Demand for minerals sourced from sub-Saharan Africa is expanding rapidly. New @nature.com paper by Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Oscar Morton @sheffielduni.bsky.social, and others examines how much deforestation is being driven by mining across the continent. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Mining triggers extensive additional deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa - Nature

Extensive mining activity leads to large-scale deforestation of dense tropical forests across sub-Saharan Africa, driven particularly by key energy transition minerals such as cobalt.

nature.com

Nature research paper: Mining triggers extensive additional deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa go.nature.com/43iZvHt

Mining triggers extensive additional deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa - Nature

Extensive mining activity leads to large-scale deforestation of dense tropical forests across sub-Saharan Africa, driven particularly by key energy transition minerals such as cobalt.

go.nature.com

Happy to have been involved in this work. How a rush for minerals is causing deforestation in tropical regions www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How a rush for minerals is causing deforestation in tropical regions

An analysis of the extent to which mining caused deforestation between 2001 and 2020 in areas near mines in sub-Saharan Africa could help conservation efforts.

nature.com

🧪🧊 @solas-ipo.bsky.social @usocb.bsky.social @planktonteuta.bsky.social @godi.bsky.social @knobelsp.bsky.social @altagliabue.bsky.social @sheffielddust.bsky.social #paleoclimate #biogeochemistry

Santiago Gassó@sangasso.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🛰️🌊🌍💨 yesterday's #highlatitudedust event Patagonia had a long reach, with a typical setting of a polar low transiting over the Drake passage, it drag a significant amount of dust into the SW Atlantic. 1/n

What is 'blood rain' and will we see it this week? What the Met Office says...⬇️ www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/wh...

What is 'blood rain' and will we see it this week?

There has been growing interest this week in the possibility of so‑called “blood rain” affecting parts of the UK.

metoffice.gov.uk

#CopernicusAtmosphere dust aerosol optical depth forecast shows a massive #SaharanDust plume crossing NW Africa, W Mediterranean + parts of Europe over the first few days of March. View the latest charts at atmosphere.copernicus.eu/charts/packa... @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social @ecmwf.int

The intense #SaharanDust plume over the North Atlantic is predicted to reach western Europe in the coming days in the #CopernicusAtmosphere forecast. These episodes are not uncommon at this time of the year, particularly impacting air quality and visibility in Canary Islands and Madeira.

🛰️🌍🌊💨 #highlatitudedust activity today in Patagonia. It is cloudy from the satellite (thus dust will not be reported by it) but under those clouds , webcams in Comodoro Rivadavia show a lot of dust under . @sheffielddust.bsky.social @tomgillpredicts.bsky.social @mparrington.bsky.social

attn @tomgillpredicts.bsky.social @sheffielddust.bsky.social @mparrington.bsky.social @barrylefer.bsky.social @barrybaker.bsky.social @aerosolwatch.bsky.social @fariastejerina.bsky.social @guilleabramson.bsky.social

Santiago Gassó@sangasso.bsky.social · 7mo ago

🧪🌍🛰️🌬️ To keep in mind as this applies to any areas with 🔥activity . Just after fires in Patagonia days ago subsided, they became active dust sources. In AQ we focus on fires but the reality is that "remobilized ashes is dust activity. The difference from the view point of AQ is not relevant.

🛰️🌍🌬️ Starting the year with #highlatitudedust activity in northern Patagonia. Unusual in this case is the fact that wind direction is from the E and SE, quite unusual for dust activity. @tomgillpredicts.bsky.social @sheffielddust.bsky.social

Mapping low-intensity selective logging across the Peruvian Amazon doi.org/10.1088/1748... via @ioppublishing.bsky.social

Mapping low-intensity selective logging across the Peruvian Amazon

Mapping low-intensity selective logging across the Peruvian Amazon, Bousfield, Christopher, Edwards, David P, Hethcoat, Matthew G, Campos Zumaeta, Luis Enrique, Allccahuaman Mañuico, Edwin, Minhuey Es...

doi.org

Another very dusty day in Patagonia today , with activity spanning hundreds of km. #highlatitudedust @sheffielddust.bsky.social

An astonishing storm turned day into night in General Villegas, #Argentina. 🌑 On Saturday (11/15/2025), a massive #storm front plunged the afternoon into darkness within seconds, as dense clouds swept over the city, shocking residents with its intensity.🤯⛈️

🛰️🌍💨 Very windy this morning over all Patagonia, with #highlatitudedust activity spanning +900km. Let's see how this evolves through the day. @aerosolwatch.bsky.social @mparrington.bsky.social @sheffielddust.bsky.social

@sheffielddust.bsky.social #highlatitudedust event in Central Patagonia a few days ago as seen by MODIS Terra and Sentinel 2.

