Sessions

The session deals with the drift and the environmental fate of dust containing pesticides coming from treated (dressed) seeds. The importance of the topic is related to the potential exposure of non-target organisms, as honey bees, other pollinator insects and humans. In recent years, researchers have approached the problem from multiple angles, including the toxicology of neonicotinoid insecticides to honey bees, the effect of seeder design on dust drift, the characterization of dust particles, the mitigation measures. In general this theme has come to the attention of researchers, consumers and governmental bodies. During the last a few years, numerous contributions on the topic have been published, extending the knowledge on the matter, with regards to physical characteristics of dust particles, mitigation devices and systems to reduce the drift, drift modelling, experimental setup, etc.
The session is an excellent meeting for the presentation of up-to-date researches.

Marcello Biocca, CRA-ING- Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria, Unità di ricerca per l’ingegneria agraria , IT, marcello.biocca@entecra.it
Daniele Pochi, CRA-ING- Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria, Unità di ricerca per l’ingegneria agraria , IT, daniele.pochi@entecra.it
Roberto Fanigliulo, CRA-ING- Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria, Unità di ricerca per l’ingegneria agraria , IT, roberto.fanigliulo@entecra.it

Abundance of atmospheric dust has several climatic and environmental implications such as poor air quality, monsoon modification, poor visibility, radiative forcing impacts, control of acidification in dusty regions like India, human and plant health etc. Atmospheric dust has been recognized as a major component of atmospheric aerosols which are considered as essential variable in climate studies by the IPCC and WMO. Urban dust makes air quality poor due to hazardous constituents which have adverse impacts on plant and human health. Dust pollution stress limits the plant productivity and sometimes even survival of the plants. Plant foliar are damaged due to heavy dust load affecting the formation of pigments and other useful biochemicals in the plants. Urban dust has been found rich in carbon content suggesting its severe implications for both human health and climate. In general, due to increase in urban areas and fossil fuel emissions, urban dust has become a health hazard.
This session invites presentations about urban dust measurements and modeling discussing its impacts on human health and plants in major cities.

Umesh Kulshrestha, Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi, IN, umeshkulshrestha@gmail.com

In recent years, particulate matter (PM) has attracted increasing scientific interest due to its harmful effects on human health and its involvement in pollution problems and global climate change. PM is generated by a wide range of natural processes and human activities and is therefore ever-present in the atmosphere. In particular, research on PM have been focused on the identification of its sources as a key starting point to evaluate thoroughly the PM impacts, to characterize the atmospheric processes in which it is involved, and to develop cost-effective remediation measures. This session encourages contributions regarding PM in-situ monitoring and source identification as well as PM measurements assessment with innovative statistical approaches.

Rosa Caggiano, CNR-IMAA, IT, rosa.caggiano@imaa.cnr.it

This session should welcome contribution from researchers working in the field of particulate matter characterization, emission evaluation, fate in the environment and removal techniques with specific reference to ships emitted particulate.
Particulate matter emitted from ship’s exhausts is composed by different mineral and carbonaceous fractions, including condensed liquids. These are extremely harmful and contribute to air pollution in coastal areas. Recently many studies are focusing on the characteristics, the toxicology and the dispersion of these pollutants in the environment as well as on their impacts on population. On the contrary a few of them are considering possible means to reduce particulate emissions from ships.

Francesco Di Natale, Università di Napoli Federico II – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale, IT, fdinatal@unina.it
Maria del Mar Viana, IDAEA-CSIC, ES, mar.viana@idaea.csic.es
Claudia Carotenuto, Seconda Università di Napoli – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale e dell’Informazione, IT, claudia.carotenuto@unina2.it

Indoor air quality refers to the quality of the air in an enclosed environment (e.g., home, school, office, or other building environment). Indoor air quality has significant impact on human health because people spend most of their time (~90% or more) indoors, where the concentrations of some pollutants are often higher than typical outdoor concentrations. The proposed session aims to (1) gather papers reporting research outcomes on sources, characterization, quantification, fate, exposure, and health effects of indoor dusts, (2) provide opportunities for researchers in the areas to share their ideas and knowledge and to network.

Julia Lu, Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, CA, dust2016.indoordust@ryerson.ca
Shengling Wang, Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, CA, dust2016.indoordust@ryerson.ca

Despite the introduction of the EU directive 1999/30/EC (which limits PM10 concentrations in the ambient air), suitable measures to reduce air pollution sources were not found and these limiting values are frequently exceeded in European regions. Moreover, the directive 2008/50/EC, which recognizes the important health impact of PM2.5, introduces in 2015 in all the member States an exposure concentration obligation of 20 g/m3 for this pollutant. Considering the high contribution of combustion processes to PM2.5 emissions, innovative and cost efficient technologies for their reduction should be proposed.
The objectives of the session are:
*The development of innovative and cost-efficient cost techniques for reduction of PM2.5 at combustion sources
*The support the design and implementation of effective and cost-efficient approaches to air quality management and
*Reducing health impacts due to combustion processes (domestic biomass burning, transport, industries) to comply with new regulations

Gwenaëlle Trouve, Université de Haute Alsace, Laboratoire Gestion Risques et Environnement, Institut Jean-Baptiste Donnet, 3 bis rue Alfred Werner, 68093 Mulhouse Cedex, FR, gwenaelle.trouve@uha.fr
Elza Bontempi, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Industriale, Laboratorio di Chimica per le Tecnologie, Brescia, IT, elza.bontempi@unibs.it
Reto Giere, Department of Earth and Environmental Science University of Pennsylvania, US, giere@sas.upenn.edu

This session invites contributions on the presence of dust in livestock farming with special emphasis to:
- Dust measuring methods;
- Particulate matter concentrations and emissions in animal houses;
- Dust as carrier of microorganisms and gases: secondary particulate matter in livestock farming.

Annamaria Costa, Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety (Italy); University of Milan, IT, annamaria.costa@unimi.it
Maria Cambra Lopéz, Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Animal; Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain), ES, macamlo@upvnet.upv.es

Many cities around the world are subjected to dust storms at different magnitudes and frequencies. In general, dust storms increase significantly concentrations of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) in both outdoor and indoor environments. In recent years the increased human activities in land-uses around cities cause to changes in the nature of transported dust particle including additions of chemicals and biological compounds. Distribution of dust particles in the city have many aspects, including air pollution, health risks, visibility and transportation, soil contamination, and more.

Itzhak Katra, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev , IL, katra@bgu.ac.il

Flame retardants such as brominated diphenylethers, various organophosphorus compounds, chlorinated paraffins and others are being added in high amounts (range 5-30%)to building materials, electronic instruments and furniture to prevent or delay ignition. Through leaching, evaporation and ageing the flame retardants are being released and accumulate in indoor dust of homes, schools, offices, hotels, etc. The amounts of contaminants are much higher indoors than in the outdoor environment. Humans are exposed to these concentrations by inhalation. Toddlers are especially exposed through hand-mouth contacts. There are still many questions to be answered, e.g. which compounds do occur, what are their concentrations, what are the risks for human health, do mixture effects occur, etc. Related compounds can be present in floor polish or as plasticizers in plastic materials and may add to the mixture effects.

Jacob de Boer, VU University, Institute for Environmental Studies, De Boelelaan 1087, 1081HV Amsterdam, NL, jacob.de.boer@vu.nl

There is a growing interest in forecasting the chemical composition of the atmosphere since current atmospheric issues such as climate change, air quality, and industrial emissions have detrimental effects on human health and ecosystems. However, gaps in our understanding of atmospheric chemistry can impede our ability to accurately predict chemical changes in the atmosphere. The classical approach used in atmospheric models mainly relies on the use of homogeneous gas-phase mechanisms, which have been shown to underestimate concentrations of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) and secondary organic aerosols (SOA) or NOx in different regions.
Interestingly, heterogeneous chemical processes occur at the surface of atmospheric dust particles irrespectively of their origins (desert, oceans, volcanoes,…). These processes have the potential to impact the chemical composition of the atmosphere. However, they have yet to be investigated through (i) laboratory experiments, (ii) fields campaigns and (iii) modelling.
The main objective of this session is to discuss interactions of atmospheric VOCs with mineral dust particles in order to assess the impact of such processes on the composition and reactivity of the atmosphere.

Frederic Thevenet, Ecole des Mines, FR, frederic.thevenet@mines-douai.fr
Veronique Riffault, Ecole des Mines, FR


Volcanic ash is the result of intense magmatic or phreatomagmatic fragmentation during explosive volcanic eruptions. After injection into the atmosphere, the ash is dispersed as convective columns and umbrella clouds, which are subject to the combined effects of gravity and wind speed, or are transported close to the ground as pyroclastic density currents. The injection of ash into the atmosphere can cause damage to aircraft or can impact public health. Ash leachates can result in pollution of water resources, damage to agriculture and forest, affect pasture and livestock health, impinge on aquatic ecosystems and alter the geochemical environment of the seafloor. This implies that the full address of the distal ash hazards from active volcanoes urges for preventing crises in human communities, which are underpinned and increasingly dependent on multiple layers of interconnected infrastructure.
The session welcomes both oral and poster presentations about volcanic ash production, dispersal and impact evaluation over territory and infrastructure. Studies based on field, laboratory and numerical models fit the aim of the proposed session.

