Sahara Sands Fertilizing Amazon Rainforest

Sand from the Sahara Desert travels to the Amazon Rainforest and this movement is known to be one of the biggest on earth. NASA satellite has tracked this and collected data on the crossing of sand dust. Scientists have studied, measured and analyzed this movement over the years, to better understand the effects that it has on the Earth's climatic system. They found that some of the dust that falls and settles on the Amazon Rainforest, brings a much needed nutrient that the rainforest needs to thrive.

The movement of dust from the Sahara picks up the phosphorus from a lake in Chad (the Bodele Depression with a large deposit of phosphorus) and delivers this nutrient to plants in the Amazon to help fertilize and grow the rain forest.

Through rainfall and flooding, the Amazon Rainforest loses nutrients regularly, scientists have calculated that the amount of phosphorus that the Sahara dust contains and deposits is almost equivalent to the phosphorus that is lost by the rain forest.

This shows Earth's fascinating mechanism for counterbalancing the nature of the rain forest.

You can find the full article from:NASA