Science on a Sphere: Aerosols in the Air

NASA uses satellites, ground measurements, and powerful computer models to track tiny particles floating in our air called aerosols. These small solid or liquid particles can travel thousands of miles, affecting the air we breathe and how far we can see, even far from where they originated.

This visualization shows how these particles moved through Earth's atmosphere from August 1-September 14, 2024. Different colors represent different types of aerosols: sea salt (blue), dust (pink/magenta), smoke from fires (orange/red), and sulfates from pollution and volcanoes (green).

The visualization highlights several atmopsheric phenomena:

Hurricanes and Typhoons: Hurricane Ernesto in the Atlantic Ocean pulls in dust from Africa, while Typhoon Ampil near Japan draws pollution from mainland Asia. The storms' powerful winds churn up ocean water, creating sea salt particles visible as blue spirals.

Saharan Dust Journey: Desert dust from the Sahara travels all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, creating hazy skies in the Caribbean and affecting air quality as far away as Texas and Florida during summer 2024.

Volcanic Plumes: Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano released a narrow stream of sulfate particles moving westward.

Wildfire Smoke:

• In southern Africa, seasonal agricultural burning created smoke that drifted over the Atlantic Ocean

• South America faced record-breaking wildfires in 2024, creating a river-like flow of smoke particles that affected major Brazilian cities

• Canada experienced its second-worst wildfire season on record, with smoke traveling as far as northern Europe

The swirling blue patterns over oceans show sea salt kicked up by strong winds.

This visualization helps us understand how our atmosphere connects distant parts of the world. What happens in one region—whether natural events or human activities—can affect weather patterns and air quality thousands of miles away. By tracking these movements, NASA helps communities prepare for changes in air quality and visibility while advancing our understanding of Earth's complex atmospheric system.

The visualization was developed using NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS), a complex modeling and data assimilation system that creates global analyses of the Earth System. GEOS integrates satellite observations, in situ measurements, and approximately one million weather observations collected hourly to inform its models. Through the GEOS Forward Processing (FP) product, the system generates both analyses and forecasts in near real-time. Images for this visualization were created by NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO).