Dust storms are a vital component of the environment. This book explores and summarises recent research on where dust storms originate, why dust storms are generated, where dust is transported and deposited, the nature of dust deposits and the changing frequency of dust storms over a range of time-scales. It is the first global study of causes and effects of dust storms, which are one of the increasing nature catastrophes.
Dust storms, produced by the removal of surface materials from the worlds drylands, are a vital component of the environment. This is because of their role in biogeochemical cycling, their potential influence on climate, their role in sediment accumulation and their influence on human affairs. This book, which is exhaustively referenced, explores and summarises recent research on where dust storms originate, why dust storms are generated, where dust is transported and deposited, the nature of dust deposits and the changing frequency of dust storms over a range of time-scales.
1 The Nature and Importance of Dust Storms 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Methods of Study 2 Dust Entrainment, Transport and Deposition 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Origin of Desert Dust Particles 2.3 Threshold Velocities and Environments of Deflation 2.4 Wind Erosion of Soil and Other Surface Materials 2.5 Synoptic Meteorological Conditions Leading to Dust Events 2.6 Long-Range Transport 2.7 Wet and Dry Deposition 2.8 The Giant Dust Particle Conundrum 3 Environmental and Human Consequences 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Marine Ecosystems 3.3 Aeolian Erosion of Soils 3.4 Aeolian Contamination of Soils 3.5 Stone Pavements 3.6 Duricrusts 3.7 Salinization and Acidity 3.8 Desert Depressions and Yardangs 3.9 Dust and Radiative Forcing 3.10 Dust and Atmospheric CO2 3.11 Dust and Tropospheric Ozone 3.12 Dust and Clouds 3.13 Economic Effects 3.14 Health 3.15 Dust Storms in War 4 The Global Picture 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Major Global Sources 4.3 Dust Storms and RainfallóQ