Dr. Gill is an interdisciplinary Earth system and environmental scientist who has been a UTEP faculty member in Geological Sciences and the ESE Ph.D. program since 2004.<br>See:<br>http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9011-4105

• Outstanding Reviewer - Atmospheric Environment (03/01/2018-03/31/2018)
• Geek of the Week - The Weather Channel (03/05/2017)
• Honorable Mention, Oklahoma Transportation Research Day - Southern Plains Transportation Center (10/18/2016)
• Honorary Membership, Texas Master Naturalists Association - Texas Master Naturalists Association (02/24/2016)
• Maquis Who’s Who in America (01/01/2007-12/31/2007)
• Academic Keys Who’s Who in Sciences Higher Education (01/01/2006-12/31/2006)
• Maquis Who’s Who in Science and Engineering (01/01/2006-12/31/2006)
• Co-Author of ISI "Highly Cited Paper" (Geosciences) (01/01/2004-12/31/2004)
• Outstanding Editorial Reviewer - American Society of Agricultural Engineers (01/01/2002-12/31/2002)
• Sigma Xi, full professional member (01/01/1999-12/31/1999)
• Distinguished Fellow in Environmental Sciences - Switzer Foundation (01/01/1991-12/31/1991)
• Graduate Opportunity Fellow - University of California, Davis (01/01/1985-12/31/1985)
• Outstanding Senior Award - University of California- Davis (01/01/1983-12/31/1983)
• Regents Scholar - University of California (01/01/1979-12/31/1979)
• Senior Fellow - The Murphy Center for Organizational Law

• Physical Science, USDA Agricultural Research Service (1998)
• Ph D in Earth Science and Resources, University of California- Davis (1995)
• BS in Atmospheric Science, University of California- Davis (1984)

• Effect of Spatial and Temporal “Drought Legacy” on Dust Sources in Adjacent Ecoregions Land Degradation and Development 35 4 (2024), Iyasu G. Eibedingil, Thomas E. Gill, Tarek Kandakji, Jeffrey A. Lee, Junran Li, R S. Van Pelt.
• Morphometry of the Samalayuca Dunes, Northern Chihuahua, Mexico Boletin de la Sociedad Geologica Mexicana 28 3 (2023), Miguel A. Dominguez, Richard P. Langford, Thomas E. Gill.
• Morphometry of the Samalayuca Dunes, Northern Chihuahua, Mexico Boletin de la Sociedad Geologica Mexicana 28 3 (2023), Miguel A. Dominguez, Richard P. Langford, Thomas E. Gill.
• Fugitive Gypsum Dust Deposition on a Neighboring Wildlife Refuge, Antioch Dunes, California, USA Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association 73 11 (2023), Nicholas J. Spada, Alison M. McNally, Thomas E. Gill, Hanna Q. Best, Alexa M. Wells, Travs Q. Longcore.
• Analysis of rain-deposited dust on polysulfone membranes using proton-induced X-ray emission spectroscopy Microchemical Journal 192 (2023), Todd Byers, Jack E. Manuel, Alexandra P. Gonzalez, Thomas E. Gill, Gary Glass.
• Danger in the Dust! The Hazards of Windblown Dust EOS- Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 104 (2023), Thomas E. Gill, Daniel Tong, William Sprigg, R. S. Van Pelt.
• How Many People Were Killed by Windblown Dust Events in the United States? Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 104 5 (2023), Daniel Q. Tong, Irene Feng, Thomas E. Gill, Kerstin Schepanski, Julian Wang.
• Health and Safety Effects of Airborne Soil Dust in the Americas and Beyond Reviews of Geophysics 61 2 (2023), Daniel Q. Tong, Thomas E. Gill, William Sprigg, Robert S. Van Pelt, Alexander Baklanov, Bridget Barker, Jesse Bell, Juan Castillo-Lugo, Santiago Gasso, Cassandra Gaston, Dale Griffin, Nicolas Huneeus, Ralph Kahn, Arunas Kuciauskas, Luis Ladino, Junran Li, Olga Mayol-Bracero, Orion McCotter, Pablo Mendez-Lazaro, Pierpalo Mudu, Slobodan Nickovic, Damian Oyarzun, Joseph Prospero, Graciela Raga, Amit Raysoni, Ling Ren, Nikias Sarafoglou, Andrea Sealy, Ziheng Sun, Ana Vukovic Vimic.
• A Student's Guide to the Writing Parts of a Research Project Authorea Preprints (2023), Jeffrey A. Lee, Thomas E. Gill.
• Kidney Cancer Incidence and Occupation in Different Climate Zones in the United States Abstract Published at: "AAG Annual Meeting 2023" (in press), Benjamin D. Ojo, Thomas E. Gill, Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia.
• Characterizing A Hazardous Dust Source In The Chihuahuan Desert Using Ground-Based Measurements, Remote Sensing, and Modeling. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Symposium Series (2023), R S. Van Pelt, Iyasu G. Eibedingil, Thomas E. Gill, Daniel Q. Tong, John Tatarko, Junran Li, Chunping Chang, Marcos Mendez.
• Advocating for Coccidioidomycosis to Be a Reportable Disease Nationwide in the United States and Encouraging Disease Surveillance across North and South America Journal of Fungi 9 1 (2023), Morgan Gorris, Karin Ardon-Dryer, Althea Campuzano, Laura R. Castañón-Olivares, Thomas E. Gill, Andrew Greene, Chiung-Yu Hung, Kimberly A. Kaufeld, Mark Lacy, Edith Sanchez-Paredes.
• When Is A Dust Storm Not A Dust Storm? Examining The Reliability of the Storm Events Database for Assessing the Incidence of Dust Storms in the USA Geohealth 7 1 (2023), Karin Ardon-Dryer, Thomas E. Gill, Daniel Q. Tong.
• Associations Between Dust and Thunderstorm Exposures and Hospitalizations in Lubbock, Texas, USA AGU Fall Meeting 2022 2022 (2022), Thomas E. Gill, Estrella Herrera-Molina, Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia, Soyoung Jeon.
• A field study of the surface disturbance effects of animals and motor vehicles on aeolian sediment emission from a silty playa surface Environmental Research 216 3 (2022), Vahid Moayeri, Abbas Miri, Ali Shahriari, Vahid Rahdari, Thomas E. Gill.
• Wind-Related Bounce House Incidents in Meteorological, Regulatory and Outreach Contexts Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 103 10 (2022), John A. Knox, Thomas E. Gill, Castle A. Williams, Jada M. Smith, Lucas V. Boggs, Alan W. Black, Hope E. Skypek.
• Applying Wind Erosion and Air Dispersion Models to Characterize Dust Hazard to Highway Safety at Lordsburg Playa, New Mexico, USA Atmosphere 13 10 (2022), Iyasu G. Eibedingil, Thomas E. Gill, R S. Van Pelt, John Tatarko, Junran Li, Wen-Whai Li.
• Are Opportunities to Apply Airborne Dust Research Being Missed? Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 103 6 (2022), William Sprigg, Thomas E. Gill, Daniel Q. Tong, Junran Li, Ling Ren, R S. Van Pelt.
• Woody plant encroachment of grassland and the reversibility of shrub dominance: Erosion, fire and feedback processes Ecosphere 13 3 (2022), Junran Li, Sujith Ravi, Guan Wang, R S. Van Pelt, Thomas E. Gill, Joel Sankey.
• Quantifying Bioavailable Metals and Potential Dust Emissions from Highway-Related and Desert Sediments at Lordsburg Playa, New Mexico Center for Applied Research in Transportation Emissions, Environment and Health (CARTEEH) (2022), Thomas E. Gill, Iyasu G. Eibedingil, R S. Van Pelt, Junran Li, Marcos Mendez, Julieta Saucedo, Lixin Jin.
• Quantifying Bioavailable Metals and Potential Dust Emissions from Highway-Related and Desert Sediments at Lordsburg Playa, New Mexico Center for Applied Research in Transportation Emissions, Environment and Health (CARTEEH) 01 13 (2022), Thomas E. Gill, Iyasu G. Eibedingil, R S. Van Pelt, Junran Li, Marcos Mendez, Julieta Saucedo, Lixin Jin.
