NASA On Air: NASA Satellite Reveals How Much Dust Feeds Amazon’s Plants (2/24/2015)
LEAD: NASA scientists have made the first multi-year satellite-based estimate of how much Saharan dust in Africa floats all the way to South America’s Amazon rainforest.
1. An estimated 28 million tons of African dust falls on the Amazon rainforest – more than 100,000 semi-truck loads.
2. A small but very important ingredient in the dust is the phosphorus from an ancient dusty lake bed in Chad.
3. The African phosphorus plays a critical role as a natural fertilizer for the Amazon rainforest growth.
TAG: This dust transport is the largest on the planet. Satellite studies will also help determine its relationship to climate changes.
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Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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Animator
- Brian Monroe (USRA)
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Data visualizers
- Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC)
- Horace Mitchell (NASA/GSFC)
- Kel Elkins (USRA)
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Graphics
- Norman Kuring (NASA/GSFC)
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Video editor
- Joy Ng (KBRwyle)
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Producer
- Howard Joe Witte (ADNET)
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