SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY - Researchers from several University of California campuses have collaborated to create a report on dust in California, a characteristic that defines the desert climate zone that encompasses most of the state.
The regions where dust storms occur encompass an area greater than 55,000 square miles and are home to nearly five million Californians, a population greater than nearly half of the states in the United States.
And now more than ever, there is a great need for the public to know about it, say members of the science team led by Amato Evan, a climate scientist at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. One major finding from the research compiled in this report is the wide-ranging impacts of dust on health, public safety, the environment, and the economy of California.
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“Dust is a surprisingly complex atmospheric pollutant,” said report co-author William Porter, a UC Riverside researcher studying atmospheric dynamics and modeling, “and emissions can be strongly influenced by both natural variability and human activity. This report represents our best attempt at summarizing dust impacts in California, from emissions to interventions.”