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Agricultural Fires in Northw
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| Title |
Agricultural Fires in Northwest India |
| Description |
A tight cluster of red dots in the top left of this image marks the location of numerous actively burning fires at the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains in northwest India. The image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite on October 22, 2004, and also shows a thick haze dammed up at the base of the towering mountains at upper right. While smoke from the fires almost certainly contributed to the haze, there may also be residual dust from dust storms in the deserts of Afghanistan and Pakistan in previous weeks, as well as urban pollution from cities in Pakistan and India. The border between the two countries runs mostly along the eastern edge of the fertile Indus River floodplain, where vegetation stands out sharply against the paler, more arid terrain in the far left portion of the image. The Indus flows southward and empties into the Arabian Sea. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Floods in Pakistan
| Title |
Floods in Pakistan |
| Description |
A dual disaster hit Pakistan in the final week of June 2007. On June 23, rare heavy rains and winds swept over much of the country, and three days later, on June 26, Cyclone Yemyin (03B) blew ashore in southern Pakistan. The two storms caused extensive flooding in the country's southwest from the Arabian Sea coast to the border with Afghanistan. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) captured this image of flooding near the Indus River on July 2, 2007. The large image shows additional flooding along the coast. In this type of false-color image, made with infrared and visible light, water is dark blue or black. The lighter blue color in the north is either water-soaked land or mud-laden water. The desert landscape is tan-pink, while cropland near the Indus is green. Clouds are pale blue and white. The lower image, taken on June 23 before the storm moved in, shows normal conditions. The white streak near the right edge of the image is sunlight reflected off the wetlands around the Indus River. In the area shown here, more than 100,000 people were displaced when 800 villages were submerged by floods, said Relief Web. [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullMaps_Sa.nsf/luFullMap/4B4253F15CBDB7D6C125730F003DC643/$File/rw_FL_pak070705.pdf?OpenElement ] As of July 4, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-74SGLW?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=FF-2007-000082-PAK ] estimated that approximately 300 lives had been lost throughout Pakistan, and 550,000 people had been displaced. You can download a 250-meter-resolution KMZ file of the flooding [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jul2007/pakistan_tmo_2007183.kmz ] and comparison imagery from June 23, suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Haze along the Himalaya Fron
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| Title |
Haze along the Himalaya Front Range |
| Description |
This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the sensor on the Aqua satellite shows different types of aerosols (particles suspended in the atmosphere) over India and Pakistan on December 1, 2004. In the center of the image, the Indus River runs in a sinuous, thick green braid from the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains (top right, hidden by clouds) to the Arabian Sea (bottom left). Backed up against the mountains, a grayish pall is likely human-made particle pollution, from vehicles, energy production, and household heating and cooking fires. At the mouth of the Indus, a tan-colored cloud of aerosols is probably blowing dust from the region?s arid landscapes. To the west of the Indus, a rugged line of mountains separates Pakistan from Afghanistan. The large roan-colored desert is the Margo Desert of southern Afghanistan. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Haze over Southwestern India
| Title |
Haze over Southwestern India |
| Description |
A plume of haze descended over Mumbai, India, on December 2, 2006. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took this picture the same day. In this image, the haze appears as a translucent band, slightly darker than the wispy clouds to the northwest. Underneath the haze, a greenish plume of sediment appears in the ocean off the coast of India. Although the origin of the plume was not clear from adjacent satellite imagery, it could have originated in India itself. Aerosolsminute particles suspended in the atmospherecan sometimes move in a gyre around India, following the path of the Ganges toward the Bay of Bengal, circling around the southern tip of the subcontinent, then re-approaching the country from the Arabian Sea. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the Level 1 and Atmospheric Archive Distribution System. [ http://ladsweb.nascom.nasa.gov/ ] |
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Heavy Rains Flood Pakistan
| Title |
Heavy Rains Flood Pakistan |
| Description |
