Saharan Dust Cloud Travels Across Atlantic

December 19, 2017
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NOAA's satellites have detected a plume of dust moving off the coast of Africa. Though quite common, this particular plume, also called the Saharan Air Layer, has a relatively constrained area of high concentration. This animation uses a recently enhanced version of the NOAA NGAC aerosol model to show how the plume is expected to travel across the Atlantic Basin over the next four days. The Saharan Air Layer plays an important role in lessening "cyclogenesis," or the formation of hurricanes.