.; Segre, J.; Sugiyama, K.; Tkatschenko, I.; Xu, Z.

2011-01-01

In a Tokamak vacuum vessel, plasma-wall interactions can result in the production of radioactive dust and H isotopes (including tritium) can be trapped both in in-vessel material and in dust. The vacuum vessel represents the most important confinement barrier to this radioactive material. In the event of an accident involving ingress of steam to the vacuum vessel, hydrogen could be produced by chemical reactions with hot metal and dust. Hydrogen isotopes could also be desorbed from in-vessel components, e.g. cryopumps. In events where an ingress of air to the vacuum vessel occurs, reaction of the air with hydrogen and/or dust therefore cannot be completely excluded. Due to the radiological risks highlighted by the safety evaluation studies for ITER in normal conditions (e.g. in-vessel maintenance chronic release) and accidental ones (e.g. challenge of vacuum vessel tightness in the event of a hydrogen/dust explosion with air), limitations on the accumulation of dust and tritium in the vacuum vessel are imposed as well as controls over the maximum extent of the quantity of accidental air ingress. ITER IO has defined a strategy for the control of in-vessel dust and tritium inventories below the safety limits based primarily on the measurement and removal of dust and tritium. In this context, this paper will report on the efforts under F4E responsibility to develop a number of the new ITER baseline systems. In particular this paper, after a review of safety constraints and ITER strategy, provides the status of: (1) tasks being launched on diagnostics for in-vessel dust inventory measurement, (2) experiments to enrich the data about the effectiveness of desorption of tritium from Be at 350 o C (divertor baking aiming to release significant amount of tritium trapped in Be co-deposit), (3) on-going R and D programme (experimental and numerical simulation) at FZK, CEA and ENEA on in-vacuum vessel H2 dust explosion.

Systematic characterization of structural, dynamical and electrical properties of dust devils and implications for dust lifting processes

Science.gov (United States)

Franzese, Gabriele; Esposito, Francesca; Lorenz, Ralph D.; Popa, Ciprian; Silvestro, Simone; Deniskina, Natalia; Cozzolino, Fabio

2017-04-01

Dust devils are convective vortices able to lift sand and dust grains from the soil surface, even in conditions of low wind speed environment. They have been observed not only on Earth but also on other planets of the solar system; in particular, they are largely studied on Mars. Indeed, the contribution of the dust devils to the Martian climate is a highly debated question. In order to investigate this topic, it is important to understand the nature of the dust lifting mechanism by the vortex and characterize the induced electric field. As part of the development process of DREAMS, the meteorological station on board the Schiapparelli lander of the ExoMars 2016 mission, and of the Dust complex package of the ExoMars 2020 mission, we performed various field campaigns in the Sahara desert (Tafilalt region, Morocco). We deployed a fully equipped meteorological station and, during the 2014 summer, we observed three months of dust devils activity, collecting almost six hundreds events. For each dust devil, we monitored the horizontal wind speed and direction, the vertical wind speed, the pressure drop due to the vortex core, the temperature, the induced electric field and the concentration of dust lifted. This data set is unique in literature and represents up to now the most comprehensive one available for the dusty convective vortices. Here we will present the analysis of the Moroccan data with particular emphasis on the study of the atmospheric electric field variations due to the passage of the vortices. The distribution of the vortex parameters (wind speed and direction, pressure, E-field and dust lifted) are showed and compared, when possible, to the ones observed by the Martian surveys. The connection between the E-field and the other parameters will be presented. In the terrestrial environment, the development of the convective vortices is restricted by the presence of the vegetation and of the urban areas, hence dust devils can impact the climate only on local

The association of suicide risk with negative life events and social support according to gender in Asian patients with major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Subin; Hatim Sulaiman, Ahmad; Srisurapanont, Manit; Chang, Sung-man; Liu, Chia-Yih; Bautista, Dianne; Ge, Lan; Choon Chua, Hong; Pyo Hong, Jin

2015-08-30

We investigated the associations between negative life events, social support, depressive and hostile symptoms, and suicide risk according to gender in multinational Asian patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). A total of 547 outpatients with MDD (352 women and 195 men, mean age of 39.58±13.21 years) were recruited in China, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan. All patients were assessed with the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, the Symptoms Checklist 90-Revised, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the List of Threatening Experiences. Negative life events, social support, depressive symptoms, and hostility were all significantly associated with suicidality in female MDD patients. However, only depressive symptoms and hostility were significantly associated with suicidality in male patients. Depression severity and hostility only partially mediated the association of negative life events and poor social support with suicidality in female patients. In contrast, hostility fully mediated the association of negative life events and poor social support with suicidality in male patients. Our results highlight the need of in-depth assessment of suicide risk for depressed female patients who report a number of negative life events and poor social supports, even if they do not show severe psychopathology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mineral dust emission from the Bodélé Depression, northern Chad, during BoDEx 2005

Science.gov (United States)

Todd, Martin C.; Washington, Richard; Martins, José Vanderlei; Dubovik, Oleg; Lizcano, Gil; M'bainayel, Samuel; Engelstaedter, Sebastian

2007-03-01

Mineral dust in the atmosphere is an important component of the climate system but is poorly quantified. The Bodélé Depression of northern Chad stands out as the world's greatest source region of mineral dust into the atmosphere. Frequent dust plumes are a distinguishing feature of the region's climate. There is a need for more detailed information on processes of dust emission/transport and dust optical properties to inform model simulations of this source. During the Bodélé Dust Experiment (BoDEx) in 2005, instrumentation was deployed to measure dust properties and boundary layer meteorology. Observations indicate that dust emission events are triggered when near-surface wind speeds exceed 10 ms-1, associated with synoptic-scale variability in the large-scale atmospheric circulation. Dust emission pulses in phase with the diurnal cycle of near-surface winds. Analysis of dust samples shows that the dust consists predominantly of fragments of diatomite sediment. The particle size distribution of this diatomite dust estimated from sun photometer data, using a modified Aeronet retrieval algorithm, indicates a dominant coarse mode (radius centered on 1-2 μm) similar to other Saharan dust observations. Single-scattering albedo values are high, broadly in line with other Saharan dust even though the diatomite composition of dust from the Bodélé is likely to be unusual. The radiative impact of high dust loadings results in a reduction in surface daytime maximum temperature of around 7°C in the Bodélé region. Using optical and physical properties of dust obtained in the field, we estimate the total dust flux emitted from the Bodélé to be 1.18 ± 0.45 Tg per day during a substantial dust event. We speculate that the Bodélé Depression (˜10,800 km2) may be responsible for between 6-18% of global dust emissions, although the uncertainty in both the Bodélé and global estimates remains high.

Modelling soil dust aerosol in the Bodélé depression during the BoDEx campaign

OpenAIRE

I. Tegen; B. Heinold; M. Todd; J. Helmert; R. Washington; O. Dubovik; O. Dubovik

2006-01-01

We present regional model simulations of the dust emission events during the Bodélé Dust Experiment (BoDEx) that was carried out in February and March 2005 in Chad. A box model version of the dust emission model is used to test different input parameters for the emission model, and to compare the dust emissions computed with observed wind speeds to those calculated with wind speeds from the regional model simulation. While field observations indicate that dust production occurs via self-abras...

An investigation of Martian and terrestrial dust devils

Science.gov (United States)

Ringrose, Timothy John

2004-10-01

It is the purpose of this work to provide an insight into the theoretical and practical dynamics of dust devils and how they are detected remotely from orbit or in situ on planetary surfaces. There is particular interest in the detection of convective vortices on Mars; this has been driven by involvement in the development of the Beagle 2 Environmental Sensor Suite. This suite of sensors is essentially a martian weather station and will be the first planetary lander experiment specifically looking for the presence of dust devils on Mars. Dust devils are characterised by their visible dusty core and intense rotation. The physics of particle motion, including dust lofting and the rotational dynamics within convective vortices are explained and modelled. This modelling has helped in identifying dust devils in meteorological data from both terrestrial and martian investigations. An automated technique for dust devil detection using meteorological data has been developed. This technique searches data looking for the specific vortex signature as well as detecting other transient events. This method has been tested on both terrestrial and martian data with surprising results. 38 possible convective vortices were detected in the first 60 sols of the Viking Lander 2 meteorological data. Tests were also carried out on data from a terrestrial dust devil campaign, which provided conclusive evidence from visual observations of the reliability of this technique. A considerable amount of this work does focus on terrestrial vortices. This is to aid in the understanding of dust devils, specifically how, why and when they form. Both laboratory and terrestrial fieldwork is investigated, providing useful data on the general structure of dust devils.