Heavy rain and snow hammered Pakistan in the first two weeks of February 2005, leaving more than 300 people dead as a result of floods and avalanches throughout the country. More than 200 of the deaths occurred in southwestern Pakistan, where a week of rain taxed river and irrigation systems. This image, acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on February 11, 2005, shows streaks of blue-green floodwater all along the coast. The most deadly floods swept through the region around the coastal city of Pasni when an irrigation dam burst on February 10, washing away several villages and flooding the city with water. Pale blue lines trace out the contours of the flood water on the following day. The city itself is covered with a small cloud, but further evidence of flooding can be seen in the Arabian Sea to the south. Bright blue clouds of sediment fill the waters where floods washed dirt and debris into the sea. To the west, the Dasht River is dramatically flooded, having expanded from a thin green line that was barely visible on February 6 to a sprawling blue wetland. On the right side of the image, the entire coastline around Ormara has been inundated with water. If this scene were depicted in true color, as a human eye would see it, the mud-laden flood water would blend with the tan desert landscape. To make the flood water more visible, the image is in false color, with sediment-filled water represented in blue, while deeper ocean water is black. The bare or sparsely vegetated land has a pink tint, and the clouds are light blue. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Heavy Rains Flood Pakistan
| Title |
Heavy Rains Flood Pakistan |
| Description |
Heavy rain and snow hammered Pakistan in the first two weeks of February 2005, leaving more than 300 people dead as a result of floods and avalanches throughout the country. More than 200 of the deaths occurred in southwestern Pakistan, where a week of rain taxed river and irrigation systems. This image, acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on February 11, 2005, shows streaks of blue-green floodwater all along the coast. The most deadly floods swept through the region around the coastal city of Pasni when an irrigation dam burst on February 10, washing away several villages and flooding the city with water. Pale blue lines trace out the contours of the flood water on the following day. The city itself is covered with a small cloud, but further evidence of flooding can be seen in the Arabian Sea to the south. Bright blue clouds of sediment fill the waters where floods washed dirt and debris into the sea. To the west, the Dasht River is dramatically flooded, having expanded from a thin green line that was barely visible on February 6 to a sprawling blue wetland. On the right side of the image, the entire coastline around Ormara has been inundated with water. If this scene were depicted in true color, as a human eye would see it, the mud-laden flood water would blend with the tan desert landscape. To make the flood water more visible, the image is in false color, with sediment-filled water represented in blue, while deeper ocean water is black. The bare or sparsely vegetated land has a pink tint, and the clouds are light blue. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Dust Blowing off the Coast o
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| Title |
Dust Blowing off the Coast of Pakistan |
| Description |
Intense heat can spawn dust storms, and Pakistan and India saw their share of heat and dust in the spring of 2006. A dust storm blew off the coasts of these countries and over the Arabian Sea on June 4, 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. The dust cloud shown in this image is thin enough to reveal the ocean and land surface below the dust. Along the coast of India, thick sediment has turned the water a brownish-green color, near the right edge of the image. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. [ http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] |
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Dust in Afghanistan
| Title |
Dust in Afghanistan |
| Description |
Across a wide portion of southwestern Asia, winds were whipping across deserts, sending a froth of dust into the skies on April 8, 2005. The wind raised particularly thick streamers of dust from the surfaces of the Margo Desert in southern Afghanistan and the Thar Desert, which straddles the border between Pakistan and India. Like an atmospheric alter ego of the Indus River, an airborne river of dust flows southward from the Thar Desert and out over the Arabian Sea. This image of the event was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. |
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Dust over the Arabian Sea
| Title |
Dust over the Arabian Sea |
| Description |
Dust blowing out of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan mingled over the Arabian Sea on April 9, 2006. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took this picture the same day. In this image, a beige plume of dust, shown near the left edge of the picture, pushes southward from Afghanistan, crossing over Pakistan toward the ocean. To the east, another dust plume over the border between India and Pakistan also heads toward the water. Two tendrils of dust merge over the water, just south of the coast. NASA imagery created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC [ http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]. |
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Dust over the Arabian Sea
| Title |
Dust over the Arabian Sea |
| Description |
Dust blew over the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea on July 15, 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, a thin layer of dust hangs in the air over the region, blending in with the clouds to the east. Although the dust is not particularly thick, it covers a large area. Summer heat contributes to dust storms by creating atmospheric conditions where even light winds can raise dust clouds. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Dust Over the Gulf of Aden
