Is It Mud Raining or Abundance? Importance and Effects of Dust

IS IT MUD RAINING, OR ABUNDANCE?

WHAT IS IT?

What is Dust: It is the name given to pulverized materials such as soil, minerals, plant fibers, food crumbs, insect corpses, and many other fragmented substances, with sizes about 1/20th the thickness of a hair strand.

HOW?

It is estimated that the world spreads 2 billion metric tons of dust annually. That is, 100 million trucks each carrying 20 tons of dust. On average, 20 million tons of Sahara dust come to Turkey each year. Dust lifted from the desert carries minerals like iron and phosphorus that increase productivity.

In our country, dust rain is observed during the April-October period. Especially in April-May, when such rains come to Anatolia, there is a significant increase in grain production. During these times, fish are also abundant in the seas.

These facts show that dusts rich in minerals like iron and phosphorus are an important fertilizer source for vegetation and seas. Dust traveling around the world makes both land and sea fertile.

Dust particles passing over the oceans release iron ions into the ocean, helping plankton grow. Plankton use carbon dioxide in the air, and when they die, the carbon dioxide sinks to the ocean floor with them. For this reason, 85% of the carbon dioxide on Earth is found in the oceans.

Sahara dust can harbor large amounts of fungi, bacteria, and microbes. Along with dust, particles like fertilizers and pesticides also become airborne. Most of these dust clouds, scattered by winds and storms, sometimes negatively affect our lives while sometimes fulfilling very beneficial roles.

According to the approach introduced to the world literature by our country's researchers, especially Prof. Dr. Cemal SAYDAM, called the Cemilianaia Hypothesis, millions of tons of dust rising from the Sahara descend to the Mediterranean during the daytime, causing a special type of algae to rapidly multiply and release a special chemical substance into the atmosphere. This chemical substance contributes to the accumulation of 40-50 cm of snow in the Eastern Anatolia region.

Issue: 25 • March 19, 2013

NOTE: Source: Science and Technology Issue 533, April 2012. Traveling with Desert Dust from Africa to the Amazon. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kadir DEMİRCAN.