UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography

Study unveils dust patterns over time in the North Pacific

^{A total suspended particle sampler, which filters the air for aerosol particles, and a rain sampler set up on a monitoring station near Oahu, Hawaii. (Photo courtesy of SkIO faculty member Clifton Buck.)}

Dust blown from the Earth’s continents falls into the oceans and fertilizes them with nutrients needed for plants, such as phytoplankton, to grow. This dust, rich with iron and other nutritious minerals, is critically important to ocean food chains and helps regulate the planet’s climate.

A new paper, written by University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO) researchers, reveals over 40 years worth of important seasonal and annual patterns of dust transport over the North Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.

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