• A Review of Earth Artificial Intelligence Computers and Geosciences 159 1 (2022), Ziheng Sun, Laura Sandoval, Robert Crystal-Ornelas, S. M. Mousavi, Jinbo Wang, Cindy Lin, Nicoleta Cristea, Daniel Tong, Wendy H. Carande, Xiaogang Ma, Yuhan Rao, James A. Bednar, Amanda Tan, Jianwu Wang, Sanjay Pururshotham, Thomas E. Gill, Julien Chastang, Daniel Howard, Benjamin Holt, Chandana Gangodagamage, Peisheng Zhao, Pablo Rivas, Zachary Chester, Javier Orduz, Aji John.
• Stratigraphic relationship between Rimrock Lake and Hay Lake playas, Harney Basin, eastern Oregon, USA Journal of Paleolimnology 67 1 (2022), Joe D. Collins, Mark A. Bowen, Thomas E. Gill, Richard P. Langford.
• Stratigraphic relationship between Rimrock Lake and Hay Lake playas, Harney Basin, eastern Oregon, USA Journal of Paleolimnology 67 1 (2022), Joe D. Collins, Mark A. Bowen, Thomas E. Gill, Richard P. Langford.
• Associations Between Dust Exposure and Hospitalizations in El Paso, Texas, USA Atmosphere 12 (2021), Estrella Herrera-Molina, Thomas E. Gill, Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia, Jeon Soyoung.
• Combining Optical and Radar Satellite Imagery to Investigate the Surface Properties and Evolution of the Lordsburg Playa, New Mexico, USA Remote Sensing 13 17 (2021), Iyasu G. Eibedingil, Thomas E. Gill, R S. Van Pelt, Daniel Q. Tong.
• Comparison of Aerosol Optical Depth from MODIS Product Collection 6.1 and AERONET in the Western United States Remote Sensing 13 (2021), Iyasu G. Eibedingil, Thomas E. Gill, R S. Van Pelt, Daniel Q. Tong.
• A bench scale method for constant output of mineral dust Aerosol Science & Technology 55 6 (2021), Dhruv Mitroo, Thomas E. Gill, Savannah Haas, Kerri A. Pratt, Cassandra Gaston.
• The Role of Hydrates, Competing Chemical Constituents, and Surface Composition on ClNO2 Formation Environmental Science and Technology 55 5 (2021), Haley M. Royer, Dhruv Mitroo, Sarah M. Hayes, Savannah M. Haas, Kerri A. Pratt, Patricia L. Blackwelder, Thomas E. Gill, Cassandra J. Gaston.
• Partitioning variation in vegetation communities around Lajaneh Piosphere, Iran Arid Land Research and Management 35 1 (2021), Eahsan Shahriary, Richard P. Langford, Thomas E. Gill, Musa J. Hussein, William L. Hargrove, Peter Golding.
• Bibliometric analysis of piosphere research: implications for conservation and scientific collaboration International Journal of Sustainable Development \& World Ecology 28 4 (2021), Eahsan Shahriary, Thomas E. Gill, Richard P. Langford.
• Dust Emission Source Characterization for Visibility Hazard Assessment on Lordsburg Playa in Southwestern New Mexico USA Geoenvironmental Disasters 7 (2020), R S. Van Pelt, John Tatarko, Thomas E. Gill, Chunping Chang, Junran Li, Iyasu G. Eibedingil, Marcos Mendez.
• Bibliography of Aeolian Research Mendeley Data 1 (2020), John E. Stout, Thomas E. Gill, Andrew A. Warren.
• Understanding dust sources through remote sensing: Making a case for CubeSats Journal of Arid Environments 184 1 (2020), Matthew C. Baddock, Robert C. Bryant, Miguel Dominguez Acosta, Thomas E. Gill.
• Quantitative Analysis of Drought and Land Cover Impact on Dust Emission in Southwestern United States: Inferring Anthropogenic Effect Science of the Total Environment 755 1 (2020), Tarek Kandakji, Thomas E. Gill, Jeffrey A. Lee.
• Bibliometric analysis of piosphere research: implications for conservation and scientific collaboration International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology. (2020), Eahsan Shahriary, Thomas E. Gill, Richard P. Langford.
• Bibliometric analysis of piosphere research: implications for conservation and scientific collaboration International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology. 28 4 (2020), Eahsan Shahriary, Thomas E. Gill, Richard P. Langford.
• Partitioning variation in vegetation communities around Lajaneh Piosphere, Iran Arid Land Research and Management 35 1 (2020), Eahsan Shahriary, Richard P. Langford, Thomas E. Gill, Musa J. Hussein, William L. Hargrove, Peter Golding.
• Partitioning variation in vegetation communities around Lajaneh Piosphere, Iran Arid Land Research and Management 35 1 (2020), Eahsan Shahriary, Richard P. Langford, Thomas E. Gill, Musa J. Hussein, William L. Hargrove, Peter Golding.
• Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Heavy Metal Deposition Resulting from a Smelter in El Paso, Texas Journal of Geochemical Exploration 210 (2020), R S. Van Pelt, Eugenia G. Shekhter, Melanie A. W. Barnes, Sara E. Duke, Thomas E. Gill, Keith H. Pannell.
• Identifying and Characterizing Dust Point Sources In The Southwestern United States Using Remote Sensing and GIS Geomorphology 353 1 (2020), Tarek Kandakji, Thomas E. Gill, Jeffrey A. Lee.
• Improving research through avoiding common statistical errors: the case of piosphere Asian J. Probab. Stat 10 (2020), Eahsan Shahriary, Thomas E. Gill, Richard P. Langford, Musa J. Hussein, William L. Hargrove, Peter Golding.
• Tracing gypsiferous White Sands aerosols in the shallow critical zone at White Mountain, New Mexico using Sr/Ca and 87Sr/86Sr ratios Geoderma 372 (2020), Patrick Rea, Lin Ma, Thomas E. Gill, Jorge Gardea-Torresdey, Carlos Tamez, Lixin Jin.
• Tracing gypsiferous White Sands aerosols in the shallow critical zone at White Mountain, New Mexico using Sr/Ca and 87Sr/86Sr ratios Geoderma 372 (2020), Patrick Rea, Lin Ma, Thomas E. Gill, Jorge Gardea-Torresdey, Carlos Tamez, Lixin Jin.
• ClNO2 Production from N2O5 Uptake on Saline Playa Dusts: New Insights into Potential Inland Sources of ClNO2 Environmental Science and Technology 53 13 (2019), Dhruv Mitroo, Thomas E. Gill, Savannah Haas, Kerri Pratt, Cassandra Gaston.
• Anemochory of diapausing stages of microinvertebrates in North American drylands Freshwater Biology 64 7 (2019), Jose A. Rivas, Thomas Schröder, Thomas E. Gill, Robert L. Wallace, Elizabeth J. Walsh.
• Anemochory of diapausing stages of microinvertebrates in North American drylands. Freshwater Biology 64 (2019), Joe A. Rivas, Thomas Schroeder, Thomas E. Gill, Robert L. Wallace, Elizabeth J. Walsh.

• EFFECTS OF DUST ON HOSPITALIZATIONS IN EL PASO AND LUBBOCK, TEXAS (2023), Volume Las Cruces, NM, Estrella Molina-Herrera, Thomas E. Gill, Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia, Jeon Soyoung.
• Dust Vulnerabilities in the United States (2023), Volume Las Cruces, NM, Daniel Tong, Thomas E. Gill, Irene Feng, Julian Wang, Kerstin Schepanski, William Sprigg, R. Scott Van Pelt.
• OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF AEOLIAN DUST IN EL PASO, TEXAS FROM HIGHTEMPOR-AL-RESOLUTION GROUND-BASED MEASUREMENTS (2023), Volume Las Cruces, NM, German Rodriguez Ortiz, Manisha Mehra, M.T.S. Ramirez, James Flynn, Sasha Uschenko, Thomas E. Gill, Rebecca Sheesley.
• U-series and Sr isotope systematics in soil carbonates from natural and managed dryland Critical Zones: Implications for inorganic carbon storage and transformation in dryland soils of the American Southwest (2023), Volume Lyon, France, Lin Ma, Syprose Nyachoti, Victor Garcia, Curtis Monger, Craig E. Tweedie, Thomas E. Gill, Lixin Jin.
• U-series and Sr isotope systematics in soil carbonates from natural and managed dryland Critical Zones: Implications for inorganic carbon storage and transformation in dryland soils of the American Southwest (2023), Volume Lyon, France, Lin Ma, Syprose Nyachoti, Victor Garcia, Curtis Monger, Craig E. Tweedie, Thomas E. Gill, Lixin Jin.
• Effects of Dust on Hospitalizations in El Paso and Lubbock, Texas, USA (2023), Volume San Diego, CA, Estrella Herrera, Thomas E. Gill, Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia, Jeon Soyoung.
• Associations Between Dust and Thunderstorm Exposures and Hospitalizations in Lubbock, Texas, USA (2022), Volume Chicago, IL, Thomas E. Gill, Estrella Herrera-Molina, Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia, Jeon Soyoung.
• The Economic Costs of Wind Erosion in the United States (2022), Volume Chicago, IL, Irene Feng, Daniel Q. Tong, Thomas E. Gill, R S. Van Pelt, Nicholas Webb.
• Remote Sensing of Dust Storms- Past to Future (2022), Volume Yale University (online), Thomas E. Gill.
• HABOOBS- THEIR NATURE AND OUTSTANDING RESEARCH QUESTIONS (2022), Volume Aberdeen, Scotland and online, Thomas E. Gill.
• Art and the Critical Zone (2022), Volume El Paso, TX, Melissa C. Warak, Thomas Gill.
• Associations Between Exposure to Air Pollution After a Dust Event and Hospitalizations (2022), Volume Phoenix, Arizona (online), Estrella H. Herrera-Molina, Thomas E. Gill, Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia, Jeon Soyoung.
• A Dust Alliance for North America (2022), Volume Phoenix, AZ (Online), Thomas E. Gill, William Sprigg, Daniel Tong, Karin Ardon-Dryer, Ling Ren, R. S. Van Pelt, Junran Li, Jenny Hand.
• Launching a Dust Alliance for North America (2022), Volume Online, Daniel Tong, Karin Ardon-Dryer, Thomas E. Gill, Jenny Hand, William Sprigg, Junran Li, Ling Ren, R S. Van Pelt.
• Wind-Related Bounce House Incidents and the Environments That Lead to Them (2022), Volume Houston, Texas and online, John A. Knox, Thomas E. Gill, Jada Smith, Castle A. Williams, Luke Boggs, Alan Black, Hope Skypek.
• Dust and Particulate Matter Hazard on Interstate 10 at Lordsburg Playa in Southwestern New Mexico (2021), Volume Online, Thomas E. Gill.
• I'm An Atmospheric Scientist With A Mobility Impairment (2021), Volume Online, Thomas E. Gill, Jamin Rader, David Moran.
• CubeSats: A New Tool In The Dust Storm Detection Toolbox (2021), Volume Online, Thomas E. Gill, Robert Bryant.
• Art and the Environment (2021), Volume Online, Melissa C. Warak, Thomas E. Gill.
• Characterization of Blowing Dust and Sand Events in El Paso, Texas (2020), Volume Lubbock, TX (online), Thomas E. Gill.
• El Paso- Las Cruces Area Dust Storms: Latest Findings (2020), Volume Las Cruces, NM (moved online due to quarantine), Thomas E. Gill.
• Quantitatively Characterizing Dust Source areas at Lordsburg Playa (2020), Volume Coolidge, AZ, R. S. Van Pelt, John Tatarko, Thomas E. Gill, Chunping Chang, Junran Li, Iyasu Eibedingil, Marcos Mendez.
• Insights into the production of reactive chlorine and bromine in inland regions from saline playa dusts and the role of playa dust mineralogy in determining halogen yields (2020), Volume Boston, MA, Cassandra J. Gaston, Haley M. Royer, Dhruv Mitroo, Pat Blackwelder, Sarah M. Hayes, Savannah Haas, Kerri A. Pratt, Thomas E. Gill.
• Investigating the Surface Properties and Evolution of a Desert Playa Using Optical and Radar Satellite Imagery Products (2019), Volume San Francisco, CA, Iyasu G. Eibedingil, Thomas E. Gill, Daniel Q. Tong.
