Studies indicate that the major desert dust reaches the Amazon rainforest, where the soil is summarized and brings the nutrients needed by the vast forest, which is difficult to obtain from its ecosystem, which preserves the unique biological diversity of the largest forests in the world.
The major desert in Africa launches these huge dust clouds annually. Thanks to modern satellites, we can see their formation, growth and movement that crosses the Atlantic Ocean into the Amazon forests. Pictures also help to understand the risks and benefits of these huge dust storms.
Research indicates that the African desert dust, especially from the “Bodolla” Valley in North Chad, provides about 65% of the amount of dust that reaches the Amazon forests, about 9,000 km away, and that Africa in general sends between 27 million tons and 50 million tons of dust to the Amazon rain forests every year.
This dust is rich in the basic nutrients of plants, such as phosphorous, iron and calcium, which are rare in the Amazon soil due to the heavy rains that sweep it. These elements contribute to enriching the amazon soil, enhancing the growth of their plants, and maintaining their biological diversity.
On May 7, 2025, European satellites monitored a huge and dense cloud of the Great Desert Dust off the western coast of Africa. It spread across the Atlantic Ocean, covered with an area of about 150 thousand square kilometers.
The European satellite “Copernicus Sennle-3” took a picture showing a dense orange cloud through which the green head islands east of the Atlantic Ocean in the direction of the West.
The Sultan-5B satellite added more details, and showed the levels of atmosphere in the dust cloud. Dark orange referred to a higher concentration. Scientists used this data to study the size and strength of the storm.
This data is also used to build air quality models that estimate how dust moves, and these models help to track the dust arrival date, density, and date of its disappearance.
The European Coper Service is based on this type of data, as it helps in providing daily updates and long -term expectations. Governments and organizations use these expectations to avoid disasters and warn warnings.
Environmental bonding
Desert dust storms occur a lot because the desert is hot and dry, and its sand is very soft. When strong superficial winds blow on the floor, they carry soft sand and dust with it.
These particles are not limited to staying close to Earth. If the wind is strong and the atmosphere is dry, the dust rises high in the atmosphere.
Once he reaches these high altitudes, dust can ride fast -moving winds called commercial winds or jet currents. These upper winds carry dust across continents and even oceans. Thus dust sometimes reaches distant places like the two Americas.
This entire process is known as the desert air layer, which is a dry and dusty air mass formed over the Atlantic Ocean. It is usually formed between late spring and early fall, when weather conditions are appropriate.
Some desert dust storms spread quickly and fade within a few days. While other storms may remain in the atmosphere for weeks, and spread through vast areas.
When these storms pass over the land, they affect the air that people breathe. The particles are attached to the air and form fog, and the vision decreases. Local meteorological stations often make healthy warnings.
Dust inhalation may also cause health problems. It may cause asthma, irritate the lungs, or exacerbate heart disease. Even away from the desert feel its influence. These storms may reach Europe, the Caribbean, or the Americas.
But dust storms also greatly benefit nature and the environment. The dust of the desert is not just dry sand, but rather is rich in minerals such as phosphorous and iron.
These minerals are important to life. While dust floats across the Atlantic Ocean, some fall into the water when this happens, minerals act as a fertilizer, and the plant plankton in the ocean helps grow.
The plant plankton that transmits storms is the basis of the nutritional chain of the ocean, as fish, whales and many marine animals depend on it to survive. Sand storms may seem threat, but they also contribute to feeding living organisms away from the desert.
Although they are two completely environmental systems in two separate continents, the major desert and Amazon forests are bound by an important interactive relationship, in which the wind plays a fundamental role in transporting nutrients and minerals between them, which indicates that the weather and the climate do not stop at borders.