Narrow Search
 
 
Advanced Search

Browse All : Terra of Zambia

Printer Friendly
1-50 of 50
     
     
Floods in Southern Africa
Title Floods in Southern Africa
Description A black web of water surrounds the Zambezi River in the top image, captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on February 10, 2007. Mozambique was experiencing its worst floods in six years when the Zambezi flowed over its banks in January and February 2007, reported the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YZHG-6YCQR4?OpenDocument&rc=1&emid=FL-2007-000011-ZMB ]). As of February 12, an estimated 29 people had died and 60,000 had been evacuated from the river's banks. Early and heavy rains fell over the entire Zambezi Basin, pushing the Zambezi and many of its tributaries into flood stage. The floods are likely to worsen as the 2,574-kilometer-long river receives water from its swollen tributaries in Angola, Namibia, Zambia, and Malawi. Releases from the massive Cahora Bassa Reservoir, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14110 ] which is reaching its capacity, are also expected to make flooding worse along the lower Zambezi. These images show the lower Zambezi where it meets the Shire River flowing south from Malawi, one of the most severely affected regions in Mozambique. The top image provides a remarkably cloud-free view of the floods, while the lower image, taken on December 31, 2006, shows the region before the rains started in January. The images were made with a combination of infrared and visible light to highlight the presence of water on the ground. Water is black or dark blue, while plant-covered land is green. Bare earth is tan and pink, and clouds are pale blue and white. Fires are outlined in red. Images such as these and photo-like, true-color images are provided by the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_SMozambique/2007041 ] on a daily basis. NASA image 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 A black web of water surrounds the Zambezi River in the top image, captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on February 10, 2007. Mozambique was experiencing its worst floods in six years when the Zambezi flowed over its banks in January and February 2007, reported the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YZHG-6YCQR4?OpenDocument&rc=1&emid=FL-2007-000011-ZMB ]). As of February 12, an estimated 29 people had died and 60,000 had been evacuated from the river's banks. Early and heavy rains fell over the entire Zambezi Basin, pushing the Zambezi and many of its tributaries into flood stage. The floods are likely to worsen as the 2,574-kilometer-long river receives water from its swollen tributaries in Angola, Namibia, Zambia, and Malawi. Releases from the massive Cahora Bassa Reservoir, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14110 ] which is reaching its capacity, are also expected to make flooding worse along the lower Zambezi. These images show the lower Zambezi where it meets the Shire River flowing south from Malawi, one of the most severely affected regions in Mozambique. The top image provides a remarkably cloud-free view of the floods, while the lower image, taken on December 31, 2006, shows the region before the rains started in January. The images were made with a combination of infrared and visible light to highlight the presence of water on the ground. Water is black or dark blue, while plant-covered land is green. Bare earth is tan and pink, and clouds are pale blue and white. Fires are outlined in red. Images such as these and photo-like, true-color images are provided by the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_SMozambique/2007041 ] on a daily basis. NASA image 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 On February 8, 2007, the government of Mozambique ordered the evacuation of 2,500 people as water levels on the Zambezi River continued to rise, reported the BBC. [ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6341725.stm ] Floods have threatened many countries in southern Africa since early 2007, when the rainy season got an unusually early and intense start. As rivers in Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe filled, they drained into the Zambezi River, which spilled over its banks in many locations. By early February, the situation continued to deteriorate, driven in part by the vast amount of water being released from the Cahora Bassa Dam in western Mozambique. On February 6, as much as 5,170 cubic meters of water was being discharged from the dam every second, as more than 8,000 cubic meters of water flowed into the reservoir, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YSAR-6Y6LWF?OpenDocument&rc=1&emid=FL-2007-000011-ZMB ]). The dam was approaching its capacity on February 8, said OCHA, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image. The image shows the western shore of the Cahora Bassa Reservoir where the Zambezi and its tributary, the Luangwa River, form the back edge of the lake. The dam itself is beyond the right edge of the above image, but is shown in the large image. The lower image shows the region on December 24, 2006, before the rains started. By February 8, the reservoir had expanded to the confluence of the two rivers. The Luangwa River had also widened well beyond its dry-season banks. The water in the Cohora Bassa Reservoir lightened from blue-black to a dusty blue with the influx of muddy flood water. Both of these images were created with a combination of infrared and visible light that makes water appear dark blue or black. Plant-covered land is bright green, and bare or sparsely vegetated land is tan-pink. Clouds are white and pale blue. The MODIS Rapid Response System [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_Zambia/2007039 ] produces similar false-color images as well as photo-like, true-color images of southern Africa daily. 