Paracas dust storms: Sources, trajectories and associated meteorological conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Briceño-Zuluaga, F.; Castagna, A.; Rutllant, J. A.; Flores-Aqueveque, V.; Caquineau, S.; Sifeddine, A.; Velazco, F.; Gutierrez, D.; Cardich, J.

2017-09-01

Dust storms that develop along the Pisco-Ica desert in Southern Peru, locally known as ;Paracas; winds have ecological, health and economic repercussions. Here we identify dust sources through MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) imagery and analyze HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single Particles Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) model trajectories and dispersion patterns, along with concomitant synoptic-scale meteorological conditions from National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis (NCEP/NCAR). Additionally, surface pressure data from the hourly METeorological Aerodrome Report (METAR) at Arica (18.5°S, 70.3°W) and Pisco (13.7°S, 76.2°W) were used to calculate Alongshore (sea-level) Pressure Gradient (APG) anomalies during Paracas dust storms, their duration and associated wind-speeds and wind directions. This study provides a review on the occurrence and strength of the Paracas dust storms as reported in the Pisco airfield for five-year period and their correspondence with MODIS true-color imagery in terms of dust-emission source areas. Our results show that most of the particle fluxes moving into the Ica-Pisco desert area during Paracas wind events originate over the coastal zone, where strong winds forced by steep APGs develop as the axis of a deep mid-troposphere trough sets in along north-central Chile. Direct relationships between Paracas wind intensity, number of active dust-emission sources and APGs are also documented, although the scarcity of simultaneous METAR/MODIS data for clearly observed MODIS dust plumes prevents any significant statistical inference. Synoptic-scale meteorological composites from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data show that Paracas wind events (steep APGs) are mostly associated with the strengthening of anticyclonic conditions in northern Chile, that can be attributed to cold air advection associated with the incoming trough. Compared to the MODIS images, HYSPLIT outputs were able

Dust plume formation in the free troposphere and aerosol size distribution during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment in North Africa

KAUST Repository

Khan, Basit Ali

2015-11-27

Dust particles mixed in the free troposphere have longer lifetimes than airborne particles near the surface. Their cumulative radiative impact on earth’s meteorological processes and climate might be significant despite their relatively small contribution to total dust abundance. One example is the elevated dust-laden Saharan Air Layer (SAL) over the tropical and subtropical North Atlantic, which cools the sea surface. To understand the formation mechanisms of a dust layer in the free troposphere, this study combines model simulations and dust observations collected during the first stage of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM-I), which sampled dust events that extended from Morocco to Portugal, and investigated the spatial distribution and the microphysical, optical, chemical, and radiative properties of Saharan mineral dust. The Weather Research Forecast model coupled with the Chemistry/Aerosol module (WRF-Chem) is employed to reproduce the meteorological environment and spatial and size distributions of dust. The model domain covers northwest Africa and adjacent water with 5 km horizontal grid spacing and 51 vertical layers. The experiments were run from 20 May to 9 June 2006, covering the period of the most intensive dust outbreaks. Comparisons of model results with available airborne and ground-based observations show that WRF-Chem reproduces observed meteorological fields as well as aerosol distribution across the entire region and along the airplane’s tracks. Several mechanisms that cause aerosol entrainment into the free troposphere are evaluated and it is found that orographic lifting, and interaction of sea breeze with the continental outflow are key mechanisms that form a surface-detached aerosol plume over the ocean. The model dust emission scheme is tuned to simultaneously fit the observed total optical depth and the ratio of aerosol optical depths generated by fine and coarse dust modes. Comparisons of simulated dust size distributions with

Dust plume formation in the free troposphere and aerosol size distribution during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment in North Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Basit Khan

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Dust particles mixed in the free troposphere have longer lifetimes than airborne particles near the surface. Their cumulative radiative impact on earth's meteorological processes and climate might be significant despite their relatively small contribution to total dust abundance. One example is the elevated dust-laden Saharan Air Layer (SAL over the tropical and subtropical North Atlantic, which cools the sea surface. To understand the formation mechanisms of a dust layer in the free troposphere, this study combines model simulations and dust observations collected during the first stage of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM-I, which sampled dust events that extended from Morocco to Portugal, and investigated the spatial distribution and the microphysical, optical, chemical, and radiative properties of Saharan mineral dust. The Weather Research Forecast model coupled with the Chemistry/Aerosol module (WRF-Chem is employed to reproduce the meteorological environment and spatial and size distributions of dust. The model domain covers northwest Africa and adjacent water with 5 km horizontal grid spacing and 51 vertical layers. The experiments were run from 20 May to 9 June 2006, covering the period of the most intensive dust outbreaks. Comparisons of model results with available airborne and ground-based observations show that WRF-Chem reproduces observed meteorological fields as well as aerosol distribution across the entire region and along the airplane's tracks. Several mechanisms that cause aerosol entrainment into the free troposphere are evaluated and it is found that orographic lifting, and interaction of sea breeze with the continental outflow are key mechanisms that form a surface-detached aerosol plume over the ocean. The model dust emission scheme is tuned to simultaneously fit the observed total optical depth and the ratio of aerosol optical depths generated by fine and coarse dust modes. Comparisons of simulated dust size

Geomorphic and land cover identification of dust sources in the eastern Great Basin of Utah, U.S.A.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahnenberger, Maura; Nicoll, Kathleen

2014-01-01

This study identifies anthropogenically disturbed areas and barren playa surfaces as the two primary dust source types that repeatedly contribute to dust storm events in the eastern Great Basin of western Utah, U.S.A. This semi-arid desert region is an important contributor to dust production in North America, with this study being the first to specifically identify and characterize regional dust sources. From 2004 to 2010, a total of 51 dust event days (DEDs) affected the air quality in Salt Lake City, UT. MODIS satellite imagery during 16 of these DEDs was analyzed to identify dust plumes, and assess the characteristics of dust source areas. A total of 168 plumes were identified, and showed mobilization of dust from Quaternary deposits located within the Bonneville Basin. This analysis identifies 4 major and 5 secondary source areas for dust in this region, which produce dust primarily during the spring and fall months and during moderate or greater drought conditions, with a Palmer Drought Index (PDI) of - 2 or less. The largest number of observed dust plumes (~ 60% of all plumes) originated from playas (ephemeral lakes) and are classified as barren land cover with a silty clay soil sediment surface. Playa surfaces in this region undergo numerous recurrent anthropogenic disturbances, including military operations and anthropogenic water withdrawal. Anthropogenic disturbance is necessary to produce dust from the vegetated landscape in the eastern Great Basin, as evidenced by the new dust source active from 2008 to 2010 in the area burned by the 2007 Milford Flat Fire; this fire was the largest in Utah's history due to extensive cover of invasive cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) along with drought conditions. However, dust mobilization from the Milford Flat Burned Area was limited to regions that had been significantly disturbed by post-fire land management techniques that consisted of seeding, followed by chaining or tilling of the soil. Dust storms in the eastern

DustEM: Dust extinction and emission modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Compiègne, M.; Verstraete, L.; Jones, A.; Bernard, J.-P.; Boulanger, F.; Flagey, N.; Le Bourlot, J.; Paradis, D.; Ysard, N.

2013-07-01

DustEM computes the extinction and the emission of interstellar dust grains heated by photons. It is written in Fortran 95 and is jointly developed by IAS and CESR. The dust emission is calculated in the optically thin limit (no radiative transfer) and the default spectral range is 40 to 108 nm. The code is designed so dust properties can easily be changed and mixed and to allow for the inclusion of new grain physics.

Dust modelling of fast flyby missions - Implications of in situ measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, W. C.; McDonnell, J. A. M.

Using the Divine approach to modelling of cometary dust distributions within the dust envelope, together with the Reference Model parameters established by the Comet Halley Environment Working Group, predicted flux and fluence values are presented for each of the Giotto Dust Impact Detection System (DIDSY) subsystems. Implications for returned DIDSY data are discussed with particular reference to mass-size distribution and particle fluence as a function of time. It is also shown that the first particle impact event recorded by any of the DIDSY subsystems is likely to be of sufficient mass to penetrate the front shield of the Giotto spacecraft.

