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

Research on atmospheric aerosols w/satellites, models & impacts such as atmos-ocean exchange processes (SOLAS!). Atmos. polarization radiative transfer, #physics overall. Sharing and commenting on papers and sat images of (my) interest #highlatitudedust .. 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.
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Because absorption is directly related to the volume of the droplet, it is possible to infer (through some complex modeling) the size of the droplet.
Why is this important?
Because if drops are too small, they do not precipitate thus no rain. Thus it is important to understand how this operates.

The same image but at different bands (or wavelengths) we get additional information. In this case, the red/orange image uses channels in the near-infrared (sensitive to the light absorption by droplets). This doesn't happen in the visible so from this fact we can infer more info. 2/n

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Mt Michael 🌋 (S. Atlantic) shows an example of volcanic emissions making a cloud brighter by the same process that human air pollution change cloud reflective properties.
This why it is of interest to study aerosols-cloud interactions.
1/n

I totally agree with that aspect of the problem.

In fact, it degrades the quality of review and worsens the problem in that it gives less incentive to accept to do a review.

Near sunset image from GOES

The vast majority of modern science life is writing that it is mentally consuming because it is often technical (like a grant report) but not creative, thus distracting from actual science exploration. It does shortening really the time of tedious non-science activities.
4/4

2) it streamlines and accelerates all kinds of writing (report, letters , review) either by grammar, easier checking of text length and shortening/lengthening , by providing first drafts of text and other miscellaneous tasks (and IMHO frankly essential for non-native English speakers).
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1) it accelerates coding either by providing code template and review code. Mundane coding task such as plotting data and i/o are just faster If properly used . Therefore more time to think about data instead of just cranking numbers.
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Well, I largely agree in the part related to creativity and breakthroughs.
But there are aspects of it that has made life better for modern scientists and are here to stay :
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More #highlatitudedust activity today in Patagonia with two large clouds that combined span a pretty large area.

The large extension of the dust cloud makes it more likely for dust to reach Antarctica and remote Southern Ocean.

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Yesterday in Patagonia #highlatitudedust activity
The @nytimes.com Lost Science series continues. Here's my Q&A with a scientist who was studying how wildfire smoke threatens human health when the EPA decided that her research was no longer a funding priority. Gift link: nyti.ms/4jhpw14

and here is the SNPP image
#highlatitudedust

The Copper River Delta plume of glacial silt continues today...

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

Gas plume of Erebus volcano in Antarctica pushing away some nearby clouds.

Image taken by Sentinel-2 on Oct. 28, 2025.

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

The Copper River Delta plume of glacial silt continues today...

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BTW some have done this excerciae before, if recall correctly, Bishop et all (late 80s/early 90s), Boyd et Al (early 90s GBC) and I think Crusius et al (2020s, JGR ). there maybe more..
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Station Papa, about 1200km downwind from the Copper River dust plume, has a number of instruments to monitor biological activity year round, so it would a be a nice exercise to explore monitor its data in the context of these dust events.
#biogeochemicalcycles

Patagonia #highlatitudedust activity today.

🛰️🌍☁️

Passive degassing in Mt Curry 🌋in #Zavodovski Is. (South Atlantic).

Cloud nucleii in the plume enhance brightness in the overlaying clouds creating a #volcanotrack.

#aerosolcloudsinteractions

@volcanodiana.bsky.social @simoncarn.bsky.social

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Station Papa, about 1200km downwind from the Copper River dust plume, has a number of instruments to monitor biological activity year round, so it would a be a nice exercise to explore monitor its data in the context of these dust events.
#biogeochemicalcycles

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Latest images from N20 and N21 confirm more #highlatitudedust activity all along the coastline to west (Kodiak), center (Copper River Delta) and south east (south of Yakutat)

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Meanwhile in Patagonia, activity continues with the #highlatitudedust cloud extending over the phytoplankton blooms (arrow) in the SW Atlantic.

Thick cloud in the distance obstructs clouds.

the latest SNPP image, a pretty thick dust cloud with several streams of dust along the SE coast.
#highlatitudedust

Daytime True Color RGB + Nighttime Microphysics RGB images from #GOES18/GOESWest showed glacial silt being transported offshore from the Copper River Delta in Southcentral Alaska - for at least the past 13 days. Full resolution: cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-bl... @sangasso.bsky.social

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

Daytime True Color RGB + Nighttime Microphysics RGB images from #GOES18/GOESWest showed glacial silt being transported offshore from the Copper River Delta in Southcentral Alaska - for at least the past 13 days. Full resolution: cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-bl... @sangasso.bsky.social

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#highlatitudedust activity today in Patagonia, GOES image shows some dust in between clouds. But it is clear as seen from webcams on the ground in Comodoro Rivadavia.

and here are the latest from NOAA20 (2nd) and SNPP (2nd)

I remember that a proposal in a new topic was rejected twice & I decided to keep submitting but this time I'd improve the text towards writing a paper and after two more rejections, I published a review and original calculations in a new subject in my area. At least I got something out that pain.😉

I read enough to say that this is very true.
One year, I counted the time it took me to write 4 proposals (3 as PI). If I recall correctly, it was 150-180 hours, about ~2.5 months which I got naught money out that effort (massacre year). And these were proposal that would fund me just ~0.25 FTE 1/n

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At both end of the Americas , in Kodiak (Alaska) and Comodoro Rivadavia (Patagonia, Argentina) cloudy conditions prevail and no direct view from satellite to the surface. Both webcams in both sites confirm #highlatitudedust in suspension (images with poor contrast but believe me it is dust)