For decades, scientists have assumed the majority of global dust emissions came from windswept deserts in North Africa. Two studies, published in JGR Atmospheres and Science of the Total Environment, say dust emissions actually vary by season and across hemispheres — and the total amount of dust emissions worldwide is much lower than previously thought. “When dust emission models were developed, there were few continuously varying global data sets available and simplifying assumptions were made for their implementation,” they write in the JGR Atmospheres paper. Atmospheric dust affects both the climate and human health, even in areas far from its source. Overall, the researchers write in the JGR Atmospheres study, the old model differs from the satellite observations by up to two orders of magnitude.
