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Article: Dust may threaten Earth's climate
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- April 4, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1996 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Deforestation and the overcultivation of marginal, arid lands are
spewing into the air dust that may have a major influence on the
Earth's climate, researchers reported yesterday.
High in the atmosphere, the dust reflects sunlight back into space
and cools the Earth below. But dust lower down has the opposite
effect, trapping Earth's heat just as carbon dioxide and other
"greenhouse" gases do. In some cases, both effects take place at
once.
But that does not mean they cancel each other out, the researchers
say in two papers being published today in the journal, Nature.
Rather, they may produce different effects in different parts of the
world, perhaps increasing or decreasing temperatures or ...