Dust storms, known as Haboobs, are a common sight in West Texas. But the towering walls of dirt that may come to mind aren’t typically the case. Most dust events are smaller and harder to see, but according to one Texas Tech researcher, they carry their own threats beyond the barrier of visibility.
“Dust storms, or events, are a meteorological phenomenon that happen when a strong wind picks up bare soil from the ground, lifts it and keeps it suspended in the air for hours or even days,” said Zyanya Ramirez-Diaz, a doctoral student in geosciences at Tech.
Ramirez-Diaz has spent nearly seven years studying how those particles affect the human body and how risks increase the deeper they travel. Ramirez-Diaz said short-term effects, including coughing, eye and nose irritation and worsened allergy symptoms, are only the tip of the iceberg…