Strong pressure systems a third of a world apart may set up conditions to stir powerful summer dust storms over the Arabian Peninsula. The presence of these pressure systems – which on the Arabian Peninsula spin off strong northerly winds known to locals as Shamal – is one of four seasonal events found to contribute to Arabian dust storms at different times of the year, according to research by an international team of scientists led by Dr. Elias Houssos at the University of Ioannina, Greece. The team also includes Dr. Themis Chronis at The University of Alabama in Huntsville's Earth System Science Center (UAH ESSC).