Navigation Links
Dust in West up 500 percent in past 2 centuries, says CU-Boulder study
Date:2/24/2008

The West has become 500 percent dustier in the past two centuries due to westward U.S. expansion and accompanying human activity beginning in the 1800s, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Sediment records from dust blown into alpine lakes in southwest Colorado's San Juan Mountains over millennia indicates the sharp rise in dust deposits coincided with railroad, ranching and livestock activity in the middle of the last century, said geological sciences Assistant Professor Jason Neff, lead author on the study. The results have implications ranging from ecosystem alteration to human health, he said.

"From about 1860 to 1900, the dust deposition rates shot up so high that we initially thought there was a mistake in our data," said Neff. "But the evidence clearly shows the western U.S. had it's own Dust Bowl beginning in the 1800s when the railroads went in and cattle and sheep were introduced into the rangelands."

A paper on the research funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation was published in the Feb. 24 issue of Nature Geoscience. Co-authors included CU-Boulder's Ashley Ballantyne, Lang Farmer and Corey Lawrence, Cornell University's Natalie Mahowald, the University of Arizona's Jessica Conroy and Jonathan Overpeck, Christopher Landry of the Center of Snow and Avalanche Studies in Silverton, Colo., the University of Utah's Tom Painter and the U.S. Geological Survey's Richard Reynolds.

The study indicates "dust fall" in the West over the past century was five to seven times heavier than at any time in the previous 5,000 years, said Neff, who is also a faculty member in CU-Boulder's Environmental Studies Program. While some fine-grained dust from Asia periodically falls on Colorado's San Juans, the abundance of larger-sized dust particles in the lake sediments there indicates most of the dust originated regionally in the Southwest, said the authors.

While droughts can trigg
'/>"/>

Contact: Jason Neff
Jason.C.Neff@colorado.edu
303-818-4022
University of Colorado at Boulder
Source:Eurekalert  