Organizing Committee, DUST 2016, IT, dust@scientevents.com

Exhaust emissions from internal combustion engines are one of the principal sources of air pollution in urban areas. Emission limits of selected pollutants applicable to selected conditions did not bring the desired reduction in the effect on human health, which currently includes over 400 thousands premature deaths annually in the EU. The reasons for this discrepancy could be that emissions are higher under real driving conditions than in the laboratory, that some portion of the health risk could be due to other, presently non regulated, compounds or properties of particulate matter, and that current metrics of particulate matter emissions or ambient concentrations may not accurately represent the associated toxicity. The focus of the session is on innovative approaches towards more realistic assessment of the current and anticipated effects of contemporary, emerging and experimental fuels and engine and exhaust after-treatment technologies.

Michal Vojtisek-Lom, Czech Technical University in Prague, CZ, michal.vojtisek@fs.cvut.cz
Jan Topinka, Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences, CZ, jtopinka@biomed.cas.cz

The current efforts in creating the “Internet of the Things”, i.e. a widespread convergence of sensors monitoring the physical world with wireless networks and Cloud-based data processing and exchange, will disclose new paradigms also in the field of environmental sensing. In particular, the integration of dust monitoring instruments in these infrastructures appears extremely challenging. In fact, significant miniaturization and low power consumption should be achieved while preserving acceptable performances. Within this session, following up the IM3 session in the past DUST 2014 conference, all the technological advances towards such an ambitious goal will be highlighted. Novel detection strategies such as portable personal dosimetry of micrometric and nanometric dust exposure and participatory mapping will be discussed.

Marco Carminati, Politecnico di Milano, IT, marco1.carminati@polimi.it

Factors influencing aerosol sampling in the workplace. There are a lot of uncertainties in this area, although some people consider it already resolved. The contribution of different factors to final results, for example, is field blank a predominant one as compared to laboratory blank or static charge effect? How to make a field blank is described quite differently in conventions. Sample mass gain is less and less, which makes the LOD coincidence rate too lower. Furthermore, mass gain is related to a stable final measurement.
Another is perhaps the sampling efficiency of samplers especially for respirable fraction. Unanimous agreement to aerosol size classification makes it possible to use a same sampling technique world-wide. However, there remain questions, e.g. the conformity of currently used sampling equipments with these newly standardized fractions. The sampling efficiency and its influences like wind speed or in calm air, and this test might be assisted by using of the new equipment particle sizers.

Lei Yang, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical Colleage, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, CN, Leiyang@mails.tjmu.edu.cn

There are now many techniques that study dust particles one at a time. Studies of individual particles offer a different perspective which compliments traditional approaches to dust. Single particle techniques are of interest in many fields of science and include electron microscope, X-ray methods, mass spectrometry, particle tracking, Raman and infrared spectroscopy, and other techniques. Single particle techniques can offer clues to the distribution of components in individual particles and to inter-particle variations as opposed to a simple determination of averages.
This session invites method developments of single particle techniques in the field of dust research, as well as their application to field observations or laboratory experiments.

James Coe, The Ohio State University, US, coe.1@osu.edu
Konrad Kandler, Technical University Darmstadt, DE, kandler@geo.tu-darmstadt.de

Different samplers are used in different countries to collect atmospheric dust. This implies that threshold values are actually depending on sampler used in the epidemiologic studies.
It is therefore very important to define the different samplers and to correlate them to the correct limit value.
Recently several studies in that domain, especially for quartz exposure measurements, are performed and also ISO and CEN workgroups are dealing with that.

Steven Verpaele, Belgian Center for Occupational Hygiene, BE, steven@becoh.be
Jonathan Jouret, Belgian Center for Occupational Hygiene, BE, jonathan@becoh.be
Marco Mecchia, INAIL – Direzione Generale – CONTARP, IT, m.mecchia@inail.it

The session welcomes all modeling and field studies on dust related to cryosphere, either at high latitudes or at high altitudes with snow and ice. The work can focus on, e.g., dust transport, deposition, volcanic dust, polar regions, or health, environmental or climate impacts. These include dust and snow/ice albedo effects.

