Overview of Dust in the Earth System

Mineral dust plays an important role as a climatic and biogeochemical feedback within the Earth system, linking land, air, and sea. Climatic and land-surface factors control the production of atmospheric dust. Once in the atmosphere, mineral dust affects the global radiative budget and the subsequent travel and deposition of dust delivers essential nutrients for plant growth on land and in the ocean. These feedbacks of mineral dust have played an important role in the geologic past, especially during the Quaternary period. Knowledge of the impacts of dust in the atmosphere and ocean provides insights into potential, future feedbacks of dust within the Earth system, especially as anthropogenic perturbations increase.