Go Back   Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB > Regional Forums > North Africa
North Africa Topics specific to North Africa and the Sahara down to the 17th parallel (excludes Morocco)
Photo by Daniel Rintz, Himba children, Namibia

The only impossible journey
is the one
you never begin

Photo by Daniel Rintz,
Himba children, Namibia



Trans Sahara Routes.

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 27 Sep 2014
Chris Scott's Avatar
Super Moderator
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 4,801
Storm in the Sahara

Nice image on the Washington Post

More images here

They say its coming/looking east or northeast (some say S/SW).

So which massifs are they under the clouds do you think?

Full size here.

Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 4 Oct 2014
ydv ydv is offline
Registered Users
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Bialystok, Poland
Posts: 89
The date given in the article is wrong, according to EXIF data it was taken at 2014-08-08 16:35.
The big thunderstorm at the left hovers over Air. Top-right series of smaller/younger clouds are in Eastern Mali.
Here it is:
Attached Thumbnails
Storm in the Sahara-h-image.jpg  

__________________
Janusz
www.yahodeville.com
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 4 Oct 2014
Chris Scott's Avatar
Super Moderator
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 4,801
Good answer Janusz. So we are looking S/SW.
Makes sense with the shadows too if that time is local: a late afternoon thunderstorm in August comes up from the Sahel.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 12 Feb 2015
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 921
And this is what it looks like on the ground:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5RflQzVEQQ


Sorry, very old film. We were just north of In Guezzam...
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 17 Feb 2015
Moderator
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Oxford, U.K.
Posts: 625
Satellite annotation of dust event

Interesting image of the dust storm taken from the ISS. I have wanted to track down the source of the dust event for a while now, but the satellite images were missing from our usual dust archive. Finally a colleague downloaded the data and processed it for me yesterday.

Storm in the Sahara-iss_20140808_1645-min_labels.jpg

The image above is the image Chris posted last year. I have added green and red circles which map out the two thunderstorm clusters evident in the geostationary satellite image below.


Storm in the Sahara-seviri_20140808_1645-min_labels.jpg

The image from 8 August 2014 at 1645 has a very rough possible position of the ISS from where the oblique photo was taken. The black arrow points to the line of dust which in this satellite product shows up as pink. There is quite a lot of older dust strung out along the Algerian/Mali border. You can see where the closer thunderstorm cluster (ringed in green) is relative to the red ringed cluster. In this satellite product deep thunderstorms show up in a red colour.

The dust event shown in the image began as a set of storms that first became evident on the 15-minute satellite data at 1215 on 7 August 2014 over the Air mountains in northern Niger. The storms merged into a mesoscale convective complex by 1645 on 7 August and by 2130 had issued a huge downdraft of cold air. These downdrafts are formed when rainfall at cloud base evaporates into the very, very dry Saharan air. The cloud base is normally about 5km high - which is very much higher than storms elsewhere in the world. All or very nearly all of the rainfall evaporates before it reaches the ground. The evaporation leads to latent heat being lost from the air (so as to move water from a lower energy state as a liquid to a higher energy state as a gas) and that in turn leads to cooling. The air gets cold compared to its surrounds where there is no evaporation of rain happening and the cold air falls to the surface. From there it rolls across the desert surface as a density current for hundreds of kilometers, just like the movie footage Sam uploaded from southern Algeria. The cold air has winds of about 16m/s and deflates dust from the desert surface. I will upload some of these images of the event being born when I get a moment.

We ran a project in the Sahara to study this kind of thing. The project, called Fennec, put instruments on the ground in many parts of the remote desert, including SW Algeria and NE Mauritania. We also had a research aircraft to fly over the top of the stuff. We flew over N Mali in June 2012. All in all it was a difficult project because of the politics at the time.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 18 Feb 2015
Registered Users
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Posts: 30
Interesting stuff - thanks for that. I knew I should have paid more attention to meteorology way back when
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 2 Mar 2015
Chris Scott's Avatar
Super Moderator
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 4,801
Saharan dust and the Amazon.

NASA Satellite Reveals How Much Saharan Dust Feeds Amazon’s Plants | NASA

thanks RVB
Attached Thumbnails
Storm in the Sahara-sdr.jpg  

Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 Registered Users and/or Members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Sahara - XT500 - 1982 Chris Scott Ride Tales 17 28 Sep 2015 00:12
Call to boycott Morocco over Western Sahara human rights violations. davidlomax Morocco 9 4 May 2014 20:27
Film Night Sat 07Dec13 Hebden Bridge: Mondo Sahara and Erzberg chris HU Travellers Meetings - UK 2 12 Dec 2013 11:56
Sahara Dreaming mcheaiteli Ride Tales 0 30 Jun 2013 15:28
Scoters in the Sahara Belle Motorcycle Events around the world 8 9 Feb 2012 13:01

 
 

Announcements

Thinking about traveling? Not sure about the whole thing? Watch the HU Achievable Dream Video Trailers and then get ALL the information you need to get inspired and learn how to travel anywhere in the world!

Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's the list of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now
, and add your information if we didn't find you.

Next HU Eventscalendar

HU Event and other updates on the HUBB Forum "Traveller's Advisories" thread.
ALL Dates subject to change.

2024:

Add yourself to the Updates List for each event!

Questions about an event? Ask here

HUBBUK: info

See all event details

 
World's most listened to Adventure Motorbike Show!
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)



Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance.

Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.

Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.

Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!


 

What others say about HU...

"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia

"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK

"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia

"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA

"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada

"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa

"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia

"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany

Lots more comments here!



Five books by Graham Field!

Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook

"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.



Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!

New to Horizons Unlimited?

New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!

Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.

Susan and Grant Johnson Read more about Grant & Susan's story

Membership - help keep us going!

Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.

You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.




All times are GMT +1. The time now is 21:36.