Nasa to launch project to measure dust storms from space

Project blasting off to the International Space Station in June could help the Middle East predict dust storms and their effects on the planet

A picture taken from Muharraq Island shows a sandstorm engulfing the skyline of Bahrain's capital Manama. The Middle East's sandstorms are becoming more frequent and intense, a trend associated with overgrazing and deforestation, overuse of river water and more dams. AFP

Massive dust and sand storms have descended on the Gulf this week, bringing extraordinarily high levels of dust and pollutants, particularly in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Bahrain's capital Manama (pictured) has been similarly affected. AFP

Children play outside during a sandstorm on Muharraq Island, north of the Bahraini capital Manama. People in the Mena region are being advised to stay indoors, especially babies and at-risk groups, and to avoid physical exercise. AFP

Cars on a highway in the Bahrain Financial Harbour area during a dust storm in the capital Manama. People in the Gulf are accustomed to frequent sand and dust storms and have attached the Arabic word “Shamal”, which means northern, to the phenomenon owing to the direction of the winds. AFP

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is obscured by a haze of sand and dust in Abu Dhabi. Winds have reached 40 kilometres an hour in the capital. Victor Besa / The National

The Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre is almost hidden by dust. Visibility was down to a few hundred metres in the city. Victor Besa / The National

Jumeirah Lakes Towers in a hazy Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Strong winds stir up dust and sand in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

The Kingdom Centre skyscraper in Riyadh during a dust storm. AFP

The 302-metre building is almost obscured by dust. AFP

Saudi Arabia's National Centre for Meteorology issued alerts for large parts of the kingdom, including Riyadh and the Eastern Province. AFP

A haze of dust covers Riyadh's skyline. AFP

Dust storms created hazardous conditions for drivers in Kuwait City, where winds reached 50kph. EPA

A man waits to cross a road in Kuwait City as orange-red dust blows in the air. AFP

Kuwait's Ministry of Interior urged the public to exercise caution as dust severely reduced visibility. AFP

Schools in Kuwait were closed owing to the weather. AFP

Towers in Dubai Marina are hard to see through the dust. Pawan Singh / The National

Dubai's Burj Al Arab hotel in the haze. Pawan Singh / The National

Beachgoers view a hazy skyline at Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. The conditions appear to be the tail of a storm that covered Iraq. Pawan Singh / The National

Cars drive on a highway in the Seef district during a dust storm in Bahrain's capital Manama. AFP

Cars drive on the main highway during a dust storm in the Bahraini capital Manama. AFP

Haze obscures the dhow harbour in Doha, Qatar, during a heavy dust storm. AFP

Haze obscures Doha's skyline. AFP

A man covers his face with a scarf in Doha during a heavy dust storm. AFP

A sandstorm covers Tehran, Iran. Schools and government offices closed in the Iranian capital and elsewhere in the country. AP Photo

Iraqis walk along a street at the Shorja market shrouded in heavy dust in central Baghdad. EPA

People with breathing problems are treated at a hospital during a sandstorm in Baghdad. AP Photo

People travel along a street during a sandstorm in Baghdad. AP Photo

A patient suffering from breathing problems at a hospital in the city of Nasiriyah in Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province. AFP

People walk on a street in Baghdad during a sandstorm. AP

A man walks along the Euphrates river in Nasiriyah in Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province during a heavy dust storm. AFP

The dust has affected visibility at Abu Dhabi's Corniche. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Abu Dhabi city is difficult to see through the dust. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

The Marina Mall area in Abu Dhabi is obscured by the dust. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Adnoc headquarters in the capital amid the dust storm. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Qasr Al Watan is obscured by a haze of sand and dust in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Museum of the Future during the dust storm in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Burj Khalifa obscured by the dusty and hazy weather in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Abras on Dubai creek during the dusty weather. Pawan Singh / The National

Scientists are hoping to discover how dust storms could cool or heat the planet, with an ambitious mission to the International Space Station.

The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation project will send a specially built scientific instrument to the ISS on a Space X rocket on June 7.

Engineers will use a robotic arm to attach a new imaging spectrometer — an instrument that can accurately measure different wavelengths of light — to the ISS.

It will take more than a billion measurements of the Earth to help scientists understand global movements of dust.

The measurements it provides will help to fill a void in available data on the world's arid regions, and could let researchers help to predict when dust storms will arrive, protecting people from their harmful impact.

Scientists also think they will finally be able to find out whether dust in the Earth's atmosphere helps to heat or cool the planet

Dust to dust

About two billion tonnes of dust are blown into the atmosphere every year, but not all of that is the same.

Dr Robert Green, principal scientist on the project at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, said finding out what makes up a dust storm was a top priority for the mission.

“Our job is to understand the composition of the materials that ended up in the dust storms first, which is currently poorly known,” Dr Green told The National. “And that can impact human health.”

The colour and content of dust particles can play a huge part in what effect they have on the planet.

“When it blows into the atmosphere, if it's light-coloured dust, it reflects sunlight back into space and cools our planet,” Dr Green said.

“If it's dark-coloured dust, maybe with iron oxide, it heats our planet.”

He said the same phenomenon could also affect regional climates.

A pioneering project in Saudi Arabia has already used satellite images to show this phenomenon in action, proving dust from the Empty Quarter helps to keep the Red Sea cool, in turn, preventing drought.

Dust also plays a vital role in the functioning of many ecosystems.

Nasa research published in 2015 showed that dust from the Sahara desert — swept up and carried far and wide by the wind — was providing nutrients to the Amazon rainforest and feeding organisms in the Atlantic Ocean.

Dust even provides some of the materials for coral reefs to grow.

Mitigating the damage

Dust can also, of course, have a harmful effect.

More than 5,000 people were admitted to hospital and one killed in Iraq this month after a huge dust storm hit Iraq, while another halted flights in Kuwait this week.

A 2020 World Bank study found extreme dust storms are costing the Mena region $150 billion a year.

The findings of the project will be openly shared, enabling scientists and governments in the region and beyond to analyse and model dust storms in the hope of easing them or making earlier warnings.

“Certainly the Middle East and North Africa, in particular, are big dust source regions, and somewhat poorly sampled in terms of the composition, what types of minerals are there,” said Dr Green.

“So we will producing detailed mineral maps of the surface dust composition in the Middle East and this could be used locally to make some assumptions about what type of dust is in the storms and how that might interact with people.”

While lots of the particles in the atmosphere can be traced back to deserts, human activity also generates dust.

The UN has called for global action against man-made dust emissions, known as anthropogenic dust.

Unlike the dust generated by the Empty Quarter or Sahara desert, anthropogenic dust can be caused by too much building work, not enough vegetation, land degradation and cutting water sources with dams.

There are three times the amount of natural sources of dust as anthropogenic dust, but it is on the increase.

Although dust storms are likely to be a fact of life for the region, researchers say they are excited to get their hands on the data and that being prepared is the best defence.

Lead scientist at the Barcelona Dust Centre, Sara Basart, said the data from the project will transform her area of study.

“We cannot stop sand and desert storms,” Dr Basart said.

“In the Middle East, you have your big desert in the middle of Saudi Arabia, and this is a natural desert. You cannot plant more trees or do anything to really prevent the dust emissions.”

Although there are areas where governments can intervene to stop desertification and dust emissions, being able to model them accurately is just as important.

“The only tool that we have for mitigating the risk is prevention. And forecasts are tools that are really going in that direction.

“If you know in advance that there will be this huge sand and dust storm, you can do things before the dust storm arrives.”