Doctoral Network on Atmospheric Dust – DUST-DN

Atmospheric dust is one of the most visible and detectable aspects of the transboundary transport of atmospheric constituents, affecting visibility, radiation, and climate. Despite its obvious presence in the atmosphere, the fundamental properties of atmospheric dust remain poorly understood, limiting our ability to develop accurate models and harness the societal benefits of better predictions. The Dust-DN project aims to bridge this knowledge gap by creating the first doctoral network dedicated to atmospheric mineral dust on a European scale, combining expertise and multidisciplinary approaches.

It is a strategic, international, and intersectoral alliance of high-profile partners that will drive innovation in understanding the fundamental properties of dust and in predicting its socio-economic impacts. By training a cohort of early-career scientists within a network of academic and non-academic partners, Dust-DN will address critical gaps in the field through the following research objectives:

  • Investigating dust within the global climate system.
  • Advancing the understanding of the fundamentals of dust microphysical properties and processes.
  • Identifying the influence of source regions on atmospheric dust properties.
  • Assessing the socio-economic impacts of dust on health, aviation, and energy production.

CARE-C is the coordinator of this project and is led by Assoc Prof Franco Marenco.

Funding: €3,586,185.6

Start date: 1 November 2024

End date: 31 December 2028

Partners:

  • The Cyprus Institute (coordinator) – Cyprus
  • University of Évora (UÉ) – Portugal
  • National Observatory of Athens (NOA) – Greece
  • Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) – Spain
  • Technical University of Darmstadt (TUDa) – Germany
  • Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) – Germany
  • University of Reading (UREAD) – UK
  • Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos – World Radiation Center (PMOD-WRC) – Switzerland

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101168425, as well as two national agencies: UKRI in the United Kingdom and SERI in Switzerland.