Atmospheric Dust Content as a Factor Affecting Glaciation and Climatic Change

Author(s): F. F. Davitaya
Source: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 59, No. 3 (Sep., 1969), pp.
552-560
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Association of American Geographers
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 ATMOSPHERIC DUST CONTENT AS A FACTOR
AFFECTING GLACIATION AND CLIMATIC CHANGE'
F. F. DAVITAYA
AcademicianF. F. Davitaya, Director,VakhushtiInstituteof Geography,
Academyof Sciences of the GSSR, Tbilisi,Georgia,USSR
VisitingProfessor,Departmentof Geogrophy,
Universityof Wisconsin-Milwaukee

ABSTRACT. Solar radiation records and firn layers in glaciers indicate increasing
atmosphericdust contentwhich might significantlyalter climate. In some mountain
ranges, glaciers have degraded even during periods of temperaturedecreases. This
indicates decreasing albedos with increasingdustinessof glacial surfaces.

IT obser- centuryshow that the secular trends of air

by numerous
has been established
vations that duringthe currentcentury,at temperaturesat different altitudeson the ter-
least up to the middle of it, the mass of ice restrialsurface mighthave been in different
in the sea, as well as in mountainglaciers,has directions.In lowlands,up to 300-400 meters
noticeablydecreased. In high latitudesthere above sea level, temperatureshave remained
have begun to appear species of fish,various more or less constantor have shown feeble
kinds of plants, birds, and mammals which tendencies toward increase, whereas in high
were not there before. In many mountains zones of certain mountainranges (the Cau-
the high zones seem to have been displaced casus, the Pamirs) falls of temperaturehave
upwards. Simultaneouslywiththe intensifica- been observed. These falls of temperature
tion of glacial melting,a noticeable eustatic have been accompanied by degradation of
rise of the level of the world ocean has been glaciers with constant and even increasing
taking place. All this has commonlybeen atmosphericprecipitation.
attributedto a warmingup of climate,a fact Figure 1 shows a rise in temperaturein the
which has been well documented for many Alps of Europe with an uncertain secular
regionsof the world by constructingintegral course of atmosphericprecipitation. In the
curvesof temperaturechange or by analyzing Caucasus and the Pamirs temperatureshave
secular trends of runningmeans of air tem- fallen with constantor increasingamountsof
peratures. precipitation,and fartherto the east (Tien
As is known, the temperaturerise started Shan) temperatures rise again. On all of these
in high latitudes,where it reached the highest mountainrangesglaciersare degradingalmost
values, and then spread almost all over the everywhere.In the Alps and the Tien Shan
world. Since the 1940's, however, a certain the warmingreadilyexplainsthe glacial melt-
fall of temperaturehas been recorded. It is ing,but the Caucasus and CentralAsia present
not quite clear yet whetherthis signifiesthe a paradox: here the temperatureshave fallen,
beginningof a prolongedtemperaturefall or precipitationhas eitherremainedthe same or
merelyrepresentsa fluctuationon the back- increased, but glaciers instead of expanding
drop of the warmingtrendwhich is still con- and advancinghave degraded and recessed.
tinuing. Recent expeditionsto the mountainglaciers
Analyses of instrumentaldata for the last of the Caucasus have established a second
paradox: the temperatureof the meltingice
AcceptedforpublicationApril8, 1968.
or firnsurfaceon clear days was everywhere
above 00 C (Table 1). This has to be ex-
1 The authorwas VisitingProfessorof Geography, plained by the intense radiation experienced
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukeeduringthe fall throughthe clear, thin air of high mountains
semester,1967-68. He gratefully acknowledgesthe and the significantamount of absorptionof
Paul E. Lydolph,Chairman,Depart- thisradiationby slightlydustyglacial surfaces.
help of Professor
ment of Geography,Universityof Wisconsin-Mil-
waukee,whoeditedthemanuscript and saw it through During the period of observationthe direct
to publication. radiation on a surface perpendicularto the
552
1969 ATMOSPHEPRIC DUST 553