Multi-layered population structure in Island Southeast Asians

Science.gov (United States)

Mörseburg, Alexander; Pagani, Luca; Ricaut, Francois-Xavier; Yngvadottir, Bryndis; Harney, Eadaoin; Castillo, Cristina; Hoogervorst, Tom; Antao, Tiago; Kusuma, Pradiptajati; Brucato, Nicolas; Cardona, Alexia; Pierron, Denis; Letellier, Thierry; Wee, Joseph; Abdullah, Syafiq; Metspalu, Mait; Kivisild, Toomas

2016-01-01

The history of human settlement in Southeast Asia has been complex and involved several distinct dispersal events. Here, we report the analyses of 1825 individuals from Southeast Asia including new genome-wide genotype data for 146 individuals from three Mainland Southeast Asian (Burmese, Malay and Vietnamese) and four Island Southeast Asian (Dusun, Filipino, Kankanaey and Murut) populations. While confirming the presence of previously recognised major ancestry components in the Southeast Asian population structure, we highlight the Kankanaey Igorots from the highlands of the Philippine Mountain Province as likely the closest living representatives of the source population that may have given rise to the Austronesian expansion. This conclusion rests on independent evidence from various analyses of autosomal data and uniparental markers. Given the extensive presence of trade goods, cultural and linguistic evidence of Indian influence in Southeast Asia starting from 2.5 kya, we also detect traces of a South Asian signature in different populations in the region dating to the last couple of thousand years. PMID:27302840

The Impact of Air Pollution, Including Asian Sand Dust, on Respiratory Symptoms and Health-related Quality of Life in Outpatients With Chronic Respiratory Disease in Korea: A Panel Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Motoyuki Nakao

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Objectives Air pollution is a growing concern in Korea because of transboundary air pollution from mainland China. A panel study was conducted to clarify the effects of air pollution on respiratory symptoms and health-related quality of life (HR-QoL in outpatients with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD in Korea. Methods Patients filled out a questionnaire including self-reported HR-QoL in February and were followed up in May and July. The study was conducted from 2013 to 2015, with different participants each year. Air quality parameters were applied in a generalized estimating equation as independent variables to predict factors affecting HR-QoL. Results Lower physical fitness scores were associated with Asian sand dust events. Daily activity scores were worse when there were high concentrations of particulate matter (PM less than 10 μm in diameter (PM10. Lower social functioning scores were associated with high PM less than 2.5 μm in diameter and nitrogen dioxide (NO2 concentrations. High NO2 concentrations also showed a significant association with mental health scores. Weather-related cough was prevalent when PM10, NO2, or ozone (O3 concentrations were high, regardless of COPD severity. High PM10 concentrations were associated with worsened wheezing, particularly in COPD patients. Conclusions The results suggest that PM, NO2, and O3 cause respiratory symptoms leading to HR-QoL deterioration. While some adverse effects of air pollution appeared to occur regardless of COPD, others occurred more often and more intensely in COPD patients. The public sector, therefore, needs to consider tailoring air pollution countermeasures to people with different conditions to minimize adverse health effects.

Kinetics of Heterogeneous Reaction of Sulfur Dioxide on Authentic Mineral Dust: Effects of Relative Humidity and Hydrogen Peroxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Liubin; Zhao, Yue; Li, Huan; Chen, Zhongming

2015-09-15

Heterogeneous reaction of SO2 on mineral dust seems to be an important sink for SO2. However, kinetic data about this reaction on authentic mineral dust are scarce and are mainly limited to low relative humidity (RH) conditions. In addition, little is known about the role of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in this reaction. Here, we investigated the uptake kinetics of SO2 on three authentic mineral dusts (i.e., Asian mineral dust (AMD), Tengger desert dust (TDD), and Arizona test dust (ATD)) in the absence and presence of H2O2 at different RHs using a filter-based flow reactor, and applied a parameter (effectiveness factor) to the estimation of the effective surface area of particles for the calculation of the corrected uptake coefficient (γc). We found that with increasing RH, the γc decreases on AMD particles, but increases on ATD and TDD particles. This discrepancy is probably due to the different mineralogy compositions and aging extents of these dust samples. Furthermore, the presence of H2O2 can promote the uptake of SO2 on mineral dust at different RHs. The probable explanations are that H2O2 rapidly reacts with SO2 on mineral dust in the presence of adsorbed water, and OH radicals, which can be produced from the heterogeneous decomposition of H2O2 on the mineral dust, immediately react with adsorbed SO2 as well. Our results suggest that the removal of SO2 via the heterogeneous reaction on mineral dust is an important sink for SO2 and has the potential to alter the physicochemical properties (e.g., ice nucleation ability) of mineral dust particles in the atmosphere.

Variability of mineral dust deposition in the western Mediterranean basin and south-east of France

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J. Vincent

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have provided some insight into the Saharan dust deposition at a few specific locations from observations over long time periods or intensive field campaigns. However, no assessment of the dust deposition temporal variability in connection with its regional spatial distribution has been achieved so far from network observations over more than 1 year. To investigate dust deposition dynamics at the regional scale, five automatic deposition collectors named CARAGA (Collecteur Automatique de Retombées Atmosphériques insolubles à Grande Autonomie in French have been deployed in the western Mediterranean region during 1 to 3 years depending on the station. The sites include, from south to north, Lampedusa, Majorca, Corsica, Frioul and Le Casset (southern French Alps. Deposition measurements are performed on a common weekly period at the five sites. The mean dust deposition fluxes are higher close to the northern African coasts and decrease following a south–north gradient, with values from 7.4 g m−2 year−1 in Lampedusa (35°31′ N, 12°37′ E to 1 g m−2 year−1 in Le Casset (44°59′ N, 6°28′ E. The maximum deposition flux recorded is of 3.2 g m−2 wk−1 in Majorca with only two other events showing more than 1 g m−2 wk−1 in Lampedusa, and a maximum of 0.5 g m−2 wk−1 in Corsica. The maximum value of 2.1 g m−2 year−1 observed in Corsica in 2013 is much lower than existing records in the area over the 3 previous decades (11–14 g m−2 year−1. From the 537 available samples, 98 major Saharan dust deposition events have been identified in the records between 2011 and 2013. Complementary observations provided by both satellite and air mass trajectories are used to identify the dust provenance areas and the transport pathways from the Sahara to the stations for the studied period. Despite the large size of African dust plumes detected by satellites, more

Influence of mineral dust transport on the chemical composition and physical properties of the Eastern Mediterranean aerosol

Science.gov (United States)

Koçak, M.; Theodosi, C.; Zarmpas, P.; Séguret, M. J. M.; Herut, B.; Kallos, G.; Mihalopoulos, N.; Kubilay, N.; Nimmo, M.

2012-09-01

Bulk aerosol samples were collected from three different coastal rural sites located around the Eastern Mediterranean, (i) Erdemli (ER), Turkey, (ii) Heraklion (HR), Crete, Greece, and (iii) Tel Shikmona (TS), Israel, during two distinct mineral dust periods (October, 2007 and April, 2008) in order to explore the temporal and geographical variability in the aerosol chemical composition. Samples were analyzed for trace elements (Al, Fe, Mn, Ca, Cr, Zn, Cu, V, Ni, Cd, Pb) and water-soluble ions (Cl-, NO3-, SO42-, C2O42-, Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+). The dust events were categorized on the basis of Al concentrations >1000 ng m-3, SKIRON dust forecast model and 3-day back trajectories into three groups namely, Middle East, Mixed and Saharan desert. ER and TS were substantially affected by dust events originating from the Middle East, particularly in October, whilst HR was not influenced by dust transport from the Middle East. Higher AOT values were particularly associated with higher Al concentrations. Contrary to the highest Al concentration: 6300 ng m-3, TS showed relatively lower AI and AOT. Al concentrations at ER were similar for October and April, whilst OMI-AI and AOT values were ˜2 times higher in April. This might be attributed to the weak sensitivity of the TOMS instrument to absorbing aerosols near the ground and optical difference between Middle East and Saharan desert dusts. The lowest enhancement of anthropogenic aerosol species was observed at HR during dust events (nssSO42-/nssCa2+ ˜ 0.13). These species were particularly enhanced when mineral dust arrived at sites after passing through populated and industrialized urban areas.

African Dust Transport Captured by Rare Earth Elemental Concentrations in Coral Microatolls

Science.gov (United States)

Ouellette, G., Jr.; DeLong, K.; Herrmann, A.; Huang, C. Y.; Shen, C. C.

2017-12-01

Winds are integral components of the climate system; unfortunately, windsare also among the climate variables that are most difficult to study prior to the instrumentalrecord. Paleoclimatologists use sedimentary dust records (e.g., lake and ocean cores) tounderstand past wind circulation conditions; however, these types of records typically are notamenable to sub-annual interpretation due to their limited temporal resolution. Here wedeveloped a coral-based dust-wind proxy to overcome these temporal limitations by usingtrace (nmol/mol) rare earth elemental concentrations recorded in the skeletons of coralmicroatolls. The rare earth elements (REE; the lanthanides as well as scandium and yttrium)behave similarly in geologic and geochemical systems, and have served as useful proxies ofgeological processes in both deep and shallow time. Corals incorporate REE as they deposittheir exoskeletons that extend incrementally with time forming annual density band couplets.Coral microatolls grow at or near the sea surface, where coral REE concentrations are mostsensitive to dust deposition. Our study site off the west coast of Haiti is down stream of light-REE depleted bedrock whereas REE in African dust, transported by the easterly trade winds,reflect average crustal abundances. This unique "upstream" source signature allows forterrestrial contamination of the dust-wind signal to be ruled out. Light REE concentrations (esp.Nd and Pr) demonstrate an order of magnitude increase within coral aragonite coincident withmajor African dust plume events throughout the past decade, with Nd/Ca and Pr/Ca increasingfrom an average of 27 nmol/mol to an average 144 nmol/mol and an average of 5 nmol/mol toan average of 37 nmol/mol, respectively, during major African dust plume events. Monthly-resolved REE analysis shows these REE peaks coincide with the summer dust season rather thanHaiti's two wet seasons in spring and autumn. Regression of our coral REE dust proxy tosatellite records of

African dust and the demise of Caribbean coral reefs

Science.gov (United States)

Shinn, E.A.; Smith, G.W.; Prospero, J.M.; Betzer, P.; Hayes, M.L.; Garrison, V.; Barber, R.T.

2000-01-01

The vitality of Caribbean coral reefs has undergone a continual state of decline since the late 1970s, a period of time coincidental with large increases in transatlantic dust transport. It is proposed that the hundreds of millions of tons/year of soil dust that have been crossing the Atlantic during the last 25 years could be a significant contributor to coral reef decline and may be affecting other ecosystems. Benchmark events, such as near synchronous Caribbean-wide mortalities of acroporid corals and the urchin Diadema in 1983, and coral bleaching beginning in 1987, correlate with the years of maximum dust flux into the Caribbean. Besides crustal elements, in particular Fe, Si, and aluminosilicate clays, the dust can serve as a substrate for numerous species of viable spores, especially the soil fungus Aspergillus. Aspergillus sydowii, the cause of an ongoing Caribbean-wide seafan disease, has been cultured from Caribbean air samples and used to inoculate sea fans.

Biological response to coastal upwelling and dust deposition in the area off Northwest Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Ohde, T.; Siegel, H.

2010-05-01

Nutrient supply in the area off Northwest Africa is mainly regulated by two processes, coastal upwelling and deposition of Saharan dust. In the present study, both processes were analyzed and evaluated by different methods, including cross-correlation, multiple correlation, and event statistics, using remotely sensed proxies of the period from 2000 to 2008 to investigate their influence on the marine environment. The remotely sensed chlorophyll- a concentration was used as a proxy for the phytoplankton biomass stimulated by nutrient supply into the euphotic zone from deeper water layers and from the atmosphere. Satellite-derived alongshore wind stress and sea-surface temperature were applied as proxies for the strength and reflection of coastal upwelling processes. The westward wind and the dust component of the aerosol optical depth describe the transport direction of atmospheric dust and the atmospheric dust column load. Alongshore wind stress and induced upwelling processes were most significantly responsible for the surface chlorophyll- a variability, accounting for about 24% of the total variance, mainly in the winter and spring due to the strong north-easterly trade winds. The remotely sensed proxies allowed determination of time lags between biological response and its forcing processes. A delay of up to 16 days in the surface chlorophyll- a concentration due to the alongshore wind stress was determined in the northern winter and spring. Although input of atmospheric iron by dust storms can stimulate new phytoplankton production in the study area, only 5% of the surface chlorophyll- a variability could be ascribed to the dust component in the aerosol optical depth. All strong desert storms were identified by an event statistics in the time period from 2000 to 2008. The 57 strong storms were studied in relation to their biological response. Six events were clearly detected in which an increase of chlorophyll- a was caused by Saharan dust input and not by

A Climatology of dust emission in northern Africa using surface observations from 1984-2012

Science.gov (United States)

Cowie, Sophie; Knippertz, Peter; Marsham, John

2014-05-01

The huge quantity of mineral dust emitted annually from northern Africa makes this area crucial to the global dust cycle. Once in the atmosphere, dust aerosols have a significant impact on the global radiation budget, clouds, the carbon cycle and can even act as a fertilizer to rain forests in South America. Current model estimates of dust production from northern Africa are uncertain. At the heart of this problem is insufficient understanding of key dust emitting processes such as haboobs (cold pools generated through evaporation of convective precipitation), low-level jets (LLJs) and dry convection (dust devils and dust plumes). Scarce observations in this region, in particular in the Sahara, make model evaluation difficult. This work uses long-term surface observations from 70 stations situated in the Sahara and Sahel to explore the diurnal, seasonal and geographical variations in dust emission events and thresholds. Quality flags are applied to each station to indicate a day-time bias or gaps in the time period 1984-2012. The frequency of dust emission (FDE) is calculated using the present weather codes (WW) of SYNOP reports, where WW = 07,08,09,30-35 and 98. Thresholds are investigated by estimating the wind speeds for which there is a 25%, 50% and 75% probability of dust emission. The 50% threshold is used to calculate strong wind frequency (SWF) and the diagnostic parameter dust uplift potential (DUP); a thresholded cubic function of wind-speed which quantifies the dust generating power of winds. Stations are grouped into 6 areas (North Algeria, Central Sahara, Egypt, West Sahel, Central Sahel and Sudan) for more in-depth analysis of these parameters. Spatially, thresholds are highest in northern Algeria and lowest in the Sahel around the latitude band 16N-21N. Annual mean FDE is anti-correlated with the threshold, showing the importance of spatial variations in thresholds for mean dust emission. The annual cycles of FDE and SWF for the 6 grouped areas are

Simulating southwestern U.S. desert dust influences on supercell thunderstorms

Science.gov (United States)

Lerach, David G.; Cotton, William R.

2018-05-01

Three-dimensional numerical simulations were performed to evaluate potential southwestern U.S. dust indirect microphysical and direct radiative impacts on a real severe storms outbreak. Increased solar absorption within the dust plume led to modest increases in pre-storm atmospheric stability at low levels, resulting in weaker convective updrafts and less widespread precipitation. Dust microphysical impacts on convection were minor in comparison, due in part to the lofted dust concentrations being relatively few in number when compared to the background (non-dust) aerosol population. While dust preferentially serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) versus giant CCN had opposing effects on warm rain production, both scenarios resulted in ample supercooled water and subsequent glaciation aloft, yielding larger graupel and hail. Associated latent heating from condensation and freezing contributed little to overall updraft invigoration. With reduced rain production overall, the simulations that included dust effects experienced slightly reduced grid-cumulative precipitation and notably warmer and spatially smaller cold pools. Dust serving as ice nucleating particles did not appear to play a significant role. The presence of dust ultimately reduced the number of supercells produced but allowed for supercell evolution characterized by consistently higher values of relative vertical vorticity within simulated mesocyclones. Dust radiative and microphysical effects were relatively small in magnitude when compared to those from altering the background convective available potential energy and vertical wind shear. It is difficult to generalize such findings from a single event, however, due to a number of case-specific environmental factors. These include the nature of the low-level moisture advection and characteristics of the background aerosol distribution.

Radioecological impact of Saharan dusts fallout. Case study of a major event on the 21. of february 2004 in south part of France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masson, O.; Pourcelot, L.; Gurriaran, R.; Paulat, P.

2005-01-01

Lithometeors, Sirocco or more commonly 'red mud' are all in fact related to a single phenomenon which affects France every year: the wind transport and deposit of desert particles from the Sahara. On the 21. of February 2004, the southern part of France is swept by a weather event of wind transport of Saharan particles. The recordings of atmospheric dust contamination and the deposit of dust, which results from it, make an episode of exceptional width. In a few hours, the thickness of the deposit exceeds 1 mm (up to 4 mm in Corsica) with a maximum density of surface charge of 50 g.m -2 (50 tons per km 2 ). The loads of the PM 10 type particles in the air, recorded by associations of monitoring of the quality of the air, indicate concentrations multiplied to the maximum by 10 and an influence on the ground of the plume ranging between 300 000 and 350 000 km 2 . To the end, 2 million tons are deposited on a portion of the territory located at the south of a line from Nantes to Besancon. This event also had a significant radio-ecological impact, leading to significant 137 Cs, (239+240) Pu, 241 Am, activity levels of 38 Bq. kg -1 sec, 1 Bq. kg -1 sec and 0,46 Bq. kg -1 sec, respectively. Quality of air monitoring organisations recorded 10-fold increases in the concentration of charged PM 10 2 type particles within the cloud; ground coverage stretched over a 300 000 km 2 surface area. Across this whole area, the artificial radioactivity deposits are estimated to 37.10 10 Bq. In term of flow of deposit, this episode represents, with him only, i.e. in a few hours, a 137 Cs deposition equivalent to that recorded on average in a cumulated time of one year. Data from this study show that these weather-climatic episodes generate today, environmental samples which on average, present the highest levels and flux of artificial radioactivities, more than those in the sediments of the Rhone river deposited by flood events, for example. Changes in artificial radionuclide activity

Dust acoustic shock wave at high dust density

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, Samiran; Sarkar, Susmita; Khan, Manoranjan; Avinash, K.; Gupta, M. R.

