Dust research Atlantic Ocean

Master's student (Earth, Life and Climate) Roel Jan van Zonneveld is researching the origins and flows of dust from Africa. Thanks to a contribution from the Hofvijvergeefkring, he was able to conduct his research on a sailing ship sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.

Influence of algae

Researcher Roel Jan van Zonneveld researched the origin of dust from Africa. Roel Jan: "Several areas in northern Africa annually produce large amounts of dust that is transported all over the world. This dust is an important food source for algae in the Atlantic Ocean, which in turn have a major influence on the climate and chemical composition of the oceans. In order to better predict future changes and their consequences, it is important to understand the distribution patterns and composition of dust and to understand its influence on algae production."

Sailing ship and trade winds

"For this reason, I crossed the Atlantic Ocean from the Canary Islands to Martinique to collect dust samples. The purpose of my research is to find the origin of the African dust in winter and record changes in its composition. In order to properly collect dust samples, I chose to do this with a sailing ship. This is because a sailing ship causes as little pollution as possible for the dust samples because there are almost no emissions. Also, this way it was easier to follow specific wind patterns that are also followed by the dust. Our ship followed the trade winds that play a major role in the distribution of African dust in winter."