Dr. Michèlle van der Does

My research focuses on transport of mineral dust from the Earth’s deserts, its subsequent deposition over the world’s oceans, and the interaction between dust, the carbon cycle and climate, on timescales varying from several days to millions of years. More specifically, I focus on dust characteristics such as deposition fluxes, transport pathways, particle size and shape, geochemical composition, effects on ocean fertilisation, and its relation to terrestrial biomarkers.

I'm currently working on the NWO Veni-funded project SANDCAT: SahAraN Dust and its role in a Changing climATe at NIOZ - Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research. In this project I analyse mineral dust from the Sahara Desert blown over the Atlantic Ocean and investigate how it impacts climate and vice versa, especially under current climate change conditions.