2003-01-01

Dust acoustic (DA) shock wave at high dust density, i.e., the dust electroacoustic (DEA) or dust Coulomb (DC) shock wave has been investigated incorporating the nonadiabatic dust charge variation. The nonlinear DEA (DC) shock wave is seen to be governed by the Korteweg-de Vries Burger equation, in which the Burger term is proportional to the nonadiabaticity generated dissipation. It is seen that the shock strength decreases but after reaching minimum, it increases as the dust space charge density |q d n d | increases and the shock strength of DA wave is greater than that of DEA (DC) wave. Moreover the DEA (DC) shock width increases appreciably with increase mass m i of the ion component of the dusty plasma but for DA shock wave the effect is weak

The Asian Crisis, the IMF and Dr. Mahathir

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Visser, H.; ter Wengel, J.

1999-01-01

While in the literature concerning the Asian crisis extensive coverage has been given to the course of events in the countries implementing IMF-supported programmes, scant attention has been paid to other countries that also suffered from the crisis. Potential alternatives to the IMF way of handling

Iron oxide minerals in dust of the Red Dawn event in eastern Australia, September 2009

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, Richard L.; Cattle, Stephen R.; Moskowitz, Bruce M.; Goldstein, Harland L.; Yauk, Kimberly; Flagg, Cody B.; Berquó, Thelma S.; Kokaly, Raymond F.; Morman, Suzette A.; Breit, George N.

2014-01-01

Iron oxide minerals typically compose only a few weight percent of bulk atmospheric dust but are important for potential roles in forcing climate, affecting cloud properties, influencing rates of snow and ice melt, and fertilizing marine phytoplankton. Dust samples collected from locations across eastern Australia (Lake Cowal, Orange, Hornsby, and Sydney) following the spectacular “Red Dawn” dust storm on 23 September 2009 enabled study of the dust iron oxide assemblage using a combination of magnetic measurements, Mössbauer spectroscopy, reflectance spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Red Dawn was the worst dust storm to have hit the city of Sydney in more than 60 years, and it also deposited dust into the Tasman Sea and onto snow cover in New Zealand. Magnetization measurements from 20 to 400 K reveal that hematite, goethite, and trace amounts of magnetite are present in all samples. Magnetite concentrations (as much as 0.29 wt%) were much higher in eastern, urban sites than in western, agricultural sites in central New South Wales (0.01 wt%), strongly suggesting addition of magnetite from local urban sources. Variable temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy (300 and 4.2 K) indicates that goethite and hematite compose approximately 25–45% of the Fe-bearing phases in samples from the inland sites of Orange and Lake Cowal. Hematite was observed at both temperatures but goethite only at 4.2 K, thereby revealing the presence of nanogoethite (less than about 20 nm). Similarly, hematite particulate matter is very small (some of it d < 100 nm) on the basis of magnetic results and Mössbauer spectra. The degree to which ferric oxide in these samples might absorb solar radiation is estimated by comparing reflectance values with a magnetic parameter (hard isothermal remanent magnetization, HIRM) for ferric oxide abundance. Average visible reflectance and HIRM are correlated as a group (r2 = 0.24), indicating that Red Dawn ferric oxides have

Nine-year spatial and temporal evolution of desert dust aerosols over South and East Asia as revealed by CALIOP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Proestakis

2018-02-01

Full Text Available We present a 3-D climatology of the desert dust distribution over South and East Asia derived using CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation data. To distinguish desert dust from total aerosol load we apply a methodology developed in the framework of EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network. The method involves the use of the particle linear depolarization ratio and updated lidar ratio values suitable for Asian dust, applied to multiyear CALIPSO observations (January 2007–December 2015. The resulting dust product provides information on the horizontal and vertical distribution of dust aerosols over South and East Asia along with the seasonal transition of dust transport pathways. Persistent high D_AOD (dust aerosol optical depth values at 532 nm, of the order of 0.6, are present over the arid and semi-arid desert regions. Dust aerosol transport (range, height and intensity is subject to high seasonality, with the highest values observed during spring for northern China (Taklimakan and Gobi deserts and during summer over the Indian subcontinent (Thar Desert. Additionally, we decompose the CALIPSO AOD (aerosol optical depth into dust and non-dust aerosol components to reveal the non-dust AOD over the highly industrialized and densely populated regions of South and East Asia, where the non-dust aerosols yield AOD values of the order of 0.5. Furthermore, the CALIPSO-based short-term AOD and D_AOD time series and trends between January 2007 and December 2015 are calculated over South and East Asia and over selected subregions. Positive trends are observed over northwest and east China and the Indian subcontinent, whereas over southeast China trends are mostly negative. The calculated AOD trends agree well with the trends derived from Aqua MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, although significant differences are observed over specific regions.

Effect of wind speed and relative humidity on atmospheric dust concentrations in semi-arid climates.

Science.gov (United States)

Csavina, Janae; Field, Jason; Félix, Omar; Corral-Avitia, Alba Y; Sáez, A Eduardo; Betterton, Eric A

2014-07-15

Atmospheric particulate have deleterious impacts on human health. Predicting dust and aerosol emission and transport would be helpful to reduce harmful impacts but, despite numerous studies, prediction of dust events and contaminant transport in dust remains challenging. In this work, we show that relative humidity and wind speed are both determinants in atmospheric dust concentration. Observations of atmospheric dust concentrations in Green Valley, AZ, USA, and Juárez, Chihuahua, México, show that PM10 concentrations are not directly correlated with wind speed or relative humidity separately. However, selecting the data for high wind speeds (>4m/s at 10 m elevation), a definite trend is observed between dust concentration and relative humidity: dust concentration increases with relative humidity, reaching a maximum around 25% and it subsequently decreases with relative humidity. Models for dust storm forecasting may be improved by utilizing atmospheric humidity and wind speed as main drivers for dust generation and transport. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dust Storms in North China in 2002: A Case Study of the Low Frequency Oscillation

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2007-01-01

The low frequency oscillation in both hemispheres and its possible role in the dust weather storm events over North China in 2002 are analyzed as a case study. Results show that the Aleutian Low is linked with the Circumpolar Vortex in the Southern Hemisphere on a 30-60-day oscillation, with a weak Circumpolar Vortex tending to deepen the Aleutian Low which may be helpful for the generation of dust storm events.The possible mechanism behind this is the inter-hemispheric interaction of the mean meridional circulation,with the major variability over East Asia. The zonal mean westerly wind at high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere in the upper level troposphere may lead that of the Northern Hemisphere, which then impacts the local circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, the low frequency oscillation teleconnection is one possible linkage in the coupling between the Southern Hemisphere circulation and dust events over North China. However, the interannual variation of the low frequency oscillation is unclear.

Cometary Dust

Science.gov (United States)

Levasseur-Regourd, Anny-Chantal; Agarwal, Jessica; Cottin, Hervé; Engrand, Cécile; Flynn, George; Fulle, Marco; Gombosi, Tamas; Langevin, Yves; Lasue, Jérémie; Mannel, Thurid; Merouane, Sihane; Poch, Olivier; Thomas, Nicolas; Westphal, Andrew

2018-04-01

This review presents our understanding of cometary dust at the end of 2017. For decades, insight about the dust ejected by nuclei of comets had stemmed from remote observations from Earth or Earth's orbit, and from flybys, including the samples of dust returned to Earth for laboratory studies by the Stardust return capsule. The long-duration Rosetta mission has recently provided a huge and unique amount of data, obtained using numerous instruments, including innovative dust instruments, over a wide range of distances from the Sun and from the nucleus. The diverse approaches available to study dust in comets, together with the related theoretical and experimental studies, provide evidence of the composition and physical properties of dust particles, e.g., the presence of a large fraction of carbon in macromolecules, and of aggregates on a wide range of scales. The results have opened vivid discussions on the variety of dust-release processes and on the diversity of dust properties in comets, as well as on the formation of cometary dust, and on its presence in the near-Earth interplanetary medium. These discussions stress the significance of future explorations as a way to decipher the formation and evolution of our Solar System.

