The Dust Storm
of September 2009: A Visitor from the Lake Eyre Basin
In late September 2009, much of eastern Australia experienced one of
the largest dust storms in living memory. Much of this material was lifted from
the Lake Eyre Basin in central Australia, by a strong frontal system which
moved through the region. What is the nature of this material, and what are its
effects? The Atmospheric Physics group at UNSW has been studying Australian
mineral dust aerosol for a number of years, via a series of field campaigns in
conjunction with our colleagues at CSIRO and ANSTO. This has placed us in a
unique position to compare atmospheric dust (aerosol) collected in Sydney during the storm with dust collected at or near the source. |
