Santiago Gassó
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sangasso.bsky.social
Santiago Gassó
@sangasso.bsky.social

Research on atmospheric aerosols w/satellites & models.
Sharing and commenting on papers and sat images of (my) interest
Documenting on #highlatitudedust & #volcanotracks events.
Atmos-ocean exchange processes, Atmos. polarization radiative transfer .. more

Environmental science 44%
Engineering 19%
Pinned
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Below is an old self-introduction and description of what I have fun with (professionally speaking) .

The times are quite different than when I posted this, but well, we are still here, chugging along and hoping for the best.
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Hello all, there are a lot of new people here so I thought of re-introducing myself. I am a Earth Observation (EO) aerosol scientist contracted to work for the only agency that has put people on the moon.
1/8

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📰 February Newsletter is out!
Catch up on the latest updates, deadlines, and upcoming events.
mailchi.mp/xmu/solas-ne...

#Solas #newsletter

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

📰 February Newsletter is out!
Catch up on the latest updates, deadlines, and upcoming events.
mailchi.mp/xmu/solas-ne...

#Solas #newsletter

🧪🛰️

Catchy title for a study on the simulation of non-spherical #aerosol optical properties . Published in an astronomy journal, but the technique is aplicable to atmospheric (ie. Earth) aerosols.

academic.oup.com/mnras/articl...
Aerosols are not spherical cows: using discrete dipole approximation to model the properties of fractal particles
ABSTRACT. The optical properties of particulate-matter aerosols, within the context of exoplanet and brown dwarf atmospheres, are compared using three diff
academic.oup.com

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GESAMP report on #microplastics transport into the marine environment is available online.

library.wmo.int/records/item...

@solas-ipo.bsky.social @usocb.bsky.social @geotraces.bsky.social

I think it was related to some laser toys....

🛰️🌋activity today in the South Atlantic. Zadovoski (red) and Saunders (green) islands volcanoes, both active today . Minor activity . They are active because each created a #volcanotrack in the cloud deck above them.

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The #dust we miss

Late afternoon with an almost totally cloudy Patagonia yesterday.

But in between clouds, there was significant #highlatitudedust activity.
However, there are no sensors there, no satellite information (mostly cloudy) ,so we do not know how long or how much this event was.

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Publication highlight: Kong, K.P., Yang, S.-C., Barone, B., et al. (2026). Surface water iron deposition histories and the initiation of phytoplankton blooms in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 40, e2025GB008499. doi.org/10.1029/2025...

Actually I misidentified the #highlatitudedust source. I am not sure that the sources in the mud-flat were active, but certainly the dry Laguna Blanca was emitting a lot of dust (arrow) and likely it is the source of most of the haze.

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Few hours later in the early morning GOES image, there is haze well into the sub-Antarctic waters. The MODIS-Terra overpass (1 hour later) detects the haze as aerosol in moderate quantities (for this region). Eventually it will deposit over the ocean and snow.

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Few hours later in the early morning GOES image, there is haze well into the sub-Antarctic waters. The MODIS-Terra overpass (1 hour later) detects the haze as aerosol in moderate quantities (for this region). Eventually it will deposit over the ocean and snow.

🛰️🌬️🌊

#highlatitudedust activity yesterday in one of the southernmost dust source in the world, the mudflats at St. Sebastian bay in #TierradelFuego

Here the source is not visible but there was a clear extended dust cloud well into the #SouthernOcean

@solas-ipo.bsky.social

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Precipitation is a key factor in glacier survival.

In a warmer world , there is more moisture in the air thus more precipitation in solid form in high latitudes . So, there can be scenarios where some glaciers can survive. Study
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Glaciers are expected to melt within a generation .

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

One consequence not noted in this study is the increase in #dust blowouts to the glacier silt left after the melt. Versions of this is already happening as #highlatitudedust activity in #Iceland and #Alaska.
Peak glacier extinction in the mid-twenty-first century - Nature Climate Change
Many mountain glaciers will disappear with warming. Here the authors assess how many glaciers will disappear per year under different warming scenarios, finding that a peak in glacier loss will happen...
www.nature.com

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

Publication highlight: Kong, K.P., Yang, S.-C., Barone, B., et al. (2026). Surface water iron deposition histories and the initiation of phytoplankton blooms in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 40, e2025GB008499. doi.org/10.1029/2025...

#highlatitudedust activity this morning in central #Patagonia, partly cloudy but still visible in both 🛰️ and webcam images at the coast by Comodoro Rivadavia

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#highlatitudedust activity yesterday in the southern S. America. Dry lakes emit dust in concert, making an important contribution to the area given that it is so pristine that even small amounts make a different.
Strong winds bring dust even to Antarctica and well into the Southern Ocean.

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

Another one 😊🌋

Images taken today.

bsky.app/profile/kosm...

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

WHO technical brief: Understanding the health impacts of sand and dust storms. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2025 (Air Quality, Energy and Health Science and Policy Summaries). doi.org/10.2471/B09453
Understanding the health impacts of sand and dust storms: technical brief
doi.org

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Volcanic activity in Saunders and Zadovoski Is in the S. Atlantic.

This is minor activity & plumes do not have enough buoyancy to get through the cloud deck. The activity is only apparent in the change in reflective properties in clouds, only visible in the near-IR channels.
#volcanotrack

It also points to a wet deposition event which reinforces the importance of rain in the marine environment as a delivery mechanism in large quantities.

Reposted by Peter Jacobs

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A study that looks into airborne sources of nutrients in an ocean bloom.

It finds that deposition occurred 1 month prior to the bloom. This fact is probably one of the reasons why finding causality deposition-bloom is so difficult to demonstrate.

agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Surface Water Iron Deposition Histories and the Initiation of Phytoplankton Blooms in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
The concentration of iron measured within a phytoplankton bloom was higher than that measured in the absence of a bloom Modeling suggests that a wet deposition event delivered a considerable amou...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

Erebus volcano in Antarctica.

Image taken by Sentinel-2 on Jan. 26, 2026.

did you try putting a tarp on top? I tried this week for the first time and it worked very well.

@capitalweather.bsky.social 🐧🐧🐧🧊
I wish I had read this a week ago....

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

Millions of balcony solar systems have been deployed in countries like Germany, but the technology has remained in the shadows in the US
To Lower Electricity Costs, Consumers Quietly Install DIY Solar
Popular in Germany, “plug-in solar” has remained in the shadows in the US because it’s largely unregulated. Legislation recently introduced in many states aims to promote adoption.
bloom.bg

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

Want to avoid biting it on the slippery sidewalks? Turns out you need to channel your inner penguin. 🧪
To safely navigate icy sidewalks, walk like a penguin
Icy weather brings a serious risk of falls. Here’s how to stay safe
www.scientificamerican.com

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

‘The land will be left as ashes’: why Patagonia’s wildfires are almost impossible to stop
‘The land will be left as ashes’: why Patagonia’s wildfires are almost impossible to stop
Funding cuts, conspiracy theories and ‘powder keg’ pine plantations have seen January’s forest fires tear through Chubut in southern Argentina
www.theguardian.com

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Intense fires in Patagonia continued all day generating a lot #smoke, onshore winds prevent the eastward discharge and thus enabling smoke buildup over the mainland.