February 11, 2002JPEG
Fierce winds ripped across the Sahara Desert this past weekend and blew a large plume of dust out over the Atlantic Ocean. This true color image of the dust event was acquired on February 11, 2002, by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flying aboard NASAs Terra spacecraft. The light brown dust trail can be seen forming an arc a few hundred miles off the coast of Western Sahara and Mauritania. Northeasterly winds blowing across the Atlantic have redirected the dust towards Europe where it will likely settle.
Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
Saharan dust hovered over the Atlantic for several days in mid-January 2008. This image shows two different areas of dust plume activity. Immediately off the coasts of Western Sahara and Mauritania, a series of tan dust plumes blow in predominantly straight lines toward the northwest. Farther west, a large, diffuse plume of dust hangs over the Atlantic Ocean
Acquired January 7, 2013, this image shows dust plumes off the west coast of northern Africa.
Acquired January 7, 2013, this image shows dust plumes off the west coast of northern Africa.
