The largest desert in the world is growing

On the islands of the Caribbean archipelago discovered huge sand particles from Africa.

Wind, raising dust and sand over the Sahara, can carry dust clouds across the ocean. Previously, scientists assumed that only the smallest particles, no larger than 0.2 mm in size, could cross the Atlantic – the rest would settle in the air and remain in the water. But the recent discovery of scientists in the Caribbean archipelago has denied this.

It turns out that the Sahara can send larger “agents” across the ocean. Collecting samples of sand and dust brought by the wind to the Caribbean islands, the researchers found particles up to 0.45 mm in size. Such a finding will force climate scientists to reconsider their views on the mechanisms of cloud formation, as well as on the carbon cycle in nature.

The ability to transfer such large particles indicates that the total volume of dust particles that are mixed with water during rains is much larger than previously thought. This affects both the acidity of rainwater and the amount of carbon that is available for disposal by organisms in the water, such as algae. In addition, earlier particles of this size were ignored when drawing up models of global climate change.

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