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Collection:
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NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Strait of Gibraltar, Perspective with Landsat Image Overlay
Title
Strait of Gibraltar, Perspective with Landsat Image Overlay
Title
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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This perspective view shows the Strait of Gibraltar, which is the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. Europe (Spain) is on the left. Africa (Morocco) is on the right. The Rock of Gibraltar, administered by Great Britain, is the peninsula in the back left.
The Strait of Gibraltar is the only natural gap in the topographic barriers that separate the Mediterranean Sea from the world's oceans. The Sea is about 3700 kilometers (2300 miles) long and covers about 2.5 million square kilometers (one million square miles), while the Strait is only about 13 kilometers (8 miles) wide. Sediment samples from the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea that include evaporite minerals, soils, and fossil plants show that about five million years ago the Strait was topographically blocked and the Sea had evaporated into a deep basin far lower in elevation than the oceans. Consequent changes in the world's hydrologic cycle, including effects upon ocean salinity, likely led to more ice formation in polar regions and more reflection of sunlight back to space, resulting in a cooler global climate at that time. Today, topography plays a key role in our regional climate patterns. But through Earth history, topographic change, even perhaps over areas as small as 13 kilometers across, has also affected the global climate.
This image was generated from a Landsat satellite image draped over an elevation model produced by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The view is eastward with a 3-times vertical exaggeration to enhance topographic expression. Natural colors of the scene (green vegetation, blue water, brown soil, white beaches) are enhanced by image processing, inclusion of some infrared reflectance (as green) to highlight the vegetation pattern, and inclusion of shading of the elevation model to further highlight the topographic features.
Landsat has been providing visible and infrared views of the Earth since 1972. SRTM elevation data matches the 30-meter (99-feet) resolution of most Landsat images and will substantially help in analyses of the large Landsat image archive.
Elevation data used in this image was acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter-long (200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
This perspective view shows the Strait of Gibraltar, which is the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. Europe (Spain) is on the left. Africa (Morocco) is on the right. The Rock of Gibraltar, administered by Great Britain, is the peninsula in the back left.
The Strait of Gibraltar is the only natural gap in the topographic barriers that separate the Mediterranean Sea from the world's oceans. The Sea is about 3700 kilometers (2300 miles) long and covers about 2.5 million square kilometers (one million square miles), while the Strait is only about 13 kilometers (8 miles) wide. Sediment samples from the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea that include evaporite minerals, soils, and fossil plants show that about five million years ago the Strait was topographically blocked and the Sea had evaporated into a deep basin far lower in elevation than the oceans. Consequent changes in the world's hydrologic cycle, including effects upon ocean salinity, likely led to more ice formation in polar regions and more reflection of sunlight back to space, resulting in a cooler global climate at that time. Today, topography plays a key role in our regional climate patterns. But through Earth history, topographic change, even perhaps over areas as small as 13 kilometers across, has also affected the global climate.
This image was generated from a Landsat satellite image draped over an elevation model produced by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The view is eastward with a 3-times vertical exaggeration to enhance topographic expression. Natural colors of the scene (green vegetation, blue water, brown soil, white beaches) are enhanced by image processing, inclusion of some infrared reflectance (as green) to highlight the vegetation pattern, and inclusion of shading of the elevation model to further highlight the topographic features.
Landsat has been providing visible and infrared views of the Earth since 1972. SRTM elevation data matches the 30-meter (99-feet) resolution of most Landsat images and will substantially help in analyses of the large Landsat image archive.
Elevation data used in this image was acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter-long (200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Original Caption Released with Image
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, DC.
View Size: 46 kilometers (28 miles) wide, 106 kilometers (66 miles) distance
Location: 36 degrees North latitude, 5.5 degrees West longitude
Orientation: Looking East, 15 degrees down from horizontal, 3X vertical exaggeration
Image Data: Landsat Bands 1, 2 4, 3 as blue, green, red respectively
Original Data Resolution: 30 meters (99 feet)
Date Acquired: February 2000 (SRTM), July 6, 1987 (Landsat)
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, DC.
View Size: 46 kilometers (28 miles) wide, 106 kilometers (66 miles) distance
Location: 36 degrees North latitude, 5.5 degrees West longitude
Orientation: Looking East, 15 degrees down from horizontal, 3X vertical exaggeration
Image Data: Landsat Bands 1, 2 4, 3 as blue, green, red respectively
Original Data Resolution: 30 meters (99 feet)
Date Acquired: February 2000 (SRTM), July 6, 1987 (Landsat)
Original Caption Released with Image
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL/NIMA
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL/NIMA
Image Credit
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Produced By:
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JPL
Produced_By
JPL
Produced By
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Mission:
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Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)
Mission
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)
Mission
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Spacecraft:
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Space Shuttle Endeavour
Spacecraft
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Spacecraft
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Target Name:
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Earth
Target_Name
Earth
Target Name
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Is a satellite of:
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Sol (our sun)
Is_a_satellite_of
Sol (our sun)
Is a satellite of
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Instrument:
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C-Band Interferometric Radar
Instrument
C-Band Interferometric Radar
Instrument
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Instrument:
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X-Band Radar
Instrument
X-Band Radar
Instrument
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Product Size:
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1528 samples x 917 lines
Product_Size
1528 samples x 917 lines
Product Size
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facet_what:
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Sun
facet_what
Sun
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Earth
facet_what
Earth
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Polar
facet_what
Polar
facet_what
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facet_what:
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C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
facet_what
C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Spaceborne Imaging Radar
facet_what
Spaceborne Imaging Radar
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
facet_what
Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Space Shuttle Endeavour
facet_what
Space Shuttle Endeavour
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Landsat
facet_what
Landsat
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
facet_what
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
facet_what
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facet_what:
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SRTM
facet_what
SRTM
facet_what
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facet_what:
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C-Band Interferometric Radar
facet_what
C-Band Interferometric Radar
facet_what
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facet_what:
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X-Band Radar
facet_what
X-Band Radar
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Space Shuttle Orbiter
facet_what
Space Shuttle Orbiter
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Washington
facet_where
Washington
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Spain
facet_where
Spain
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Mediterranean Sea
facet_where
Mediterranean Sea
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Atlantic Ocean
facet_where
Atlantic Ocean
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Morocco
facet_where
Morocco
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Gibraltar
facet_where
Gibraltar
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_when:
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1994
facet_when
1994
facet_when
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facet_when:
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February 2000
facet_when
February 2000
facet_when
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facet_when:
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February 11, 2000
facet_when
February 11, 2000
facet_when
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facet_when:
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July 6, 1987
facet_when
July 6, 1987
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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1994
facet_when_year
1994
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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2000
facet_when_year
2000
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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1987
facet_when_year
1987
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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PIA03397
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA03397
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA03397
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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