|
|
Floods in Southern Africa
| Title |
Floods in Southern Africa |
| Description |
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired these two images of the Zambezi River in central Mozambique in February 2007 just four days apart. Over the course of a weekend, floods along the lower Zambezi River in Mozambique spread to a nearby branch, the Cuecue River. According to local news reports released by the Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique, the floods along the Zambezi started to drop on February 20, though water levels on the lower Zambezi, shown here, remained high. As the top image shows, some of the water is draining into smaller offshoots along the river valley and into the Indian Ocean. These images use both visible and infrared light to increase the contrast between water and land. In this color combination, water is black or dark blue, while bare ground is tan and plant-covered land is green. Clouds are blue and white. The Sun's reflection off the surface of the water turns the river pale blue in the top image, and a web of flood water surrounds the dark line cut by the Zambezi River across the center of both images. South of the fresh floods on the Cuecue River, several dark spots along the Zambezi indicate additional flooding. To see daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Mozambique/2007051 ] of the flood area in central Mozambique, please visit the MODIS Rapid Response web site. The floods started when unusually early and heavy rain pounded southern Africa in January and February 2007. The rains triggered floods that affected nearly 170,000 people in Angola, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YSAR-6YLNES?OpenDocument ]). In Mozambique, the United Nations and other organizations were providing food to more than 120,000 evacuees as of February 20, said OCHA. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
|
Floods in Southern Africa
| Title |
Floods in Southern Africa |
| Description |
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired these two images of the Zambezi River in central Mozambique in February 2007 just four days apart. Over the course of a weekend, floods along the lower Zambezi River in Mozambique spread to a nearby branch, the Cuecue River. According to local news reports released by the Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique, the floods along the Zambezi started to drop on February 20, though water levels on the lower Zambezi, shown here, remained high. As the top image shows, some of the water is draining into smaller offshoots along the river valley and into the Indian Ocean. These images use both visible and infrared light to increase the contrast between water and land. In this color combination, water is black or dark blue, while bare ground is tan and plant-covered land is green. Clouds are blue and white. The Sun's reflection off the surface of the water turns the river pale blue in the top image, and a web of flood water surrounds the dark line cut by the Zambezi River across the center of both images. South of the fresh floods on the Cuecue River, several dark spots along the Zambezi indicate additional flooding. To see daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Mozambique/2007051 ] of the flood area in central Mozambique, please visit the MODIS Rapid Response web site. The floods started when unusually early and heavy rain pounded southern Africa in January and February 2007. The rains triggered floods that affected nearly 170,000 people in Angola, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YSAR-6YLNES?OpenDocument ]). In Mozambique, the United Nations and other organizations were providing food to more than 120,000 evacuees as of February 20, said OCHA. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
|
Fires in Central and Souther
…
| Title |
Fires in Central and Southern Africa |
| Description |
Even for a region that sees a lot fires during the agricultural season, this scene seems to reveal an exceptional number of fires for countries from east-central to southern Africa. This true-color image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite on September 25, 2002. Hundreds of fire detections are indicated by red dots. In the top center of the image is Lake Malawi, which is bounded on the west by Malawi, on the northeast by Tanzania, and on the southeast by Mozambique. Other countries visible in the image are (north-south along left edge) Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Republic of South Africa, and Swaziland (bottom center). Agricultural fires have been part of the ecological cycles in Africa for perhaps thousands of years, used to clear land and regenerate pasture. Scientists are studying these cycles to assess their impact on air quality, global warming, and ecosystem change. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
|
Seasonal floods along the Za
…
| Title |
Seasonal floods along the Zambezi River |
| Description |
Heavy rains through the month of March have pushed a section of Africa?s Zambezi River to its highest level since 1958. Just as the mighty river turns east in its path to the Indian Ocean, and immediately before it thunders over the Victoria Falls, it passes through the low-lying plains of Namibia?s Caprivi Strip. This section of the river floods often as the wet-season rains fill the river. This year, the floods have come earlier than normal, and are rising to levels not seen in nearly 50 years. The Namibian government expects to evacuate 40,000 to 50,000 people from the region as the flood waters continue to rise, though only 20,000 have been affected as of April 1. In comparison, last year?s floods, which at the time were declared the worst the region had seen since 1958, forced 12,000 people from their homes. On March 31, 2004, the waters reached 6.89 meters, surpassing the peak of last year?s flood, 6.64 meters. So far, two people have died in this year?s floods. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this view of the flood in the Caprivi Strip on March 30, 2004. The false color image shows the flood water in an inky black in sharp contrast to the bright green vegetation. Bare ground is tan and clouds are light blue. The image is available in true-color [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004090-0330/Caprivi.A2004090.1205 ] and additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004090-0330/Caprivi.A2004090.1205.721 ]. The Zambezi River forms at a spring in northern Zambia, and flows south through Zambia and Angola before turning east in Namibia?s Caprivi Strip and flowing through Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. It is Africa?s fourth largest river system after the Nile, Zaire, and Niger Rivers. The high-resolution image also shows floods along the northern section of the river in Zambia at MODIS maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
