This project emerged from the generosity of the Braudy Foundation. Phase I was completed in 2021 under Stephanie Arcusa. This is Phase II.
Now recruiting undergraduates in Phase II. Soon to be recruiting a graduate student for Phase III. More details to come.
My story was part of Peter Friederici's "Beyond Climate Breakdown" panel
Effort 1 - paleodust: Evidence suggests that initial land disruption (i.e., European colonization) caused dust emissions and accumulations more than prior land use or climate fluctuations. - Varves
Effort 2 - passive modern dust/air quality: In the process of dust surveys in and around Flagstaff, Arizona. Evidence indicates that windy spring is the dustiest season on the southern Colorado Plateau. - DIY Dust Traps
Effort 3 - active modern dust/air quality: STARDust (Sonde Technology for Aerosol Retrieval and Dust) project pursuit of wind events to determine aerosol composition (including salts) and fugitive dust from uranium trucks. - Kitesondes
Effort 4 - action research: Evaluation of Dust in a Box. Place-based hands-on activities that incorporate local traditional ecological knowledge best activates STEM identity. - Curriculum & Instruction
Dust is a naturally-occurring phenomenon in the Southwest United States. The genre of western films show sepia colors to represent the scenes of mesas, buttes, chimneys, cowboys, Indigenous peoples, the occasional tumbleweeds, livestock, and dust. It is as if dust has always been a part of this place. But has it?
Where would we find evidence of dust fluctuations? Perhaps, looking downwind at where this airborne dirt ends up?
Alpine lakes in the Colorado Rockies are good locations for dust particles to make their landfall and preserve at the bottom. Lakes are natural dust catchers.
One of the objectives of phase I of this project was to determine the dust fluctuations in lake archives of the San Juan Mountains of the Colorado Rockies. What this project revealed was that there was little evidence to suggest that increases in dust accumulation is connected to times of drought. However, at around 1650 Common Era, there is a mean shift and sudden increase in dust accumulation.
We think that the history of the region is critical in better understanding how dust ended up in these downwind lakes.
Motivated by the Doctrine of Discovery and in search of wealth, the Spanish arrived to the area in the 16th century. In the 1540s, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado ventured through the sacred lands of the Puebloans, Diné, Apaches, Utes, etc. and may have made it all the way to Kansas, but failed to establish a permanent presence. In 1598, Juan de Oñate brought over 7000 livestock and tried to establish a colony in San Gabriel, New Mexico, but faced opposition and failed. In 1610, Pedro Peralta brought 900 families from New Spain and established La Villa de Santa Fe. In 1680, Popay of the Tewa Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh successfully drove the Spanish invaders out. Unfortunately, the Spanish returned with Diego Vargas and Roque Madrid and reconquered Santa Fe. In 1706, the invaders established La Villa of Alburquerque. To the southwest in Pimería Alta-Sonora, Father Eusebio Francisco Kino brought livestock and encouraged European husbandry to the Indigenous peoples and settlers.
Since then, the Southwest has been impacted by livestock and unsustainable agriculture that continues to cause degradation of biocrust ecosystems, water depletion, exposure of valley fever-causing fungal spores, and frequent dust storms. During pre-contact, Indigenous peoples practiced dry land farming and engineered ways to minimize soil desiccation. Spanish colonization introduced and expanded irrigation farming to an area where water is scarce and depends on climate fluctuations.
Several questions to ponder: As the planet warms, what will the future hold for dust in the U.S. Southwest? What are the implications for public health, land management, water resources, and climate change? How is dust impacting downwind communities? What are low-cost, effective ways to measure airborne dust particles? What are effective ways to mitigate dust events?
Is all dust bad? No, some dust is necessary for nutrient transport and availability in other areas, such as enhancing bioproductivity in alpine lakes. Dust can also act as cloud-condensation nuclei to initiate and enhance precipitation.
