Home · Science · Sep 17 archive
Dust Levels in Earth's Atmosphere Drop, Potentially Contributing to Global Warming
Confirmed
In Short: Levels of atmospheric dust have declined by about 10% over the past two decades, according to a new UCLA study, which suggests this could be adding to global warming.
A new study by UCLA researchers has found that the amount of dust in Earth's atmosphere has decreased by about 10% from 2003 to 2023, marking the strongest evidence to date of this trend.
Atmospheric dust, which travels from the ground up to the upper atmosphere, has a slight cooling effect on the climate. However, the reduction in dust could be contributing modestly to the warming caused by human activities.
Lead author Ashok Gupta, who conducted much of the analysis as a researcher and assistant project scientist in the UCLA Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, stated, 'This is the strongest evidence to date that Earth's atmosphere became less dusty in the early 21st century.
The decline in dust has other potential effects on ecosystems, air quality, and the atmosphere, according to the study. Researchers are now working to determine how much of the global dust decline can be attributed to changing surface winds and other environmental factors.
Most of the atmospheric dust originates in the Northern Hemisphere, with major desert regions such as the Sahara in North Africa and the deserts of Asia, including the Gobi, contributing much of the global dust burden.
Christopher Kotsakis of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, while not directly related to the dust study, has observed that the Earth's geoid, the lumpy shape of the planet's gravitational field, is changing, with the poles rising at a rate that has doubled in less than 20 years, potentially linked to the dust decline.
What's confirmed
- A new study by UCLA researchers has found that the amount of dust in Earth's atmosphere has decreased by about 10% from 2003 to 2023, marking the strongest evidence to date of this trend.
- Atmospheric dust, which travels from the ground up to the upper atmosphere, has a slight cooling effect on the climate. However, the reduction in dust could be contributing modestly to the warming caused by human activities.
- Lead author Ashok Gupta, who conducted much of the analysis as a researcher and assistant project scientist in the UCLA Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, stated, 'This is the strongest evidence to date that Earth's atmosphere became less dusty in the early 21st century.
- The decline in dust has other potential effects on ecosystems, air quality, and the atmosphere, according to the study. Researchers are now working to determine how much of the global dust decline can be attributed to changing surface winds and other environmental factors.
- Most of the atmospheric dust originates in the Northern Hemisphere, with major desert regions such as the Sahara in North Africa and the deserts of Asia, including the Gobi, contributing much of the global dust burden.
- Christopher Kotsakis of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, while not directly related to the dust study, has observed that the Earth's geoid, the lumpy shape of the planet's gravitational field, is changing, with the poles rising at a rate that has doubled in less than 20 years, potentially linked to the dust decline.
What's still developing
- Levels of dust in the atmosphere have dropped significantly over the past two decades.
- This is good news for our lungs, but could contribute to increased global warming.
- All the sources agreed that it has become less dusty, with the team’s estimates suggesting dust had declined by about 10 per cent globally over this period.
- Since the 1970s, scientists have been watching the changes wrought by this mass reshuffle in Earth's geoid – the lumpy, potato-like shape of the planet's gravitational field that tracks the distribution of mass.
- He turned to measurements from a global network of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations, which can track tiny vertical movements of Earth's surface over time, pulling data from 1997 to 2015 to map how the solid Earth was rising and sinking around the globe.
- Put the two together – poles rising, equator sinking – and Earth's rocky exterior was becoming progressively less flattened.