SECULAR TREND OF TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION

Sdntis,Switzerland Elev. 2500 m

1883- 1960

t>0 OC AJ X ,
t<00C KasbektheCaucasus

60- 1k-10
Elev. 3656m
Mestia,theCaucasus 1934-1962 < C

< A11lililill | 140 0C c1937-1962 > -1700

500S t t<0kC
mm Ekev. Elev.0106
li' 9t'? t>
>0
;-440
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3001
240J 581900
337-1960
)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_
2000d
X 14001 2600/ -5 mm 1l~if
2500- 25290 1300
880 1100 111
2000- |111911 it 830 900 11111
1890-991900-09 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 45-5450-59
194049 50-59
40-4945-54
1935-44
Gudlauri,theCaucasus Elev. 2196mr
Sonnblick,Austria m
Elev.=443106 t> 0<C
1887-1960
?2t>0C / 't<00C / --680
200- ;t 2300 8 100- --780

t II I .V 111 A 190409 05-45 35-44 45-54

E ev. 4169m
1900 09 1019 2029 30339 40 49 50-59 1934 -1961 mm

ObirAustria i 1 128
Elev. 2044 m ; l >-1
f
0011851-1943 1-2500' 1930-13
lii tII~ JI
2xt<0'C I18

| Ct>0
100 I/
IA I2ot<>Cc t FedchTeno -20 Asia
glaciObervr,
Middle lv-6m
111111111

3~~ o ~n k o -240
1300-
1200- / 200. Secular
---900
ot e t a--800 pe i i
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~00
a
1935-4440-49 45-54
n g
--23400
50-59 35-448801"l
s
c Ililiflhl
40-4945-54 50-59
680

1100- A --1000 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Then

Shan Observatory,Middle Asia Elev.=3672 m

mm 400- -320

150001 11
IIIIIIIIIIII11I~IIIIIII 0 A 30

1850-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99 1900-09 10-19 20-29 30-39 1930-39 40-49 50-59 1930-39 40-49 50-59

___ 1tO 2<OC of precipitation

FIG. 1. Secular trendsof temperatureand precipitationaccording to runningdecades.

sun's rayswas on theorderof1.5cal/cM2/mnin.decrease in glaciers owing to their surfaces

The albedo was fiftyto seventypercent. Be- being covered with atmosphericdust which
cause of the great intensityof solar radiation has increased from decade to decade. The
in the mountainsthe temperatureof the active decrease of albedo in turnhas contributedto
surface had to be measured by means of a yearlyincreases of solar radiation absorption
special thermometerin which the measuring by glaciers. This effectmightfavorthe degra-
element was shielded from the effects of dation of glaciers even during secular trends
radiationalheating. of falling air temperatures.In places where
All the aforementioned findingssuggestthe the climateis warmingthe increasingabsorp-
hypothesisthat there has been an albedo tion of solar radiationby glacial surfaceswill
554 F. F. DAVITAYA September

TABLE 1-TEMPERATURE OF THE Ain (NUMERATOR) AND OF A GLACIER OR FIRN SURFACE (DENOMINATOR)

Glacier or firnsurface Hours of the day

and date of observation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Tviberi,1960
June 5.0
0.7 5.2
1.2 7.7
2.6
July
July 5.8 6.5 9.0
5~0.6 1.4 3.4
August 4.5 4.5 8.1
August 40.4 0.4 2.9
Khalde, 1962
July18 19.5 18.6 20,0
3.5 3.5 1.7
July19 7.7 7.4 7.1 6.7 6.4 6.2 7.9 11.2 15.1 18.3 19.2
0.6 -0.1 0.4 0.6 0.9 1.3 1.0 1.2 2.4 8.7 10.4
August27 10.8 12.7 18.0 19.6 19.8 17.9
3.1 2.6 3.5 1.6 3.0 2.5
August28 6.6 6.0 5.5 5.2 5.0 4.6 5.0 11.8
August 28 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.0 -0.1 0.8 2.2
Evishi, 1963
August16