|
Fires in Southeast Africa an
…
| Title |
Fires in Southeast Africa and Madagascar |
| Description |
Smoke from hundreds of fires (marked with red dots) hangs over Malawi (top center), Mozambique (center), and Zimbabwe (left) in southern Africa. The inset (outlined area in center shown in higher detail at lower right) reveals how dramatically humans have altered the landscape through agricultural practices that involve recurring use of fire. The isolated patch of deep green at upper right of the inset is Mozambique?s Gorongosa National Park. Along Mozambique?s border with Zimbabwe, other patches of green dominate the mountains in the region. The other image in this series shows similar alterations in Madagascar. Fire?both naturally occurring and human-made?has been part of the landscape in southern Africa for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Despite its necessity and usefulness as an agricultural tool, there is some concern among scientists that as human populations continue to expand and the need for agricultural land grows, too much fire may begin to damage the land, increase greenhouse gases, and harm human health. The flip side of that story is that there are also places where fire suppression is altering the natural vegetation of the savanna landscape, which is home to grasses and shrubs that have evolved with fire over hundreds of thousands of years. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite on October 3, 2003. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
|
Fires in Southeastern Africa
| Title |
Fires in Southeastern Africa |
| Description |
The southern Africa biomass burning season is in full swing across (clockwise from top left) Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi (center). Fires, marked with red dots, are an integral part of the farming and grazing practices in the region. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite on August 18, 2003. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS' maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
|
Fires in Southeastern Africa
| Title |
Fires in Southeastern Africa |
| Description |
Smoke hangs over southern Africa on August 20, 2003, from the scores of active fires burning in the region and in places farther north. The active fire detections made by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite across Zimbabwe (top left), Mozambique (right), South Africa (lower left), and Lesotho (bottom center) have been marked in red in the image. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
|
Fires in Southeastern Africa
| Title |
Fires in Southeastern Africa |
| Description |
Represented by red dots, active fires cover much of Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Malawi in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image captured by the Aqua satellite on August 25, 2003. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC |
|
Fires in Southeastern Africa
| Title |
Fires in Southeastern Africa |
| Description |
Represented by red dots, active fires cover much of Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Malawi in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image captured by the Aqua satellite on August 25, 2003. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC |
|
Fires in Southern Africa
| Title |
Fires in Southern Africa |
| Description |
This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from August 4, 2004, shows numerous fires (red dots) scattered across southeastern Africa, including aprts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Republic of South Africa. Areas were the MODIS detected fires are marked in red. The widespread nature of the fires and the time of year suggests that these fires are being set intentionally for agricultural purposes. Though not necessarily hazardous, such large-scale burning can have a strong impact on weather, climate, human health, and natural resources. Image by Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC |
|
Fires in Southern Africa
| Title |
Fires in Southern Africa |
| Description |
On August 5, 2004, southern Africa seemed like a continent of fire. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA?s Aqua satellite captured this image of fires across parts of Democratic Republic of Congo (top), Angola (left), and Zimbabwe (right), in south-central Africa. The widespread nature of the fires and the time of year suggest that these fires are being set intentionally for agricultural purposes. Though not necessarily hazardous, such large-scale burning can have a strong impact on weather, climate, human health, and natural resources. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 1-square-kilometer per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center |
|
Fires Near Lake Malawi, Afri
…
| Title |
Fires Near Lake Malawi, Africa |
| Description |
In southeastern Africa, scores of fires were burning on September 25, 2004, in Mozambique south of Lake Malawi, whose southern tip is at the top center of the image. Active fire detections made by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite are marked in red. The fires created a layer of smoke that darkened the surface of the land beneath it. At upper left in the image, the turquoise-colored body of water is the Cahora Basso Lake, created by a dam on the Zambeze River just inside Mozambique after the river leaves its course along the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. NASA image by Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC |
|
Tropical Cyclone Favio
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Favio |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Favio formed in the western Indian Ocean about 1,200 kilometers from Madagascar on February 14, 2007. It gradually moved southwest, passing well offshore of Reunion and Mauritius Islands. By February 20, it was just off the southern shore of Madagascar as a well-formed, mature storm. While the storm system had largely skirted around populated areas to that point, forecasters were concerned about its behavior as it entered the warmer waters of the Mozambique Channel. The storm was forecast to reach Category Four [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] strength before coming ashore and tracking inland through Zimbabwe and Zambia, bringing heavy rains to already flooded areas. