I didn't realize the health hazards of the place we stayed last night.
How much dust blows off this dehydrated lake bed? You'd be surprised.
"Nearly all of the available surface water has already been claimed and diverted for human use, and ground water is now tapped for new water supplies. As surface and ground water diversion increases, arid-land surfaces that were previously wet or stabilized by vegetation are increasingly susceptible to...desertification and dust storms...
The dry bed of Owens Lake has produced enormous amounts of windblown dust since the desiccation of the lake...pervasive, unusually fine-grained, alkaline dust that infiltrates the smallest cracks and contaminates residences. The lake bed is probably the largest single source of PM10 dust (aerosol particles smaller than 10 microns in aerodynamic diameter) in the United States; by one estimate, 900,000-8,000,000 metric tons per year"
"'When we see the white cloud headed down through the pass, the ER and doctors' offices fill up with people who suddenly get worse. It's a pretty straightforward cause and effect,' said Dr. Bruce Parker...Aerosols sampled from Owens dust storms commonly contains significant amounts of arsenic concentrated in the <10 micron fraction. Arsenic levels can be as high as 400 ng/m3 in air samples"
Owens Lake map
Dust can also be beneficial - in this episode, essential nutrients for the Amazon rainforest emanate from a continent away in dry African lake beds.
The Great Salt Lake in Utah suffers the same problems of increasing toxic dust release:
https://youtu.be/k6oSNLkIBEg
No comments:
Post a Comment