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Atolls in the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia
Published July 1, 2001
These two images of the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia, illustrate diversity in the morphology of atolls, one of the major types of coral reef formations. A typical atoll structure is a lagoon surrounded by a closed rim of cays and shallow spillways that control the exchange of water between the ocean and the lagoon. However, like human beings, this general scheme may vary according to the history of each individual atoll, resulting in a high diversity of morphology, especially for small atolls. The two neighboring atolls shown here have some unique features. What was a lagoon on Nukutavake (19°17′ S 138°48′ W, 6.2 km²) is now dry and completely covered by vegetation. Pinaki (3.54 km²) has a drying shallow lagoon still connected to the ocean via a single narrow spillway. The variation of morphology implies that each atoll may have a different equilibrium between ocean, lagoon, and land ecosystems.
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Vail, Colorado
Published June 24, 2001
The snow-covered ski runs of Vail, Colorado, look like white ribbons in contrast to the dark green forests of the Rocky Mountains. This detailed image is part of a larger view of area ski resorts photographed by the STS-100 Space Shuttle crew in April, 2001.
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Mount Ararat (Agri Dagi), Turkey
Published June 17, 2001
Mount Ararat (16,940 feet; 5165 meters) is the largest volcano in Turkey. Although not currently active, its most recent eruption has probably been within the last 10,000 years. It is located in extreme northeastern Turkey, near the borders with Iran and Armenia. Southwest of the main peak lies Little Ararat (12,877 feet; 3896 meters). Ahora Gorge is a northeast-trending chasm dropping 6000 feet from the top of the mountain and was the focus of a major earthquake in 1840. A number of claims by different explorers to have found remnants of Noah’s Ark on Mt. Ararat have led to continuing expeditions to the mountain, many of which have focused their searches on the gorge area.
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Egypt’s North Sinai Agricultural Development
Published June 10, 2001
This time series of photographs of the Mediterranean coast near the Suez Canal shows ten years of changes associated with two of Egypt’s “Mega” Development Projects. At the mouth of the canal, a large auxiliary channel has been formed as part of a new central hub port and industrial zone, known as the East Port-Said Project. Further south, the effects of the Al-Salam (El Salam or “Peace”) Canal and North Sinai Agricultural Development Program can be seen as desert is converted to irrigated agriculture.
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Downtown Houston from Space Station Alpha
Published June 3, 2001
A series of digital photographs of Houston illustrates the new detail being obtained for cities around the world by crewmembers on the International Space Station. This image, captured on 17 December 2000 centers on the downtown region and shows extensive detail of streets, parks and major buildings.
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Tierras Bajas Deforestation, Bolivia
Published May 27, 2001
The area east of Santa Cruz was originally dry tropical forest.
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Niagara Falls
Published May 20, 2001
The Niagara River forms the U.S.-Canadian Border and allows Lake Erie to drain northwest into Lake Ontario. Lake Ontario is about 100 m lower than Lake Erie; the Falls and the rapids account for most of the elevation difference. The energy derived from water falling over the falls, with average total flows of 750,000 U.S. gallons (2.8 million liters) per second, fuel multiple power plants on the river. Power Plants downstream from the plant generate 4.4 million kilowatts of power for both Ontario and New York.
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Salt Evaporation Ponds, Dead Sea
Published May 13, 2001
The complex of Jordanian salt evaporation ponds at the southern end of the Dead Sea has expanded significantly over the past dozen years. The western margin of the salt ponds marks the Jordan-Israel border. In August 1989, when the crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-28 photographed the region, the northern extension did not exist and the large polygonal ponds in the northwestern and northeastern sectors had not been subdivided. In the view taken by the STS-102 crew in March 2001, one can see that there has also been expansion at the southeastern end, and that levees now segment the northeastern wedge into four ponds.
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Gobi Dust Over Northeast China and Korea
Published May 6, 2001
Dust blowing off the Gobi desert eastward across the China toward the Pacific Ocean is a common event in April. Space Shuttle astronauts have photographed these dusts storms several times. These photographs, taken by astronauts on April 25, 1990, show a thick blanket of dust that entirely obscures the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. The dust is being transported from west (left) to east (right). The mountainous spine of the peninsula induces gravity waves in the dust cloud on the downwind (east) side.
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Another New Lake in Egypt
Published April 22, 2001
As the Space Shuttle Atlantis passed over southern Egypt in mid-March 2001, the STS-102 astronauts were able to document new flooding in the Toshka region west of Lake Nasser. The formation of the Toshka Lakes in southern Egypt is part of Egypt’s New Valley Project. The flooding of the region has been monitored by astronauts since 1998, and continues to show rapid changes.
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Aurora Australis
Published April 15, 2001
Reds and greens dominate this view of the northern lights as photographed from the Space Shuttle in May 1991.
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Mt. Kilimanjaro’s Receding Glaciers
Published April 8, 2001
Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), the highest point in all Africa, was photographed by the crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-97 on December 2, 2000. Kilimanjaro (Kilima Njaro or “shining mountain” in Swahili) is capped by glaciers on its southern and southwestern flanks.
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