Introduction - Mineral Dust: A Key Player in the Earth System - page 11

Ron Miller et al. explain how direct radiative forcing through dust affects climate
on a regional to global scale. Emphasis is given to key parameters like sea-surface
temperature, near-surface temperature over land, wind, precipitation, stability and
regional circulations. Chapter 14 by Tim Jickells et al. reports how the deposition of
dust particles can increase bioactivity through iron and phosphorus fertilisation of
both terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems (e.g. plankton, algae). This has ramifications
for the uptake of carbon into soils and the ocean, which in turn affects climate. This
chapter has strong links with Chap. 8 . Finally, Chap. 15 by Suzette Morman and
Geoffrey Plumlee discusses impacts of dust particles on human health, which range
from respiratory diseases such as asthma to connections with meningitis outbreaks
and long-range transport of microbes on dust particles.
The final part, Part IV is entitled Dust archives (Chaps. 16 , 17 , 18 ) andcovers
the three main areas where dust deposits are used for climate reconstructions.
Chapter 16 by Daniel Muhs et al. looks at deposits in soils, that is, records from
the main Loess regions around the world (China, eastern and western Europe,
North and South America). In Chap. 17 , Jan-Berend Stuut discusses subaquatic dust
records focusing on lacustrine and marine sediment archives. The former typically
allow a relatively detailed view into the recent climate history of a relatively small
region and the latter offering opportunities to study dust over millions of years and
from larger source areas. Mineral-dust archives in ice cores cover slightly shorter
timescales as discussed by Paul Vallelonga and Anders Svensson in Chap. 18 . The
most prominent such cores were taken from Antarctica and Greenland allowing
reconstructions for both hemispheres, but also tropical ice cores, for example, from
South America, are discussed.
The editors are convinced that they have assembled a comprehensive and
fascinating overview of the state of the art of mineral-dust research and hope that
the readers will enjoy it as much the editors did compiling it.
References
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