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14115 ] This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on February 20, 2007, at 2:15 p.m. local time (11:15 UTC). The storm was turning north around the southern end of Madagscar, headed for the Mozambique Channel. Favio had the recognizable shape of a southern-hemisphere tropical cyclone, with spiral arms showing its clockwise rotation. The spiral arms are well-defined and tightly wound. A distinct eye at the center of the storm is only partially filled with clouds (a "partially closed" eye). These are all signs of a well-developed and powerful storm, consistent with the cyclone's strength. According to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http:/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3 www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] Favio had steady winds of around 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour) around the time MODIS made this observation. The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS' full spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. You can also download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone Favio KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Feb2007/Favio.A2007051.1115.250m.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
|
Tropical Cyclone Favio
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Favio |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Favio came ashore on the coast of Mozambique on the morning of February 22, 2007. At the time it crossed the shoreline, Favio had lost some strength from its peak the previous day, but still had extremely powerful winds. The cyclone continued to weaken as it passed over land, becoming a tropical depression. As of 8:00 a.m. local time (0600 UTC), winds were down to 60 kilometers per hour (38 miles per hour), according to the South African Weather Service. [ http://www.weathersa.co.za/ ] This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on February 23, 2007, at 1:45 p.m. local time (11:45 UTC), as the tropical depression was crossing into Zimbabwe. The storm still has a distinct balled-up form left over from its cyclone state the previous day, but once over land, the strong circular eye and powerful eyewall storms typical of a cylone were gone. As it traveled farther inland towards the Zambezi River valley, the storm brought heavy rains to Zimbabwe. This region had already suffered from heavy rains associated with the onset of the monsoon, and severe flooding along the Zambezi River [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14115 ] in mid-February killed dozens of people and forced more than a hundred thousand people to evacuate, according to reports [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-6YMDSC?OpenDocument ] from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies posted online by ReliefWeb. [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc100?OpenForm ] There had been widespread additional evacuations ahead of Cyclone Favio's arrival. You can download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone Favio KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Feb2007/favio_amo_2007054.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
|
Floods in Southern Africa: N
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
…
Mozambique_AMO_2007051
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-02-20 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
Mozambique_AMO_2007051 |
|
Tropical Cyclone Favio: Natu
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Tropical Cyclone Favio came
…
favio_amo_2007054
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-02-23 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
favio_amo_2007054 |
|
Tropical Cyclone Favio: Natu
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Tropical Cyclone Favio forme
…
favio_amo_2007051
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-02-20 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
favio_amo_2007051 |
|
Intense Seasonal Floods in S
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
…
Zambeze_AMO_2008015
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2008-01-15 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
Zambeze_AMO_2008015 |
|
Fires in Southeastern Africa
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Smoke hangs over southern Af
…
Mozambique.AMOA2003232
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2003-08-20 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
Mozambique.AMOA2003232 |
|
Fires Near Lake Malawi, Afri
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
In southeastern Africa, scor
…
aqua_mozambique_25sep04
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2004-09-25 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
aqua_mozambique_25sep04 |
|
Fires in Central and Souther
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Even for a region that sees
…
Mozambique.AMO2002268
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2002-09-25 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
Mozambique.AMO2002268 |
|
Seasonal floods along the Za
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Heavy rains through the mont
…
aqua_zambezi_30mar04
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2004-03-30 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
aqua_zambezi_30mar04 |
|
Fires in Southern Africa: Na
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
On August 5, 2004, southern
…
Angola.AMOA2004218
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2004-08-05 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
Angola.AMOA2004218 |
|
Fires in Southeast Africa an
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Smoke from hundreds of fires
…
Mozambique.AMOA2003276
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2003-10-03 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
Mozambique.AMOA2003276 |
|
Fires in Southeastern Africa
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
The southern Africa biomass
…
Mozambique.AMOA2003230
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2003-08-18 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
Mozambique.AMOA2003230 |
|
Intense Seasonal Floods in S
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
…
Mozambique_AMO_2008004
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2008-01-04 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
Mozambique_AMO_2008004 |
|
Fires in Southeastern Africa
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Represented by red dots, act
…
EastAfrica_A2003237_image
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2003-08-25 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
EastAfrica_A2003237_image |
|
Fires in Southeastern Africa
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Represented by red dots, act
…
EastAfrica_A2003237_image
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2003-08-25 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
EastAfrica_A2003237_image |
|
|
