Atmospheric Dust: Sources, Characteristics, Impacts, and Control Strategies
A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2020) | Viewed by 8140
Special Issue Editor
Interests: atmospheric aerosols; urban emissions modeling; wildfire and biomass burning emissions; geo-environmental systems; microbiome in air; health impacts of aerosols; land–air–sea interactions
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Rising temperatures and changing climate have various implications on all the spheres of the earth’s system. One of the most important and complex elements of climate change is dust pollution. It plays a pivotal role in global ecological processes and biogeochemical cycles. Dust, once considered to be a natural emission of particles into the atmosphere, is directly and indirectly influenced by anthropogenic activities to a large extent in the current scenario. Humans influence dust emissions directly by escalating land use through deforestation and increased construction activities, among others, and indirectly by contributing to atmospheric warming, which results in desertification. Complex dynamics, processes, and interactions of dust with the environment, ecosystems, and humans require thorough study in the context of climate change and human interference. The complexity of dust stems from the varied mixtures of compounds it contains. Robust measurement approaches therefore underpin our ability to develop a holistic picture of atmospheric dust pollution. This will enable scientists and engineers to design controls and develop blueprints for various systems to adapt and deal with the increasing dust pollution levels.
The main aim of this Special Issue is to integrate and summarize the contemporary insights and findings from dust pollution research. We invite submissions of original research articles and reviews on dust pollution including but not limited to:
- Source forensics of dust;
- Physical, chemical, and biological characterization of dust aerosols;
- Fate and transport of dust at both regional and global scales;
- Interaction of dust with biogeochemical and hydrological cycles;
- Influence of dust pollution on air microbiome;
- Human health and environmental impacts of atmospheric dust;
- Consequences and influence of climate change on the synergistic exchanges between atmospheric dust and land-ocean ecosystems;
- Control strategies and designs to lessen the effects of dust pollution.
Dr. Raghu Betha
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- Dust transport
- Health impacts
- Ecology of dust
- Land–ocean ecosystems
- Biogeochemical cycle
- Soil erosion
- Dust depositions
- Ocean productivity
- Nutrient-rich dust
- Climate change
- Dust-borne pathogens
- Microbiome
- Control measures
- Dust size characterization
- Atmospheric processes of dust
