USDA selects University of Illinois team to study spring dust storms over Midwestern rural areas

A study from the University of Utah reveals that urban environments can significantly contaminate natural airborne dust particles with hazardous elements. The research found higher concentrations of toxic metals such as zinc, calcium, molybdenum, cadmium, copper, lead, cobalt, and arsenic in urban dust compared to natural dust.

A new study found evidence of rising temperatures in Mars' lower atmosphere when solar storms and global dust storms coincided. Researchers detected unusual heating patterns that could not be explained by the storm alone, suggesting a complex atmospheric environment on Mars.

A team of UCF researchers is pioneering a new nanocoating to passively mitigate the effects of lunar dust, protect equipment and extend future lunar missions. The goal is to understand how lunar dust interacts with surfaces and design surface properties that repel the dust.

A team of Chinese scientists has developed a new model, GoMars, to simulate Martian dust cycles and global-scale dust storms. The 50-year simulation predicts consistent seasonal and spatial patterns, including the timing of peak dust devil lifting and intense dust devil activity in Amazonis region.

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered that relatively warm and sunny days may help to trigger major dust storms on Mars. The team found that roughly two-thirds of these storms are preceded by a sharp rise in surface temperatures, which can lead to explosive weather patterns.

A study led by Chinese astronomers identified a previously unknown source of cosmic dust in the universe: Type Ia supernovae interacting with gas from their surroundings. The researchers found that these events create significant amounts of dust, which could be a dominant source of dust in elliptical galaxies.