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Dust Storm over the Canary I
…
| Title |
Dust Storm over the Canary Islands |
| Description |
Saharan dust blew off the west coast of Africa and over the Canary Islands on November 11, 2006. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took this picture the same day. In this image, parallel plumes of pale beige dust blow off the coasts of Morocco and Western Sahara. The "lines" of dust are more distinct off the coast of Morocco than off the coast of Western Sahara, where the dust plumes are more amorphous. The dust from Morocco may originate from more discrete source points, separated by areas with little or no loose dust that can easily be lifted by wind. Regardless of their shape, all the plumes blow toward the northwest, and although the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria appear unaffected, the neighboring islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are receiving a strong dose of dust. Fringing the edges of this image are fluffy white clouds. It is possible that the same weather system associated with the cloud cover in this image has produced the winds that move the dust. The Sahara Desert produces a steady supply of dust, and the Canary Islands prove frequent targets. Saharan dust often travels much farther than these islands, it often crosses the Atlantic and reaches islands in the Caribbean where it proves to be a mixed blessing. While heavy doses of dust can damage coral reefs, the same dust supplies soil to islands that would otherwise be barren rock. A 250-meter-resolution KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/CanaryIslands.A2006315.1115.250m.kmz ] of the dust blowing over the Canary Islands is available for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Locusts Plague Northwest and
…
| Title |
Locusts Plague Northwest and Western Africa |
| Description |
A wet winter and spring settled over northwestern Africa in 2004, and the dry Sahel bloomed with life. As the desert turned green, the plentiful water nourished more than vegetation. Buried in the sandy soils were the eggs of desert locusts, waiting to absorb moisture and hatch. This year, there was enough water and vegetation to support large populations of young locusts, and by late summer, several large swarms had developed. Swarms of locusts can contain as many as 80 million locusts per square kilometer, and may cover several square kilometers. An adult locust can eat its own weight in food every day, about two grams, which means that, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, a small part of a typical swarm can eat as much food as 2,500 people in a single day. At these rates, the locusts consume most vegetation in their path and then must migrate to find new sources of food. The locust outbreak of 2004 began in Morocco and Algeria in northwestern Africa. While the locusts can't be seen in satellite imagery, the conditions that support them are clearly visible. The above image shows how vegetation differed from previous years. The image is a composite of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data collected between April 6 and April 13, 2004. Green areas indicate that there was more vegetation in the region than the average of the past four years. Not surprisingly, these areas correlate well with the early breeding grounds of the locusts near the interface between dry desert land and wetter coastal land. When their numbers and the ending growing season forced the locusts to move, they traveled south and east on the summer winds. As of October 5, the locusts had expanded to the south in a band that stretched from Mauritania to Chad?a distance of roughly 4,000 kilometers. Currently, Mauritania is the worst affected, but Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and the Cape Verde Islands have also been plagued with locusts. The swarms are now starting to move north again, this time into Libya and Algeria. On October 1, three to four million hectares of land were infested with locusts. As before, satellite imagery shows where locust swarms can migrate to find food by indicating where food is available. In the lower image, a composite of data collected between August 28 and September 4, 2004, pockets of green in southern Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso show where the locusts are finding food and breeding. The most recent information from FAO shows that these are indeed the areas where the locusts are concentrated. Though the locusts themselves are harmless, they can cause significant crop damage. The worst of the problem is in Mauritania, where dark clouds of locusts have swarmed over much of the country. Rainfall had been good, and farmers anticipated a better-than-average harvest until the locusts arrived. Mauritania?s national food security authority expected to lose up to 75, percent of the cereal crop, though the Food and Agriculture Oragnization (FOA) of the United Nations expected a smaller loss. Undoubtedly, the insects are causing considerable damage, but both the Foreign Agricultural Service [ http://www.fas.usda.gov/pecad/highlights/2004/08/west_africa/index.htm ] of the United States Department of Agriculture and the FAO say that it?s too early to quantify how the outbreak will impact overall production. Harvest began in September and continues through November, and the amount of crops that the locusts consume in the meantime will depend on how effective efforts to control them are and whether or not the locusts continue to breed. To read more about the current locust situation in Africa, please visit the Desert Locust Information Service [ http://www.fao.org/news/global/locusts/locuhome.htm ], a service provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. For more information about monitoring locust outbreaks with satellites, see Locust! [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Locusts/ ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by Mark Carrol as part of the Global Agricultural Monitoring Project between NASA, USDA?s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and the University of Maryland. Assaf Anyamba from the Goddard Earth Sciences Technology Center, and Curt Reynolds with FAS, contributed to the caption as part of the same partnership. More data and information about this joint project is available at Satellite Information for Agricultural Monitoring. |
