EAGER Collaborative Research: Exploring Dust Impacts on
Terrestrial Ecosystem Processes Using an Innovative and Integrated Approach

We are examining the effect of Dust Bowl-like conditions on terrestrial ecosystem processes in the State of Texas during the historically significant 2011-2014 drought.  Dust particles are entrained and lifted into the atmosphere in regions with low vegetation cover, erodible soils, and strong winds. Eventually, suspended dust particles are deposited to the earth’s surface as dry particles or they can be deposited to the surface in precipitation (dust-in-rain). 

In this project, we are using an innovative and integrative approach that combines publicly-available data from ground-based networks monitoring climate, air quality, and rainwater chemistry with dust model output, Particle Induced X-ray Emission spectroscopy (PIXE), and back-trajectory analysis to quantify the frequency, characteristics, chemical and elemental composition of dust-in-rain events, and their significance as a source of nutrients and pollutants to ecosystems.  Currently, we are working in West and East Texas, ecoregions with contrasting dust regimes, land cover, and water availability and are focusing on 2012, a year of severe and spatially-extensive drought.

In many arid and semi-arid regions worldwide, land-use/land-cover change and frequency of severe drought are projected to increase in coming decades, contributing to greater dust emissions.  This research will offer a valuable window into the significance of wet dust deposition for dryland dust source and humid receptor regions in the context of historic drought and a potentially more drought-prone future.

To date, this project has provided 10 individuals from diverse groups (4 female, 4 male, 2 Hispanic, 2 disabled veterans) and career stages (undergraduate students to senior faculty) with multiple opportunities for training and professional development.

Collaborators: Gary Glass, Jack Manuel, and Todd Byers (UNT), Tom Gill (UTEP), Joe Collins (Texas A&M San Antonio), Kathleen Weathers (Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies). 

Funded by NSF Geomorphology and Land Use Dynamics.