Airborne dust impacts

Abstract

Dust storms are global events. Dusts from Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Australia periodically fill the air with soil particles to which viable microbes, bacteria, fungi, and toxic chemicals are attached. Dusts and their exotic components are transported through the troposphere to be deposited far from their sources. Dusts cause hazy days and spectacular sunsets, but also pose risk to human health (e.g., asthma), marine life (e.g., red tides), and coral reef health (e.g., sea-fan disease). Impacts of airborne dusts on all ecosystems are just beginning to be recognized.