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Locusts Plague Northwest and
…
| Title |
Locusts Plague Northwest and Western Africa |
| Description |
A wet winter and spring settled over northwestern Africa in 2004, and the dry Sahel bloomed with life. As the desert turned green, the plentiful water nourished more than vegetation. Buried in the sandy soils were the eggs of desert locusts, waiting to absorb moisture and hatch. This year, there was enough water and vegetation to support large populations of young locusts, and by late summer, several large swarms had developed. Swarms of locusts can contain as many as 80 million locusts per square kilometer, and may cover several square kilometers. An adult locust can eat its own weight in food every day, about two grams, which means that, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, a small part of a typical swarm can eat as much food as 2,500 people in a single day. At these rates, the locusts consume most vegetation in their path and then must migrate to find new sources of food. The locust outbreak of 2004 began in Morocco and Algeria in northwestern Africa. While the locusts can't be seen in satellite imagery, the conditions that support them are clearly visible. The above image shows how vegetation differed from previous years. The image is a composite of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data collected between April 6 and April 13, 2004. Green areas indicate that there was more vegetation in the region than the average of the past four years. Not surprisingly, these areas correlate well with the early breeding grounds of the locusts near the interface between dry desert land and wetter coastal land. When their numbers and the ending growing season forced the locusts to move, they traveled south and east on the summer winds. As of October 5, the locusts had expanded to the south in a band that stretched from Mauritania to Chad?a distance of roughly 4,000 kilometers. Currently, Mauritania is the worst affected, but Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and the Cape Verde Islands have also been plagued with locusts. The swarms are now starting to move north again, this time into Libya and Algeria. On October 1, three to four million hectares of land were infested with locusts. As before, satellite imagery shows where locust swarms can migrate to find food by indicating where food is available. In the lower image, a composite of data collected between August 28 and September 4, 2004, pockets of green in southern Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso show where the locusts are finding food and breeding. The most recent information from FAO shows that these are indeed the areas where the locusts are concentrated. Though the locusts themselves are harmless, they can cause significant crop damage. The worst of the problem is in Mauritania, where dark clouds of locusts have swarmed over much of the country. Rainfall had been good, and farmers anticipated a better-than-average harvest until the locusts arrived. Mauritania?s national food security authority expected to lose up to 75, percent of the cereal crop, though the Food and Agriculture Oragnization (FOA) of the United Nations expected a smaller loss. Undoubtedly, the insects are causing considerable damage, but both the Foreign Agricultural Service [ http://www.fas.usda.gov/pecad/highlights/2004/08/west_africa/index.htm ] of the United States Department of Agriculture and the FAO say that it?s too early to quantify how the outbreak will impact overall production. Harvest began in September and continues through November, and the amount of crops that the locusts consume in the meantime will depend on how effective efforts to control them are and whether or not the locusts continue to breed. To read more about the current locust situation in Africa, please visit the Desert Locust Information Service [ http://www.fao.org/news/global/locusts/locuhome.htm ], a service provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. For more information about monitoring locust outbreaks with satellites, see Locust! [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Locusts/ ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by Mark Carrol as part of the Global Agricultural Monitoring Project between NASA, USDA?s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and the University of Maryland. Assaf Anyamba from the Goddard Earth Sciences Technology Center, and Curt Reynolds with FAS, contributed to the caption as part of the same partnership. More data and information about this joint project is available at Satellite Information for Agricultural Monitoring. |
|
Locusts Plague Northwest and
…
| Title |
Locusts Plague Northwest and Western Africa |
| Description |
A wet winter and spring settled over northwestern Africa in 2004, and the dry Sahel bloomed with life. As the desert turned green, the plentiful water nourished more than vegetation. Buried in the sandy soils were the eggs of desert locusts, waiting to absorb moisture and hatch. This year, there was enough water and vegetation to support large populations of young locusts, and by late summer, several large swarms had developed. Swarms of locusts can contain as many as 80 million locusts per square kilometer, and may cover several square kilometers. An adult locust can eat its own weight in food every day, about two grams, which means that, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, a small part of a typical swarm can eat as much food as 2,500 people in a single day. At these rates, the locusts consume most vegetation in their path and then must migrate to find new sources of food. The locust outbreak of 2004 began in Morocco and Algeria in northwestern Africa. While the locusts can't be seen in satellite imagery, the conditions that support them are clearly visible. The above image shows how vegetation differed from previous years. The image is a composite of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data collected between April 6 and April 13, 2004. Green areas indicate that there was more vegetation in the region than the average of the past four years. Not surprisingly, these