Determination and human exposure assessment of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and tetrabromobisphenol A in indoor dust in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Abafe, Ovokeroye A; Martincigh, Bice S

2016-04-01

The concentration of TBBPA in dust samples from automobiles (n = 14), computer laboratories (n = 8), homes (n = 7), and offices (n = 7), and, also, PBDE concentrations in the indoor dust of 19 personal and previously owned automobiles in Durban, South Africa, were determined. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was applied for the separation, identification, and quantitation of TBBPA and PBDEs. The median concentrations of TBBPA were 1156, 269, 120, and 492 ng g(-1) in automobiles, computer laboratories, homes, and offices, respectively. The ∑ n = 8 PBDE in 19 automobile samples ranged from 573 to 11,833 ng g(-1). BDE-209 accounted for approximately 42% of ∑ n = 8 PBDE in the samples. Household characteristics influenced the distribution of TBBPA in the various microenvironments. By assuming an average dust ingestion rate, and a median TBBPA concentration, the ∑DED (in ng kg(-1) bw day(-1)) of TBBPA is 0.08, 0.08, and 0.60, for an adult, teenager, and toddler, respectively. These doses are similar to dust ingestion intakes reported for Asian countries where there is a high demand for TBBPA as a flame retardant. Similarly, automobiles provide ample opportunity for human exposure to PBDEs via dust ingestion, particularly for toddlers and occupationally exposed adults.

Profile: Asian Americans

Science.gov (United States)

... and Data > Minority Population Profiles > Asian American Profile: Asian Americans Asian American Profile (Map of the US with the top 10 states displaying the largest Asian American population according to the Census Bureau) CA - ...

Characterising dust in JET with the new ITER-like wall

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flanagan, J C; Matthews, G F; Widdowson, A; Arnoux, G; Harting, D; Cackett, A; Sertoli, M; Sieglin, B; Marsen, S; Bacharis, M; De Vries, P C; Coffey, I H; Brezinsek, S; Coenen, J W; Craciunescu, T; Murari, A; Hodille, E

2015-01-01

Recent studies dedicated to the characterisation of in-vessel dust in JET with the new ITER-like wall (ILW) show that dust levels are orders of magnitude lower compared with the latter stages of the carbon-wall (CW) period and are decreasing with operational time. Less than 1 g of dust was recovered in a recent inspection, compared with more than 200 g of material recovered at the end of the JET-CW life. Recent inspection of the ILW shows low rates of re-deposition with only small areas of damage of a type likely to create particulate matter. Quantifiers from laser scattering techniques also indicate an order of magnitude reduction in dust relative to the JET-CW and show that the amount of dust mobilized after a disruption is proportional to the dynamic vessel forces. It is not possible to infer what fraction of dust (if any) might be created by disruptions. However, disruption mitigation is found to reduce the amount of dust seen after moderate disruptions by a factor of 4. Analysis of the transient impurity events (TIEs) associated with dust show that tungsten dominates. A significant contribution to TIEs is also seen from iron, nickel and chromium (probably from steel and Inconel components). The incidence of severe negative effects on operations from TIEs is found to be relatively rare, with <1% of ILW disruptions linked to TIEs. The evolution of the TIE rate closely follows changes in the laser scattering dust quantifiers; both trend downwards in time but peak during periods of higher disruption rate (thought to be primarily driven by the mobilization of existing dust). (paper)

Review of measurements of dust movements on the Moon during Apollo

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brien, Brian J.

2011-11-01

This is the first review of 3 Apollo experiments, which made the only direct measurements of dust on the lunar surface: (i) minimalist matchbox-sized 270 g Dust Detector Experiments (DDEs) of Apollo 11, 12, 14 and 15, produced 30 million Lunar Day measurements 21 July 1969-30 September, 1977; (ii) Thermal Degradation Samples (TDS) of Apollo 14, sprinkled with dust, photographed, taken back to Earth into quarantine and lost; and (iii) the 7.5 kg Lunar Ejecta and Meteoroids (LEAM) experiment of Apollo 17, whose original tapes and plots are lost. LEAM, designed to measure rare impacts of cosmic dust, registered scores of events each lunation most frequently around sunrise and sunset. LEAM data are accepted as caused by heavily-charged particles of lunar dust at speeds of motivation for returning to the Moon. New analyses here show some raw data are sporadic bursts of 1, 2, 3 or more events within time bubbles smaller than 0.6 s, not predicted by theoretical dust models but consistent with noise bits caused by electromagnetic interference (EMI) from switching of large currents in the Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP), as occurred in pre-flight LEAM-acceptance tests. On the Moon switching is most common around sunrise and sunset in a dozen heavy-duty heaters essential for operational survival during 350 h of lunar night temperatures of minus 170 °C. Another four otherwise unexplained features of LEAM data are consistent with the "noise bits" hypothesis. Discoveries with DDE and TDS reported in 1970 and 1971, though overlooked, and extensive DDE discoveries in 2009 revealed strengths of adhesive and cohesive forces of lunar dust. Rocket exhaust gases during Lunar Module (LM) ascent caused dust and debris to (i) contaminate instruments 17 m distant (Apollo 11) as expected, and (ii) unexpectedly cleanse Apollo hardware 130 m (Apollo 12) and 180 m (Apollo 14) from LM. TDS photos uniquely document in situ cohesion of dust particles and their adhesion to 12

WRF-Chem model simulations of a dust outbreak over the central Mediterranean and comparison with multi-sensor desert dust observations

Science.gov (United States)

Rizza, Umberto; Barnaba, Francesca; Marcello Miglietta, Mario; Mangia, Cristina; Di Liberto, Luca; Dionisi, Davide; Costabile, Francesca; Grasso, Fabio; Gobbi, Gian Paolo

2017-01-01

In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting model with online coupled chemistry (WRF-Chem) is applied to simulate an intense Saharan dust outbreak event that took place over the Mediterranean in May 2014. Comparison of a simulation using a physics-based desert dust emission scheme with a numerical experiment using a simplified (minimal) emission scheme is included to highlight the advantages of the former. The model was found to reproduce well the synoptic meteorological conditions driving the dust outbreak: an omega-like pressure configuration associated with a cyclogenesis in the Atlantic coasts of Spain. The model performances in reproducing the atmospheric desert dust load were evaluated using a multi-platform observational dataset of aerosol and desert dust properties, including optical properties from satellite and ground-based sun photometers and lidars, plus in situ particulate matter mass concentration (PM) data. This comparison allowed us to investigate the model ability in reproducing both the horizontal and the vertical displacement of the dust plume, as well as its evolution in time. The comparison with satellite (MODIS-Terra) and sun photometers (AERONET) showed that the model is able to reproduce well the horizontal field of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) and its evolution in time (temporal correlation coefficient with AERONET of 0.85). On the vertical scale, the comparison with lidar data at a single site (Rome, Italy) confirms that the desert dust advection occurs in several, superimposed "pulses" as simulated by the model. Cross-analysis of the modeled AOD and desert dust emission fluxes further allowed for the source regions of the observed plumes to be inferred. The vertical displacement of the modeled dust plume was in rather good agreement with the lidar soundings, with correlation coefficients among aerosol extinction profiles up to 1 and mean discrepancy of about 50 %. The model-measurement comparison for PM10 and PM2.5 showed a

Saharan dust - a carrier of persistent organic pollutants, metals and microbes to the Caribbean?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.H Garrison

2006-12-01

Full Text Available An international team of scientists from government agencies and universities in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI, Trinidad & Tobago, the Republic of Cape Verde, and the Republic of Mali (West Africa is working together to elucidate the role Saharan dust may play in the degradation of Caribbean ecosystems. The first step has been to identify and quantify the persistent organic pollutants (POPs, trace metals, and viable microorganisms in the atmosphere in dust source areas of West Africa, and in dust episodes at downwind sites in the eastern Atlantic (Cape Verde and the Caribbean (USVI and Trinidad & Tobago. Preliminary findings show that air samples from Mali contain a greater number of pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs and in higher concentrations than the Caribbean sites. Overall, POP concentrations were similar in USVI and Trinidad samples. Trace metal concentrations were found to be similar to crustal composition with slight enrichment of lead in Mali. To date, hundreds of cultureable micro-organisms have been identified from Mali, Cape Verde, USVI, and Trinidad air samples. The sea fan pathogen, Aspergillus sydowii, has been identified in soil from Mali and in air samples from dust events in the Caribbean. We have shown that air samples from a dust-source region contain orders of magnitude more cultureable micro-organisms per volume than air samples from dust events in the Caribbean, which in turn contain 3-to 4-fold more cultureable microbes than during non-dust conditions. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54 (Suppl. 3: 9-21. Epub 2007 Jan. 15.

Feature of Dust Particles in the Spring Free Troposphere over Dunhuang in Northwestern China: Electron Microscopic Experiments on Individual Particles Collected with a Balloon-borne Impactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, M.; Iwasaka, Y.; Matsuki, A.; Trochkine, D.; Kim, Y. S.; Zhang, D.; Nagatani, T.; Shi, G.-Y.; Nagatani, M.; Nakata, H.; Shen, Z.; Chen, B.; Li, G.

2005-01-01

Free tropospheric aerosol particles were collected using a balloon-borne particle impactor in August of 2002 and March of 2003 at Dunhuang in northwestern China (40 o 00'N, 94 o 30'E), and the morphology and elemental composition of the aerosol particles were analyzed in order to understand the mixing state of coarse dust particles (diameter >1 μm) over the desert areas in the Asian continent in spring. Electron microscopic experiments on the particles revealed that dust particles were major constituents of coarse mode particles in the free troposphere over the Taklamakan Desert in spring and summer.Si-rich or Ca-rich particles are major components of dust particles collected in the free troposphere over dunhuang and the values of [number of Ca-rich particles]/[number of Si-rich particles] differs markedly between spring and summer, being about 0.3 in the spring of 2003 and about 1.0 in the summer of 2002 at heights 3-5 km above sea level. It is likely that the condition of the ground surface and the strength of vertical mixing in source areas of Asian dust are potential factors causing the difference in the chemical types of dust particles.Comparison of the elemental compositions of these particles with those of particles collected over Japan strongly suggests that these particles were chemically modified during their long-range transport in the free troposphere. Analysis of wind systems shows that both the predominating westerly wind in the free troposphere and the surface wind strongly controlled by the geographical structure of the Tarim Basin are important in the long-range transport of KOSA particles originating in the Taklamakan Desert

Temporal Relationships Between African Dust and Chlorophyll-a in the Eastern Caribbean Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez-Andujar, N. X.; Mayol-Bracero, O. L.; Torres-Delgado, E.

2017-12-01

Seasonal African Dust (AD) transports soluble iron to oligotrophic Caribbean waters, and when bioavailable, it could increase marine primary productivity (PP). Recently, the region has experienced the proliferation of unusually high quantities of Sargassum, an iron-absorbing macroalgae inhabiting the air-sea interface, which possess ecological and economic challenges and whose driving factors are still uncertain. AD events reach Puerto Rico (PR) mostly during boreal summer months. This is also the season when chlorophyll-α (CHL) concentrations are highest, when the algae starts to bloom, and when sediment plumes from the Orinoco River (ORP) also reach nutrient discharge maxima.This study seeks to better understand the temporal relationships between increases in chlorophyll-α and the presence of african dust events in the region. Aerosol data collected at the Cabezas de San Juan Atmospheric Observatory was used to identify AD events between January 2005 and December 2015. Light scattering coefficients were measured with an integrating Nephelometer, while light absorption coefficients were obtained from either the Particle Soot/Absorption Photometer (PSAP) or the Continuous Light Absorption Photometer (CLAP). Spectral properties suggesting AD events were cross-referenced with surface dust concentration image models and source-attributed air masses corresponding to dusty periods using Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectories (HYSPLIT). For all years with spectral data, modeled monthly wet dust deposition was correlated (r=0.64) with mean CHL concentrations from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Daily dust mass column densities from NASA's MERRA-2 model were also correlated (r2= 0.53) to sea surface iron concentrations from NASA's Ocean Biogeochemical Model. We present the 2010 case study, which coincides with the start of the Sargassum bloom and shows CHL peaks occurring a month before ORPs but during the AD season

Dust emission mechanisms in the central Sahara: new insights from remote field observations

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, C.; Washington, R.; Engelstaedter, S.

2013-12-01

North Africa is the world's largest source of mineral aerosol (dust). The Fennec Project, an international consortium led by the University of Oxford, is the first project to systematically instrument the remote central Sahara Desert. These observations have, among others, provided new insights into the atmospheric mechanisms of dust emission. Bordj Badji Mokhtar, in south-west Algeria, is within kilometres of the centre of the global mean summer dust maximum. The site, operated by Fennec partners ONM Algerie, has been heavily instrumented since summer 2011. During the Intensive Observation Period (IOP) in June 2011, four main emission mechanisms were observed and documented: cold pool outflows, low level jets (LLJs), monsoon surges and dry convective plumes. Establishing the relative importance of dust emission mechanisms has been a long-standing research goal. A detailed partitioning exercise of dust events during the IOP shows that 45% of the dust over BBM was generated by local emission in cold pool outflows, 14% by LLJs and only 2% by dry convective plumes. 27% of the dust was advected to the site rather than locally emitted and 12% of the dust was residual or ';background' dust. The work shows the primacy of cold pool outflows for dust emission in the region and also the important contribution of dust advection. In accordance with long-held ideas, the cube of wind speed is strongly correlated with dust emission. Surprisingly however, particles in long-range advection (>500km) were found to be larger than locally emitted dust. Although a clear LLJ wind structure is evident in the mean diurnal cycle during the IOP (12m/s peak winds at 935hPa between 04-05h), LLJs are only responsible for a relatively small amount of dust emission. There is significant daily variability in LLJ strength; the strongest winds are produced by a relatively small number of events. The position and strength of the Saharan Heat Low is strongly associated with the development (or

Adapting MODIS Dust Mask Algorithm to Suomi NPP VIIRS for Air Quality Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Ciren, P.; Liu, H.; Kondragunta, S.; Laszlo, I.

2012-12-01

Despite pollution reduction control strategies enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), large regions of the United States are often under exceptional events such as biomass burning and dust outbreaks that lead to non-attainment of particulate matter standards. This has warranted the National Weather Service (NWS) to provide smoke and dust forecast guidance to the general public. The monitoring and forecasting of dust outbreaks relies on satellite data. Currently, Aqua/MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectrometer) and Terra/MODIS provide measurements needed to derive dust mask and Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) products. The newly launched Suomi NPP VIIRS (Visible/Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument has a Suspended Matter (SM) product that indicates the presence of dust, smoke, volcanic ash, sea salt, and unknown aerosol types in a given pixel. The algorithm to identify dust is different over land and ocean but for both, the information comes from AOT retrieval algorithm. Over land, the selection of dust aerosol model in the AOT retrieval algorithm indicates the presence of dust and over ocean a fine mode fraction smaller than 20% indicates dust. Preliminary comparisons of VIIRS SM to CALIPSO Vertical Feature Mask (VFM) aerosol type product indicate that the Probability of Detection (POD) is at ~10% and the product is not mature for operational use. As an alternate approach, NESDIS dust mask algorithm developed for NWS dust forecast verification that uses MODIS deep blue, visible, and mid-IR channels using spectral differencing techniques and spatial variability tests was applied to VIIRS radiances. This algorithm relies on the spectral contrast of dust absorption at 412 and 440 nm and an increase in reflectivity at 2.13 μm when dust is present in the atmosphere compared to a clear sky. To avoid detecting bright desert surface as airborne dust, the algorithm uses the reflectances at 1.24 μm and 2.25 μm to flag bright pixels. The

Physical properties of suspended dust during moist and low wind conditions in Iceland

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Dagsson-Waldhauserova, P.; Arnalds, O.; Olafsson, H.; Škrabalová, L.; Sigurdardottir, G. M.; Braniš, M.; Hladil, Jindřich; Skála, Roman; Navrátil, Tomáš; Chadimová, Leona; Lowis of Menar, S.; Thorsteinsson, T.; Carlsen, H. K.; Jonsdottir, I.

