Dust workshop 2011

We cordially invite you to join us from Monday evening 31 October to Thursday 3 November 2011 for a workshop that we are organising at the MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences in Bremen, Germany. The workshop is partly replacing the ADOM2 workshop (organised by Denis-Didier Rousseau in February 2011, but cancelled due to turmoil in Tunisia), and is a joint effort of the PAGES working group ADOM (Atmospheric Dust during the last glacial cycle: Observations and Modeling) and of MARUM-Bremen and is sponsored by MARUM, PAGES, and INQUA.

In this workshop we intend to bring together leading international scientists in mineral-dust studies, from the marine and terrestrial realms, synoptic meteorology, ice cores, and climate modelling.
Recent developments in the understanding of the role of mineral dust in the earth system shall be discussed. In addition, recommendations for future research towards a better understanding of processes that play an active role in dust emission, transport, and deposition, and approaches to study the role of mineral dust in global climate will be worked out.

Rationale: After the first ADOM workshop (ADOM1 was held in 2009 in Hyères-les-Palmiers, France, 2009), and following up on the results of the DUSTSPEC workshop (held in Lamont, USA, 2010), it is recognised that there is a specific need for an integration of datasets of dust deposition on land and in the ocean. In addition, we need to understand the processes that lead to dust emission, dispersal and deposition. Furthermore, a major focus will be on dust dynamics, ranging from emission-related processes at the various sources of dust, dispersion at different altitudes in the atmosphere, and deposition on both terrestrial and marine environments to the effects of mineral dust after deposition.

Specific focus in this workshop will be put on what we can learn from aeolian records about the dynamics and variability of large-scale atmospheric circulation during the last glacial. As a regional and strategic target, activities in this workshop will focus on the low-latitude circulation where records of desert loess and dust accumulation in ocean sediments provide a comprehensive database. The workshop will explore strategies to derive quantitative and physically consistent synoptic reconstructions by integration of dust records, climate observations, and model simulations.

The daily programs consist of oral presentations by invited speakers, followed by so-called short presentations. In addition, there will be poster boards available (A0 format, portrait) at which ad hoc poster presentations can be made.

Please keep an eye on this website as the program will be completed any time soon.

Please keep an eye on this website, which will be updated regularly.

The organisers,
Jan-Berend Stuut
Ute Merkel
Denis-Didier Rousseau