Researchers led by the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography have created the first comprehensive report looking at sources, impacts and future of dust in California.
They found that California’s major dust events primarily occur across the 55,000-square-mile region that encompasses Mono Lake, Owens Valley, the Mojave Desert, the northwestern corner of the Sonoran Desert, the Salton Trough and the San Joaquin Valley — an area that is home to nearly five million people.
Dust primarily affects agriculture by damaging fertile topsoil and causing crop abrasion. Other impacts listed in the report include decreased efficiency of solar panels and a “darkening” snowpack, which occurs as dust from the valley is airborne and later settles over the Sierra mountains. This phenomenon can lead to an early snow melt.
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Alexandra Heaney, a UCSD climate and health epidemiologist, said that more dust research must be conducted specifically in California, due to the state’s unique problems with drought, climate and land use changes.
State Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, said in a release that the research will “ensure a more prosperous future” for California’s more arid landscapes and that he remains committed to shoring up resources for the Salton Sea region.
Last year Padilla introduced a bill that would have created a UC pilot program dedicated to dust forecasting in the Imperial and Coachella valleys, but the bill never made it out of committee.
The researchers used historical data to simulate climate models, finding that dry conditions will likely worsen in the future.
They recommend that agriculture take precautions to prevent dust creation, such as preserving crop residues and planting windbreaks. But overall, the report proposes the state create “robust and reliable forecasting and communication tools.”
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