areas correlate well with the early breeding grounds of the locusts near the interface between dry desert land and wetter coastal land. When their numbers and the ending growing season forced the locusts to move, they traveled south and east on the summer winds. As of October 5, the locusts had expanded to the south in a band that stretched from Mauritania to Chad?a distance of roughly 4,000 kilometers. Currently, Mauritania is the worst affected, but Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and the Cape Verde Islands have also been plagued with locusts. The swarms are now starting to move north again, this time into Libya and Algeria. On October 1, three to four million hectares of land were infested with locusts. As before, satellite imagery shows where locust swarms can migrate to find food by indicating where food is available. In the lower image, a composite of data collected between August 28 and September 4, 2004, pockets of green in southern Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso show where the locusts are finding food and breeding. The most recent information from FAO shows that these are indeed the areas where the locusts are concentrated. Though the locusts themselves are harmless, they can cause significant crop damage. The worst of the problem is in Mauritania, where dark clouds of locusts have swarmed over much of the country. Rainfall had been good, and farmers anticipated a better-than-average harvest until the locusts arrived. Mauritania?s national food security authority expected to lose up to 75, percent of the cereal crop, though the Food and Agriculture Oragnization (FOA) of the United Nations expected a smaller loss. Undoubtedly, the insects are causing considerable damage, but both the Foreign Agricultural Service [ http://www.fas.usda.gov/pecad/highlights/2004/08/west_africa/index.htm ] of the United States Department of Agriculture and the FAO say that it?s too early to quantify how the outbreak will impact overall production. Harvest began in September and continues through November, and the amount of crops that the locusts consume in the meantime will depend on how effective efforts to control them are and whether or not the locusts continue to breed. To read more about the current locust situation in Africa, please visit the Desert Locust Information Service [ http://www.fao.org/news/global/locusts/locuhome.htm ], a service provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. For more information about monitoring locust outbreaks with satellites, see Locust! [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Locusts/ ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by Mark Carrol as part of the Global Agricultural Monitoring Project between NASA, USDA?s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and the University of Maryland. Assaf Anyamba from the Goddard Earth Sciences Technology Center, and Curt Reynolds with FAS, contributed to the caption as part of the same partnership. More data and information about this joint project is available at Satellite Information for Agricultural Monitoring. |
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Morocco's Anti-Atlas Mountai
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
The Anti-Atlas Mountains of
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Atlas_TAS20010613
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2001-06-13 |
| creator |
NASA -- Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ASTER Science Team |
| identifier |
Atlas_TAS20010613 |
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Dust over the Canary Islands
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Saharan dust blew off the we
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canarydust_tmo_2006315
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006-11-11 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center |
| identifier |
canarydust_tmo_2006315 |
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Where Europe meets Africa: I
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
This natural-color satellite
…
PIA04376
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2002 |
| creator |
NASA -- Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ MISR Team. Jim Knighton ( jknighton@clear-light.com jknighton@clear-light.com ) of Clear Light Image Products produced the image mosaic. Please note that the image shown here is at a pixel resolution of approximately 1.1 kilometers, but a more detailed version at a resolution of 278 meters is available from the producer. Text by Clare Averill (Raytheon ITSS / Jet Propulsion Laboratory). |
| identifier |
PIA04376 |
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Flooding in Southern Algeria
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
…
algeria_TMO_2006046
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
February 15, 2006 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
algeria_TMO_2006046 |
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ASTER Gibraltar
PIA02657
Sol (our sun)
ASTER
| Title |
ASTER Gibraltar |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The Strait of Gibraltar separates Spain from Morocco. This image, acquired on July 5, 2000, covers an area 34 kilometers (21 miles) wide and 59 kilometers (37 miles) long in three bands of the reflected visible and infrared wavelength region. The promontory on the eastern side of the conspicuous Spanish port is the Rock of Gibraltar. Once one of the two classical Pillars of Hercules, the Rock was crowned with silver columns by Phoenician mariners to mark the limits of safe navigation for the ancient Mediterranean peoples. The rocky promontory still commands the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. The rocky limestone and shale ridge rises abruptly from the sea, to a maximum elevation of 426 meters (1,398 feet). A British colony, Gibraltar occupies a narrow strip of land at the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It is separated from the Spanish mainland by a neutral zone contained on a narrow, sandy isthmus. Because of its strategic location and formidable topography, Gibraltar serves mainly as a British fortress. Most of its sparse land is taken up by air and naval installations, and the civilian population is small. