In a computer model, also described in the 12 October issue of Nature, pulses of dust known to deliver iron to iron-poor waters during glacial periods can increase oceanic productivity and sequester additional atmospheric carbon dioxide in the deep sea.
The obtained images have been analyzed in order to observe the nature of the dust particles and topography of the dust samples.
The discovery of this almost ubiquitous ~10um silicate feature, led to many laboratory studies of potential cosmic dust analogs attempting to determine the exact nature of this dust.
Optical and dielectric functions of cosmic dust species are required not only to properly correct astronomical light budgets for the amount of light extinction by dust but also to understand the composition and physical nature of the dust itself in many space environments.
To some extent, the analytical variability observed in our study is attributable to the heterogeneous nature of residential dust and the resultant heterogeneous distribution of chemicals in residential-dust samples.
If the nature of the dust is confirmed, then studies of the material could shed light on the origins of interstellar dust.
Some doctors suspect that the highly alkaline nature of the dust contributed to the variety of ailments that recovery workers and residents have complained of since the attack.
The characteristic carbonate content of loess depends on the nature of the dust source, on geochemical and biological processes that occur during and after deposition, and on precipitation and leaching by groundwater.
"The invasive nature of lunar dust represents a more challenging engineering design issue, as well as a health issue for settlers, than does radiation," wrote Harrison Jackk) Schmitt, an Apollo 17 astronaut, in his 2006 book, "Return to the Moon".