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 On February 8, 2007, the government of Mozambique ordered the evacuation of 2,500 people as water levels on the Zambezi River continued to rise, reported the BBC. [ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6341725.stm ] Floods have threatened many countries in southern Africa since early 2007, when the rainy season got an unusually early and intense start. As rivers in Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe filled, they drained into the Zambezi River, which spilled over its banks in many locations. By early February, the situation continued to deteriorate, driven in part by the vast amount of water being released from the Cahora Bassa Dam in western Mozambique. On February 6, as much as 5,170 cubic meters of water was being discharged from the dam every second, as more than 8,000 cubic meters of water flowed into the reservoir, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YSAR-6Y6LWF?OpenDocument&rc=1&emid=FL-2007-000011-ZMB ]). The dam was approaching its capacity on February 8, said OCHA, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image. The image shows the western shore of the Cahora Bassa Reservoir where the Zambezi and its tributary, the Luangwa River, form the back edge of the lake. The dam itself is beyond the right edge of the above image, but is shown in the large image. The lower image shows the region on December 24, 2006, before the rains started. By February 8, the reservoir had expanded to the confluence of the two rivers. The Luangwa River had also widened well beyond its dry-season banks. The water in the Cohora Bassa Reservoir lightened from blue-black to a dusty blue with the influx of muddy flood water. Both of these images were created with a combination of infrared and visible light that makes water appear dark blue or black. Plant-covered land is bright green, and bare or sparsely vegetated land is tan-pink. Clouds are white and pale blue. The MODIS Rapid Response System [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_Zambia/2007039 ] produces similar false-color images as well as photo-like, true-color images of southern Africa daily. 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 Zambia's Chambeshi River had been transformed from a barely visible line to a broad lake more than 20 kilometers wide when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image on February 6, 2007. Many rivers in southern Africa, including the Zambezi, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14110 ] pushed over their banks in early 2007 under the onslaught of an exceptionally early and heavy rainy season. In East Zambia alone, 23,751 households had been affected by flooding along the Chambeshi and other rivers as of February 7, reported the Dartmouth Flood Observatory. [ http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7efloods/Archives/2007sum.htm ] Taken a little more than a month apart, this pair of images illustrates the severity of the flooding in East Zambia. The images were made with a combination of visible and infrared light to increase the contrast between water and land. In this type of false-color image, water is black, plant-covered land is green, and bare ground is a rosy tan. Clouds are pale blue and white. The tan land around the Chambeshi River in the lower image may illustrate the typical extent of the river during the rainy season. Clearly, the river has expanded beyond the patch of plant-free ground. The large images provided above are at MODIS' full resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Both false-color and photo-like, true-color images of Zambia are available from the MODIS Rapid Response System [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_Zambia/2007039 ] in a variety of resolutions on a daily basis. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Food Shortages in Southeast …
Title Food Shortages in Southeast Africa
Description By December 1, 2005, many countries in southeastern Africa were facing food shortages for the fourth year in a row. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that as many as 10 million were in need of food aid in Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Swaziland. The most severe shortages were in Malawi and Zambia, both of which declared a national disaster, and in Zimbabwe. Though hunger can result from sudden natural disasters like earthquakes, storms, or floods, most famines take months or years to develop. This food shortage is no exception. In February 2005, the rains needed to water developing crops failed to fall, and the drought resulted in a poor harvest. The effects of the drought on the landscape are clear in the images above. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took the top image on March 6, 2005, just after the dry spell in February. The lower image was taken on March 3, 2004. Although clouds cover part of the scene in 2004, most of the region is green with growing plants. In 2005, by contrast, the landscape is largely brown. The contrast between the bright green river-fed plants in Malawi and the surrounding rain-fed lands is much greater than it was in 2004. The preserved Miombo woodlands [ http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/at/at0704.html ] in Kasungu National Park in the top of the image remain green while the surrounding human-altered landscape has browned in the drought. The primary crop grown in this region is maize. The images illustrate the value of satellite data in monitoring crops during a drought. Satellite data can show how weather conditions affect crops over a wide region. This big-picture perspective allows organizations like the Food and Agriculture Organization and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to estimate the size of a harvest months in advance. In this case, FAS lowered production estimates for Zambia, Malawi, and Zambia in April 2005 as the harvest was beginning. Mobilizing the food aid pipeline requires timely crop production estimates at or slightly before harvest time so that food aid can arrive 6-8 months later, when the "hunger season" traditionally sets in. Without the early warning that such estimates give, aid would not arrive until long after it is needed. By December 2005, when the food shortages came to the attention of international media, analysts were already monitoring the next season's crops, to be harvested in April and May 2006. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ], at NASA GSFC. Caption information courtesy Curt Reynolds of the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service as part of the Global Agricultural Monitoring Project, a partnership between NASA, FAS, and the University of Maryland.
Food Shortages in Southeast …
Title Food Shortages in Southeast Africa
Description By December 1, 2005, many countries in southeastern Africa were facing food shortages for the fourth year in a row. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that as many as 10 million were in need of food aid in Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Swaziland. The most severe shortages were in Malawi and Zambia, both of which declared a national disaster, and in Zimbabwe. Though hunger can result from sudden natural disasters like earthquakes, storms, or floods, most famines take months or years to develop. This food shortage is no exception. In February 2005, the rains needed to water developing crops failed to fall, and the drought resulted in a poor harvest. The effects of the drought on the landscape are clear in the images above. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took the top image on March 6, 2005, just after the dry spell in February. The lower image was taken on March 3, 2004. Although clouds cover part of the scene in 2004, most of the region is green with growing plants. In 2005, by contrast, the landscape is largely brown. The contrast between the bright green river-fed plants in Malawi and the surrounding rain-fed lands is much greater than it was in 2004. The preserved Miombo woodlands [ http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/at/at0704.html ] in Kasungu National Park in the top of the image remain green while the surrounding human-altered landscape has browned in the drought. The primary crop grown in this region is maize. The images illustrate the value of satellite data in monitoring crops during a drought. Satellite data can show how weather conditions affect crops over a wide region. This big-picture perspective allows organizations like the Food and Agriculture Organization and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to estimate the size of a harvest months in advance. In this case, FAS lowered production estimates for Zambia, Malawi, and Zambia in April 2005 as the harvest was beginning. Mobilizing the food aid pipeline requires timely crop production estimates at or slightly before harvest time so that food aid can arrive 6-8 months later, when the "hunger season" traditionally sets in. Without the early warning that such estimates give, aid would not arrive until long after it is needed. By December 2005, when the food shortages came to the attention of international media, analysts were already monitoring the next season's crops, to be harvested in April and May 2006. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ], at NASA GSFC. Caption information courtesy Curt Reynolds of the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service as part of the Global Agricultural Monitoring Project, a partnership between NASA, FAS, and the University of Maryland.