August 17 -0.9 -1.8 -2.5 -3.4 -3.9 -3.1 -2.7 -2.5 3.7 4.5 4.6 4.1
0.3 -0.2 -0.9 -2.1 -2.2 -1.2 -0.5 0.7 8.3 9.7 10.1 8.
August18 0.1 0.1 0.1 -0.4 -1.1 -0.9 -0.8 1.6 2.4 2.9 4.2
9.3 4.7
1.4 1.4 1.9 1.4 0.7 0.6 1.3 3.3 6.5 6.0 11.7
Maili, 1963
July22 -0.6 -0.2 2.0 1.4 20 1.2
0.2 1.4 7.7 4.9 6.7 4.3
Khalde, 1964
July23

July24 2.0 2.5 0.2 0.5 2.0 1.4 1.7 1.5 4.4 5.1 5.0 5.6
3.2 3.5 2.4 3.4 3.8 4.2 4.4 4.2 5.9 6.6 5.9 5.7

intensifythe process of ice and snow diminu- ported by planetary air currents,spreads
tion even more. mainlythroughthe lower layersof the strato-
sphere. The last two termsof the said sum
ATMOSPHERIC DUST constitutethe overwhelmingpart of atmo-
The total amount of atmosphericdust at spheric dust content. They increase from
any one time may be shown as a sum of decade to decade and concentratechieflyin
specifictypesof dust,such as cosmic,volcanic. the lower strataof the troposphere.
sea, aeolian, and industrialdust: The increase of aeolian dust is promoted
by the extensionof plowed land, by the felling
D- (Dc+Dv+Ds) + (Dae+ Di).
of forestsand theirdestructionby fire,by the
The firstthreetermsof this sum are just a extensionof woodless areas, by the advance
small part of the atmosphericdust content. of steppes on forestzones and of deserts on
Besides, they remain more or less constant steppes,by the baring of mountainterritories
fromdecade to decade. It is true that from and the cropping out of rock owing to a
time to time there are abrupt increases of decrease in territories which are covered with
volcanic dust afterviolent eruptions(Kraka- snow and ice, by open pit miningof mineral
toa-1883, Santa Maria and Pelee-1909, Kat- products,by the growthof cities and trans-
mai-1912, Agung-1963), but the average port, and by the increase of the meridional
amount for any decade does not exceed a componentof the general circulationof the
small percentageof the total amountof atmo- atmosphere. The increase from decade to
spheric dust. Besides, volcanic dust, trans- decade ofindustrialdustneeds no explanation.
1969 ATMOSPHERIC DUST 555

TABLE 1. (Continued)
Glacier or firnsurface Hours of the day
and date of observation 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Tviberi, 1960
June 9.0 .10.3 7.7
1.5 1.2 0.4
Juy 39.7 10.6 7.7
July ~3.0 2AI0 0.9
August
August
~ 8.0 9.3 6.2
3.0 1.7 0.7
Khalde, 1962
July 18 20.5 23.2 21.3 20.5 20.5 17.5 14.4 11.4 10.2 9.9 9.4 8.1
1.1 2.8 4.1 3.3 3.5 1.4 1.0 1.5 1.2 1.2 0.2 0.5
19
July 18.5 17.2 19.2 17.6 19.3 13.9 11.3 8.7 7.9 7.8 6.7 6.7
9.4 7.1 3.6 7.6 4.2 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.3 2.1 1.5
August 27

August 28

Evishi, 1963
August 16 1.1 1.5 1.5 -1.4
2.1 2.8 2.5 -0.6
August 17 3-5 3.7 3.1 3.5 3.1 3.0 1.7 1.2 1.1 0.1 1.0
7.5 8.3 7.4 9.1 7.1 4.9 5.2 2.6 3.0 1.5 3.1
August 18 3.3 4.6, 3.6 3.1
9.5 10.2 7.6 6.4
Maili, 1963
July22 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.6
2.6 2.7 2.5 2.1 2.1 2.7 1.4
Khalde, 1964
July 23 5.0 5.3 4.5 5.6 5.7 6.5 4.2 4.0 3.5 3.5 3.0 3.5
July23 5.6 6.3 3.9 5.9 5.3 7.1 4.2 4.9 4.5 4.7 3.9 4.4
July24 5.3 5.5 5.6 6.6
6.0 7.8 5.0 6.5
Source: Expeditionsto the Caucasus, 1960-1964.

