To find out if it could be contributing to Mars’ epic dust, the Johns Hopkins researchers compared the composition of surface dust to the composition of Medusae Fossae. Multiple Mars landers and rovers have collected dust samples from various parts of the planet. The scientists say they all contained an abundance of sulfur and chlorine – in a very specific ratio. Using data from NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, the researchers found that the ratio of the volcanic region matched that of Mars’ surface dust — suggesting that the volcanic deposit is the largest contributor to Martian dust.And based on its erosion rate, the scientists were able to calculate the amount of dust on Mars’ surface. They found that there’s enough to cover the entire planet in roughly six to 40 feet (2 to 12 meters) of sediment. And the dust will keep building up as Medusae Fossae continues to erode.The increasing amount of dust not only causes thicker storms, but it also contributes to their intensity. The dust absorbs some of Mars’ solar radiation, which causes surface temperatures to decrease and atmospheric temperatures to increase. These temperature variations make winds stronger than usual, releasing even more dust that gusts across the surface during storms.These conditions may have created a powerful global dust storm during our prime time for viewing Mars in the night sky, but the unfortunate coincidence wasn’t exactly a surprise. Global storms pop up every six to eight years or so, and it just so happened to interrupt Mars at its brightest this time around. But at the end of the day, we’ve gained crucial knowledge of the Red Planet’s history and finally know the source of the swirling, engulfing dust that’s blocking our otherwise wondrous view.This article originally appeared on Discovermagazine.com