UAE researchers have revealed new details about how dust is travelling from the Sahara to the Alps to cause snowy pistes and glaciers to turn a dramatic red, pink or orange.
The striking colouration, which happens when the dust causes the growth of microalgae, makes the snow melt more easily and is likely to become more frequent because of climate change.
Scientists at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi reported that flows of air called atmospheric rivers are closely linked to the transport of dust from the Sahara to as far as northern Europe.
“In our study, we found an increasing trend in atmospheric rivers and associated severe dust transport episodes towards Europe,” said an author of the study, Dr Diana Francis, head of Khalifa University’s Environmental and Geophysical Sciences (Engeos) Laboratory.
We can expect an increase in the frequency of pink or 'bloody' snow
Dr Diana Francis,
Khalifa University’s Engeos Laboratory
“This implies that snowmelt can be expected to occur more frequently under global warming and since the presence of liquid water on the snow marks the onset of the algae growth, we can expect an increase in the frequency of pink or bloody snow.”
Titled, Atmospheric Rivers Drive Exceptional Saharan Dust Transport Towards Europe, the study is being published in the journal Atmospheric Research.
The study investigated, in particular, an “extreme dust transport event” in February this year linked to an atmospheric river that stretched from Africa to northern Europe.
Described as “elongated and narrow bands of clouds and high water vapour content”, the atmospheric rivers transport air from low latitudes towards the poles.
The dust and the microalgae make the snow darker. Because darker surfaces absorb more light, the red snow reflected 40 per cent less light than white snow, making it warm up and melt more easily.
This process amplifies the effects of climate change, which threatens glaciers and other areas covered with snow because of temperature increases.
Reduced snow in the Alps
The Alps have experienced a severe reduction in the depth of snow over the past 40 years, with an eight per cent fall recorded per decade in areas below 2,000 metres. This has badly affected many Alpine ski resorts.
While the influx of warm and moist air is a key cause of the melting of ice and snow, dust deposition adds to the effect.
Between 6 February and 6 March this year, snow depth over the Alps fell by half, partly because of the darkening from the deposition of dust.
Instead of being pink, the snow could turn orange or green depending on the type of microalgae that grow, said Dr Francis.
In March 2018, Saharan dust turned snow orange in eastern Europe and Russia and reduced the length of snow cover in some areas by as much as 30 days, the scientists said.
“Dust aerosols contain a lot of minerals such as clays, calcite, quartz, feldspars and iron oxides which could provide nutriments and other element for the microorganisms present in the algae bloom,” said Dr Francis.
“More scientific work is needed to link the type of microalgae growing on the snow to the impurities found on it.”
A similar phenomenon is seen in Greenland, where Dr Francis said dust and other impurities cause the formation of small black holes in the ice called cryoconites, which speed up melting.
Other authors of the new study work at universities in Los Angeles, Santiago in Chile and Grenoble, a city that sits at the foot of the French Alps.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
THE SPECS
Engine: six-litre W12 twin-turbo
Transmission: eight-speed dual clutch auto
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh940,160 (plus VAT)
On sale: Q1 2020
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Zayed Sustainability Prize
