Australian Dust: Its response to, and role in, climate change

Australia is Earth's driest inhabited continent and is a major global source of wind-blown mineral dust. Dust can influence climate, but the role and response of Australian dust to climate change are poorly understood. We aim to obtain long records (over several 100,000 years) of dust flux from Australia, using magnetic properties, to determine how dust has influenced climate. We also aim to obtain records of temporal variations of minerals that have a disproportionately high radiative impact when entrained in dust plumes. The project will produce urgently needed outcomes for modelling the dust cycle and for understanding key climate feedbacks. This will be significant for predicting the responses of anthropogenic changes in climate models.