Earth  ID: 13839

Warmer Ocean Temperatures May Decrease Saharan Dust Crossing the Atlantic

Every year millions of tons of dust from the Sahara Desert are swirled up into the atmosphere by easterly trade winds, and carried across the Atlantic. The plumes can make their way from the African continent as far as the Amazon rainforest, where they fertilize plant life.

As the climate changes, dust activity will continue to be affected. In a new study, NASA researchers predict that within the next century we will see dust transport approach a 20,000-year minimum.
 

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Keywords:
DLESE >> Atmospheric science
SVS >> Climate
SVS >> Dust
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Sahara
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Aerosols >> Dust/Ash
SVS >> Climate Change
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0