Dust diagnosis to follow storm
Using ANSTO's particle accelerators, scientists will find out at the nanogram level the exact composition of yesterday's dust storm. Dr David Cohen, who runs ANSTO's Accelerator Science Project, said that data currently being collected all along the Australian east coast would be analysed over the next two months to do just that.
"ANSTO has unique facilities making us the only group in Australia that uses accelerator based techniques to measure the mass and analyse the fine particles in the air to define what they are, although this process does take a little time," he said.
"Individually the particles we measure are smaller than the human eye can see. However their size matches the wavelength of visible light and as we all saw yesterday, the higher their concentrations in air, the greater the reduction in visibility.
"Yesterday was an incredibly unusual event so finding out exactly the concentration and the composition of these dust particles we'll be exciting, particularly considering the many hundreds of kilometres they have travelled," he said.
As medical services experienced more people presenting with respiratory problems yesterday, finding out the percentage of different particles in the dust may help provide extra data about why this happens. David described Australia yesterday in The Daily Telegraph as the Sahara of the southern hemisphere and now he and his team have a unique chance to analyse quite a large amount of that Sahara which blew Sydney's way yesterday.
In the past, David and his team have also used these unique techniques to track similar dust episodes when Gobi Desert dust impacted ANSTO's dust monitor in Hanoi. The current ANSTO research along Australia's east cost, in conjuction with ANU and Monash universities, will allow scientists to better quantify and source all major dust movements from inland Australia and across the east coast.
To find out more about what David and his team do to understand what's in our atmosphere, go here.
Published: 24 September 2009