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.
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Large quantities of #smoke from🔥s in Victoria, SE #Australia (yellow) it is well on its way through the mid-South Pacific.

The smoke over the cloud was so thick that it absorbed sunlight in such a way that cloud underneath looks brown. This is typical of very thick smoke plumes.

#smoke from 🔥s in northern Patagonia was present about 1600km north well into subtropical Argentina.

A good example of aerosol transport from high latitude to lower latitude.

@guilleabramson.bsky.social

I suspect it is a mix of #smoke from 🔥in MX and from flares of the oil rigs in the Campeche Bay (see the plumes) .
This makes it an interesting area to study absorbing aerosols with remote sensing since there are two aerosol types w/different optical properties. Something that deserves + attention.

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Thick pollution haze over the east of MX (area w/AOD>0.2). Not clear the source since dust from Sahara is not present...

I suspect ... 1/2

@aerosolwatch.bsky.social

As an (obsessive) yerba mate drinker , I am glad to see it is highlighted as healthy and sustainable crop.

The article fails to point out that in consumption per capita probably Uruguay is headed by far.

www.fao.org/newsroom/sto...
Mate: the drink that keeps a forest alive
The shared agricultural heritage sustaining communities and forests in southern Brazil
www.fao.org

I hear you ...

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The #dust cloud exiting NW Africa into the Atlantic almost doubled its size in about 8 hours .

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Increased aridification is occurring around the world with associated increased dust activity (e.g. SW of USA), this isn't unique to warm regions.
Retreating glaciers produce very fine silt that produce important #highlatitudedust storms,it is already seen in Alaska and Iceland (check handle)

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

News got you down? How about this little pick-me-up from my friend Brian Menounos at @unbcgeographyensc.bsky.social "What we're finding is that these glaciers are disappearing much faster than previously projected."
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www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Western Canada glaciers suffered 2nd-greatest ice loss on record in 2025 | CBC News
"We have to understand that it's not a question of if the glaciers are going to disappear, they are going to disappear," warns Brian Menounos, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Northe...
www.cbc.ca

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

📢 Last chance to register!
FAIRSEAS Workshop registration closes 15 Jan 2026.
#Oasis #SOLAS

🛰️Activity in Mt Michael 🌋(Saunders Is, S. Atlantic) .

Plume has low buoyancy and remains at low altitude. It mixes with existing clouds.
Note the gap between summit and plume start. It may signal that emission is mostly H2O vapor that condensates onto the volcanic tiny nuclei and form the plume.

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

For the first time in 25 years, the entire state of California is completely drought-free! If you just turned 25 or are younger, California's always been somewhat in drought during your entire life- until now.
abc7news.com/post/drought...
California has zero areas of dryness for 1st time in 25 years: Drought Monitor
Incredible news for California's water supply entering the new year - for the first time in about a quarter of a century, not a single square mile of California remains dry, according to the latest U....
abc7news.com

it must be very close to the surface, I do not see any noticeable in GOES (and the SPORT website does not appear to be active anymore)

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that is an impressive wall of #dust

Fires in NW Patagonia are still without control and in three days #smoke cloud has expanded significantly reaching the large metropolitan areas of Buenos Aires and Montevideo.

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

Satellite imagery captures a ~255 km pollution plume from Iraq’s Wasit Power Station. Such persistence signals fine PM and reactive gases surviving long-range transport, driving regional aerosol loading, ecosystem stress, and diffuse health impacts far beyond the source—visible only from space.

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Ongoing two uncontrolled 🔥in Patagonia right now (in El Hoyo and Puerto Chucao) .

They started yesterday, spread during the night, subsided a bit during the day and in the afternoon seem to be emitting more thick smoke suggesting increasing activity.

speaking of......

bsky.app/profile/tomg...
10 - 15 years ago, California Governor Jerry Brown was interviewed at the AGU meeting. He was asked what natural disaster kept him up at night with fear. Earthquake? Volcano erupting? No, he said, he lost sleep worrying about catastrophic levee failures
theconversation.com/west-coast-l...
West Coast levee failures show growing risks from America’s aging flood defenses
Levees protect more than 7 million buildings in the US today, yet they got a D-plus grade in 2025. A new study found 487 cases where rising water overtopped levees in the past 15 years.
theconversation.com

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

10 - 15 years ago, California Governor Jerry Brown was interviewed at the AGU meeting. He was asked what natural disaster kept him up at night with fear. Earthquake? Volcano erupting? No, he said, he lost sleep worrying about catastrophic levee failures
theconversation.com/west-coast-l...
West Coast levee failures show growing risks from America’s aging flood defenses
Levees protect more than 7 million buildings in the US today, yet they got a D-plus grade in 2025. A new study found 487 cases where rising water overtopped levees in the past 15 years.
theconversation.com

I'm posting this for no other reason than goats

Well, solar's a pretty good reason, too

And also, solar is the GOAT

Mesonet network is expanding in the Mid-Atlantic , specifically in Montgomery Co where today there will be an event to describe future Mesonet plans in the county.

Details on their IG account

www.instagram.com/p/DTK9E3jEh6...

@capitalweather.bsky.social
moco_oemhs on Instagram: "@ReadyMontgomery will join our County Executive, Council President, Climate Officer & @MDMesonet colleagues at 11 am today at the T…"
@ReadyMontgomery will join our County Executive, Council President, Climate Officer & @MDMesonet colleagues at 11 am today at the Trolley Museum to discuss the annual Climate Action Plan report & Mesonet station installations. #mdwx Learn more: https://ow.ly/I7CH50XSozr
www.instagram.com
I'm posting this for no other reason than goats

Well, solar's a pretty good reason, too

And also, solar is the GOAT

Here is another atmospheric optics phenomena explained , with physics explanation very similar to the moon picture seen the other day .

pubs.aip.org/aapt/pte/art...

@skyguyinva.bsky.social @capitalweather.bsky.social
When sunlight meets spray: The Jet d’Eau rainbow
On July 12, 2026, at 5:54 p.m., a spectacular half-arc rainbow appeared above Geneva’s iconic Jet d’Eau fountain, viewed from a boat about 150–200 m away on Lak
pubs.aip.org

Reposted by Santiago Gassó

🌍 A new space to connect, share, and grow!

The SOLAS has launched its LinkedIn page another step in strengthening connections across the ocean–atmosphere science community. Follow us for science updates.

🔗 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/sola...
#SOLAS #Followus #Scienceonsocial #SOLAS
SOLAS | LinkedIn
SOLAS | 7 followers on LinkedIn. International research programme on ocean–atmosphere interactions and climate | The global and multidisciplinary research project Surface Ocean - Lower Atmosphere Stud...
www.linkedin.com

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Abundant life in the SW Atlantic these days seen #NASA's PACE mission.

A chlorophyll map from #pyhotoplankton,organisms that use sunlight to create their food.

They are at the bottom of the marine food pyramid & satellites like this one are perfect for mapping their location and quantities.

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FYI, it snowed in #Scotland