Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy
Published June 21, 2006
Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy are featured in this image, acquired May 30, 2006 by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite. Nova Scotia, a Candian province, is the long peninsula that runs diagonally across the image. Just north of Nova Scotia is the small U-shaped...
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London, Calais, and the English Channel
Published June 20, 2006
This image, acquired by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on June 3, 2006, shows parts of England and France, separated from each other by the English Channel. The large grayish spot towards left center of the image is the city of London, which sits on the Thames River. At the tip...
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Dust Storm in Chad
Published June 19, 2006
A dust storm blew through part of eastern Chad on June 11, 2006. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of the storm...
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Fires in Eastern China
Published June 18, 2006
Streaks of thick haze were draped over the North China Plain when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) captured this photo-like image on June 4, 2006, from NASA’s Terra satellite. Though it is not possible to tell the source of the haze from a photo-like image like this one, there are several likely contributors. First, dozens of fires, marked in red, are scattered across the southern edge of the plain. A light pall of gray haze lingers over the largest cluster of the fires below the center of the image (more clearly seen in the large image), hinting that smoke may be contributing to the haze. The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) expected China’s winter grain harvest to peak during the first two weeks of June, and it’s likely that the fires were started by farmers burning the stubble off their fields after harvest. Dust may also be mingling in the mix of haze. In the lower-left corner and right of the center of the image, the haze is opaque with the earthy tan tone that is common for wind-blown dust. Eastern China experienced an unusual number of severe sand storms in the spring of 2006, when weather patterns in Siberia swept powerful winds across the Gobi Desert and carried dust over Eastern China. The dust shown in this image, however, appears to originate from the North China Plain. Mild drought settled over the Yellow River Basin, the area immediately north of the band of fires, after a dry spring, reported the FAS. Since dry soil is easily lifted on the wind, the likelihood of dust storms on the plain increases during drought. Finally, urban and industrial pollution could be adding to the haze, particularly in the north. Here, the haze is lighter in color, resembling the white-gray air that sometimes lingers over cities. Several of China’s largest cities are in or near the area shown in this image (Beijing is just beyond the top edge of the image), and much of China’s industry is in this region as well.
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Navajo Mountain Fire
Published June 17, 2006
Just north of the Arizona-Utah border, Navajo Mountain overlooks Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon. On June 12, 2006, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite observed a large fire on the mountain. The location in which the sensor detected actively burning fire is outlined in red. A column of smoke billows north.
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Dust Storm Over the Aral Sea
Published June 15, 2006
Swirling brown sand colors over the green waters of the Aral sea in this MODIS Aqua image acquired on June 13, 2006. The Aral Sea is a landlocked endorheic sea in Central Asia, between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan to the south. An Endorheic basin is a watershed from which there is no outflow of water from it; for example, no rivers, or underground flow, or diffusion through rock. Any rain that falls into it, remains there permanently, until it evaporates. These sorts of basins are more common in hot desert locations, though they can occur in any climate. In the case of the Aral Sea, the rivers that feed it (the Amu Darya and Syr Darya) have been shrinking since the 1960s, as they were diverted by the Soviet Union for irrigation. The sea's surface area has shrunk by approximately 60%, and its volume by 80%. For more information on the Aral Sea, try reading the Wikipedia entry on it!
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Tropical Storm Alberto
Published June 14, 2006
Tropical Storm Alberto formed as a tropical depression early in the morning on June 10, 2006, in the Yucatan Channel. This narrow gap of ocean lies between the western end of Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico. Alberto gradually gathered...
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The Garabogazkol
Published June 13, 2006
This MODIS Terra image, acquired June 12, 2006, shows the Garabogazköl (also known asthe Kara-Bogaz-Gol) - a shallow depression in the northwestern corner of Turkmenistan. Separated from the Caspian Sea by a thin sandbar...
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Fire in Portugal
Published June 12, 2006
The MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite detected a large fire burning in northwest Portugal on June 5, 2006. The fire, outlined in red, was billowing a cloud of smoke that spread out over the Atlantic Ocean. The fire is near..
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Saharan Dust Storm
Published June 11, 2006
A Saharan dust storm originating in Mali blew off the west coast of Africa on June 6, 2006. The MODIS flying onboard NASA’s Terra satellite took this picture the same day. The dust plumes are the thickest...
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Fires and Haze in Eastern China
Published June 10, 2006
Streaks of thick haze were draped over the North China Plain when the MODIS captured this photo-like image on June 4, 2006, from NASA’s Terra satellite. Though it is not possible to tell the source of the haze from a photo-like image like this one, there are several likely contributors. First, dozens...
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Mount Merapi
Published June 9, 2006
This is an image of Mount Merapi, acquired by the MODIS on the Terra satellite on June 6, 2006. A red square marks the volcano’s summit; this “hotspot” is where the satellite sensor detected unusually warm surface temperatures. A gray plume emerges...
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