Rivers of airborne dust connect us all
Watch the animation of this cloud of African dust as it crosses the Atlantic, and rains bits of the Sahara Desert over the Caribbean.
link to animation (NASA)
Read or listen: To scientists, dust is a hot topic
DB: Airborne dust – called aerosols – can ride wind currents for hundreds or thousand of kilometers.
JB: Using satellites and computer models, scientists can pinpoint where airborne dust comes from. And they can predict where it’s going. In recent years, most of the dust in our atmosphere has come from North Africa.
Joe Prospero: From the standpoint of dust that is generated and carried great distances, Africa is unquestionably the major source. There are other major source areas, such as Asia, but that tends to be more sporadic.
DB: That was Joe Prospero, Professor of Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of Miami. He told us that, since the 1960s, drought conditions in North Africa have made that part of the world the planet’s biggest dust-producing machine. Several hundred million tons of dust are carried from Africa across the Atlantic each year.
Joe Prospero: In Miami, every summer beginning in mid-June, we get high concentrations of African dust and it extends into August, September. We see this very clearly in satellite images. It’s not subtle.
JB: The reshuffling of the world’s dust crosses geophysical and political boundaries.
Joe Prospero: We’re all connected one way or another, even by dust.
DB: For today, that’s our show. By the way, if you like to talk about science online, come to our website at earthsky.org. Our thanks today to NASA: explore, discover, understand. We’re Block and Byrd for Earth & Sky.
Read or listen: To scientists, dust is a hot topic
Our thanks to:
Joseph M. Prospero
Univ. Miami Distinguished Faculty Scholar
Professor Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry
Director Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS)
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
University of Miami
Additional Teacher Resources
NASA: Airborne Dust Causes Ripple Effect on Climate Far Away
NASA researchers found that dust particles from the desert regions in northern Africa can produce climate changes as far away as the northern Pacific Ocean. This article provides images and information on this topic.
NASA: Earth Observatory – Dust and Smoke Archive
This webpage provided by NASA shows current images of dust clouds around the world.
NASA: Earth Observatory – New NASA AIRS Data to Aid Weather, Climate Research
This article discusses the importance of a new research tool called the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, or AIRS, instrument on NASAs Aqua spacecraft. Newly released AIRS measurements include warning flags to identify concentrations of sulfur dioxide and dust, and better temperature and water vapor profiles. The data will help scientists increase their confidence in climate prediction models.
