In the canyons of Wadi Rum in southern Jordan, puffs of dust greet tourists who come to hike and camp among the coloured desert sands and weathered rock.
Plastic bags and bottles are dotted across the reddish landscape, littering the place made famous by David Lean’s 1962 signature work Lawrence of Arabia.
But for German scientist Martina Klose, the more the dust, the better.
She and fellow European and American scientists have set up highly sensitive equipment over the past two weeks at the northern edge of Wadi Rum to collect dust from the area.
It is part of a cross-continental study on dust and its effects on weather and climate.
Dr Klose tells The National that the results could ultimately help scientists understand whether dust contributes to climate change or counters it.
“We want to find out exactly what the climate impacts are,” she says. "We are not sure at this point whether dust warms or cools our climate."
The focus, she says, is on very large dust particles and their mineral composition. Until a few years ago it was believed that only minute dust particles could travel long distances, for example, from the Middle East to Europe.
“It was found that particles 10 and 20 times as large can travel long distances,” Dr Klose says. “How this is happening is not clear because large particles are also very heavy and fall out very quickly.”
Her team conducted similar research in a volcanic area of Iceland and in the Moroccan desert.
Dust samples have been also collected from the US for the same project, called 'Dust-induced ice nucleation: effects of mineralogical composition and size'.
It is a collaboration between the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, where Dr Klose works.
The project, which will conclude at Wadi Rum, also aims to find out how the mineral composition of the dust particles affects their absorption of solar radiation, and how the composition affects the formation of clouds.
Lawrence of Arabia is about the man who played a pivotal role in shaping the modern Middle East, during the First World War and its aftermath.
The canyons he travelled by camel are now crossed by speeding pick-up trucks carrying visitors and leaving clouds of dust in their wake. Fires from tourist camps contribute to the haze that sits over the site.
But Dr Klose and her team are hoping for strong gusts of wind to whip up large clouds of dust during the team's six-week stay at Wadi Rum. The more comprehensive the samples, the more understanding they could gain about the size variation and composition of desert dust.
She says Wadi Rum was chosen as one of the locations for the project because of the wind erosion to the basalt and sandstone rock in the area, which helps emit mineral dust that reaches as far as Europe, especially in the spring.
“It is critical for us to go to a location where we are pretty sure that dust emissions happen and see the natural process," she says.
“Analysis of the results of these campaigns takes several years."
Dr Klose says data gathered from the ground in Wadi Rum and elsewhere will help refine weather forecasting models. It will also complement mineral dust imaging by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration from the International Space Station.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
The specs: 2019 Infiniti QX50
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 268hp @ 5,600rpm
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Fuel economy: 6.7L / 100km (estimate)
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
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Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
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Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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More on Quran memorisation:
Scoreline:
Everton 4
Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
