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Satellite snaps a mighty sandstorm
Portugal and Spain can be seen at the top right
A giant sandstorm the size of Spain has been spotted off the north-west coast of Africa.
This picture was taken by a satellite as part of Nasa's Sea Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) project.
It shows a dense cloud of Saharan sand blanketing hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Such storms, combined with rising warm air, can lift dust 4,500 metres (15,000 feet) above the desert and then out over the Atlantic. The dust can reach right across the ocean to the Caribbean where local weather forecasters sometimes have to issue air pollution alerts. This happened recently in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Reef destruction
Recent studies by the US Geological Survey have linked the increasing frequency and intensity of Saharan sandstorms to coral reef damage in the Caribbean.
This picture was taken by a satellite as part of Nasa's Sea Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) project.
It shows a dense cloud of Saharan sand blanketing hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Such storms, combined with rising warm air, can lift dust 4,500 metres (15,000 feet) above the desert and then out over the Atlantic. The dust can reach right across the ocean to the Caribbean where local weather forecasters sometimes have to issue air pollution alerts. This happened recently in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Reef destruction
Recent studies by the US Geological Survey have linked the increasing frequency and intensity of Saharan sandstorms to coral reef damage in the Caribbean.
 The Canary Islands are just visible through the dust
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Research indicates that a fungus normally found in soil has devastated a particular species of coral. Scientists say dust deposited by sandstorms may be an explanation for the plight of the coral reefs.
There is also is a probable link between these storms and the behaviour of hurricanes formed in the eastern Atlantic.
The SeaWiFS project is a part of Nasa's Mission to Planet Earth, which is designed to look at Earth from space with the aim of better understanding the planet's behaviour and evolution.
The pictures were taken on Saturday.
There is also is a probable link between these storms and the behaviour of hurricanes formed in the eastern Atlantic.
The SeaWiFS project is a part of Nasa's Mission to Planet Earth, which is designed to look at Earth from space with the aim of better understanding the planet's behaviour and evolution.
The pictures were taken on Saturday.
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