Aeolian
by Joel Loftus
Title
Aeolian
Artist
Joel Loftus
Medium
Photograph - Photography/digital Photography
Description
Dust consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil dust lifted by weather (an Aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in homes, offices, and other human environments contains small amounts of plant pollen, human and animal hairs, textile fibers, paper fibers, minerals from outdoor soil, human skin cells, burnt meteorite particles and many other materials which may be found in the local environment.Dust comes from arid and dry regions where high velocity winds are able to remove mostly silt-sized material, deflating susceptible surfaces. This includes areas where grazing, ploughing, vehicle use and other human activities have further destabilized the land, though not all source areas have been largely affected by anthropogenic impacts. One-third of the global land area is covered by dust-producing surfaces, made up of hyper-arid regions like the Sahara that covers 0.9 billion hectares, and drylands, which occupy 5.2 billion hectares.
Dust in the atmosphere is produced by saltation and sandblasting of sand-sized grains, and it is transported through the troposphere. This airborne dust is considered an aerosol and once in the atmosphere, it can produce strong local radiative forcing. Saharan dust in particular can be transported and deposited as far as the Caribbean and Amazonia, and may affect air temperatures, cause ocean cooling, and alter rainfall amounts.
Coal dust is responsible for the lung disease known as pneumoconiosis, including black lung disease, that occurs among coal miners. The danger of coal dust resulted in environmental legislation regulating work place air quality in some jurisdictions. In addition, if enough coal dust is dispersed within the air in a given area, it can create an explosion hazard under certain circumstances.
Uploaded
June 9th, 2013
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