Outi Meinander Meinander, Finnish Meteorological institute, FI, outi.meinander@fmi.fi
Pavla Dagsson-Waldhauserova, Agricultural University of Iceland, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Hvanneyri, Iceland, IS, pavla@lbhi.is
Jonas Svensson, Finnish Meteorological institute, FI, jonas.Svensson@fmi.fi

Modelling of dusty plasma and experimental production by laboratory plasma of nanoparticles from hydrocarbon gas and liquid precursors have been for long used to further elucidate the evolution of the solar nebulae and the formation of the early earth. Surprisingly this combined approach has never been applied for understanding the critical role of thermal, electric and dusty plasmas on the synthesis of new nanosolids through recycling of gas and dust aerosols. The session proposed here intends to examine this innovative question by gathering specialists of atmospheric dust, plasma, lightning, atmosphere dynamics, climate and modelling. Presentations combining modelling, field studies and experimental approach of plasma-linked transformation of atmospheric dust are most welcome. We expect to debate the complex interaction of multiple plasma processes on the recycling of atmospheric dust into nanoparticles and their role on the synthesis of resistant hydrocarbon-based components by polymerization in the atmosphere.

Marie-Agnes Courty, CNRS, PROMES, France, FR, marie-agnes.courty@promes.cnrs.fr
Jean-Michel Martinez, Perpignan University, PROMES, France, , jean-michel.martinez@promes.cnrs.fr

State-of-the-art atmospheric models show uncertainties in representing the dust aerosol lifecycle. Further model improvements depend on understanding the meteorological processes at play using observations and models of different complexity. For this session we invite contributions about meteorological processes involved in dust emission, transport and deposition. These include, but are not restricted to the following aspects:
- Ground and space borne measurements of dust emission, loading and deposition
- Observational analysis and modelling of meteorological processes for dust emission such as low-level jets, convective outflow, dust devils or synoptic-scale storms
- Analyses of vertical mixing and multi-scale transport mechanisms of dust aerosol in models and observations
- Studies on processes of dry and wet deposition
- Atmospheric model inter-comparison and validation of involved meteorological processes
- Radiative effects of dust aerosols on meteorological processes involved in their emission, transport and deposition

Stephanie Fiedler, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, DE, stephanie.fiedler@mpimet.mpg.de
Michael L. Kaplan, Desert Research Institute, US, michael.kaplan@dri.edu

This session intends to bring together the scientific communities of air pollution modelling and atmospheric observations focusing on Saharan dust. The main aim of the proposed session is to evaluate the state-of the-art (recent results and current problems) related to the investigation of desert dust advection over the Mediterranean basin and of the impact these natural particles have on the PMx concentrations measured at ground level, from the regional to the local scale.
Presentations covering the research area of air pollution modelling and observational techniques (including sensors development) are welcome. In this session, we invite contributions regarding the atmospheric processes taking place in the planetary boundary layer in the presence of mineral particles advected from the Sahara desert.

Tony Christian LANDI, CNR- ISAC, IT, t.landi@isac.cnr.it
Gabriele CURCI, Department of Physical and Chemical Sciences Center of Excellence for the forecast of Severe Weather (CETEMPS) University of L’Aquila, IT, Gabriele.Curci@aquila.infn.it
Francesca BARNABA, CNR-ISAC, IT, f.barnaba@isac.cnr.it

The freezing of water droplets in clouds is often triggered by mineral dust particles, which are very efficient ice nuclei. Recent research by laboratory modeling and by field studies proof evidence that the ice nucleation ability inherently depends on the mineral phase and on the surface chemistry of the particle. Therefore, this session invites contributions from field measurements, from lab studies and from theoretical models, which can contribute to the question: What makes a dust particle being a good ice nucleus?

Grothe Hinrich, TU Wien, AT, grothe@tuwien.ac.at

Unpaved roads are a major source of airborne dust, which significantly affects systems that are in the vicinity of these. There are many methods to measure dust emissions as well as additives to mitigate these emissions at source. Because of this, networks of unpaved roads require them to be managed efficiently from the standpoint of dust emissions. This session will discuss technical papers that provide solutions and practical experience aimed at reducing dust emissions originating from networks of unpaved roads.

Felipe Halles, Tsp Chile Civil Engineering, Cl, fhalles@tspchile.cl
Dave Jones, University of California Pavement Research Center, US, djjones@ucdavis.edu

The numerical prediction of dust is a huge challenge because of the complexity of the problem, which involves processes of very different scales, and the difficulty of having appropriate observation systems available for data assimilation and model evaluation. In addition, dust prediction requires a high accuracy in the atmospheric fields that most affect dust particles, such as near-surface wind speed for dust emission or cloudiness and precipitation for wet deposition. We encourage submition of papers on any aspect of atmospheric dust modeling and forecast, with special emphasis on data assimilation, physical parameterizations, high-resolution modelling, direct and indirect effects of dust on weather and climate, dust mineralogy, post-processing products, ensemble prediction, model evaluation, dust predictability and simulation of specific events. Novel and advanced approaches for dust monitoring and assessment based on the integration/combination of observations and models are also welcome.