| Title |
Dust Over the Gulf of Aden |
| Description |
Dust from the Arabian Peninsula and a wake from Socotra Island may have collaborated to create dust streamers over the Arabian Sea in early September 2006. Wind passing over an island can create a wake, affecting atmospheric patterns downwind. Satellites have long observed such phenomena in clouds. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=4487 ] On September 9, 2006, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image of what appears to be an island wake. Rather than affecting clouds, however, this wake appears to affect a dust plume. The Arabian Peninsula produces a substantial portion of Earth's dust storms, and the area likely supplied the dust captured in this image. Once caught in the island's wake, the dust produced two streamers running in a roughly parallel direction. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Dust storm in the Indus Vall
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| Title |
Dust storm in the Indus Valley |
| Description |
A large dust storm blew through the Indus Valley, along the border between Pakistan and India, on June 12, 2006. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image the same day. In this picture, the dust heads toward the Himalaya Mountains in the top right corner of the image. In the lower-left corner of the image, sprays of clouds appear to blow in the same direction as the dust, away from the Arabian Sea and toward the northeast. Once the dust reaches the mountains, it changes direction and blows along their southern edge. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. [ http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] |
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Dust Storm over Pakistan
| Title |
Dust Storm over Pakistan |
| Description |
A dust storm blew off the southern coasts of Pakistan and Iran, flowing out over the Arabian Sea on June 1, 2006. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took this picture the same day. In this image, the dust appears as pale beige swirls over the ocean water. The dust appears thickest in the east, south of Pakistan. To the east of the dust storm is some cloud cover. Dust storms often result from extremely hot, dry conditions, and they occur frequently in the Middle East. According to news reports, Pakistan suffered a severe heat wave in May 2006, and temperatures remained high at the beginning of June. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Siachen Glacier
| Title |
Siachen Glacier |
| Description |
At an altitude of roughly 5,400 meters (17,700 feet), the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir is a forbidding place. Blizzards can last for weeks, temperatures can drop to -55 degrees Celsius (-67 degrees Fahrenheit), and crevasses can swallow a person whole. At much lower altitudes, the glacier's impact is benign: it is the source of the Nubra River, a tributary of the Indus River flowing into Pakistan and the Arabian Sea. Sometimes described as a white snake, the Siachen Glacier is more than 70 kilometers long. Lying inside a rock-strewn trough roughly 2 kilometers wide, the glacier is covered with snow in the middle. Landsat 7 took this picture on May 18, 2001. The glacier's central region is covered with snow, and that snow and the rest of the glacier's icy surface appear white. Glaciers can merge together like rivers, and that is the case here. Several tributary rivers of ice flow together, such as the Lolofond and Teram Shehr glaciers, adding their ice to the Siachen Glacier as it winds southeast, where the Nubra River emerges from its terminus. In the scene, snow and ice cover most of the jagged peaks of the Himalaya Mountains. At an altitude far too high to support a forest, the bare mountainous surfaces appear in varying shades of beige. India and Pakistan fought for control of this glacier starting in the 1980s. Long known as the world's highest battleground, the glacier could enjoy a different status. By early 2006, some diplomats discussed making the area a peace park. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the University of Maryland's Global Land Cover Facility. [ http://glcf.umiacs.umd.edu/index.shtml ] |
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Tropical Cyclone 03B
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone 03B |
| Description |
Cyclonic storms in the Arabian Sea are rare, but not unheard of. Two tropical cyclones in the space of a month, on the other hand, is quite rare indeed. Unlike its predecessor, Tropical Cyclone Gonu, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14295 ] Cyclone 03B originated on the opposite side of the Indian Peninsula in the Bay of Bengal. At 11:10 a.m. local time (06:10 UTC) on June 25, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image, Tropical Cyclone 03B was reforming in the Arabian Sea south of the Pakistan coast after having crossed over India. The storm system has a discernible spiraling shape, but does not appear well-formed in this image. The storm has no distinct eye, suggesting that it was not particularly well organized. At the time, sustained winds were measured at 60 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour) according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] The storm flooded India's Andhra Pradesh province, resulting in 45 deaths, according to Weather Underground. [ http://www.wunderground.com/ ] It also caused flooding and wind damage in Karachi, Pakistan, where the death toll was around 200, according to BBC News. [ http://news.bbc.co.uk/ ] After crossing land, the storm reached the Arabian Sea and began to reform. As of June 26, forecasts were calling for the storm to gain some organization and power, skirt the Pakistan coast, and make landfall again somewhere near the border between Iran and Pakistan. Storm surge from Cyclone 03B was predicted to be moderately high, even though the storm was not strong, since the offshore waters are shallow, similar to the northern Gulf of Mexico. Because these kinds of storms are rare in the area, coastal communities are particularly vulnerable to storm surge damage. You can download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone 03B KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jun2007/ cyc03b_tmo_2007158.