23 Jan 2014: "Generally the atmosphere is hazy; and this is caused by the falling of impalpably fine dust" -Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle
Still off the west coast of Africa, Darwin is remarking on the clouds of dust coming from Africa. These clouds are laden with enough dust to bother the eyes and damage equipment. Darwin collected a number of samples and sent them off to be analyzed. The results intrigued Darwin; the dust was primarily composed of the remains of freshwater organisms and plants and to a lesser extent marine organisms.
Darwin's dust samples were taken hundreds of miles away from the African continent. Data suggests that the amount of dust varies by year and decade and can influence climate over the Atlantic (Evan et al. 2011). The amount of dust, in turn, is determined by land use and climate over Africa.
References
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v4/n11/full/ngeo1276.html
23 Jan 2014: "Generally the atmosphere is hazy; and this is caused by the falling of impalpably fine dust" -Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle
Still off the west coast of Africa, Darwin is remarking on the clouds of dust coming from Africa. These clouds are laden with enough dust to bother the eyes and damage equipment. Darwin collected a number of samples and sent them off to be analyzed. The results intrigued Darwin; the dust was primarily composed of the remains of freshwater organisms and plants and to a lesser extent marine organisms.
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