Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net 1680-7367 1680-7375 10 2 2010 10.5194/acpd-10-4345-2010 http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/10/4345/2010/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/10/4345/2010/acpd-10-4345-2010.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/10/4345/2010/acpd-10-4345-2010.pdf 4345 4372 2010-02-12 Transport of Saharan dust from the Bodélé Depression to the Amazon Basin: a case study Y. Ben-Ami yuval.ben-ami@weizmann.ac.il I. Koren Y. Rudich P. Artaxo S. T. Martin M. O. Andreae Department of Environmental Sciences and Energy Research, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Biogeochemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany Through long-range transport of dust, the Sahara desert supplies essential minerals to the Amazon rain forest. Since Saharan dust reaches South America mostly during the Northern Hemisphere winter, the dust sources active during winter are the main contributors to the forest. Given that the Bodélé depression area in Southwestern Chad is the main winter dust source, a close link is expected between the Bodélé emission patterns and volumes and the mineral supply flux to the Amazon. <br><br> Until now, the particular link between the Bodélé and the Amazon forest was based on sparse satellite measurements and modeling studies. In this study, we combine a detailed analysis of space-borne and ground data with reanalysis model data and surface measurements taken in the Central Amazon during the Amazonian Aerosol Characterization Experiment (AMAZE-08) in order to explore the validity and the nature of the proposed link between the Bodélé depression and the Amazon forest. <br><br> This case study follows the dust events of 11–16 and 18–27 February 2008, from the emission in the Bodélé over West Africa, the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, to the observed effects above the Amazon canopy about 10 days after the emission. 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