Open AccessEurope supplies substantial aerosol phosphorus to the Mediterranean
Author(s) -
Wendel JoAnna
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1002/2014eo430008
Subject(s) - mediterranean climate , environmental science , mediterranean sea , aerosol , nutrient , phosphorus , storm , oceanography , geography , meteorology , ecology , geology , chemistry , biology , archaeology , organic chemistry
Biologically unproductive ocean regions depend on the wind to transport necessary nutrients, such as phosphorus, from the land. In the Mediterranean Sea, winds from Europe and North Africa bring phosphorus‐laden dust particles and aerosols to remote waters. Previous research assumed that North Africa is the primary source of these particles because large Saharan dust storms create red rain events across the Mediterranean, making them an obvious source of nutrients.