• Laboratory Studies of Direct ClNO2 Production from N2O5 Uptake on Saline Playa Dusts (2019), Volume San Francisco, CA, Cassandra J. Gaston, Kerri J. Pratt, Thomas E. Gill, Dhruv Mitroo.
• Playa dust mineralogy and its impact on atmospheric reactivity and the production of reactive halogens (2019), Volume San Francisco, CA, Haley M. Royer, Dhruv Mitroo, Patricia Blackwelder, Sarah Hayes, Savannah Haas, Kerri Pratt, Thomas E. Gill, Cassandra J. Gaston.
• The Promise of Hyperspatial Remote Sending for Understanding Aeolian Processes: An Example Using PlanetScope At "The Dustiest Place on Earth" (2019), Volume Phoenix, Arizona, Matthew C. Baddock, Robert G. Bryant, Thomas E. Gill.
• Laboratory Studies of Direct Halogen Production from Saline Playa Dusts (2019), Volume Newry, Maine, Cassandra J. Gaston, Kerri L. Pratt, Thomas E. Gill, Dhruv Mitroo.
• Urban and Remote Coarse Aerosol Mass across the United States (2019), Volume Quebec City, PQ, Canada, Jenny L. Hand, Bret Schichtel, Thomas E. Gill.
• Characteristics and Implications Of Windblown Dust and Sand In the El Paso / Las Cruces Area (2019), Volume Las Cruces, NM, Thomas E. Gill.
• Health Effects of Dust Events in El Paso, Tx. (2019), Volume Las Cruces, NM, Estrella Herrera, Hector A. Olvera, Thomas E. Gill, Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia, Alberto Ochoa.
• Assessing the Acute Safety Hazard to Highway Transportation from Blowing Dust at Lordsburg Playa, New Mexico (2019), Volume Austin, Texas, Thomas E. Gill, David Dubois, Iyasu Eibedingil, Jaylen Fuentes, Lixin Jin, Junran Li, Marcos Mendez, John Tatarko, R S. Van Pelt, Nicholas Webb.
• Assessing the Acute Safety Hazard to Highway Transportation from Blowing Dust at Lordsburg Playa, New Mexico (2019), Volume Austin, Texas, Thomas E. Gill, David Dubois, Iyasu Eibedingil, Jaylen Fuentes, Lixin Jin, Junran Li, Marcos Mendez, John Tatarko, R S. Van Pelt, Nicholas Webb.
• Evaluation of Drought Level and Anthropogenic Land Use Impact on Dust Emission in Southwestern United States: Quantitative and Spatio-temporal Analysis of Dust Point Sources (2019), Volume Phoenix, AZ, Tarek Kandakji, Thomas E. Gill, Jeffrey A. Lee.

• F.2 Topical Workshops, Symposia, and Conferences: The International Conference on Aeolian Research (ICAR) XI (No funds to UTEP: All funds to International Society for Aeolian Research)
• Cohesive Particle Flow Research
• NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology II (NCAS-M II)
• Community-driven Inclusive Excellence and Leadership Opportunities in the Geosciences (CIELO-G)
• Hyperspatial Observation of the Largest Source of Dust on Earth (data acquisition grant: value of data $600,000)
• Conference Proposal: Bringing Land, Ocean, Atmosphere and Ionosphere Data to the Community for Hazards Alerts.
• Network Cluster: Patterns and controls of ecohydrology, CO2 fluxes, and nutrient availability in pedogenic carbonate-dominated dryland critical zones
• MRI Acquisition of inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer for research and education uses in water, energy, and environmental sciences
• Desert seismology: Linking weather, saltating particles, and dryland geomorphology to the ambient seismic environment
• Acquisition of Laser Diffraction Particle Sizing System for Research and Research Education on Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Boundary Layer Processes and Materials
• Regional dust forecasting for Valley fever surveillance, highway accident prevention, and air quality management in the Southwestern United States
• Quantifying Bioavailable Metals and Potential Dust Emissions from Highway-Related and Desert Sediments at Lordsburg Playa, New Mexico
• NOAA Cooperative Science Center in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology at Howard University
• Enhanced Dust Indicator (EDI): Guarding against future ‘Dust Bowl’