News Oceans A transatlantic flight may turn Saharan dust into a key ocean nutrient Over time, atmospheric chemical reactions can make iron in dust easier for organisms to take in Strong winds carry millions of metric tons of Saharan dust over the Atlantic Ocean each year. This image, taken July 26, 2022, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite, shows dust swirling south and west off the nations of Mauritania and Western Sahara.