Every year, 27 million tons of sand and dust fly from the Sahara to Amazon

With data collected from CALIPSO satellites and three-dimensional technology, scientists can conduct measurements of the amount of dust moving from the Sahara (Africa) to the Amazon rainforest (South America). ).

According to Hongbin Yu, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Maryland (US), NASA's CALIPSO satellites can determine the amount of dust moving from the Sahara to the Amazon jungle. The estimated distance is up to 4828km (from Africa to South America).

Image depicting the amount of dust moving from the Sahara to Amazon

In addition to determining and measuring the amount of dust moving in three-dimensional space, scientists can also determine the amount of phosphorus in the dust carried to the Amazon. This is also the first time that satellites can determine the amount of phosphorus that moves to the Amazon forest each year.

Phosphorus is a mineral essential for plant growth. It is also found in many fertilizer products today. The amount of phosphorus brought from the Sahara desert to Amazon is estimated to be up to 22,000 tons / year, equivalent to the number of forests lost by rain and flood every year.

It is estimated that an average of 182 million tons of Sahara dust is blown away by the wind every year, of which about 27 million tons are trapped in the Amazon. However, the amount of dust moving from the Sahara to Amazon also varies from year to year due to the impact of rainfall in this desert. When the desert is dry, more dust moves to the Amazon forest.