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Cited by 91Atmospheric aerosols and cloudsAeolian processes and effectsAtmospheric chemistry and aerosols

The Discovery of African Dust Transport to the Western Hemisphere and the Saharan Air Layer: A History

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Prospero, Joseph M., Delany, Anthony C., Delany, Audrey C., Carlson, Toby N.·2021·Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
DOI 10.1175/bams-d-19-0309.1
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Abstract

There is great interest in wind-borne mineral dust because of the role that dust plays in climate by modulating solar radiation and cloud properties. Today, much research focuses on North Africa because it is Earth’s largest and most persistently active dust source. Moreover, this region is expected to be greatly impacted by climate change, which would affect dust emission rates. Interest in dust was stimulated over 50 years ago when it was discovered that African dust was frequently transported across the Atlantic in great quantities. Here we report on the initial discovery of African dust in the Caribbean Basin. We show that there were three independent “first” discoveries of African dust in the 1950s through the 1960s. In each case, the discoverers were not seeking dust but, rather, they had other research objectives. The meteorological context of African dust transport was first elucidated in 1969 with the characterization of the Saharan air layer (SAL) and its role in effecting the efficient transport of African dust over great distances to the Western Hemisphere. The link between dust transport and African climate was established in the 1970s and 1980s when dust transport to the Caribbean increased greatly following the onset of severe drought in the Sahel. Here we chronicle these events and show how they contributed to our current state of knowledge.

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  • The NE Atlantic region off NW Africa is almost permanently affected by the dusty Saharan Air Layer (SAL) airstream.

    “In-situ measurements (Prospero and Lamb, 2003;Rodríguez et al., 2015;Rodríguez and López-Darias, 2021), satellite observations (Huang et al., 2010;Tsamalis et al., 2013) and models (Fig. 1B) show that this region is almost permanently affected by the dusty Saharan Air Layer (SAL) airstream (Prospero et al., 2021).”

    From African desert dust influences migrations and fisheries of the Atlantic skipjack-tuna (2023) · cites this paper as Prospero et al., 2021

    In “Characterizing the SAL: BOMEX” (page unavailable), the paper says dust-laden Saharan air forms the SAL as it reaches Africa’s west coast, supporting the location and airstream description. It does not establish that the NE Atlantic off NW Africa is almost permanently affected; “Zuloaga’s ‘discovery’ of the SAL” instead describes seasonal shifts in dust transport. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Prospero, J. M., Delany, A. C., Delany, A. C., & Carlson, T. N.
Affiliations
  • University of Miami (US)
  • Eldorado Springs, Colorado
  • Pennsylvania State University (US)
ORCID
Prospero, Joseph M.
Venue
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Published
2021-06
Volume
102
Issue
6
Pages
E1239-E1260
ISSN
  • 0003-0007 (ISSN-L)
  • 1520-0477
DOI
10.1175/bams-d-19-0309.1
OpenAlex
W3132417827
Cited by
91
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 1
FWCI
6.35
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses (unspecified)
Locations
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Earth-Surface Processes › Aeolian processes and effects
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
Keywords
Saharan Air Layer, mineral dust, history of science, Caribbean Basin, Sahel drought, North Africa, history of meteorology

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