https://eos.org/articles/have-we-got-dust-all-wrong&utm_campaign=ealert
The “Godzilla” Saharan dust plume that clouded over parts of the United States in June 2020 created a lot of talk and a lot of magnificent sunsets. Dust is an intriguing type of matter, vital for the formation of clouds and precipitation. We also know that if enough dust gathers in the atmosphere, it can block solar radiation. But what if some of these dust-related assumptions were slightly dusty—or completely wrong?
Members of the Remote Sensing of Aerosols, Clouds and Trace Gases (ReACT) team are trying to find out. The team, a group of atmospheric and climate scientists operating under the umbrella of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), says the main reason for this “dust misconstruction” may be that we have failed to grasp the correct dust particle orientation in the first place.