Estimationof Dust Content fromSecular onlyfromindustrialunitsbut even fromurban

Trends of Solar Radiation
The increase of general dust contentin the
atmosphereis indirectlyconfirmedby analysis
of the secular trendof annual sums of direct
solar radiation. This analysiswas made using
data of USSR meteorologicalstationswhich
had long series of actinometricobservations
(Fig. 2).
As is known, there exists a high inverse
correlationbetween the amount of dust con-
tentin the atmosphereand yearlyamountsof
directradiation. The decreasesin directradia-
tion in Tbilisi might be explained by the
growthof a large city,but the station"Tash-
kent" was originallysituated far away from
the city and only in later years has it found
itselfwithinthe city'sboundaries. Alma Ata
stationis even less under the city'sinfluence.
Karadag Station (thie Crimea) is situated on
the Black Sea shore and is quite remote not
typesettlements.Therefore,the uniformity of
curves in Figure 2, which representsa quite
extensive area, might be more logically ex-
plained by a general trendof dust contentin
the atmosphereon a planetaryscale.
Increasingdustinessof the atmospherede-
creases directradiationbut increasesscattered
radiation. Global, or total, radiation either
remains constant or has a slight tendency
towards decrease. It has been noticed that a
sharp decrease in yearlysums of direct solar
radiation in Alma Ata, since approximately
the 1950's, coincides in time with a vigorous
diminutionof glaciers in the eastern Tien
Shan and Altai Mountains. Possibly both
these phenomena are connected with the
plowing up of virginsoil in the 1950's in the
Transvolga region,Kazakhstan,and the Altai
region on a total area of about fiftymillion
hectares,in addition to a general increase in
556 F. F. DAVITAYA September

