Climate studies to benefit from 12 years of satellite aerosol data   An animation of the 550 nm aerosol optical depth from GlobAerosol, as measured by the SEVIRI instrument onboard Meteosat Second Generation. The animation covers June, July and August 2004, during which time several large dust storms can be observed coming off the Sahara Desert and travelling across the Atlantic Ocean towards Central America.   Desert dust blown from the Western Sahara towards the Canary Islands, seen in this 300-m resolution Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) image. The wind can move between 60 and 200 million tonnes of fine dust up from the Sahara each year.   An example of a GlobAerosol product: aerosol optical depth for the year 2007, derived from Envisat AATSR data. Release date: 28 February 2012