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ClimateQuiet 2d · day 8

Earth's dust declining sharply, may be accelerating climate warming

A UCLA study finds atmospheric dust has dropped 10% in two decades, reducing a natural cooling effect and potentially boosting warming.

newest coverage 2d agosummary written 5d ago8 pieces1 likes & upvotes NewswiresGoogle NewsMastodon

What to know

  • Global atmospheric dust has dropped about 10% between 2003 and 2023, driven by weaker surface winds and increased vegetation cover in Asia and China.
  • The decline improves air quality for hundreds of millions in dust-prone regions but removes a natural cooling effect, potentially accelerating climate warming.
  • Dust carries nutrients that fertilize oceans and forests and influences monsoon rainfall; its decline will have cascading ecosystem effects.

“In Australia, sustainable land management practices in western New South Wales have resulted in increased vegetation cover, which is critical for reducing wind erosion.”

Tegan Clark, Australian National University researcher · New Scientist ↗

Ashok Gupta UCLA researcher, lead authorTegan Clark Australian National University researcher

Earth's dust declining sharply, may be accelerating climate warming
New Scientist

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articles

Peak 3 pieces in two hours at Sep 17, 7 AM; 8 pieces over 8 days (7 articles · 1 post) Sep 16, 7 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 16, 9 AM — quietSep 16, 11 AM — quietSep 16, 1 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 16, 3 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 2Sep 16, 5 PM — quietSep 16, 7 PM — quietSep 16, 9 PM — quietSep 16, 11 PM — quietSep 17, 1 AM — quietSep 17, 3 AM — quietSep 17, 5 AM — quietSep 17, 7 AM — 3 pieces · 3 articles — Google News 2, Newswires 1Sep 17, 9 AM — quietSep 17, 11 AM — quietSep 17, 1 PM — quietSep 17, 3 PM — quietSep 17, 5 PM — quietSep 17, 7 PM — quietSep 17, 9 PM — quietSep 17, 11 PM — quietSep 18, 1 AM — quietSep 18, 3 AM — quietSep 18, 5 AM — quietSep 18, 7 AM — quietSep 18, 9 AM — quietSep 18, 11 AM — quietSep 18, 1 PM — quietSep 18, 3 PM — quietSep 18, 5 PM — quietSep 18, 7 PM — quietSep 18, 9 PM — quietSep 18, 11 PM — quietSep 19, 1 AM — quietSep 19, 3 AM — quietSep 19, 5 AM — quietSep 19, 7 AM — quietSep 19, 9 AM — quietSep 19, 11 AM — quietSep 19, 1 PM — quietSep 19, 3 PM — quietSep 19, 5 PM — quietSep 19, 7 PM — quietSep 19, 9 PM — quietSep 19, 11 PM — quietSep 20, 1 AM — quietSep 20, 3 AM — quietSep 20, 5 AM — quietSep 20, 7 AM — quietSep 20, 9 AM — quietSep 20, 11 AM — quietSep 20, 1 PM — quietSep 20, 3 PM — quietSep 20, 5 PM — quietSep 20, 7 PM — quietSep 20, 9 PM — quietSep 20, 11 PM — quietSep 21, 1 AM — quietSep 21, 3 AM — quietSep 21, 5 AM — quietSep 21, 7 AM — quietSep 21, 9 AM — quietSep 21, 11 AM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 3 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 21, 7 PM — quietSep 21, 9 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 3 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 9 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 3 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quiet 12
Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 4:43 AM ET
  1. 2

    Dust decline identified as contributor to warming despite air quality gains

    Researchers explain that dust has a modest net cooling effect by reflecting sunlight back to space; reduced dust therefore loses that cooling benefit, potentially adding to global warming. However, the decline is beneficial for public health in dust-exposed regions and ecosystems dependent on wind-borne nutrients face trade-offs.

    “A sustained decline in dust therefore ripples through all of these.”
    — Ashok Gupta
    1. 1 outlet Earth's Atmosphere Loses Dust, May Boost Warming

      first by Mirage News, 7d ago

    • Snoro@mastodon.social

      The air above us appears to carry a lot less dust than it did two decades ago. A new study found that global atmospheric dust dropped by roughly 10% from 2003 to 2023. That might sound like good news, but there’s a catch. Dust actually cools the planet a little. So less dust in the sky could mean the warming we’re already dealing with has been…

      Snoro@mastodon.socialMastodon2d ago1▲view on Mastodon ↗
  2. 1

    UCLA study finds global atmospheric dust declined 10% since 2003

    Ashok Gupta at UCLA and colleagues analyzed four satellites and three aerosol databases from 2003–2023, verified against ground stations, and found atmospheric dust levels have fallen significantly. The dust decline is attributed primarily to weakening surface wind activity and increased vegetation cover, particularly in Asia and China.

    “Dust emission is very sensitive to wind speed, so even a modest weakening of surface winds can noticeably reduce how much dust is lofted into the air.”
    — Ashok Gupta
    1. 1 outlet Atmospheric Dust Decline Increases Global Warming Speed

      first by sflorg.com, 7d ago

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 1 outlet Earth is getting less dusty

    first by New Scientist, 6d ago

    1 more headline

and 1 smaller piece