Food Shortages in Southeast …
Title Food Shortages in Southeast Africa
Description By December 1, 2005, many countries in southeastern Africa were facing food shortages for the fourth year in a row. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that as many as 10 million were in need of food aid in Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Swaziland. The most severe shortages were in Malawi and Zambia, both of which declared a national disaster, and in Zimbabwe. Though hunger can result from sudden natural disasters like earthquakes, storms, or floods, most famines take months or years to develop. This food shortage is no exception. In February 2005, the rains needed to water developing crops failed to fall, and the drought resulted in a poor harvest. The effects of the drought on the landscape are clear in the images above. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took the top image on March 6, 2005, just after the dry spell in February. The lower image was taken on March 3, 2004. Although clouds cover part of the scene in 2004, most of the region is green with growing plants. In 2005, by contrast, the landscape is largely brown. The contrast between the bright green river-fed plants in Malawi and the surrounding rain-fed lands is much greater than it was in 2004. The preserved Miombo woodlands [ http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/at/at0704.html ] in Kasungu National Park in the top of the image remain green while the surrounding human-altered landscape has browned in the drought. The primary crop grown in this region is maize. The images illustrate the value of satellite data in monitoring crops during a drought. Satellite data can show how weather conditions affect crops over a wide region. This big-picture perspective allows organizations like the Food and Agriculture Organization and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to estimate the size of a harvest months in advance. In this case, FAS lowered production estimates for Zambia, Malawi, and Zambia in April 2005 as the harvest was beginning. Mobilizing the food aid pipeline requires timely crop production estimates at or slightly before harvest time so that food aid can arrive 6-8 months later, when the "hunger season" traditionally sets in. Without the early warning that such estimates give, aid would not arrive until long after it is needed. By December 2005, when the food shortages came to the attention of international media, analysts were already monitoring the next season's crops, to be harvested in April and May 2006. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ], at NASA GSFC. Caption information courtesy Curt Reynolds of the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service as part of the Global Agricultural Monitoring Project, a partnership between NASA, FAS, and the University of Maryland.
Fire and Smoke in Angola
Title Fire and Smoke in Angola
Description In August and September, accumulated smoke and smog from seasonal agricultural burning and charcoal production in southern Africa gets "recycled"across many southern Africa countries, including Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. At that time of year, a semi-permanent area of high atmospheric pressure takes up residence over that part of the continent, and the air re-circulates in a counterclockwise spin around the high. Air does escape from this spin-cycle at times and spreads out over the Indian Ocean to the east, or the Atlantic Ocean to the west, as it does in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image captured by NASA's Terra satellite on August 28, 2004. At right are of parts of (top to bottom) Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola. Haze spreads out over the Atlantic, giving the clouds a dirty appearance. Contrast their color with the brightness of the cloud over Angola, at the bottom of the image to the right of center. MODIS also detected numerous fires, which have been marked in red. NASA scientists studied this atmospheric phenomenon in 2000 in a field campaign called SAFARI. To learn more, read "Red Alert! 'Recycled Ozone' Adds to Health Hazards in Zambia" [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NasaNews/2001/200112106304.html ] in the Earth Observatory's NASA News Archive. NASA image by Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC
Fires in Central and Souther …
Title Fires in Central and Southern Africa
Description Scores of fires were burning in the Democratic Republic of Congo (top), Angola (bottom left), and Zambia (lower right) on May 9, 2002, early in the southern Africa fire season. This true-color image was acquired by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA?s Terra satellite. Please note that the high-resolution scene provided here is 500 meters per pixel. For a copy of this scene at the sensor's fullest resolution, visit the MODIS Rapidfire site. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
Fires in Central and Souther …
Title Fires in Central and Southern Africa
Description Just south of the image of the Democratic Republic of Congo acquired on May 9, 2002, this image of Angola (left) and Zambia (right) show that fires are burning over a wide area of central and southern Africa this May. Smoke that was visible in an image of the region on May 9, 2002, (bottom right) had cleared up by the time of this image. Both images were acquired by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA?s Terra satellite. Please note that the high-resolution scene provided here is 500 meters per pixel. For a copy of this scene at the sensor's fullest resolution, visit the MODIS Rapidfire site. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
Fires in Central and Souther …
Title Fires in Central and Southern Africa
