Dust has role in hurricane development

MADISON, Wis., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Dust storms over West Africa may play a major role in the strength and number of hurricanes over the Atlantic, U.S. scientists said Friday.

University of Wisconsin-Madison atmospheric scientists said dust storms over West Africa disturb millions of tons of dust each year. Heavy winds send dust particles into the sky over the Atlantic, which directly affects ocean temperature, the university said Friday in a release.

In a study published online in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, the scientists described how strong dust storms in the 1980s and 1990s likely cooled the Atlantic enough to prevent devastating hurricane seasons.

"At least one third of the recent increase in Atlantic Ocean temperatures is due to a decrease in dust storms," lead author Amato Evan said in a statement.

Evan said the relatively mild hurricane season last year could be partially due to a particularly dusty spring and early summer. The report said 2007 was the dustiest year since 1999.