Which depression in Chad is regarded as one of Earth’s greatest sources of atmospheric dust?

The Bodélé Depression in Chad is regarded as one of Earth’s greatest sources of atmospheric dust.

It is a low-lying basin in the southern Sahara, near the northern end of Lake Chad. Strong, persistent winds funnelled between mountain ranges lift fine sediments from the dry lakebed and carry them into the atmosphere.

The dust contains minerals, including phosphorus, that can travel across the Atlantic Ocean. Winds transport some of this material toward the Amazon Basin, where it helps replace nutrients lost through heavy tropical rainfall. This makes the Bodélé an important link between an African desert and a South American rainforest.

The depression is a remnant of a much larger prehistoric lake system. As the ancient lake shrank, it left behind fine sediments that remain easy for the wind to erode. Its dust output varies seasonally with wind strength and surface conditions.