Summertime Moroccan Dust Reaches Spain

During the summertime, dust is commonly lofted into the air from northwest Africa, sometimes traveling to neighboring continents. This image shows a dust storm coming from the Moroccan coast and traveling north towards Europe on August 2, 2018. Data from NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office shows the dust storm was created when a high pressure system (clockwise winds) moved over Algeria and then Morocco on July 31, kicking up dust from the Saharan desert. The system continued to travel over the Atlantic Ocean and towards Spain and Portugal, bringing more dust along for the ride. The hazier clouds over the Atlantic Ocean indicate areas where the dust rose above the clouds. The majority of the dust was lofted 2-4km above the surface. (The low-lying clouds were hovering less than one kilometer from the surface.)

Category Space

Resolution 5120 x 2880 (5K)

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Uploaded 2019-01-18

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