+ Visit NASA.gov + Advanced Search   + About the Server   + Animation List   + How to Use the Server   + RSS Feeds   + Podcasts   + Opportunities Previous Animation Next Animation Microbes Hitch Ride on African Dust    Traveling Dust Animation - The dust comes every year during northern Africa's dry season, when storm activity in the Sahara Desert and Sahel generate clouds of dust. The dust originating from fine particles in the arid topsoil is transported into the atmosphere by winds and may be carried in excess of 10,000 feet high into the atmosphere by easterly trade winds. Typically, it takes one to two weeks for the dust clouds to cross the Atlantic Ocean and reach the continental United States.. This animation illustrates microbes hitching rides across the Atlantic in the highly irregular nooks and crannies found in the surfaces of dust particles and how they are transported across the Atlantic Ocean. Duration: 19.0 seconds Available formats:   320x240 (30 fps) MPEG-1   2 MB   150x112     JPEG         6 KB   75x56         JPEG         2 KB   320x240     JPEG         20 KB   720x486     Frames   720x480 (29.97 fps) MPEG-2   13 MB   640x480 (29.97 fps) MPEG-4   7 MB   320x240 (30 fps) X-FLV       694 KB How to play our movies Animation Number: 10008 Completed: 2001-06-05 Animator: Susan Twardy (HTSI) (Lead) Writer: Deanna Kekesi (NASA/GSFC) Goddard TV Tape: G2001-047 Keywords: SVS >> Atmosphere SVS >> Byrne SVS >> Drought SVS >> Dust Cloud SVS >> Dust Storm SVS >> Earth Science SVS >> Gonnelli SVS >> Sahara     Please give credit for this item to NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab Back to Top + Privacy Policy and Important Notices + Reproduction Guidelines NASA Official: Content Contact: Curator: