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So the media's giving some play to the massive arabian dust storm bringing dust and sundry particulates to america. And yep, I'm in the dust zone.

I'm not too worried about this as I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time this has happened. I'd be very surprised if it was.

I'm wondering if this dust was blown up to high enough altitude that temperatures and or UV would kil microbes or possible things like sand mite eggs that could reach america alive tho. I shouldn't be worried tho as even if a few lice or mite eggs were swept up, which isn't unlikely, and survived their trip here which is more problematic, the odds of them landing near enough to each other to begin breeding is very tiny. The only issue might be a mire egg carrying a mite infected with something that is unusual to america and breeding with local bugs infecting them, but again i'm feeling the odds are pretty far against it.

The again the way 202 has gone so far...



So I know enough to ask the questions, not quite sure i know enough to know the answers.

Anyone here got any insights on if this dust could pose any sort of biohazard? I'm leaning heavily towards no, but not 100% certain.

As you say, its probably happened tens of thousands of times in the past so the idea of it being a biohazard is unlikely. There are already sand mites in North America, probably the same kind they have in the Sahara thanks to this very phenomenon. Plus something like a mite egg is going to be much heavier than the very fine dust particles which can travel on the high altitude winds so its got a small chance of getting there in the first place.

These dust storms do have benefits though. The dust fertilizes everywhere it lands so it can lead to booms in plant and other ocean life.

You'all can't recognize mycetic spores when you see them?

SMDH.

https://twitter.com/RobinD_Mello/status/1275768408878067712/photo/1

This has been going on for longer than human history (far longer); there's nothing to worry about.

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
This has been going on for longer than human history (far longer); there's nothing to worry about.

We need to keep track for our 2020 apocalypse bingo. Mega-dust storm devours the planet is going to be on a few cards.

Saharan dust is a fairly common thing in the UK. Seems to happen at a noteworthy level every few years(noteworthy meaning it gets mentioned at the end of the weather forecast).

Guys, last year i would likely not have posted this. But the way this year's going i was a little nervous...

GoatboyBeta wrote:
Saharan dust is a fairly common thing in the UK. Seems to happen at a noteworthy level every few years(noteworthy meaning it gets mentioned at the end of the weather forecast).

Can't be that common.. Most of the wind that hits the isles comes from the southwest (so the mid-Atlantic), and most of the wind off the Sahara is headed toward the Caribbean or Brazil.

Granted there are going to be other patterns (I've heard lots of horror stories about North Sea winds hitting Hull, for example), but even on the occasions wind is coming from the south, 'Saharan dust' has to pass over warm wet air in the Mediterranean, push up over the mountains and then traverse all of France to make it to the UK. That's a heck of trip.

 Matt Swain wrote:
Guys, last year i would likely not have posted this. But the way this year's going i was a little nervous...

Take some comfort in the fact that the trade winds haven't changed direction recently, and you aren't dealing with anything Columbus didn't. At least wind-wise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_winds
Have a handy doodle & map.

Not only is it totally normal but it's actually ecologically important.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Can't be that common

Yes, it can. It's so common it's barely remarkable.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-scotland-48037362

Saharan dust is relatively common in the UK often happening several times a year when big dust storms in the Sahara coincide with southerly wind patterns. In certain weather situations, Saharan dust can also affect air pollution and pollution levels.

still remember the time it made the news in the shire and someone bothering to write to the local paper moaning it would block the village drains cos of course fine dust from miles away is what does that, not the chunky sand from the beach / dunes just up the road coming off cars all year

 Azreal13 wrote:
Not only is it totally normal but it's actually ecologically important.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Can't be that common

Yes, it can. It's so common it's barely remarkable.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-scotland-48037362

Saharan dust is relatively common in the UK often happening several times a year when big dust storms in the Sahara coincide with southerly wind patterns. In certain weather situations, Saharan dust can also affect air pollution and pollution levels.

Ok, my baseline for 'common' is half the time, minimum. More realistically 3 out of 5, so several times a week.

'Several times a year' is quite uncommon, like the birthdays of immediate family members. Unremarkable, but hardly a common occurrence.

Over geologic scale?

Common does not mean frequent.

It's something that happens regularly enough that's it isn't actually remarkable.

IMO, what I think may be a tad uncommon for THIS example of a dust storm, is that for the first time I can remember, its hitting/will hit places like South Carolina in the US. . . .

Based on those programs I've watched that are narrated by Sir Attenborough, most of the time apparently the wind patterns keep the dust down more along the equatorial regions, hitting Brazil and maybe a few Caribbean countries (tho, hitting may not be the right word as apparently by the time it reaches that far, its hardly visible, if at all) and mostly dies out in the Atlantic, where animals feast on it

We get haboobs now and again where I live and I personally enjoy it when they happen.

I never notice any ill-effects when they hit, except that it can be dangerous to drive - especially if the sun is going down.

The one takeaway I got though, is that dust from arabia is a fairly usual occurance on this hemisphere, especially when you consider the source of many of the tropical waves that grow on to make depressions and hurricanes. It was common enough some people predicted that "a light coating of sand" would kill every coral reef left in the carribean, which, I note, has not come to pass.

Dukeofstuff wrote:
The one takeaway I got though, is that dust from arabia is a fairly usual occurance on this hemisphere, especially when you consider the source of many of the tropical waves that grow on to make depressions and hurricanes. It was common enough some people predicted that "a light coating of sand" would kill every coral reef left in the carribean, which, I note, has not come to pass.

I read that sediment build-up can aggravate the production of algae on coral reefs, which can be bad for the health of coral.
But the ocean is massive. I don't see a haboob causing that level of damage.

If a large meteor hit and kicked up enough dust, I could see it having a drastic effect. Thats a bit of a far-fetched scenario though...


Or is it?

Hey awesome! A little of the Australian charm will be coming to USA? Most of Christmas/December was just... sepia for us.

On the plus side most people will already be wearing masks due to other reasons right?

cody.d. wrote:

On the plus side most people will already be wearing masks due to other reasons right?

They are only becoming more and more popular here as the pandemic fails to cease.

Just waitin' on that vaccine..