Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Dust Events across the United States over Twenty (20) Years, Insight into Their Meteorological Causes and Conditions

Dust events, which impact millions across the US, are an important and complex constituent of the atmospheric system and are one of the main natural contributors to atmospheric Particulate Matter (PM). Atmospheric dust particles affect the climate, economy, and environment, as well as human well-being and health. There is a major concern regarding dust events, as multiple climate model studies indicate that as climate change progresses, more dust events are expected across the US. Dust events in the US can be of varying intensities (blowing dust vs. dust storm) and types (synoptic vs. convective), but their distributions (spatial, temporal, or type) and impacts across the US are unclear. Therefore, there is a need to better understand dust events, spatial and temporal distributions, the meteorological conditions that initiate them, and those measured during them. The project will include several broader impact activities including the recruitment of undergraduates and graduate students with a focus on recruitment of students from underrepresented minorities groups, hands-on activity for undergraduate students, general public lectures as part of the Texas Tech Climate Center, as well as sharing the information and database retrieved from this project with the scientific community as part of the Dust Alliance for North America (DANA) community. The project will create the first national wide dust event database that will include blowing dust events as well as dust storms that occur across the US for the last 20 years. Identification of dust events will be made using meteorological stations spread across the US. Different tools (including changes in PM, satellite images, IMPROVE, AERONET, etc.) will be used to confirm these dust events. Using multiple tools including weather pressure maps, satellite images, and radar images, each dust event will be identified for the meteorological conditions that caused it. Comparison between the meteorological measurements and conditions during and those that initiate dust events as well as changes in larger climatology scales including drought and climatological indices will advance our fundamental knowledge of dust events by providing a detailed view of their spatial and temporal changes, the common types, and the meteorological conditions that cause them. The database created from this project could improve the understanding of the potential impact of dust events on climate (e.g., radiation, cloud microphysics, and precipitation processes) and impact on air quality and human health. It could also be used for better prediction methods and may serve as the basis for a national alert dust system. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.