Saharan dust

[2] Saharan dust is often produced by natural process such as wind storms and doesn't appear to be heavily impacted by human activities.

[3] In most cases marine bacteria and phytoplankton require small amounts of the micronutrient iron, which can be supplied by transport of Saharan dust.

The dust supplied to the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean[10] brings nutrients that help to boost primary production.

This dust has also impacted ecosystems in the southeastern United States and the Caribbean by supplying limiting nutrients, and in some cases promoting soil development on land.

These samples found 17 different elements in the dust particles, which included (but were not limited to) sodium (Na), manganese (Mn), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), potassium (K), and calcium (Ca).

One example is Mont Blanc in the Alps, bordering France, Italy, and Switzerland, where snow-colonizing bacteria was found on dust particles.

[4][20] The solubility of Saharan dust in the world's oceans and the iron it delivers depend on a variety of factors, including particle size, mineral composition, temperature, pH, and the presence or absence of organic matter.

Saharan dust transported over long distances is primarily composed of very small particles called aerosols.

[4] This makes wet deposition containing Saharan dust an important delivery mechanism for soluble iron to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

[28] Ligands in the surface ocean are varied in molecular structure and include compound classes such as porphyrins and siderophores.

[32] These humic acids, as well as oxalate, malonate, and tartrate, have been shown to specifically increase the solubility of iron contained in Saharan dust.

This meteorology condition will determine the direction, speed, altitude, trajectory, distance travel, and duration of Saharan dust in the surrounding regions.

Scientists monitor the plume using data from several satellites, such as GOES-16, NOAA-20, and the NOAA/NASA Suomi-NPP,[36] where others use in-situ monitoring such as Aerosol Robotic NETwork (AERONET)[37] and radiometric measurements such as Terra Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer (MISR), Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar, and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) with Eulerian and Lagrangian approach.

[44] The westward trajectory is referred as the transatlantic transport, which is the dispersion of Saharan Dust to the west through the Atlantic Ocean.

[47] This trajectory is mostly influenced by the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which links to the monsoon flow and results in the raising of Saharan Dust plume.

[46] Due to this convection, this wind brings the dust from the Sahara to the Gulf of Guinea and the resulting dense fog in that surrounding area.

[48] In addition, the peak of this season between July and August brings the dust from the western part of the Sahara directly to the Caribbean islands and the United States of America.

[50] The northward trajectory is correlated with the southerly winds that brings Saharan Dust to the Mediterranean Basin and further to the Southern Europe.

The lifting from the northward trajectory is primarily associated with the occurrence of southerly flow ahead of synoptic frontal systems traveling eastward across the Mediterranean or originating in the northern Sahara and moving northeastward.

[56] A more highly concentrated Saharan Air Layer (SAL) has also been linked with bringing greater precipitation to the northern tropical Atlantic by way of shifting the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) north by a few degrees.

[58] Decreased SST can upset the stability of the ocean stratification, leading to enhanced vertical mixing which can in turn influence the behavior of the greater geostrophic flow field.

These anomalies slowly advect westward across the basin, leading to basin-scale zonal pressure gradients that further change the basin-wide circulation.

Evidence of dust transport from Africa to northern Italy shows that the composition of the particulate matter changed considerably owing to the significant increase of crustal element concentration, e.g., Al, Si, Ti, K, Fe and Ca; however, concentrations of anthropogenic elements remain constant.

[10] These aerosols play a crucial role in supplying macro- and micro- nutrients to its low-nutrient and low-chlorophyll water, enhancing primary production and affecting the bacterioplankton community structure.

Due to climate change, this process is expected to continue in the future and contribute more micro- and macro- nutrients into the oligotrophic water.

[72] Some of the dustiest years in Barbados coincide with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events;[73] however, it is still an open question of how global warming will influence dust emissions in the Sahara.

[17] Research shows that significant portions of microbial communities can be transported over large distances in these dust storms.

[13] It is also possible that nonbiological compounds in dust can generate adverse health effects, including respiratory (e.g., asthma, tracheitis, pneumonia, allergic rhinitis and silicosis), cardiovascular (e.g., stroke), and cardiopulmonary diseases.

In addition, conjunctivitis, skin irritations, meningococcal disease, and coccidioidomycosis are found to be related to dust storms.

[75] The concentration of particulate matters (PM) also elevates to hazardous level that could threaten human health and early life.