2014-01-01

Roč. 27, č. 1 (2014), s. 25-39 ISSN 1670-567X Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : atmospheric measurements * dust storm event * surface heating * dust aerosol * climate aspects Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.188, year: 2014 http://www.ias.is/landbunadur/wgsamvef.nsf/Attachment/IAS%20-%204%20kafli%20Pavla/$file/IAS%20-%204%20kafli%20Pavla.pdf

Blowing dust and highway safety in the southwestern United States: Characteristics of dust emission "hotspots" and management implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Junran; Kandakji, Tarek; Lee, Jeffrey A; Tatarko, John; Blackwell, John; Gill, Thomas E; Collins, Joe D

2018-04-15

Despite the widespread media attention of chain-reaction traffic incidents and property damage caused by windblown dust in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, very few studies have provided in-depth analysis on this issue. Remote sensing and field observations reveal that wind erosion in the southwestern U.S. typically occurs in localized source areas, characterized as "hotspots", while most of the landscape is not eroding. In this study, we identified the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of hotspots that may contribute dust blowing onto highways in the southwestern U.S. We further classified the hotspots for the potential of blowing dust production based upon field observations and wind erosion modeling. Results of land use and land cover show that shrubland, grassland, and cropland accounted for 42%, 31%, and 21% of the overall study area, respectively. However, of the 620 total hotspots identified, 164 (26%), 141 (22%), and 234 (38%) are located on shrubland, grassland, and cropland, respectively. Barren land represented 0.9% of the land area but 8% of the dust hotspots. While a majority of these hotspots are located close to highways, we focused on 55 of them, which are located hotspot sites are dominated by sand and silt particles with threshold shear velocities ranging from 0.17-0.78m s -1 , largely depending on the land use of the hotspot sites. Dust emission modeling showed that 13 hotspot sites could produce annual emissions >3.79kg m -2 , yielding highly hazardous dust emissions to ground transportation with visibility hotspots are critical information for highway authorities to make informed and timely management decisions when wind events strike. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact of Gobi desert dust on aerosol chemistry of Xi'an, inland China during spring 2009: differences in composition and size distribution between the urban ground surface and the mountain atmosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. H. Wang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Composition and size distribution of atmospheric aerosols from Xi'an city (~400 m, altitude in inland China during the spring of 2009 including a massive dust event on 24 April were measured and compared with a parallel measurement at the summit (2060 m, altitude of Mt. Hua, an alpine site nearby Xi'an. EC (elemental carbon, OC (organic carbon and major ions in the city were 2–22 times higher than those on the mountaintop during the whole sampling period. Compared to that in the non-dust period a sharp increase in OC was observed at both sites during the dust period, which was mainly caused by an input of biogenic organics from the Gobi desert. However, adsorption/heterogeneous reaction of gaseous organics with dust was another important source of OC in the urban, contributing 22% of OC in the dust event. In contrast to the mountain atmosphere where fine particles were less acidic when dust was present, the urban fine particles became more acidic in the dust event than in the non-dust event, mainly due to enhanced heterogeneous formation of nitrate and diluted NH₃. Cl⁻ and NO₃⁻ in the urban air during the dust event significantly shifted toward coarse particles. Such redistributions were further pronounced on the mountaintop when dust was present, resulting in both ions almost entirely staying in coarse particles. On the contrary, no significant spatial difference in size distribution of SO₄²⁻ was found between the urban ground surface and the mountain atmosphere, which dominated in the fine mode (<2.1 μm during the nonevent and comparably distributed in the fine (<2.1 μm and coarse (>2.1 μm modes during the dust event.

Geochemical characterization of critical dust source regions in the American West

Science.gov (United States)

Aarons, Sarah M.; Blakowski, Molly A.; Aciego, Sarah M.; Stevenson, Emily I.; Sims, Kenneth W. W.; Scott, Sean R.; Aarons, Charles

2017-10-01

The generation, transport, and deposition of mineral dust are detectable in paleoclimate records from land, ocean, and ice, providing valuable insight into earth surface conditions and cycles on a range of timescales. Dust deposited in marine and terrestrial ecosystems can provide critical nutrients to nutrient-limited ecosystems, and variations in dust provenance can indicate changes in dust production, sources and transport pathways as a function of climate variability and land use change. Thus, temporal changes in locations of dust source areas and transport pathways have implications for understanding interactions between mineral dust, global climate, and biogeochemical cycles. This work characterizes dust from areas in the American West known for dust events and/or affected by increasing human settlement and livestock grazing during the last 150 years. Dust generation and uplift from these dust source areas depends on climate and land use practices, and the relative contribution of dust has likely changed since the expansion of industrialization and agriculture into the western United States. We present elemental and isotopic analysis of 28 potential dust source area samples analyzed using Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) for 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd composition and Multi-Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (MC-ICPMS) for 176Hf/177Hf composition, and ICPMS for major and trace element concentrations. We find significant variability in the Sr, Nd, and Hf isotope compositions of potential source areas of dust throughout western North America, ranging from 87Sr/86Sr = 0.703699 to 0.740236, εNd = -26.6 to 2.4, and εHf = -21.7 to -0.1. We also report differences in the trace metal and phosphorus concentrations in the geologic provinces sampled. This research provides an important resource for the geochemical tracing of dust sources and sinks in western North America, and will aid in modeling the biogeochemical impacts of increased

Asian Lifelong Learning in the Context of a Global Knowledge Economy: A Task Re-Visited

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Soonghee

2007-01-01

This article revisits and reinterprets my previous paper. It is a snapshot of the lifelong learning system building in selected Asian countries, reflected in the mirror of the Asian Financial Crisis in the 1997s and the aftermath of that event. I reconsidered the arguments (1) the economic recession had delivered a global dimension of lifelong…

Cultural Patterns of South Asian and Southeast Asian Americans.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathews, Rachel

2000-01-01

An overview of South Asian and Southeast Asian Americans is discussed to aid teachers in understanding behaviors exhibited by Asian students. Culture influences in the following areas are explored: family relationships, respect for age, social interaction, communication style, family expectations, humility, school situations, decision making, and…

EVOLUTION OF THE DUST IN V4332 SAGITTARII

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banerjee, Dipankar P. K.; Ashok, N. M. [Astronomy and Astrophysics Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, 380009 (India); Nuth, Joseph A. III [NASA/GSFC, Mail Code: 690, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Misselt, Karl A.; Su, K. Y. L. [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065 (United States); Varricatt, Watson P. [United Kingdom Infrared Telescope, 660 N. Aohoku Place, University Park Hilo, Hawaii-96720 (United States); Sand, David [Physics Department, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409 (United States); Marion, G. H. [University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712-0259 (United States); Marengo, Massimo [Physics and Astronomy Department, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011 (United States)

2015-12-01

An eruptive nova-like event took place in 1994 in the stellar-merger candidate V4332 Sgr. Following the eruption, dust consisting of refractory silicate-rich dust grains containing a significant component of AlO bonding was formed sometime between 1998 and 2003. Observations using Spitzer between 2005 and 2009 show significant changes in the 10 μm silicate stretch feature. There is a deepening of the 10 μm silicate stretch as well as the development of a feature between about 13 and 20 μm consistent with a blend of the MgO and FeO stretching features and the O–Si–O bending mode of increasingly ordered silicate dust. Near-infrared observations show the presence of AlO and water vapor in the outflow in 2003, 2004, and 2005: the AlO has significantly decreased in spectra obtained in 2014 while the water vapor remains largely unchanged. An attempt is made to correlate these observations and understand the significance of these changes using DUSTY modeling. The observations appear consistent with the kinetically controlled condensation of highly underoxidized SiO/AlO/Fe/Mg dust grains in the outflow followed by the continuous evolution of the initial condensate due to thermal annealing and oxidation of the dust via reaction with ambient O, OH, and H{sub 2}O in the expanding, cooling shell. Periodic monitoring of this dust shell over the mid-infrared spectral range could yield useful information on the evolution of underoxidized silicate condensates exposed to hot water vapor in more conventional circumstellar environments.

Dust Measurements in Tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rudakov, D; Yu, J; Boedo, J; Hollmann, E; Krasheninnikov, S; Moyer, R; Muller, S; Yu, A; Rosenberg, M; Smirnov, R; West, W; Boivin, R; Bray, B; Brooks, N; Hyatt, A; Wong, C; Fenstermacher, M; Groth, M; Lasnier, C; McLean, A; Stangeby, P; Ratynskaia, S; Roquemore, A; Skinner, C; Solomon, W M

2008-01-01

Dust production and accumulation impose safety and operational concerns for ITER. Diagnostics to monitor dust levels in the plasma as well as in-vessel dust inventory are currently being tested in a few tokamaks. Dust accumulation in ITER is likely to occur in hidden areas, e.g. between tiles and under divertor baffles. A novel electrostatic dust detector for monitoring dust in these regions has been developed and tested at PPPL. In DIII-D tokamak dust diagnostics include Mie scattering from Nd:YAG lasers, visible imaging, and spectroscopy. Laser scattering resolves size of particles between 0.16-1.6 (micro)m in diameter; the total dust content in the edge plasmas and trends in the dust production rates within this size range have been established. Individual dust particles are observed by visible imaging using fast-framing cameras, detecting dust particles of a few microns in diameter and larger. Dust velocities and trajectories can be determined in 2D with a single camera or 3D using multiple cameras, but determination of particle size is problematic. In order to calibrate diagnostics and benchmark dust dynamics modeling, pre-characterized carbon dust has been injected into the lower divertor of DIII-D. Injected dust is seen by cameras, and spectroscopic diagnostics observe an increase of carbon atomic, C2 dimer, and thermal continuum emissions from the injected dust. The latter observation can be used in the design of novel dust survey diagnostics