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 ] at Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Tropical Cyclone Gonu
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Gonu |
| Description |
MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center., You might expect to see a storm with near-perfect symmetry and a well-defined eye hovering over the warm waters of the Caribbean or in the South Pacific, but Tropical Cyclone Gonu showed up in an unusual place. On June 4, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image, Tropical Cyclone Gonu was approaching the northeastern shore of Oman, a region better known for hot desert conditions. Though rare, cyclones like Gonu are not unheard of in the northern Indian Ocean basin. Most cyclones that form in the region form over the Bay of Bengal, east of India. Those that take shape over the Arabian Sea, west of the Indian peninsula, tend to be small and fizzle out before coming ashore. Cyclone Gonu is a rare exception. As of June 4, 2007, the powerful storm had reached a dangerous Category 4 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] status, and it was forecast to graze Oman's northeastern shore, following the Gulf of Oman. According to storm statistics maintained on Unisys Weather, [ http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/ ] the last storm of this size to form over the Arabian Sea was Cyclone 01A, which tracked northwest along the coast of India between May 21 and May 28, 2001. Unlike Gonu's forecasted track, Cyclone 01A's path never brought it ashore. MODIS acquired this photo-like image at 12:00 p.m. local time (9:00 UTC), a few hours after the Joint Typhoon Warning Center [ https://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc.php ] estimated Gonu's sustained winds to be over 240 kilometers per hour (145 miles per hour). The satellite image confirms that Gonu was a super-powerful cyclone. The storm has the hallmark tightly wound arms that spiral around a well-defined, circular eye. The eye is surrounded by a clear wall of towering clouds that cast shadows on the surrounding clouds. Called hot towers, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17662 ] these clouds are a sign of the powerful uplift that feeds the storm. The symmetrical spirals, clear eye, and towering clouds are all features regularly seen in satellite images of other particularly powerful cyclones, which are also known as typhoons or hurricanes when they form in other parts of the world. 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. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2007155-0604/Gonu.A2007155.0900 ] You can download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone Gonu KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jun2007/Gonu.A2007155.0900.250m.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, |
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Tropical Cyclone Gonu
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Gonu |
| Description |
At one time, Cyclone Gonu was a powerful Category 5 storm packing sustained winds of 255 kilometers per hour (160 miles per hour), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, [ https://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc.php ] and on a course towards Oman. This made it the most powerful cyclone ever to threaten the Arabian Peninsula since record keeping began back in 1945. Tropical cyclones do on occasion form in the Arabian Sea, but they rarely exceed tropical storm intensity. In 2006, Tropical Storm Mukda was the only system to form in the region, and it remained well out to sea before dissipating. Gonu became a tropical storm in the morning (local time) of June 2, 2007, in the east-central Arabian Sea. After some initial fluctuations in direction, the storm settled on a northwesterly track and began to intensify. Gonu went from tropical storm intensity to a Category 2 Tropical Cyclone [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] on the night of June 3. Overnight, it developed into a Category 4 storm with winds estimated at 210 km/hr (132 mph). The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ], captured this image of Gonu as the storm was moving northwest over the central Arabian Sea. The image was taken at 6:23 a.m. local time (03:23 UTC) on June 4, 2007, when Gonu was a Category 4 storm. It shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity looking down on the storm. The distribution of rain within the storm reveals the storm's structure, and in this case, Gonu displays all of the tell-tale signs of a potent storm. Not only did Gonu have a complete, well-formed, symmetrical eye surrounded by an intense eyewall (innermost red ring), this inner eyewall was surrounded by a concentric outer eyewall (outermost red and green ring). This double eyewall structure only occurs in very intense storms. Eventually the outer eyewall will contract and replace the inner eyewall, a process known as eyewall replacement. The image was made with data from several sensors on the TRMM satellite. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, while those in the outer portion are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. Several hours after this image was taken, Gonu reached Category 5 intensity, the very peak of possible storm strengths. The system remained in this high state through the day, then began weakening during the night of June 4 as it continued to approach the coast of Oman. The center remained just offshore of the northeast coast of Oman as a Category 1 storm before turning northward towards Iran, where it was expected to make landfall as a tropical storm, according to forecasts made on June 6, 2007. The TRMM satellite was placed into service in November 1997. From its low-earth orbit, TRMM provides valuable images and information on storm systems around the tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors, including the first precipitation radar in space. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. NASA image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Tropical Cyclone Gonu
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Gonu |
| Description |
A storm with near-perfect symmetry and a well-defined eye hovering over the warm waters of the Caribbean or in the South Pacific is not unusual, but Tropical Cyclone Gonu showed up in a rather different place: the Arabian Sea. Though rare, cyclones like Gonu are not unheard of in the northern Indian Ocean basin. Most cyclones that form in the region form over the Bay of Bengal, east of India. Those that take shape over the Arabian Sea, west of the Indian peninsula, tend to be small and fizzle out before coming ashore. Cyclone Gonu was a rare exception. According to storm statistics maintained on Unisys Weather, [ http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/ ] the last storm of this size to form over the Arabian Sea was Cyclone 01A, which tracked northwest along the coast of India between May 21 and May 28, 2001. Unlike Gonu's forecasted track, Cyclone 01A's path never brought it ashore. At 9:35 a.m. local time (06:35 UTC) on June 5, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image, Tropical Cyclone Gonu was approaching the northeastern shore of Oman. At this time, the powerful storm had reached a dangerous Category 4 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] status. Sustained winds were measured at 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour) according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] at the time of this MODIS image. The storm has the hallmark tightly wound arms that spiral around a well-defined, circular eye. The eye is surrounded by a wall of towering clouds that cast shadows on the surrounding clouds. Called hot towers, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17662 ], these clouds are a sign of the powerful uplift that feeds the storm. The symmetrical spirals, distinct eye, and towering clouds are all features regularly seen in satellite images of other particularly powerful cyclones, which are also known as typhoons or hurricanes when they form in other parts of the world. The forecast as of June 5 called for the storm to graze Oman's shore, but with the center of the storm staying offshore in the Gulf of Oman. The storm's first landfall was predicted to be in southern Iran. The cooler water along the Oman coast was expected to rob the storm of some of its intensity, and it was predicted to strike the Iranian coast at around Category 1 strength. If, however, the forecast track is not quite right and the storm stays farther from shore over shallower and much warmer waters in the Gulf of Oman, it could make landfall while still packing Category 3 winds. In either case, communities along the Gulf of Oman are poorly prepared for hurricanes, given their rarity, and severe damage to cities and oil platforms is possible due to winds and storm surge. 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. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2007156-0605/Gonu.A2007156.0635 ] You can download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone Gonu KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jun2007/Gonu.A2007156.0635.250m.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. |
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Flooding in Eastern India
| Title |
Flooding in Eastern India |
| Description |
Abutting the southern front of the snow-clad Himalaya Mountains, the broad, flat Ganges Plain is laced with rivers that transport glacial melt to the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea. Not surprisingly, these rivers lead something of a Dr. JekyllMr. Hyde existence: during the dry winter, the rivers are small and sedate, their headwaters largely locked in ice. In the summer, temperatures in the mountains climb, melting mountain-top snow and fueling the Asian monsoon, and the rivers swell into roaring giants. Not every year is the same howeverthe monsoon may be wetter in a particular year or winter snows might be greater, leading to more snowmeltand 2007 numbered among the more extreme flood years. Heavy rain throughout July pushed the Ganges and its many tributaries over their banks, submerging large tracts of land in northeastern India. As of August 3, nearly 20 million people had been displaced in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, and 125 had died in India, reported BBC News. [ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6927389.stm ] Among the most severely hit states was India's northeastern Bihar state. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) flying on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image of flooding on the Ganges and its tributaries on August 3, 2007. The lower image, captured by Aqua MODIS on June 4, 2007, shows the plain before the summer monsoon and snowmelt swelled the rivers. In these images (made with a combination of infrared and visible light), water is black or dark blue. Water takes on a brighter shade of blue when tinged with sediment. Clouds, pale blue and white, are scattered over the flooded region, which is bright green with vegetation. Sparsely vegetated areas or bare earth in the lower image are rose-tinted tan. On August 3, the Ganges, Gandak, and Kosi Rivers were so swollen that it was hard to see exactly where the rivers normally flow. The tributaries that feed the Kosi River, not even visible on June 4, have combined in a vast web of water-covered land. The light blue area under the clouds in the lower left corner of the image is probably water-soaked earth, not standing water. Though destructive, seasonal flooding in the Ganges River system blankets the plain with fertile alluvial soil, making it productive farmland. Because the plain is so fertile, it is one of the most densely populated regions on Earth.Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_India3/2007215 ] of northeastern India are available from the MODIS Rapid Response System in both false color, as shown here, and photo-like true color. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Floods in Pakistan: Natural
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
…
pakistan_tmo_2007183
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-07-02 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
pakistan_tmo_2007183 |
|
Bombay, India: Image of the
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Formerly known as Bombay, th
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bombay_L7
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2002-07-23 |
| creator |
NASA -- Image courtesy Ron Beck, edc.usgs.gov/ USGS EROS Data Center Satellite Systems Branch |
| identifier |
bombay_L7 |
|
Dust over the Arabian Sea: N
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Dust blew over the Gulf of O
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gulfoman_tmo_2006196
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006-07-15 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
gulfoman_tmo_2006196 |
|
The Coast of Oman : Image of
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
This perspective view includ
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srtm_oman
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2000-02-15 |
| creator |
NASA -- Image by NASA/JPL/NIMA |
| identifier |
srtm_oman |
|
Red Plankton in the Arabian
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
In the Arabian Sea, sunlight
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PIA04369
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2004-10-02 |
| creator |
NASA -- Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ MISR Team. Text by Clare Averill (Raytheon/JPL) and Dr. Patria Viva F. Banzon (University of Miami). |
| identifier |
PIA04369 |
|
Dust over Gulf of Oman, Arab
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A weather forecast for the U
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arabia_tmo_2008033
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2008-02-02 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
arabia_tmo_2008033 |
|
Tropical Cyclone Gonu: Natur
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
You might expect to see a st
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gonu_amo_2007155
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-06-04 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
gonu_amo_2007155 |
|
Haze along the Himalaya Fron
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
This Moderate Resolution Ima
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aqua_nindia_01dec04
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2004-12-01 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
aqua_nindia_01dec04 |
|
Dust in Afghanistan: Natural
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Across a wide portion of sou
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afghanistan_tmo_07apr05
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-04-08 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
afghanistan_tmo_07apr05 |
|
Tarbela Dam, Pakistan: Image
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
The Indus River basin extend
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ISS005-E-12804
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2002-09-06 |
| creator |
NASA -- Astronaut photograph eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS005&roll=E&frame=12804 ISS005-E-12804 was acquired September 6, 2002, with a Kodak 760C digital camera with an 800 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Group, Johnson Space Center. The spaceflight.nasa.gov/home/index.html International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth |
| identifier |
ISS005-E-12804 |
|
Dust storm in the Indus Vall
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A large dust storm blew thro
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india_amo_2006163
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006-06-12 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
india_amo_2006163 |
|
Monsoon Floods Inundate East
