It’s a common visitor in the summer months: dust from the Saharan Desert. Hazy skies and occasional allergies are common issues caused by the dust. But did you know that this layer of dust is more interesting than it appears? Here are some things you may not know about Saharan dust:
KEY TAKEAWAYS
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Millions of tons of dust are transported across the Atlantic every year
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Nutrient-rich Saharan dust plays a crucial role in the global ecosystem
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Dust suppresses hurricane development
WHOLE LOTTA DUST!
Every year, from late spring to early fall, trade winds transport 180 million tons of dust from the Saharan Desert across the Atlantic Ocean. Impressively, that’s as much as 4.5 million 18-wheelers full of dust!
NATURE’S BEST FRIEND
Saharan dust is often rich in nutrients like iron and phosphorus. As the dust settles over the ocean, it fertilizes algae and plankton, allowing them to grow and flourish in an otherwise barren environment. These organisms are vital sources of food for ocean life.
Similarly, as the dust settles over land, areas like the Amazon rainforest benefit from the extra nutrients.
HURRICANE EXTINGUISHER
The African dust that moves across the Atlantic Ocean is also called the Saharan Air Layer (SAL). The SAL occurs in waves at the same time as Atlantic hurricane season, from June through November.
It’s known that the SAL limits hurricane development and strength. This is because tropical storms like hurricanes need deep, rich moisture from the surface to the top of the atmosphere to survive. Since the air carrying Saharan dust is usually dry, it can prevent storms from forming and suppress existing storms from growing and strengthening.
DUST’S IMPACT ON TEXAS
While a dense plume of dust sometimes causes minor allergy-like symptoms for some, the most noticeable impact is on Texas skies. A haze often forms on the horizon, giving an ordinarily clear, blue sky a milky hue during the day.
At sunrise and sunset, the horizon can appear brilliantly orange because, with dust in the air, sunlight has more particles to bounce off.