| > Oceanography > Issues > Archive > Volume 19, Number 2 |
2006, Oceanography 19(2):60–61, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2006.65
Case Study | Saharan Dust Impacts and Climate Change
Author | First Paragraph | Full Article | Citation
Author
Joseph M. Prospero | Division of Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
First Paragraph
Huge quantities of mineral dust are carried from sources in North Africa to the western Atlantic Ocean every year. Satellite images often show immense dust clouds emerging from the coast of West Africa (Figure 1). These dust-laden air masses are carried across the Atlantic Ocean by the Trade Winds and reach the Caribbean about a week later. Measurements of wind-borne dust on Barbados, West Indies (13°10'N, 59°32'W), show the presence of high concentrations of dust much of the year (Figure 2), starting in the spring and extending through the fall. During this period, substantial concentrations of dust, tens of micrograms per cubic meter of air, are measured almost every day. During intense dust events, dense hazes cover the region, and dust concentrations can exceed 100 µg m-3.
Full Article
Citation
Prospero, J.M. 2006. Saharan dust impacts and climate change. Oceanography 19(2):60–61, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2006.65.