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Abutting the southern front
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Bihar_AMO_2007215
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-08-03 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA image courtesy the rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. |
| identifier |
Bihar_AMO_2007215 |
|
Dust over Gulf of Oman, Arab
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
. * Struck, R. (2008, Februa
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ge_08466
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2008-01-31 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
ge_08466 |
|
Dust Over the Gulf of Aden:
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Dust from the Arabian Penins
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socotra_tmo_2006252
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006-09-09 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
socotra_tmo_2006252 |
|
Agricultural Fires in Northw
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A tight cluster of red dots
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terra_windia_22oct04
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2004-10-22 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
terra_windia_22oct04 |
|
Wave Clouds over the Arabian
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Like a massive, ethereal bir
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ge_07758
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-05-08 |
| creator |
NASA -- Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response System at NASA GSFC. Image interpretation courtesy Belay Demoz, NASA GSFC. |
| identifier |
ge_07758 |
|
Dust Blowing off the Coast o
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Intense heat can spawn dust
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arabiansea_tmo_2006155
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006-06-04 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
arabiansea_tmo_2006155 |
|
Dust Storm over Pakistan: Na
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A dust storm blew off the so
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pakistan_amo_2006152
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006-06-01 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
pakistan_amo_2006152 |
|
Tropical Cyclone 03B: Natura
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Cyclonic storms in the Arabi
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cyc03b_tmo_2007176
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-06-25 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
cyc03b_tmo_2007176 |
|
Tropical Cyclone Gonu: Natur
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
At one time, Cyclone Gonu wa
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gonu_trmm_2007155
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-06-04 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
gonu_trmm_2007155 |
|
Tropical Cyclone Gonu: Image
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
You might expect to see a st
…
ge_07743
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-06-04 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. |
| identifier |
ge_07743 |
|
Tropical Cyclone Gonu: Image
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
You might expect to see a st
…
ge_07743
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-06-04 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. |
| identifier |
ge_07743 |
|
Tropical Cyclone Gonu: Natur
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A storm with near-perfect sy
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gonu_tmo_2007156
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-06-05 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
gonu_tmo_2007156 |
|
Wave Clouds off West Africa
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Like ripples on a pond, a se
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ge_08139
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-10-09 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA images courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption information courtesy Belay Demoz, NASA GSFC. |
| identifier |
ge_08139 |
|
Wave Clouds off West Africa
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Like ripples on a pond, a se
…
ge_08139
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-10-09 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA images courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption information courtesy Belay Demoz, NASA GSFC. |
| identifier |
ge_08139 |
|
Wave Clouds off West Africa
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Like ripples on a pond, a se
…
ge_08139
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-10-09 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA images courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption information courtesy Belay Demoz, NASA GSFC. |
| identifier |
ge_08139 |
|
Dust over the Arabian Sea: N
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Dust blowing out of India, P
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pakistan_amo_2006099
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006-04-09 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
pakistan_amo_2006099 |
|
Haze over Southwestern India
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A plume of haze descended ov
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swindia_amo_2006336
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006-12-02 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
