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This dataset contains weights of windblown dust collected by BSNE collectors at long-term observation plots that are part of the Jornada Basin LTER Cross-Scale Interaction Study (CSIS) located at the Jornada Experimental Range. There are 15 experimental blocks (or sites) in this study. Within each block, there are 4 plots with different experimental treatments: 1 control, 1 with mesquite herbicide applied, 1 with connectivity modifiers (Conmods) installed, and 1 with Conmods AND mesquite herbicide applied. The intent of Conmods is to decrease gap size between perennial vegetation. The plots are 8 x 8 meters and have an 8 x 8 meter buffer zone on both the upwind and downwind sides of the plot. There are two BSNE (aeolian dust collector) stands per experimental plot positioned at the edge of the upwind and downwind 8m x 8m buffers. Each stand has 3 collectors positioned at heights of 10 cm, 30 cm, and 50 cm, and all collector openings face the prevailing wind direction. Upwind BSNEs collected the amount of dust entering the plot, and the downwind BSNEs collected the amount of dust moving off the plot. These collectors estimate the effectiveness of the plot surface in obstructing wind blown dust. This study is ongoing with data collected quarterly each year.
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Regional sources control dust in the mountain critical zone of the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains, USA
Abstract Mountain environments are profoundly impacted by the deposition of mineral dust, yet the degree to which this material is far-traveled or intra-regional is typically unclear. This distinction is fundamental to model future changes in mountain geoecosystems resulting from climatic or anthropogenic forcing in dust source regions. We address this question with a network of 17 passive dust samplers installed in primarily mountain locations in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho between October, 2020 and October 2021. For each collector, the dust deposition rate was calculated, and the physical and chemical properties of the dust were constrained. Results were combined with backward trajectory modeling to identify the geologic characteristics of the area over which air passed most frequently in route to each collector (the ‘hot spot’). Dust properties differ significantly between collectors, hot spots for many collectors are spatially discrete, and the dominant geologies in the hot spots corresponding to each collector vary considerably. These results support the hypothesis that the majority of the dust deposited in the areas we studied is sourced from arid lowlands in the surrounding region.
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- PAR ID:
- 10466051
- Publisher / Repository:
- IOP Publishing
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Environmental Research Letters
- Volume:
- 18
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 1748-9326
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- Article No. 104034
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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