Intercontinental dust transport

Immense dust clouds in the upper atmosphere, detected by remote sensing, move across oceans from Asia and Africa to the United States. Published estimates of African dust movement to the Amazon basin, the Caribbean, and the southeastern United States are on the order of hundreds of millions of tons annually. Movement of African dust to the Caribbean and the United States has increased dramatically since 1970 because of drought in North Africa.

USGS analysis of dust samples collected at monitoring stations shows that the African dusts can carry pesticides, heavy metals (such as mercury and arsenic), naturally occurring radioactive isotopes, pollen, insects, miscellaneous organic debris, smoke, and pathogenic viruses, bacteria, and fungi. These constituents may play a role in coral death in the Caribbean, adversely affect water quality, and can cause respiratory distress (asthma).

Further information:

• Coral Mortality and African Dust
• USGS dust studies - Applications to human health and ecosystem dynamics
• Linking the scales of process, observation, and modeling of dust emissions – 2004 USGS Dust Workshop, Boulder, Colorado
• African Dust Carries Microbes Across the Ocean: Are They Affecting Human and Ecosystem Health?

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