Study: The Western U.S. is Getting Dustier

Living in the mountains, it’s easy to see changes in nature, especially in the snow. In recent years, dust from desert areas like Utah, has coated some of the area’s snowpack. Scientists in Boulder say the amount of dust being blown into Colorado and throughout the West, has increased over the last two decades. They measured calcium in rainfall to come up with their findings. Jason Neff is associate professor of geology at CU-Boulder and coauthor of the dust study. He told Aspen Public Radio's Marci Krivonen the escalation of dust emissions is due to several factors.