January 16th, 2013 Category: Lakes

Chad – January 7th, 2013

Dust blows southward from the Sahara Desert and Bodélé Depression over Chad and Nigeria, but mostly avoids Lake Chad (top center). Due to the annual cycle in winds over the Sahara, the winter Saharan dust sources are different from the summer sources. In the summer, dust fluxes reaching the Tropical Atlantic shore originate mainly from the northwest and central-west parts of the Sahara. During winter, strong surface winds (the Harmattan winds) occur along the southern border of the Sahara, activating sources on the border of the Sahel, notably the Bodélé depression in Northern Chad.

Tags: Bodélé Depression Chad Dust Lake Chad Nigeria Sahara Desert | Comments |

January 11th, 2013 Category: Dust Storms

Chad – January 6th, 2013

Placed in a narrow path between two mountain chains that direct and accelerate the surface winds over the depression, the Bodélé Depression releases dust on 40% of winter days, averaging more than 0.7 million tons of dust per day. Scientists have found that about half of the annual dust supply to the Amazon basin in South America is emitted from the Bodélé Depression, northeast of Lake Chad, despite the depression’s small size – approximately 0.5% of the size of the Amazon or 0.2% of the Sahara (click here for more information).

Tags: Bodélé Depression Dust Lake Chad Sahara Desert | Comments |

December 27th, 2012 Category: Climate Change, Dust Storms, Image of the day, Lakes

Niger and Chad – December 25th, 2012

Plumes of dust blow southwestward from the Bodélé Depression, in Chad, towards Lake Chad. A long-term drought in the Sahel region of North Africa that began in the early 1970s, along with overgrazing and the drying of Lake Chad, are believed to contribute to the increase in dust storms in the region and even dust that is carried across the Atlantic Ocean.

Tags: Bodélé Depression Chad Dust Lake Chad | Comments |

December 26th, 2012 Category: Deserts, Dust Storms, Fires, Image of the day

Niger and Chad – December 24th, 2012

Three plumes of dust from the Sahara Desert can be seen blowing west-southwestward in this image of West Africa. Near the center, northeast of Lake Chad, are two light, parallel plumes originating from the Bodélé Depression, in Chad. Near the left edge, south of the Aïr Mountains, in Niger, is the last plume of dust, darker tan in color than the other two and apparently carrying fewer particles. In the lower part of the full image, smoke and fires can be seen across the Central Africa Republic, Cameroon and Nigeria (right to left).

Tags: Aïr Mountains Bodélé Depression Cameroon Central Africa Republic Chad Dust Fires Lake Chad Niger Nigeria Smoke | Comments |