Desert dust blows from Africa

Captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission on 24 June 2021, this image shows desert dust blowing from the continent of Africa out across the Atlantic Ocean. Several of the small islands that make up the archipelago of Cabo Verde can be seen peeking out from beneath the clouds. These volcanic islands lie in the Atlantic Ocean about 570 km off the west coast of Senegal and Mauritania, which frame the image on the right. The sand comes mainly from the Sahara and Sahel region. Owing to Cabo Verde’s position and the trade winds, these storms are not uncommon.

During September 2021, Cabo Verde is the site of an extensive field campaign to validate data from ESA’s Aeolus wind mission.