Monster Dust Cloud Circled the Earth
A massive dust storm in China’s Taklimakan desert in 2007 circled the planet in just 13 days. The dust cloud was 1.9 miles tall and 1,242 miles long. When it reached the Pacific Ocean on its second time around the planet, the cloud descended and dropped most of its dust into the ocean.
“Asian dust is usually deposited near the Yellow Sea, around the Japan area, while Sahara dust ends up around the Atlantic Ocean and coast of Africa,” said Itsushi Uno of Kyushu University’s Research Institute for Applied Mechanics. “But this study shows that China dust can be deposited into the (Pacific Ocean). Dust clouds contain 5 per cent iron, that is important for the ocean.”
Researchers believe dust particles help form high-altitude cirrus clouds, though they don’t know whether these dust clouds warm or cool the earth.
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