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My mom has complained her entire life about the Sahara sands, which, according to her, cross the Atlantic and find our home in the Caribbean. But the first time
by dsign 1y ago
My mom has complained her entire life about the Sahara sands, which, according to her, cross the Atlantic and find our home in the Caribbean. But the first time I visited the Canary Islands, there was a Calima blowing, and sand was in the air like mist is in Arthur Conan Doyle's novels. But I read somewhere that what caused the Green Sahara was higher temperatures in the tropics and equator[^1], which somehow increased the amount of atmospheric water and South African monsoon reach. Those conditions could occur again if the AMOC halts. OFC, it's all speculation on my part.
[^1] Linked to planetary axial precession, not anthropogenic climate change.
- Chris2048 1y agoI believe much of the sand in the Canaries (other than that shipped in to the more elevated isles to make white-sand beaches) is blown across - the native sand is black, volcanic. Fuertaventura is low-lying to the East and it has wonderful beaches. I believe I also read the Amazon relies on Sahara sand for minerals; "dust picked up from the Bodélé Depression in Chad [located at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert], an ancient lake bed where rock minerals composed of dead microorganisms are loaded with phosphorus. Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plant proteins and growth, which the Amazon rain forest depends on in order to flourish." -- https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/nasa-satellite-reveals-how-much-saharan-dust-feeds-amazons-plants/ https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/nasa-sat... I wonder if this means the present state of the rainforest is non sustainable?