Karadag, the Crimea Middle Asia

Tashkent,

150- 1 80 A (\ 4
140- I 170-i

130- 1v I iA 10

120- VI, 150I

v
~~~~~~v t
110- 140-,

Tbilisi,the Caucasus Alma-Ala, Kazakhstan

140 A
19i5 1930 1940
II i950 1960II ~~~~~~~~~~~~150-
1950 190 190 A ri150 16
I IA
I PV/ 1~~~~~~~~~140
I If ~~~~~~~~130 ~
110-~~~~~ tl11~
1925 1930 1940 1950 1960 1925 1930 1940 1950 1960

Separate years Runningdecades

UWM - Cs

FIG. 2. Secular trends of annual sums of direct solar radiation in kilocalories per square centimeterper year.

dustinesson a planetaryscale. At the present dispersionof air molecules (at p 7 mm

760
time agriculturalmeasures have considerably Hg), water vapor (at w = 20 mm of pre-
reduced soil deflationin the virginlands area. cipitablewater), and aerosol particles(at d =
800 per cm3), and Txo,TXwA are spectralfunc-
Theoretical Calculation of Dust Content tionsof transparencyat m 1, dependenton
Having obtained an indirect confirmation absorptionby ozone (at o 2.5 mm) and by
of the suggested hypothesis,Tavartkiladze watervapor (at w - 20 mm).
attemptedto calculate theoreticallythe num- Making use of a paper by Threlkeld and
ber of dust particlesin one cubic centimeter Jordan,formula(1) may be transcribedinto
of air accordingto meteorologicaland actino- the followingform.:
metricobservations.
The change in the intensityof the solar (2) SA SOxTxa 11p/7G6 TXwm i/20 TxoliO/.5

energyin a clear sky may be represented for T'XwAI/2

Astinwl~/20 TX d'~8
T 1dlllf/8 00

monochromaticradiation by Beer-Bouguer's Integrating(2) forall wave lengths,we get

Law: (3) S = TXam1p/760 T11no/2.5
O0 SoA TX,%vmw20O
(1) SA= SOxTrX, TXIV'W/2O T7X
j8 d xi.
where
where Sx is the intensityof solar radiation at =
wave length x at ground level on a surface SAd =Sil,
OJf
perpendicularto the sun'srays,Soxis the same is the integral intensityof solar radiation
at the outerlimitof the atmosphere,Txis the which is being systematicallymeasured at
functionof transparency at wave lengthX, and actinometricstations.
in is the optical mass of the atmosphere. In the righthand part of equation (3), Sx
The general functionof transparencymay was takenfroma paper by Johnson.3In order
be expressedas:
2J. L. Tbrelkeld and R. C. Jordan, "Direct Solar
= f(rT,, TXA iTd, TXo, TXiA),
Tx Radiation Available on Clear Days," Heating, Piping,
and Air Conditionfing(December, 1957), pp. 135-45.
Where Tx,\Twv, T(, are spectral functionsof 3 F. S. Jobnson, "Tbe Solar Constant," Journal of

transparencyat mn 1 which are caused by Aleteorology,Vol. 11 (1954), pp. 431-39.

1969 ATMOSPHERIC DUST 557

to calculate the remaining terms,,use was TABLE 2.-SECULAR TRENDS OF DUST PARTICLES,
made of the paper by Threlkeldand Jordan NUMBER PER CM3 OF AIR

as well as one by Moon.4 Years

The functionrXdmd/800= O(d,A),as is known, Actinometricalstations 1930 1947 1964
dependson the wave length,the concentration Karadag (Crimea) 1100
of aerosol particles,and the spectrumof dis- Bakhmaro (Caucasus) 500
tributionof the latteraccordingto size, form, Kazbegi (Caucasus) 610 790
Tbilisi (Caucasus) 110 310 790
and complexcoefficientof refraction.Should Tashkent (Central Asia) 500 480 900
it be assumed that yearly averages of all Alma Ata (Kazakhstan) - 1100
enumerated parametersare constant,except
Source: Calculated from actinonietric records of Soviet
the general concentrationof aerosol particles, stations.
then:The latterequation maybe expressedas:
dmd/8,00= -pi(d) 02(X). glacier on Kazbek Mountain,the Caucasus, at
