Environment

Sahara Sand Feeds Amazon Rain Forest

Some of the driest and most desolate stretches of the planet provide nutrients for lush tropical life thousands of miles away, according to a new study.

The soil of the Amazon basin is depleted because of the fierce competition for plant nutrients in the verdurous region.

But strong winds pick up minerals (mainly phosphorous) and nutrients from the Sahara and drop them far across the Atlantic where plants would otherwise have a much harder time thriving.

The delivery system was recently studied through a new simulation conducted by NASA engineers.

Their simulation calculated that roughly 182 million tons of Sahara dust are picked up by the winds each year.

The study also examined the link between the dust-carrying winds and climate.

“Dust will affect climate and, at the same time, climate change will affect dust,” said lead study author Hongbin Yu, who conducts research at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Advancing front of a sandstorm in northwestern Africa, as seen from space. Some of the sand may have reached the Amazon, where plants depend on it for nutrition.