Scientists have been trying to track down the hot Saharan desert sand in order to see how it effects marine biology and, the ocean's ability to soak up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Eric Achterberg, principal scientist for the Natural Environment Research Council funded Solas (Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study) expedition took a one month cruise in order to search for intense dust storms that carried the Saharan sand. He encountered two storms, one that lasted 3 days, the other one lasting almost 5 days.
"We were on top of the ship, you could just see it coming - there was a wall of dust coming towards us and it got very hazy after that. The ship was covered in dust - it was just fantastic. The dust from this one went all the way to south-west England; we heard reports that in Plymouth there was Saharan dust on cars."
Each year, about 1,700 million tonnes of dust are produced by deserts around the world and about one third of this falls into the oceans. The North Atlantic receives the most dust due to its proximity to the Sahara Desert. This sprinkling of sand can be critical for marine life in the area. All this sand can have a profound effect on marine life, and even endanger the health of some species.
I personally think this topic is very interesting. I think it is amazing how sand all the way from Africa can reach parts of the world that are thousands of miles away. I wanted to write about something different other than war and conflicts in Africa. I wanted to take a break from that and write about something on the more scientific side.
 This satellite image shows the dust blowing across the Atlantic |
