Van der Meulen, F., Bakker, T. W. M., and Houston, J. A., 2004. The
costs of our coasts: examples of dynamic dune management
from Western Europe. In Martínez, M. L., and Psuty, N. P.
(eds.), Coastal Dunes, Ecology and Conservation. Berlin:
Springer. Ecological Studies, Vol. 171, pp. 259–277.
Williams, A. T., Randerson, P., and Sothern, E., 1997. Trampling
and vegetation response on sand dunes in South Wales, UK. In
García Novo, F., Crawford, R. M. M., and Díaz Barradas,
M. C. (eds.), The Ecology and Conservation of European Dunes.
Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla, pp. 287–300.
Yarranton, G. A., and Morrison, R. G., 1974. Spatial dynamics of a
primary succession: nucleation. Journal of Ecology, 62,
417–428.
Cross-references
Beach
Beach Processes
Bed Forms
Coastal Engineering
Coasts
Engineered Coasts
Integrated Coastal Zone Management
Laminated Sediments
Marine Sedimentary Basins
Ocean Margin Systems
Sediment Dynamics
Sediment Transport Models
Tidal Depositional Systems
DUST IN THE OCEAN
Cécile Guieu
1 and Vladimir P. Shevchenko
2
1
Villefranche sur Mer Oceanographic Laboratory,
Villefranche sur Mer, France
2
P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy
of Sciences (IO RAS), Moscow, Russia
Definition
Mineral particles, mainly composed of clay and quartz,
are emitted from arid regions of the continents. The
presence of these nonspherical particles in the atmosphere influences the radiative budget of the Earth.
Mainly under the form of pulsed events, much of this
mineral material enters the open ocean with high spatial
and temporal variability. Following a settling of the largest particles during transport, dust deposition on the
ocean surface consists mostly of particles of a few
microns in size. These particles bring to the ocean surface new nutrients (e.g., phosphorus) and metals (e.g.,
iron) that are essential to life, impacting marine biogeochemistry and thus ocean uptake of carbon dioxide and
deep-sea sedimentation.
The fate of dust in the ocean
Despite observations and references to dust events dating
back to ancient times, such as “blood rain” or “red rain”
(e.g., in Homer’s Iliad), the significance of desert dust
and its emission, transport in the atmosphere, and deposition in large areas of the ocean has been demonstrated only
very recently. We know now that dust particles emitted in
the atmosphere and deposited at the surface of the ocean
(Table 1) do impact the global climate as they influence
the radiative budget of the Earth (e.g., Miller and Tegen,
1998), the marine biogeochemistry in various areas of
the ocean (e.g., Martin et al., 1991; Jickells et al., 2005),
and the sedimentation in the deep ocean (e.g., Windom,
1975; Lisitzin, 2011). However, the linkage of dust to
ocean productivity and climate is far from being fully
understood (Schulz et al., 2012).
Emissions: Today, the major regional sources are concentrated in a broad “dust belt” (Prospero et al., 2002) in
the northern hemisphere (Table 1, Figure 1a). The chemical composition of desert dust aerosol particles reflects
that of the average Earth surface rocks with a dominance
of SiO 2 (~60 %) and Al 2 O 3 (10–16 %) resulting from
the dominance of quartz and clay minerals (Goudie and
Middleton, 2006). From estimates of mass concentrations,
desert dust and sea spray aerosol are the largest aerosol
contributions on a global scale (Jickells et al., 2005;
Andreae and Rosenfeld, 2008).
Dust transport: Vertical and horizontal scales of dust
transport from arid areas are clearly defined (Lisitzin,
2011). Local transport includes movements of sand and
gravel by rolling and saltation over the desert surface
within 0–10 km from the source. Regional transport
(10–1,000 km) occurs at heights of 5–7 km (to the cloud
top and above). Finer particles (silt and clay) are
transported over longer distances. The long-range global
transport (more than 1,000 km) may occur during the
emission of finer-grained pelitic material above the
in-cloud scavenging height (5–7 km). Mineral crustal particles in the atmosphere have a mean size around 2 mm
(diameter range 0.1–10 mm), and the largest particles fall
out quickly during their long-range transport (thousands
of kilometers, e.g., Ginoux et al., 2001). Together with
lithogenic particles, biogenic components and nutrients,
black carbon, and different pollutants enter the dust load
transported to the ocean from industrial centers and areas
of biomass burning, for example, from Southeast Asia
(e.g., Chin et al., 2007; Guieu et al., 2010; Lisitzin,
2011). This mixing with, for example, anthropogenic
acids (such as HNO 3 ) between emission and deposition
regions may result in deposition of dust enriched in nitrogen (Geng et al., 2009).
Deposition: One of the main characteristics of dust
deposition is its very high spatial and temporal variability
(e.g., Jickells et al., 2005). A few, intense events may
account for the bulk of the annual deposition (e.g., LoÿePilot and Martin, 1996). The largest contribution is from
arid North Africa (58 % of the total emissions, Table 1),
which feeds large areas of the North Atlantic where high
deposition dust fluxes occur. Saharan dust has also strong
deposition in regional seas such as the Mediterranean Sea
(Guerzoni et al., 1999). Deposition occurs as wet or dry
DUST IN THE OCEAN
203
costs of our coasts: examples of dynamic dune management
from Western Europe. In Martínez, M. L., and Psuty, N. P.
(eds.), Coastal Dunes, Ecology and Conservation. Berlin:
Springer. Ecological Studies, Vol. 171, pp. 259–277.
Williams, A. T., Randerson, P., and Sothern, E., 1997. Trampling
and vegetation response on sand dunes in South Wales, UK. In
García Novo, F., Crawford, R. M. M., and Díaz Barradas,
M. C. (eds.), The Ecology and Conservation of European Dunes.
Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla, pp. 287–300.
Yarranton, G. A., and Morrison, R. G., 1974. Spatial dynamics of a
primary succession: nucleation. Journal of Ecology, 62,
417–428.
Cross-references
Beach
Beach Processes
Bed Forms
Coastal Engineering
Coasts
Engineered Coasts
Integrated Coastal Zone Management
Laminated Sediments
Marine Sedimentary Basins
Ocean Margin Systems
Sediment Dynamics
Sediment Transport Models
Tidal Depositional Systems
DUST IN THE OCEAN
Cécile Guieu
1 and Vladimir P. Shevchenko
2
1
Villefranche sur Mer Oceanographic Laboratory,
Villefranche sur Mer, France
2
P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy
of Sciences (IO RAS), Moscow, Russia
Definition
Mineral particles, mainly composed of clay and quartz,
are emitted from arid regions of the continents. The
presence of these nonspherical particles in the atmosphere influences the radiative budget of the Earth.
Mainly under the form of pulsed events, much of this
mineral material enters the open ocean with high spatial
and temporal variability. Following a settling of the largest particles during transport, dust deposition on the
ocean surface consists mostly of particles of a few
microns in size. These particles bring to the ocean surface new nutrients (e.g., phosphorus) and metals (e.g.,
iron) that are essential to life, impacting marine biogeochemistry and thus ocean uptake of carbon dioxide and
deep-sea sedimentation.
The fate of dust in the ocean
Despite observations and references to dust events dating
back to ancient times, such as “blood rain” or “red rain”
(e.g., in Homer’s Iliad), the significance of desert dust
and its emission, transport in the atmosphere, and deposition in large areas of the ocean has been demonstrated only
very recently. We know now that dust particles emitted in
the atmosphere and deposited at the surface of the ocean
(Table 1) do impact the global climate as they influence
the radiative budget of the Earth (e.g., Miller and Tegen,
1998), the marine biogeochemistry in various areas of
the ocean (e.g., Martin et al., 1991; Jickells et al., 2005),
and the sedimentation in the deep ocean (e.g., Windom,
1975; Lisitzin, 2011). However, the linkage of dust to
ocean productivity and climate is far from being fully
understood (Schulz et al., 2012).
Emissions: Today, the major regional sources are concentrated in a broad “dust belt” (Prospero et al., 2002) in
the northern hemisphere (Table 1, Figure 1a). The chemical composition of desert dust aerosol particles reflects
that of the average Earth surface rocks with a dominance
of SiO 2 (~60 %) and Al 2 O 3 (10–16 %) resulting from
the dominance of quartz and clay minerals (Goudie and
Middleton, 2006). From estimates of mass concentrations,
desert dust and sea spray aerosol are the largest aerosol
contributions on a global scale (Jickells et al., 2005;
Andreae and Rosenfeld, 2008).
Dust transport: Vertical and horizontal scales of dust
transport from arid areas are clearly defined (Lisitzin,
2011). Local transport includes movements of sand and
gravel by rolling and saltation over the desert surface
within 0–10 km from the source. Regional transport
(10–1,000 km) occurs at heights of 5–7 km (to the cloud
top and above). Finer particles (silt and clay) are
transported over longer distances. The long-range global
transport (more than 1,000 km) may occur during the
emission of finer-grained pelitic material above the
in-cloud scavenging height (5–7 km). Mineral crustal particles in the atmosphere have a mean size around 2 mm
(diameter range 0.1–10 mm), and the largest particles fall
out quickly during their long-range transport (thousands
of kilometers, e.g., Ginoux et al., 2001). Together with
lithogenic particles, biogenic components and nutrients,
black carbon, and different pollutants enter the dust load
transported to the ocean from industrial centers and areas
of biomass burning, for example, from Southeast Asia
(e.g., Chin et al., 2007; Guieu et al., 2010; Lisitzin,
2011). This mixing with, for example, anthropogenic
acids (such as HNO 3 ) between emission and deposition
regions may result in deposition of dust enriched in nitrogen (Geng et al., 2009).
Deposition: One of the main characteristics of dust
deposition is its very high spatial and temporal variability
(e.g., Jickells et al., 2005). A few, intense events may
account for the bulk of the annual deposition (e.g., LoÿePilot and Martin, 1996). The largest contribution is from
arid North Africa (58 % of the total emissions, Table 1),
which feeds large areas of the North Atlantic where high
deposition dust fluxes occur. Saharan dust has also strong
deposition in regional seas such as the Mediterranean Sea
(Guerzoni et al., 1999). Deposition occurs as wet or dry
DUST IN THE OCEAN
203