Enric Terradellas, State Meteorological Agency of Spain, ES, eterradellasj@aemet.es
Sara Basart, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, ES, sara.basart@bsc.es
Slobodan Nickovic, The Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia, SR, nickovic@gmail.com

Fugitive Dust from agricultural activities can, at times, be a major problem for nearby and distant urban areas. Unfortunately, using only inorganic markers, it is typically impossible to differentiate between fugitive dust coming from agricultural fields and dust being ejected from local roads into the atmosphere. Organic marker compounds, specific to crops grown on fields may be helpful to assess the dust burden over a city. Likewise, selective dispersion modelling simulating the release and transport of agricultural dust can be helpful in quantifying the contribution to the atmosphere over urban centres.
The proposed session on fugitive dust from agricultural land should be broad, including source profiling, chemical characterization, ambient sampling downwind of agricultural fields, emission assessment of individual agricultural operations, and modelling.

Wolfgang F Rogge, University of California Merced, US, wrogge@ucmerced.edu

Mineral dust is one of the major aerosol types in a global context. Besides its direct climate impact, it indirectly modifies cloud processes and precipitation, serves as nutrient supply for marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and affects human health. After emission, dust may undergo considerable changes by atmospheric processes. Dust particles may be modified through chemical reactions on/with the particles and through mixing with other aerosols. In addition, dust layers may be diluted or certain size ranges of particles may be selectively removed. As consequence, the impact of dust on the global climate system and ecosystems may change considerably.
This session calls for field observations and modelling studies on modification of mineral dust aerosol during its atmospheric lifetime. Topics can include near-source modifications as well as ageing during long-range transport. Analyses based on single-site and networked observations and large field campaigns are equally welcome. Pure modelling studies, in-situ and remote sensing observations and any combined approaches are invited.

Konrad Kandler, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften, Schnittspahnstr. 9, 64287 Darmstadt, DE, kandler@geo.tu-darmstadt.de
Bernadett Weinzierl, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, 82234 Weßling / Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Meteorologisches Institut, Theresienstr. 37, 80333 München, DE, Bernadett.Weinzierl@dlr.de
Albert Ansmann, Leibniz-Institut für Troposphärenforschung, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, DE, albert@tropos.de
Ina Tegen, Leibniz-Institut für Troposphärenforschung, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, DE, itegen@tropos.de

Asian Dust is often understood as large amounts of lofted mineral dust above Asia. But its sources and sinks are not necessarily only in Asia: the dust may also be advected from far away sources like the Saharan desert. Hence, Asian dust is more than a regional phenomenon. After the dust is lofted into the atmosphere, it will be transported and mixed with other atmospheric particle types. Its optical and chemical properties may be changed by aging on its way through the atmosphere. Asian Dust affects not only the atmospheric radiation budget, but also human health, and even economics. Thus, the Asian Dust needs a multiple-dimensional approach into several directions and scientists of different disciplines are working on this phenomenon. A comprehensive study of Asian Dust in the atmosphere is only possible with a combination of ground-based, airborne and space-borne measurements with additional regional and global modelling approaches.
The goal of the proposed session is to bring scientists together and to gain more insight into the different aspects of Asian Dust: its properties, its sources, its transport mechanisms and processes, its effects on humans, and finally on its sinks.

Dietrich Althausen, Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, DE, dietrich@tropos.de
Kenji Kai, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, JP, kai@info.human.nagoya-u.ac.jp
Jianping Huang, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, CN, hjp@lzu.edu.cn

Mineral dust is released in atmosphere by wind driven-processes controlled by the wind intensity, the soil wetness, the soil texture and the land cover. Long-range transport of dust, mainly produced in arid and semi-arid regions, affects not only the radiative properties of the atmosphere but also the human health and the environment. In addition to a substantial increase of aerosol mass, the dust particles interact with gases and other aerosols present in the atmosphere. In the last years, many studies have shown that the chemical and physical properties of the aerosols change or, in case of model simulations, may change in the presence of dust, in both fine and coarse aerosol fractions.
This session aims to bring together the experimental and modelling communities with the purpose to facilitate the exchange of information, to enhance understanding of dust role in aerosol transformation and to define further investigation strategies that may help improving the parameterizations of aerosol-dust interaction processes.

Mihaela Mircea, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), IT, mihaela.mircea@enea.it

Dust exert an effect on both incoming and outgoing earth radiation. The mineralogical composition of dust and in particular, its content in iron oxides determine how absorbing this aerosol is. We would like to bring together contributions that give a full picture of the effect that dust have on climate. Hence we encourage studies that characterize:
- Dust optical properties
- Dust effect on radiation (both shortwave and longwave)
- Dust effect on atmospheric temperatures and precipitation.
Furthermore, once transported dust brings nutriments to both the oceanic and terrestrial ecosystems in the form of soluble iron and phosphorus. This transport is an important component that stimulate productivity in region where these nutrients are limiting. More quantification in needed to understand the controls that dust can exert on these ecosystems.

Yves Balkanski, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, FR, yves.balkanski@lsce.ipsl.fr
Carlos Perez, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, US, carlos.perezga@nasa.gov

Desert dust may affect climate, weather, human health, and may impact transportation safety. In addition, atmospheric desert dust particles are highly variable in content, dimension, optical and microphysical properties. This heterogeneity and the across the board interest on dust call for a multi-disciplinary integrated approach for the assessment of the desert dust impacts on society and nature. Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System (SDS-WAS) established by the WMO has as main objective the enhancing of operational dust models through assessment/validation and assimilation of observational data. Participants in this session will present novel and advanced approaches for dust monitoring and assessment based on integration/combination of observations, forecasts and models. We welcome contributions from both case studies and multi-year studies for the desert dust impacts investigation and assessment.

Organizing Committee, DUST 2016, IT, dust@scientevents.com

Lung disease is a major consequence with diverse types of dusts, both from the dust particulates and from organic compounds associated with the dust. The focus of this session would be on identifying the components of environmental and occupational dusts that cause lung disease and the mechanisms involved, with the obvious end goals of preventing exposure, preventing or treating the lung diseases, and/or biomonitoring for the lung-toxic agents in these dusts. Proteases that remain active even in dried dust have recently been shown to be important for house dust asthma and for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO)-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Specific receptors and downstream signalling pathways are being identified. Speakers will be chosen to cover a diverse range of dust types, mediators, and diseases, to convene the best audience possible. Having these kinds of biomedical researchers meeting together with those focused on diverse other aspects of dust should promote new research directions and collaborations.

Myron L. Toews, Pharmacology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, US, mtoews@unmc.edu
Morley Hollenberg, Physiology, Pharmacology, and Medicine, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, CA, mhollenb@ucalgary.ca
Lena Palmberg, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, SE, lena.palmberg@ki.se

Eurasia is the largest continent with high mountain environments with continental semi-arid and arid climatic conditions and fluctuations of the desert margins during the geological past. These climatic conditions enhance geomorphological processes suitable for dust production, transport and deposition. There are different archives and sources for terrestrial dust in deserts and paleolakes, steppe and loess, alluvial fans and fluvial sediments as well as glaciers. These paleo records cover up to millions of years of Earth s history and preserve important environmental and climatic information. Proper reconstruction of paleo dust records can plays a crucial role in understanding of environmental importance of recent dust. This session aims at assembling scientists working on terrestrial eolian records from both geological and modeling perspectives.

Frank Lehmkuhl, RWTH Aachen University, Department of Geography, D-52056 Aachen, DE, flehmkuhl@geo.rwth-aachen.de
Slobodan B. Markovic, LAPER – Laboratory for Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia, SR, baca.markovic@gmail.com

Report the results from Raman spectroscopic characterization of individual single optically trapped airborne bioaerosol particles (Bg, BtK, E. coli etc) when they are exposured to various atmospheric environments (humidity, ozone, NO etc)

Yongle Pan, US Army Research Laboratory, US, yongle.pan.civ@mail.mil

A growing body of work is illuminating the importance of dust as a component of soil development, biogeochemical cycling, and hydrologic processes in mountain environments. Dust is generated in lowlands through a variety of natural and human-induced processes including drought-related aridification, lake-drainage, wildfire, off-road vehicle use, road construction, fossil fuel extraction, mining, and farming. Once delivered to high mountain environments by the wind, dust induces a multitude of effects including altering the pH and chemistry of surface water, contributing to soil formation, and decreasing the albedo of snow, causing earlier snowpack meltout. This session will bring together researchers studying the effects of dust deposition in mountain environments. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to, measurements of modern dust flux, properties of modern dust, provenance studies, dust-related impacts on surface water and soils, interactions between dust and snowpack processes, and paleo-records of dust deposition over time.

