With increasing aridification, more frequent and intense droughts driven by climate change, and changing land use across the Americas, mineral dust aerosol activity patterns are shifting, and in some regions, dust emissions are on the rise. Risks associated with dust hazards are often underappreciated, a gap between the knowledge pool and public awareness that can be costly for impacted communities.
This event brings together the community working on dust of natural or anthropogenic origins across the Caribbean, Central, South, and North America and has two main goals. First, to share the latest research on dust in the region. Second, to strengthen engagement among dust researchers and other interested stakeholders as part of the Regional Node for the Americas of the WMO Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System (SDS-WAS), fostering collaboration and networking across the Pan-American Node.
We understand dust research in the broadest sense, and we welcome contributions across the full range of applications and methods — as long as the work is focused on natural or anthropogenic dust. This includes, for example, paleoclimate studies; dust characterization; atmospheric and ecosystem impacts; agriculture driven emissions; and monitoring and modeling of dust events, including dust-related air quality.