By manipulatingthis expressionwith a com- an altitude of 4,600 meters (Maili Plateau).
puter,the followingequation was obtained: Here the mean yearly air temperature,and
consequently the constanttemperatureof the
(4) ITnd/800 - 1md/800el-(/2X)0. at X= 0.5 1
49
firn,is equal to -10? C. The mean air tem-
Taking (4) into account,we obtain from(3) perature during the warmestmonthis equal
to -2? C. Hence, dust samples taken from
(5) nd/800= SO Smdw firn layers will be representativeof corres-
( ) i~d -KOS rmw/760 I w/20 A ponding years. There are deep crevasses on
- (1/2,)O.l48 dx)
XTmw/2
the firnfield. On the walls of these crevasses
In thismanner,if we know the value of the are plainly seen yearlylayers of compressed
integralintensityof solar radiation,the gen- snow. From the wall of one of them samples
eral contentof watervapor and ozone, and the of ten layers each were cut out to correspond
atmospheric pressure, we can comput the to different decades for a period dating back
spectral functionof transparencyof aerosol from 1962 to 1793 (Fig. 3).
particlesfor a clear sky. Then, knowingthe Samples of the firn taken from crevasses
approximaterelationshipfromThrelkeld and were melted on the spot. Each sample con-
Jordan, tained about twentylitersof waterwhichwas
,imd/800 = f(md/800),
poured into carefully washed polyethylene
canistersand hermeticallysealed. The estima-
md/800may be determinedfromrmd/800. tion of the amountof dust in the samples and
Thus, the content of aerosol particles in the chemical analysisof the dryresidue were
the atmospherewas calculated for different carried out in Tbilisi after the water had
stations (Table 2). settledand subsequentlyevaporated.
Figure 4 shows the secular trend of the
Dust in Firn Layers amountof atmosphericdust contentaccording
The most convincingdata that one could to results of the Kazbek expedition. Apart
have to establishthe tendencyof the secular fromdata pertainingto the main samples of
courseof dust accumulationin the atmosphere different decades, it also shows the contentof
would, of course, be actual measurementsof dust in separate, particularlyconspicuousdark
dust content in the air carried out over a streaks in the firn. They formedin 1942-1944
period of many years under comparable con- (the transitionfrom 1944 to 1945 was not
ditions. Unfortunately, such observationsare abrupt), 1919, 1849, and 1814. The timingof
not available. However, the said data may be the firstperiod (1942-1944) has been estab-
obtained by analysingthe amount of dust in lished with sufficientprecision from clearly
firn layers deposited at differentperiods. distinguishablelayers, but the dates of the
moreremoteyearshave been establishedonly
Withthisaim in view a highmountainexpedi-
withina probable errorof ?2 to 3 years.
tion was organized to the firn zone of the
It would be a mistaketo thinkthatthe dust
4 P. Moon, "Proposed Standard Solar Radiation
contained in precipitation,or that settled on
Curves for Engineering Use," JournalFranklinIn- the firn field,had been broughtby air currents
stihtte,Vol. 230 (1940), pp. 583-618. only from outside the region. Mineralogic
558 F. F. DAVITAYA September

=
-''~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3, ~ ~~~
.' ,;'

32.~~~
~~~~~~~~FG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.Th/rcs ftkn insmls ~~ ~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.1,1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-ym- C\

