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Scientists on board RRS Discovery are at sea studying the Saharan dust that blows off the coast of Africa - triggering huge plankton blooms in the eastern Atlantic.

Saharan dust is rich in nitrogen, iron and phosphorus and acts as a fertilizer on the production of plankton.

Dr Eric Achterberg from NOCS is leading the research cruise and studying the dust’s effect on nutrients, plankton production and the food chain.

The quantity of dust involved, about 500 million tonnes per year, is sufficient to affect the climate. By partly absorbing and partly reflecting sunlight, the dust particles heat the air but cool the ocean surface. They also encourage cloud formation, which reinforces the reflection of light back into space...