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Nitrogen pollution boosts plant growth in tropics by 20 percent
2. 100 percent of people carry at least 1 type of pesticide
3. Gene, stem cell therapy only needs to be 50 percent effective to create a healthy heart
4. SinuNase Phase 3 show almost 100 percent of chronic sinusitis cases are from fungal-induced inflamma
5. Restless legs syndrome affects nearly 2 percent of US/UK children
6. New study warns limited carbon market puts 20 percent of tropical forest at risk
7. Conservation strategies must shift with global environmental change, says CU-Boulder study
8. CU-Boulder technology used to identify unexpected bacteria in cystic fibrosis patients
9. CU-Boulder worm study sheds light on human aging, inherited diseases
10. Nutrient pollution drives frog deformities by ramping up infections, says CU-Boulder study
11. CU-Boulder team discovers first ancient manioc fields in Americas
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
Related Image:
Dust in West up 500 percent in past 2 centuries, says CU-Boulder study
(Date:6/18/2013)... from the United Kingdom, the Energy Department,s National ... Kentucky have recently published a paper describing a ... Limnoria quadripunctata , commonly known as the ... they exhibit a relatively unique ability to produce ... to break down the biomass they eat. New ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... in the Gulf of Mexico and a smaller than ... based on several NOAA-supported forecast models. , NOAA-supported modelers ... the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium are forecasting that ... be between 7,286 and 8,561 square miles which could ... range from an area the size of Connecticut, Rhode ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... D.C. June 18, 2013 Joshua Obar, Ph.D., ... has been honored with a 2013 ICAAC Young Investigator ... regulation of immunological memory responses to infection. , ... University in 2001 and went on to complete his ... 2006. He performed his Ph.D. thesis research in ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Novel enzyme from tiny gribble could prove a boon for biofuels research 2NOAA, partners predict possible record-setting deadzone for Gulf of Mexico 2NOAA, partners predict possible record-setting deadzone for Gulf of Mexico 3NOAA, partners predict possible record-setting deadzone for Gulf of Mexico 4The American Society for Microbiology honors Joshua Obar 2
... all the UK,s discarded wrapping paper and Christmas cards ... to run a double-decker bus to the moon and ... behind a new scientific study. The study, by ... of waste paper could be turned into high grade ...
... Washington, D.C. Coral reefs are extremely diverse ... risk. Carbon dioxide emissions are acidifying the ocean, threatening ... Carnegie,s Kenneth Schneider analyzed the role of sea cucumbers ... that their dietary process of dissolving calcium carbonate ...
... WORCESTER, Mass. Small, mobile sequences of DNA left over ... ability to move around the genome, pose a significant threat ... genetic parasites, these transposable elements are believed to comprise as ... the damage transposons can do to an organism,s DNA, an ...
Cached Biology News:Go to work on a Christmas card 2Go to work on a Christmas card 3Sea cucumbers: Dissolving coral reefs? 2Defending the genome 2Defending the genome 3
(Date:6/18/2013)... DuPont welcomes 48 of the nation’s finest agricultural ... Teachers Ambassador Academy this week (NATAA) at the company’s ... , The NATAA “Ag Academy” is a professional development ... of the National FFA Foundation and the ... The highly recommended agriscience teachers, who are participating in ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... 2013 The Pistoia Alliance ... HELM biomolecular representation standard software toolkit and editor ... HELM (Hierarchical Editing Language for Macromolecules) enables ... (e.g. proteins, nucleotides, antibody drug conjugates) whose size ... methodologies impractical or unusable. HELM solves this problem ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... , June 18, 2013  AMRI (NASDAQ: ... Burlington, Mass. , site has received ... Administration (DEA) registration to handle Schedule 2 and ... acknowledgement of Burlington,s physical ... documentation. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120229/NY61160LOGO ) ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... , June 18, 2013  Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: ... it has agreed to acquire 100% ownership of ... Inc. (Bionostics).  Bionostics is a global leader in ... that verify the proper operation of in ... point of care blood glucose and blood gas ...
Breaking Biology Technology:DuPont Sponsors National AgriScience Ambassador Academy 2DuPont Sponsors National AgriScience Ambassador Academy 3The Pistoia Alliance Releases HELM Biomolecular Representation Standard Open Source Tools 2AMRI Burlington Receives DEA Approval to Handle Controlled Substances 2Techne Corporation Announces Acquisition Agreement 2Techne Corporation Announces Acquisition Agreement 3Techne Corporation Announces Acquisition Agreement 4Techne Corporation Announces Acquisition Agreement 5
... Novexel, a speciality,pharmaceutical company focused on the ... the significant global problem of microbial,resistance, announces today ... Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Novexel,s SAB is chaired ... board. Dr. Bush, who is currently,Adjunct Professor at ...
... Trusted LASIK Surgeons directory service and website at ... consumers seeking to improve their vision and find a ... of attaining 20-20 vision. What sets the Trusted ... ensuring that only those who are among the best ...
... U.S. Department of Energy,s Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed ... film containing nanoparticles - particles measuring billionths of a ... and eliminates the use of toxic chromium for this ... 7,507,480 for their method and the corrosion-resistant metals made ...
Cached Biology Technology:Novexel Strengthens its Scientific Advisory Board With the Appointment of Dr. Karen Bush 2Novexel Strengthens its Scientific Advisory Board With the Appointment of Dr. Karen Bush 3Trusted LASIK Surgeons Welcomes LASIK Expert William Mathers, M.D. of the Casey Vision Correction Center in Portland, Oregon, to Its LASIK Directory 2Trusted LASIK Surgeons Welcomes LASIK Expert William Mathers, M.D. of the Casey Vision Correction Center in Portland, Oregon, to Its LASIK Directory 3Trusted LASIK Surgeons Welcomes LASIK Expert William Mathers, M.D. of the Casey Vision Correction Center in Portland, Oregon, to Its LASIK Directory 4Trusted LASIK Surgeons Welcomes LASIK Expert William Mathers, M.D. of the Casey Vision Correction Center in Portland, Oregon, to Its LASIK Directory 5Trusted LASIK Surgeons Welcomes LASIK Expert William Mathers, M.D. of the Casey Vision Correction Center in Portland, Oregon, to Its LASIK Directory 6Trusted LASIK Surgeons Welcomes LASIK Expert William Mathers, M.D. of the Casey Vision Correction Center in Portland, Oregon, to Its LASIK Directory 7Trusted LASIK Surgeons Welcomes LASIK Expert William Mathers, M.D. of the Casey Vision Correction Center in Portland, Oregon, to Its LASIK Directory 8Scientists patent corrosion-resistant nano-coating for metals 2
... The versatile Promega Flipper® Racks are ideal ... your small tubes. These polypropylene racks withstand ... for freezer storage. They may also be ... rack is two-sided; one side accommodates 0.5ml ...
... lysis buffer, PCR mix, DNA polymerase and ... volume PCR reactions. This system can detect ... rod and coccus bacteria, such as Escherichia ... Streptococcus Agalactiae, and etc. With the powerful ...
... Insect Cell Medium is optimized for serum-free ... Cells. In this protein-free medium, Sf9 cultures ... 107 cells/ml with viabilities above 95%. This ... where color from X-gluc staining of pBACgus ...
...
Biology Products: