Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 26 March 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.194
News
Settling of dust warms tropical Atlantic
A decline in aerosols could account for most of the rise in regional ocean temperatures.
Recent ocean warming believed to be fuelling Atlantic hurricanes may be largely the result of a reprieve from volcanoes and dust storms.
Sea surface temperatures in the tropical North Atlantic have climbed markedly since 1980, rising nearly 0.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email webadmin@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
what an intersting article!
I have read that African dust storms have been supplying essential micronutrients to the tropical rain foreests in South America. If the deserts kick up less dust, what impact will it have on the forests, and ultimately on carbon takeup by them? I think the study, interesting in itself, throws up other hypotheses.