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

PhD in Computer Science: Sustainable AI for Plant Species Recognition in Tropical Forests at University of Sheffield on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - PhD in Computer Science: Sustainable AI for Plant Species Recognition in Tropical Forests at University of Sheffield, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

‘Wall of blowing dust’ sweeps through Burning Man festival upending camps

Wing gusts with speeds in excess of 45mph tore through Black Rock City, temporarily halting all activity

theguardian.com

Once again 🌬, #dust flows inland from the Mediterranean near Derna — flipping the usual S→N pattern. These repeats hint that shifting pressure & heat 🔥 contrasts aren’t just quirks. 🌍 When rare flows return this soon, the #climate signal gets louder. 🛰Meteosat @eumetsat.int ✂️Visualized @zoom.earth

Worldview Earth Data 🌍🌱@wed-explorer.bsky.social · last yr.

Unusual flow 🌬️: winds pulling dust from the Mediterranean inland near Derna (Libya). A rare flip of the usual S→N Saharan pattern. Amazing how local pressure & heat 🔥 differences steer these brief dust episodes. 🌍 Climate swings make them even more telling.

A striking blend of smoke and #SaharanDust streaming over the Med, #wildfires in Spain & Portugal feeding thick plumes, merging with airborne #dust from North Africa. The result? A murky, hazy layer stretching across southern #Europe. A vivid reminder of how multiple crises can collide in our skies.

Worldview Earth Data 🌍🌱@wed-explorer.bsky.social · last yr.

Multiple #wildfires🔥 are spreading across northern #Portugal and western #Spain. One of the most severe is near Insalde e Porreiras, where ~7 km² has burned so far. Dry vegetation, heatwaves, and low humidity—worsened by climate change—are fueling the outbreaks. Smoke is clearly visible from space.

A compact dust vortex formed over Algeria’s Adrar region — likely driven by intense surface heating and weak low-level cyclonic flow. These mesoscale dust spirals aren’t common, but in summer Saharan setups like this, they reveal just how dynamic "still" deserts can be. 🛰 @eumetsat.int ✂️ @zoom.earth

A #DustStorm from Sudan sweeps across the Red Sea🌬🌊, reaching near Saudi shores. Driven by strong desert winds, this plume impacts marine and coastal #AirQuality, alters solar radiation, and plays a role in regional climate dynamics. 🛰Meteosat @eumetsat.int ✂️Visualized @zoom.earth

Enjoyable day working in Peru with #OSINFOR

www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/noaas-s...

NOAA’s Satellites Track Saharan Dust Blowing Across the Atlantic

A giant plume of dust from the Sahara Desert made its way from Africa to the United States to kick off the start of meteorological summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

nesdis.noaa.gov

We often hear about #airpollution from wildfires in North America and southern Europe but fires in the UK are less studied. My latest piece for @theguardian.com on the impacts of moorland fires. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Researchers create system to log air quality impacts of moorland fires

Peak District pilot scheme combines satellite data with sensors on the ground to measure particle pollution

theguardian.com

Lots of fun with students along the Holderness coast a week or so back. It’s well-studied for a reason.

Orienteering in the Lakes last weekend. Glorious + ticks

A huge smoke plume from the fires in Manitoba, Canada, a week ago, which advected over Europe in the past few days (see 18 May image), is already over Asia today – well captured by the Met-12 (MTG) True Colour RGB (see 20 May image), via @inorbitivan.bsky.social

👨‍🔬 @tomgillpredicts.bsky.social @mparrington.bsky.social @jimmcquaid.bsky.social @wisc-satellite.bsky.social @sheffielddust.bsky.social @dustycryder.bsky.social @sangasso.bsky.social

On MAY 07, 2025,🛰satellite @eumetsat.int Meteosat-IODC detected a massive plume of #dust💨 moving off the coast of Africa, born from a storm far inland. This astonishing animation shows a Saharan dust storm moving over the west coast of #Africa over to the Atlantic Ocean💨🌊 📊Processed in @zoom.earth

Cool to watch the launch of #biomass this morning @esa.int @science.esa.int #sheffield