How Dust, Industrial Pollutants and Algae Can Color Our Snow and Spread Pollution

Air Quality – do you think about it? For the most part, I didn’t — until I heard about the brown snow that a former classmate reported this winter.

Brown snow? WHAT?

Turns out, snow captured particles of a dust storm from Kansas, the jet-stream carried it to Michigan’s upper peninsula and dropped it neatly frozen in a February 2012 snow shower. There have been reports of colored snow around the world for years — containing different things, including industrial pollutants, volcanic ash, radiation and even algae.

I found this really cool website that reports the AQI Air Quality Index. It measures ozone and particulates in the air and ranks the health risk. I watched the map of the midwest and then Colorado and Florida and various other places across the US  It was  a good air day in most places but a few had "Action Day" notices, meaning they anticipated the air quality was moving into the unhealthy range soon.

Ok, so could I be doing today that could show up in someone else’s backyard?  

The wood smoke from the camp fire, the exhaust from my car, my personal care products, the vapors from my carpet, flooring, paint, mower, etc.  Check out Air Quality Awareness Week resources at the EPA's website for more info. 

I will breath easier tonight knowing that my friends in Kansas are paying attention to their actions!

What do you do that affects air quality?

Kristi Cooper
ISU Extension & Outreach Linn County Family Life Specialist