Dust matters when it comes to rainfall
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Category: AirType: News
Source: PNNL
Date: Thursday, August 24th, 2017
News Brief
August 24, 2017 
Washington D.C. - Small dust particles emitted from the land surface pack an out-sized punch when it comes to influencing rainfall and the water cycle, according to a presentation this week by Ruby Leung of the D.O.E.'s Pacific Northwest National Lab.
Leung was a keynote speaker at a symposium on the chemistry of our planet at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C. The symposium was organized by ACS President and PNNL Associate Lab Director Allison Campbell.
Leung spoke about the impacts of dust on precipitation and our climate. She noted that dust travels great distances and has effects far from its source. For instance, dust from Asia and even the Sahara (blowing eastward across Asia and the Pacific) makes up a significant portion of the dust in California during the winter. The dust is responsible for a good proportion of the heavy rains from "atmospheric rivers" that periodically pummel California.
Dust also powers the heavy rains from monsoons, Leung said, noting that monsoons are affected by dust emitted from nearby deserts. Monsoons are strengthened when dust in the sky absorbs the sun's energy, increasing the temperature in the atmosphere but decreasing the amount of sunlight hitting the planet surface. Leung discussed one instance -the southwestern United States, where more rain is falling in storms due to elevated heating from dust emitted from the southwestern deserts.
Tags: Environment, Fundamental Science, Climate Science, Atmospheric Science, Aerosols
Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Lab address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,400 staff and has an yearly budget of nearly $1 billion. It is managed and operated by Battelle for the D.O.E.'s Office of Science. As the single biggest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information on PNNL, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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