Visible Hue to Air - Smoke.. Smog... Silt..?

Observation: There's a haze in the Mat-Su Valley basin that seems uncharacteristic, normally would see a grayish hue (silt color) during or after a wind storm and is visable from the same observation location, NNW of Pioneer Peek, which stands at 6,398 feet in the Chugach Mountain Range. These high winds during the fall season normally come out of the Matanuska/Knik Glacier drainages. If your standing in downtown Wasilla or Palmer, the Matanuska Glacier (river, valley) to the NNE and Knik Glacier (river, valley) to the SSW has put these communities in the direct path of many wind storm through out the years.

Division of Air Quality Consult: Barbara Trost, Program Manager writes, "After looking more closely at the photo you posted on the LEO network and the data we have available from our Palmer air monitoring site, it looks like this was likely as dust cloud. The winds were not necessarily that strong, but with the slight rise in temperature even light winds from the north can pick up dust from the Matanuska river bed. The sampler at Palmer showed a short time of elevated PM10 concentration after 2 PM that day, but the levels did not get to a point at which we would have called an air quality advisory. Since we are now trying to look back more then a week it is difficult to pinpoint this with absolute certainty." Source: Air Monitoring & Quality Assurance Program, ADEC

Resource:

Division of Air Quality: "Air Monitoring & Quality Assurance Program operates and oversees air quality monitoring networks throughout Alaska. Assess compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and Alaska Air Quality Standards (AAQS) by operating air quality monitoring networks around the state. Provide technical assistance to the public, local government agencies, tribal organizations, and industries and assist in developing their monitoring plans and projects." Source: Alaska DEC, Air Monitoring & Quality Assurance Group Information