Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Data acquired April 9 - 9, 2003 1200 x 950 129 KB - JPEG
Data acquired April 9 - 9, 2003 2400 x 1900 432 KB - JPEG
Data acquired April 9 - 9, 2003 4800 x 3800 1 MB Bytes - JPEG
Highly reflective dust was blowing over Lake Chad (green splash at bottom of image) and northeastward into Chad on April 9, 2003. Frequent dust storms are just one of the many factors slowly eating away at this prime source of freshwater for people, animals and plants in (clockwise from top left) Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad. Increasing demand for irrigation is draining the lake, and blowing sand and desert dust are creating sand dunes that are encroaching on the vegetation along the perimeter of the lake (see high-resolution image).
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
Published April 11, 2003 Data acquired April 9 - 9, 2003