Satellite observations show how far winds normally spread North African dust particles before rain and gravity pull them down to the ocean.
Published Jan 9, 2020
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
Published Jan 25, 2008
In mid-June 2016, winds lofted thick plumes of dust from northern Africa’s deserts high into the air.
Published Jun 23, 2016
In June 2014, winds pushed a river of dust from western Africa across the Atlantic Ocean.
Published Jul 5, 2014
It was dusty over northeastern Sudan and the Red Sea in summer 2014, as it is most years.
Published Aug 4, 2014
An extensive dust storm in late February carried debris over the Atlantic Ocean, en route to the Amazon Basin.
Published Mar 4, 2015
A weather forecast for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on January 31, 2008, called for high winds and the possibility of dust storms. Two days later, the predictions came to pass—with a vengeance.
Published Feb 8, 2008
This natural-color image shows camel-colored dust spanning the Red Sea between Sudan and Saudi Arabia on July 15, 2009.
Published Jul 15, 2009
Acquired May 4, 2011, this natural-color image shows a dust storm blowing off the Arabian Peninsula and over the Persian Gulf.
Published May 4, 2011
The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA's Aura satellite spied dust from a Saharan sand storm blowing several thousand kilometers over the North Atlantic and Europe in April 2011.
Published Apr 15, 2011
Floridians looking for a break from hurricane season in late July 2005 were in for a change, though it wasn’t necessarily what they wanted: Saharan dust. By July 19, a massive dust storm had crossed the Atlantic towards southern Florida.
Published Jul 23, 2005
While dust routinely blows across the Atlantic Ocean, scientists rarely see plumes as large and dense with particles as the one that darkened Caribbean skies in June 2020.
Published Jun 29, 2020
Acquired September 1, 2012, this natural-color image shows dust blowing over the Red Sea.
Published Sep 5, 2012
Acquired at 1:50 p.m. Beijing time, this natural-color image shows an intensified dust storm blowing through the Gobi.
Published Nov 10, 2010
