News Oceans

A transatlantic flight may turn Saharan dust into a key ocean nutrient

Over time, atmospheric chemical reactions can make iron in dust easier for organisms to take in

A swirl of wind over the ocean is pictured via a NASA satellite

Strong winds carry millions of metric tons of Saharan dust over the Atlantic Ocean each year. This image, taken July 26, 2022, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite, shows dust swirling south and west off the nations of Mauritania and Western Sahara.

NASA Earth Observatory

By Douglas Fox

As dust from the Sahara blows thousands of kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean, it becomes progressively more nutritious for marine microbes, a new study suggests.