[New post] Sahara Dust Over Florida

robertmcgrath posted: " (The New York Times takes pleasure reporting on trials and troubles from Florida (and California, and Texas.  Etc.)  : - )) This month Rebecca Carballo reports on a large blast of Sahara desert dust that has drifted across the Atlantic and likely will" Robert McGrath's Blog Sahara Dust Over Florida robertmcgrath Jul 14 (The New York Times takes pleasure reporting on trials and troubles from Florida (and California, and Texas.  Etc.)  : - )) This month Rebecca Carballo reports on a large blast of Sahara desert dust that has drifted across the Atlantic and likely will be over Florida [1]. (I'm sure that the Internet will be able to spin this into a story about how 'those Saharans aren't managing their desert right'.)  While this doesn't happen every day, it's hardly a new thing [2]. In general, dust from the land blows out to sea and falls into the water.  This is an important source of nutrients for ocean microorganisms. Dust plumes happen all the time, and it's not just deserts.  As icecaps and glaciers melt in the summer or more permanently, they expose eroded rock, which blows into the ocean. This can be similar to a river dumping silt into the sea.  [3] Actually, Saharan dust doesn't usually drift as far north as Florida.  It generally falls over the Amazon basin, providing nutrition for the forest there. It's reasonable to speculate that this cross-ocean river of nutrients has been an important factor in the long term evolution of this ecosystem. To me, it's really cool to realize that "wasteful" erosion which strips away soil from Northern Africa is actually regularly redistributing it onto rich forests in South America! Rebecca Carballo, Saharan Dust Blowing Across the Atlantic Could Reach South Florida, in New York Times. 2023: New York. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/09/us/sahara-dust-florida.html Michael Carlowicz, Sara Pratt, and Kathryn Hansen, A fresh supply of airborne particles took off from northwest Africa in early June 2022, in NASA Earth Observatory - Image of the Day, June 7, 2023. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/149918/a-burst-of-saharan-dust Adam Voiland, A seasonal shift in the winds often sends dust from Africa streaming over the Red Sea, in NASA Earth Observatory - Image of the Day, June 30, 2023. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151519/dust-pours-through-tokar-gap Comment Like You can also reply to this email to leave a comment. Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Robert McGrath's Blog. Change your email settings at manage subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: https://robertmcgrath.wordpress.com/2023/07/14/sahara-dust-over-florida/

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