Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Earth Observatory Collection
Title:
Dust Storm in Taklimakan Desert
Description:
On January 30, 2005, dust filled the bowl of the Taklimakan Desert in western China. The low-lying basin is ringed by towering mountains to the north and south; these mountains steal almost all the precipitation passing through the region, leaving the Taklimakan bone dry. Dust storms, shifting sand dunes, and desert expansion are serious concerns for the people living in the area.

This pair of images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MO DIS) on NASA?s Aqu a satellite shows the desert brewing with dust (top) as well as on a clear day in November 2002. The high-resolution image provided above is the January 30 image at a spatial resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides the January 30 and November 2 images at additional resolutions.

Image courtesy the MOD IS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center
Satellite - Sensor:
Aqua- MODIS
facet_what:
Aqua
facet_where:
China
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_when:
November 2002
facet_when:
January 30, 2005
facet_when_year:
2002
facet_when_year:
2005
UID:
SPD-ETOBS-12703
original url:

Dust Storm in Taklimakan Desert