Saharan dust: sources and trajectories

2001/06/01 by N. J. Middleton, Nick Middleton, A. S. Goudie +1 · 344 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Aeolian processes #Aeolian processes and effects #Aerosol #Archaeology #Atmospheric aerosols and clouds #Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols #Environmental science #Geography #Geology #Meteorology #Mineral dust #Natural (archaeology) #Ozone #Ozone layer #Physical geography #Range (aeronautics) #Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer

paper · doi:10.1111/1475-5661.00013

published in Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 26(2), 165-181 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2001/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

The Sahara is the world’s largest source of aeolian desert dust, but precise information on specific sources of this material is poor and sometimes contradictory. This paper uses daily data from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) for 1999 to identify source areas for major dust events and their trajectories of long‐range transport. Two major source areas are identified: the Bodélé depression and an area covering eastern Mauritania, western Mali and southern Algeria. Both of these major dust sources are primarily driven by natural factors since they are little affected by anthropogenic activities.

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