swindia_amo_2006336 |
|
The Persian Gulf: Image of t
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Clouds of tan, blue, and gre
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PersianGulf_AMO_2007332
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-11-28 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
PersianGulf_AMO_2007332 |
|
Perspective View, Landsat Ov
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PIA02768
Sol (our sun)
C-Band Interferometric Radar
…
| Title |
Perspective View, Landsat Overlay, Salalah, Oman, Southern Arabian Peninsula |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This perspective view includes the city of Salalah, the second largest city in Oman. The city is located on the broad, generally bright coastal plain and includes areas of green irrigated crops. This view was generated from a Landsat image draped over a preliminary elevation model produced by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The edges of the dataset are to the upper right, left, and lower left. The Arabian Sea (lower right) is represented by the blue false-colored area. Vertical exaggeration of topography is 3X. This scene illustrates how topography determines local climate and, in turn, where people live. The Arabian Peninsula is very arid. However, the steep escarpment of the Qara Mountains wrings moisture from the summer monsoons allowing for growth of natural vegetation (green along the mountain fronts and in the canyons), and soil development (dark brown areas), as well as cultural development of the coastal plain. The monsoons also provide moisture for Frankincense trees growing on the desert (north) side of the mountains. In ancient times, incense derived from the sap of the Frankincense tree was the basis for an extremely lucrative trade. Landsat satellites have provided visible light and infrared images of the Earth continuously since 1972. SRTM topographic data match the 30-meter (99-foot)spatial resolution of most Landsat images and provide a valuable complement for studying the historic and growing Landsat data archive. The Landsat 7 Thematic Mapper image used here was provided to the SRTM project by the United States Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center,Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Elevation data used in this image was acquired by 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, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, DC. Size: 45 kilometers (28 miles) across x 178 kilometers (110 miles) distance Location: 17 deg. North lat., 54 deg. East lon. Orientation: North toward upper left Image Data: Landsat bands 1, 2+4, 3 in blue, green, red Date Acquired: February 15, 2000 (SRTM), November 9, 1999 (Landsat) Image: NASA/JPL/NIMA |
|
Red Plankton in the Arabian
…
PIA04369
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Red Plankton in the Arabian Sea |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82° north and 82° south latitude. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 25483. The still image panels cover an area of about 240 kilometers x 290 kilometers, and utilize Local Mode data from within blocks 71 to 73 and within World Reference System-2 path 155. 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., In the Arabian Sea, sunlight and nutrients has fueled a startling occurrence of colorful phytoplankton and bacterial assemblages, which is captured in these natural color images from NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). Several areas exhibit an unmistakably reddish hue, particularly in the upper portion of the images. The image set is centered along the Tropic of Cancer, about 400 kilometers east of Muscat, Oman, and was acquired on October 2, 2004. A view from MISR's nadir (directly downward viewing) camera is provided on the left, while the two smaller images at the upper and lower right are from MISR's 60-degree forward and backward pointing cameras, respectively. The Arabian Sea is an unusual part of the world's oceans because it is surrounded by land masses from three sides, and light levels in the region are strongly influenced by cloud cover generated by the Indian monsoons. Phytoplankton concentrations in the Arabian Sea tend to be highest during September and October, towards the end of the summer monsoon. The offshore drift of surface waters and their replacement by deeper, nutrient-rich waters means that the Arabian Sea is very productive, but such fertilization also sometimes results in copious phytoplankton production and oxygen depletion of the subsurface waters. Although red phytoplankton fluorescences have been associated with the low oxygen concentrations in the intermediate and deep waters of the Arabian Sea, the red pigment in this scene may instead be related to the dynamic processes of plankton grazing and decomposition. Multiple observation angles allow the color of surface ocean waters to be studied in greater detail, and provides a method to observe regions that can not be examined by satellite instruments that view nadir only, in cases where the nadir view is affected by sun glint. In this case, the ocean color in the lower right-hand corner is discernible at 60-degrees backward but not at nadir. Multiple angles also enable the observation of ship and cloud motion. The movement of several ships across the scene is illustrated in an animation. The oblique imagery used in this image set is part of the Local Mode data acquired during the Unified Aerosol Experiment United Arab Emirates (UAE2) field campaign |
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