Jeffrey Munroe, Middlebury College, US, jmunroe@middlebury.edu
Gregory Carling, Brigham Young University, US, greg.carling@byu.edu

A variety of natural archives have the potential to preserve dust deposition. Records from ice cores, marine, lake sediments, loess/paleosol sequences, and peat bogs have proven not only to be useful proxies of past environmental and climatic conditions at regional and wider scales, but they also constitute an important archive for constraining the magnitude of the global dust cycle across various spatial and time scales. As such, their potential for the validation of Earth System Models is of utmost relevance.
In the past decade, compilations such as DIRTMAP successfully collected data from various archives worldwide, introducing the Dust Mass Accumulation Rate (MAR) as a common quantitative metric to organize paloedust data from different locations and types of archives. A more recent compilation focused on the Holocene provided a framework for consistently organizing time-resolved paleodust MARs records and particle size distributions.
We invite presentations contributing to the discussion on the state of the art of the dust cycle in the past, especially its variability over glacial/interglacial timescales and climate transitions, and how to use information from the past to improve our understanding of the key processes controlling the dust cycle and, thus, improve predictions for the near future.

Samuel Albani, Cornell University, USA, US, s.albani@cornell.edu
Gisela Winckler, Columbia University, US, winckler@ldeo.columbia.edu
Denis-Didier Rousseau, Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris, FR, denis.rousseau@lmd.ens.fr

Fossil-fuel-burning and other industrial activities release gases and dust into the atmosphere which is a well-balanced, yet the most rapidly changing physical system. Among the gases, sulfur in particular has been associated with the principal environmental problems confronting society which is heavily dependent on coal derived electricity. Aside from its role in the acidification issue and concomitant environmental pollution, sulfur is a critical nutrient as well as an important participant in regulating climate. Hereby, the knowledge of the fate of sulfur in the ecosphere should be a matter of the utmost importance. Although vast amounts of studies have been devoted to emissions and behaviour of trace elements and sulfur in coal, those related to either beneficial or detrimental ecological effects of sulfur, its reservoirs in nature, as well as challenges of clean-up campaigns are fairly lacking. Some specific interdisciplinary topics, like the relationship between soil enzyme activity and chemical composition of soil, atmospheric sulfur accumulation by plants, clinical and toxicological aspects of sulfur, the abundance and nature of sulfur-containing heterocyclic compounds in environmental matrices, a correlation between air pollution and adverse pregnancy outcome, understanding of multi-metal release from contaminated geo-dusts in simulated bio-fluids, to name but a few, need further investigations.

Gordana Medunic , University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Geology, HR, gmedunic@geol.pmf.hr
Ankica Radjenovic, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Metallurgy, HR, radenova@simet.hr

Billions of tons of dust are resuspended into the atmosphere per year, transporting minerals and biological particles, such as bacteria and mold spores, over long distances. Resuspension of dust from surfaces is responsible for a substantial portion of airborne pollutants in outdoor air and in occupied indoor environments. For example, it has been estimated that, of the 61,000 kg/year of lead input to the South Coast Air Basin of California in 2001, 89% was from resuspended lead and the remainder from mobile and stationary sources. It has also been documented that 30% of personal PM10 exposure was due to resuspension for a large-scale study of 178 homes. There is also significant ongoing work investigating human exposure to resuspended weaponized bioaerosols in both outdoor and indoor environments. Resuspended particles are of health concern due to their size (many are in the respirable size range) and composition. Although the potential impact of resuspension on air pollution, human exposure, and health is large, the mechanisms that drive resuspension are complex and not fully understood. This session will explore the current knowledge and needs for research on resuspended dust.

Andrea Ferro, Clarkson University, US, aferro@clarkson.edu
Yilin Tian, University of California, Berkeley, US, Tyl0714@gmail.com

The actual great interest in climate change and its possible negative consequences may need from scientist to build up different scenarios based on available data and suitable indicators that can predict and simulate such scenarios in order to come up with adaptable solutions. In that concern and based on different elaborated meteorological data on Dust storms frequencies and strengths. It has been found that Dust storms are happening annually at certain parts of the world with quite similar rates and frequencies. However, in recent years such data have shown significant variations; where in certain parts of the world high deposition of dust particles have been recorded in a phenomenon which never happens since hundred of years. This leads to think about considering such significant change as indicator of climate change. Not only; the consequences of such phenomenon on economy, agriculture and biodiversity especially in arid area may have significant impact on natural resources as well as on human activities.

