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\nNASA | Satellite Tracks Saharan Dust to Amazon in 3-D\n

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\n\nPublisher:\n\nNASA\n\n\n
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\nFor the first time, a NASA satellite has quantified in three dimensions how much dust makes the trans-Atlantic journey from the Sahara Desert to the Amazon rainforest. Among this dust is phosphorus, an essential nutrient that acts like a...\nFor the first time, a NASA satellite has quantified in three dimensions how much dust makes the trans-Atlantic journey from the Sahara Desert to the Amazon rainforest. Among this dust is phosphorus, an essential nutrient that acts like a fertilizer, which the Amazon depends on in order to flourish.

The new dust transport estimates were derived from data collected by a lidar instrument on NASA's Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation, or CALIPSO, satellite from 2007 though 2013.

An average of 27.7 million tons of dust per year – enough to fill 104,980 semi trucks – fall to the surface over the Amazon basin. The phosphorus portion, an estimated 22,000 tons per year, is about the same amount as that lost from rain and flooding. The finding is part of a bigger research effort to understand the role of dust and aerosols in the environment and on local and global climate.

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Resource Details

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Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
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Media Length
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2:14
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Grade
3rd - 11th
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Subjects
Science
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Media Type
Instructional Videos
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Source:
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\nNASA Goddard\n\n
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Date
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2015
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Language
English
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Audiences
For Teacher Use
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Fine Print: Educational Use
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nasa, particles, phosphorus, plants, plant growth
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saharan dust, sahara desert, amazon rainforest, nasa goddard, earth right now, earth science, earth, planet, aerosols, atlantic ocean, calipso, satellite, data viz, data visualization, nasa gsfc, nasa goddard space flight center., amazon basin, dust transport, desert, amazon, dust, transported, important, sahara, study, year, amount
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