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. Dr. Anne Kahle at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, is the U.S. science team leader, Moshe Pniel of JPL is the project manager. ASTER is the only high-resolution imaging sensor on Terra. The primary goal of the ASTER mission is to obtain high-resolution image data in 14 channels over the entire land surface, as well as black and white stereo images. With revisit time of between 4 and 16 days, ASTER will provide the capability for repeat coverage of changing areas on Earth's surface. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. Dr. Anne Kahle at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, is the U.S. science team leader, Moshe Pniel of JPL is the project manager. ASTER is the only high-resolution imaging sensor on Terra. The primary goal of the ASTER mission is to obtain high-resolution image data in 14 channels over the entire land surface, as well as black and white stereo images. With revisit time of between 4 and 16 days, ASTER will provide the capability for repeat coverage of changing areas on Earth's surface. The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER will provide scientists, in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping and monitoring dynamic conditions and temporal change. Examples of applications include monitoring glacial advances and retreats, potentially active volcanoes, thermal pollution, and coral reef degradation, identifying crop stress, determining cloud morphology and physical properties, evaluating wetlands, mapping surface temperature of soils and geology, and measuring surface heat balance. |
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Where Europe meets Africa
PIA04376
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Where Europe meets Africa |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Data from a portion of the imagery acquired by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera during 2000-2002 were combined to create this cloud-free natural-color mosaic of southwestern Europe and northwestern Morocco and Algeria. The image extends from 48°N, 16°W in the northwest to 32°N, 8°E in the southeast. It is displayed in Albers conic equal-area projection (a projection which is frequently used for equal-area maps of regions that are predominantly east-west in extent). From the northeast, the image traverses a portion of the Swiss Alps (partially snow-covered) and a small part of Italy's Po Valley. The northern portion of the image also includes the western coast of France and much of southern and southwestern France's undulating terrain, which continues until reaching the hills of the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees act as the natural frontier to the Iberian Peninsula -- a landmass comprised of Spain and Portugal. The Peninsular landscapes are extremely varied, with some almost desert-like, others green and fertile. About half of Spain is situated atop a high plain, known as the Central Plateau, and many mountain ranges, rivers, geological basement rock and vegetation types are found across this great plateau. The largest alluvial plain is Andalusia in the south, where the valley of the Guadalquivir River is shut in by mountain ranges on every side except the southwest, where the valley descends to the Atlantic. The islands of Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza are Spanish territories in the western Mediterranean. At the Strait of Gibralter, Spain and Morocco very nearly kiss, and Morocco appears relatively verdant along its northern coastal corner. The rugged Atlas Mountain ranges traverse northern Algeria and Morocco. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously from pole to pole, and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. This data product was generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during 2000-2002. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology. |
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Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocc
…
PIA03893
Sol (our sun)
ASTER
| Title |
Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocco |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco formed as a result of the collision of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates about 80 million years ago. This collision destroyed the Tethys Ocean, the limestone, sandstone, claystone, and gypsum layers that formed the ocean bed were folded and crumpled to create the Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains. In this ASTER image, short wavelength infrared bands are combined to dramatically highlight the different rock types, and illustrate the complex folding. The yellowish, orange and green areas are limestones, sandstones and gypsum, the dark blue and green areas are underlying granitic rocks. The ability to map geology using ASTER data is enhanced by the multiple short wavelength infrared bands, that are sensitive to differences in rock mineralogy. This image was acquired on June 13, 2001 by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite. With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER will provide scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats, monitoring potentially active volcanoes, identifying crop stress, determining cloud morphology and physical properties, wetlands evaluation, thermal pollution monitoring, coral reef degradation, surface temperature mapping of soils and geology, and measuring surface heat balance. Dr. Anne Kahle at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, is the U.S. Science team leader, Bjorn Eng of JPL is the project manager. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, a long- term research effort to understand and protect our home planet. Through the study of Earth, NASA will help to provide sound science to policy and economic decision-makers so as to better life here, while developing the technologies needed to explore the universe and search for life beyond our home planet. Size: 28.7 x 29.4 km (17.8 x 18.2 miles) Location: 29.4 deg. North lat., 8.9 deg. West long. Orientation: North at top Image Data: ASTER bands 4,6 and 8. Original Data Resolution: 30 m Date Acquired: June 13, 2001 |
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