Waleed Hamza, Biology Department, College of Science; United Arab Emirates University, AE, w.hamza@uaeu.ac.ae

The problem of dust generated by many industrial branches is widely known. The EU and other institutional rules are year by year more demanding in this field of environmental protection. The problem of dust wastes is significant for Metallurgy, Foundry as well as for Energy, Chemistry and other sectors of global economy. The session could be interesting for all professionals from industry and scientific environment involved in dust wastes management including: 
- methods to minimize the amount of dust generated by industrial installation;
- industrial dust utilization in-house or by other sectors (building, roads, chemistry etc.);
- de-dusting industrial installation;
- dust handling and storage;
- more…..

Jan Jezierski, Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Foundry Engineering, PL, jan.jezierski@polsl.pl

The session will look at the impact of dust deposition on the geochemistry of soils, snow and ice and even lacustrine environments. Papers applying to this session could also deal with the impact of albedo change and melting of snow/ice and the consequence of dust import and vegetative growth and ecosystem development. A major focus will be the on the geochemistry of dust input and how it can affect the geochemistry and biogeochemistry of these systems.

W. Berry Lyons, The School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, US, lyons.142@osu.edu
Anne E. Carey, School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, US, carey.145@osu.edu

Ultrafine carbonaceous aerosols are produced as by-products from a wide range of combustion sources – from diesel engines to process plants to fossil fuel power plants, as well as from uncontrolled sources, such as wildland fires. The chemistry, size and morphology of these aerosols can vary dramatically depending upon the fuel and the stoichiometry of the combustion process. These factors (chemistry, size, morphology) can, in turn, produce very dramatic differences in climate and adverse health effects. Methodologies, techniques, and instruments that can measure these properties can increase our abilities to quantify such effects and can play an important role in our understanding of this component of short lived climate pollutant.

Charles Litton, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, US, clitton@cdc.gov

Major alterations of dust takes place once dust particles encounters cloud droplet. The prokaryotes(nano size) embedded within the clay particles (10 micron or less) plays an essential role by releasing oxalate as an osmosolute. This oxalate combines with the clay mineral and forms iron oxalate. When the solar light energy is above a threshold level then decarboxylation reaction takes place and reduced iron carbon dioxide and a carbonyl radical is released to atmosphere. We have shown that this natural but immense source of carbon dioxide stemming from desert dust cloud interactions is not known by scientific community so far. But all CO2 monitoring stations do measure this effect but eliminated artificially due to the limits set by WMO/WDCGG. This could be the hottest topic of the DUST2016.

A. Cemal Saydam, Hacettepe University Dept of Env Eng., TR, acsaydam@gmail.com

The Sahara-Sahel region is by far the largest mineral dust source in the world, sending as much as 5000 Tg of crustal material in the atmosphere every year. This vast arid and semi-arid area stretches over a ~5000 km x ~2000 km area at present from the Atlantic to the red sea and encompasses numerous dust emission hot spots spread over diverse geological settings. As a result, Saharan dust composition is manifold and varies both in space and time. Our knowledge of the Saharan dust composition variability, however, is incomplete, precisely because of the large number of sources, their variable strength and their intermittency. Improving our understanding of the Saharan dust composition variability is essential to assess the dust impact on the ocean biogeochemistry, to improve qualitative and quantitative information retrieved by remote sensing, and to track Saharan dust in the atmosphere and in environmental archives such as marine sediments and polar ice sheets. This objective of this session is to provide an overview of our current understanding of the Saharan dust mineralogical and geochemical composition from the sources to the sinks. The session intends to bridge local/regional data in Africa to remote studies over the oceans and beyond.

Aloys Bory, University of Lille, France (Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences) and Columbia University, USA (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory), FR, aloys.bory@univ-lille1.fr
Charlotte SKONIECZNY, IFREMER, France, FR, charlotte.skonieczny@ifremer.fr

It has been observed that Atmospheric Dust Events Frequency (ADEF) in inland temperate Asia, in particular in northern and northwestern China, significantly declined over the past decades. Although causes for the decline for a few areas have been investigated, many scientific issues remain to be further addressed. These include, but are not limited to: (1) Quality of historical data of in situ observations and remote sensing; (2) The spatial and seasonal patterns of recent ADEF change; (3) Historical perspectives of the recent ADEF change in terms of paleo-data analyses; (4) Causes and mechanisms of the long-term ADEF trends; (5) Performance of climate models to simulate change in ADEF; (6) Effects of ADEF change on bio-geo-chemical cycle and climate; (7) Projection of the ADEF trend in decades to come. 
This session will provide an opportunity to present and discuss the latest researches related to the scientific issues.

Guoyu Ren, National Climate Center, CMA, Beijing, China; Department of Atmospheric Science, School of Environment, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China, CN, guoyoo@cma.gov.cn

This symposium cover any other topic not included in the Sessions listed above

Organising Committee, DUST 2016, IT, dust@scientevents.com