Daniel Tong, Professor, Atmospheric Chemistry and Aerosols, J. Shukla Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences (AOES), College of Science, and Siqi Ma, Research Scientist, J. Shukla Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences (AOES), and the Center for Satellite and Earth Science Research (CSER) at George Mason, College of Science, received funding for the study: “Characterization of international and domestic sources of windblown dust and contribution to fine and coarse particulate matter in Texas.”
The objective of this study is to understand the trends in windblown dust and its effects on PM2.5 and PM10 in Texas.
Specifically, the researchers will: 1) investigate the long-term trends in windblown dust activity in Texas and three upwind states (New Mexico, Oklahoma and Colorado); 2) analyze the environmental drivers of the dust trends; 3) improve dust emission model by integrating satellite-detected dust sources and updating other model inputs, and 4) quantify contributions from in-state and out-of-state dust sources to PM2.5 and PM10 in Texas.
The researchers received $160,470 from the University of Texas at Austin for this project. Funding began in May 2026 and will end in late Aug. 2027.
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