FIG. 3. The process of taking firnsamples.

250

200 E Runningdecades Separate years

Secular trendaf the amauntof atmosphericdust

150l

100-

50-

1790 18'10 1830 18.50 1870 1890 1910 1930 1950

UWM -Cs

FIc. 4. Amounts of dust in firn layers deposited during decades, the Mauli Plateau, Kazbek, milligramsper
liter.
1969 ATMOSPHERIC DUST 559

analyses have shown that a considerablepart w

of the dust,especiallyits coarsefractions,
were
undoubtedly of local origin. In mountains
above the snow line not everything is covered
with snow. In some places there are ledges.
Sharp changes of temperatureand strong
winds decompose the rocks and increase the
general dust content in the atmosphere.
Denuded rockshave always existedin moun-
tains, but there is evidence that beginning
with the 1920's and up to 1962 the amount
of dust on firnsurfacesgrew at an increased
rate. This was apparentlypromotedto a con-
siderable degree by the extensionof denuded
rock area owing to glacier reduction. It is
known that ice-laid deposits under favorable
conditions acquire the character of self- > O~~~~T
development,just as the diminutionof glaciers FIG. 5. Scheme of the influence of atmospheric
beginningunder unfavorableconditionsmay dust content, W, upon air temperature,T.
apparently bring them to self-destruction,
primarilybecause of an increase of dust on
tance in its thermal balance. The earth's
the active surface. From around 1800 to 1920
surface,being heated by solar rays,transmits
the mean amount of dust was about ten
heat to adjacent air layers,but the tempera-
milligramsper liter of water, whereas in the ture of the atmosphereitselfrises
mainlyby
1880'sthe contentof dust in the firnincreased
way of turbulentexchange. The presence of
more than thrice. Possibly this resultedfrom
dustin the atmospherebringsintothisprocess
the Krakatoa eruption (1883). During the
essential changes. Absorbingthe solar radia-
decade preceding World War II the dust tion, the solid particles of dust heat the air
contentconsiderablyincreased. This factis in
directly. Moreover they contribute to the
full conformity with the prewar extensionof
decrease of long wave radiation. This phe-
plowed land, the felling of woods, and the
nomenonwas firstnoticed by Voeykov,who
developmentof all branches of industryand
in 1912, explained by the said effectthe rise
transport. The first decade after the war
of air temperaturethat is usually observed
generallyshows a slight dust decrease. This
during steppe sukhovei,which lift dust into
correspondsto generalreconstruction afterthe
the air.5 The intensityof this effectbecomes
war in manycountriesof Europe. During the incomparably more apparent during dust
second decade afterthe war, dust contentin-
storms,which are followed by sudden rises
creased again with intensificationof human
in air temperaturesof as much as 10? C or
activity. During the 1952-1962 period the
even more. In addition,the particlesof dust,
dust contentin the atmospherewas several
togetherwith attached air molecules,as they
times greaterthan the "norm"which existed
get warmerrise upwards and increase the air
in the nineteenthcentury.
turbulence.6 Myriads of invisible "air bub-
The pollution of firnsamples deposited in
bles," with specks of dust in the center,con-
1942-1945is apparentlyconnectedwithWorld
tributeto an intensiveintermixing of the lower
War II. The somewhatmore polluted streaks layers of the troposphereand enhance their
of the firndeposited in earlieryears likewise
heating.
mighthave been caused by historicalevents,
either of an anthropogenic or geological Thus, a temporaryrapid increase of dust in
the air may have a considerableinfluenceon
character.
DUST CONTENT AND CLIMATIC CHANGE 5A. I. Voeykov,"Gornye i Stepnye Sukhovei,"
Atmosphericdust mightinfluencenot only (Mountainand Steppe Sukhovei),Meterologicheskiy
Vestnik,Vol. 22, No. 8-9 (1912), pp. 263-64.
the regime of glaciers but the change of 6 C. S. Durst,"Dust in the Atmosphere,"Quarterly
climateas well. It is knownthatdirectradia- Journalof the Royal MeteorologicalSociety,Vol. 61,
tional heating of the air has no vital impor- No. 253 (1935), pp. 81-87.
560 F. F.
atmospherictemperature.Naturally,an anal-
ogous effectwill take place duringa gradual
and prolonged increase of dust in the atmo-
sphere. Accorclingto theoreticalcalculations
made by Aseykin,the mean dust contentof
the air being about 100 dust specks per CM3,
the magnitudeof the heat emissionof dust to
the air is approximatelythe same as thatfrom
the earth's surface to the air. However, in
case the amount of dust should considerably
exceed 100 per cm3,the heat emissionof the
dust to the air may exceed several times that
of the earth'ssurface.
The heating influenceof atmosphericdust
is not in direct proportionto the amount of
dust in the air. The relation between these
phenomenaapparentlyis as shownin Figure 5.
The growingincrease of dust contentin the
I R. N. Aseykin, "Pyl' Kak Katalizator Protsessov
TeploobnmenaMezhdu ZemrnoyPoverklnestyuti Svo-
bodnoy Atmosferoy,"(Dust as a Catalyst in the Ex-
change of Heat Between the Earth's Surface and the
Free Atmosphere), IzvestiyaAkademiiNatuk SSSR,
Seriya Geograficheskaya i Geofizicheskaya,No. 1
(1938), pp. 53-61.
DAVITAYA September
atmosphere,particularlyin its lower layers,
will at firstcontributeto an increase of tem-
perature up to a certain limit. Then the
screeningeffectwill begin to come into play.
This will weaken solar radiationand unavoid-
ably will bringon a fall of temperaturewhich
will progressas time goes on.
Budyko and othershave shown that even
stratosphericdust of volcanic origin may
reduce the intensityof direct solar radiation
by ten to twentypercent and reduce global
radiationby one to two percent.8Should such
a decrease be planetaryand of sufficientdura-
tion it mightbring about a fall of air tem-
perature of several degrees. The thermal
effectof decreasing solar radiation will in-
tensifywith increasinglatitudebecause of an
increase in the optical thicknessof the atmo-
spherewith latitude.
'M. I. Budyko and Z. I. Pivovarova, "Vlyanie
Valkanicheskikh Izverzheniy na Prikhoclyashchuyuk
PoverkhnostiZemli Solnecbnoii Radiatsiy," (Influence
of Volcanic Eruption on the Receipt of Solar Radiation
at the Earth's Surface), Meteorologiya i Gidrologiya,
No. 10 (1967), pp. 3-7.