Description The southern Africa burning season is still underway as farmers and ranchers light fires to clear fields for planting and to renew rangeland vegetation. Numerous fires (red dots) were detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA?s Terra satellite through Angola (top left quadrant) and Zambia (top right quadrant) and tapering off in Namibia (bottom left quadrant) and Botswana (bottom right quadrant). The green broomstick-shaped feature south of image center is the vegetation of the Okavango River Delta. The highly reflective area to its southeast is the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. Another salt flat, called Etosha Pan, is visible south of the Angola-Namibia border. This image was acquired on September 12, 2002. Image by Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA-GSFC
Seasonal floods along the Za …
Title Seasonal floods along the Zambezi River
Description Every year as the rainy season draws to a close, the Zambezi River pushes over its banks along its upper reaches in Zambia. Flooding is way of life to local tribes who regularly move to higher ground during the rainy season, but this year is proving to be worse than normal. Last year's floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=9122 ] displaced over 10,000 people in late March. This year, the river is already higher than it was last year, and people in Namibia's Caprivi Strip, downstream, are bracing for serious floods. Some villages are already surrounded by water. Record rainfall in January and continued heavy rain in February is to blame for the higher-than-average flood water in the Zambezi. The above Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) images provide a contrast between the dry season, November 24, 2003, and the wet season, March 3, 2004. Only a thin dark line marks the location of the river during the dry season, while black puddles show the river's extent during the wet season. In these false-color images, plants are green, bare land is tan, and clouds are white and light blue. The high-resolution images provided above are 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
Seasonal floods along the Za …
Title Seasonal floods along the Zambezi River
Description Every year as the rainy season draws to a close, the Zambezi River pushes over its banks along its upper reaches in Zambia. Flooding is way of life to local tribes who regularly move to higher ground during the rainy season, but this year is proving to be worse than normal. Last year's floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=9122 ] displaced over 10,000 people in late March. This year, the river is already higher than it was last year, and people in Namibia's Caprivi Strip, downstream, are bracing for serious floods. Some villages are already surrounded by water. Record rainfall in January and continued heavy rain in February is to blame for the higher-than-average flood water in the Zambezi. The above Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) images provide a contrast between the dry season, November 24, 2003, and the wet season, March 3, 2004. Only a thin dark line marks the location of the river during the dry season, while black puddles show the river's extent during the wet season. In these false-color images, plants are green, bare land is tan, and clouds are white and light blue. The high-resolution images provided above are 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
Seasonal floods along the Za …
Title Seasonal floods along the Zambezi River
Description Every year as the rainy season draws to a close, the Zambezi River pushes over its banks along its upper reaches in Zambia. Flooding is way of life to local tribes who regularly move to higher ground during the rainy season, but this year is proving to be worse than normal. Last year's floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=9122 ] displaced over 10,000 people in late March. This year, the river is already higher than it was last year, and people in Namibia's Caprivi Strip, downstream, are bracing for serious floods. Some villages are already surrounded by water. Record rainfall in January and continued heavy rain in February is to blame for the higher-than-average flood water in the Zambezi. The above Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) images provide a contrast between the dry season, November 24, 2003, and the wet season, March 3, 2004. Only a thin dark line marks the location of the river during the dry season, while black puddles show the river's extent during the wet season. In these false-color images, plants are green, bare land is tan, and clouds are white and light blue. The high-resolution images provided above are 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
Seasonal floods along the Za …
Title Seasonal floods along the Zambezi River
Description On April 12, 2004, the clouds that typically shroud Western Zambia this time of year cleared long enough to give the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite this clear view of the flooded Zambezi River. The river floods during the rainy season every year, but this year, the waters are higher than usual. Recent news reports say that 21,000 households in Western and Northwestern Zambia have been affected by the Zambezi floods so far. The flooding began in December 2003, and increased as the region received far more rain than normal. Now the river is covering most of the plains that line its banks, limiting access to the schools and health centers that are not submerged. Fields of maize and rice have also been covered by the floods. The high waters on this stretch of the Zambezi are also troubling to the already water-logged communities downstream. As these flood waters have moved down into northeast Namibia?s Caprivi Strip, they have affected 20,000 people, killing six. Now officials expect the river to continue to expand in the coming weeks. This image shows the Zambezi River in Zambia just north of the Namibian border. Flowing down across the lower left corner of the image is the Cuando River, which also appears to be flooded with black water surrounding the green lines that mark the river?s usual banks. This section of the Cuando River runs along the border of Zambia and Angola. In this false color image, water is black, and vegetation is bright green. A few white and light blue clouds skirt the edges of the scene. The high-resolution image provided above is 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
Flooding in southeastern Afr …
Title Flooding in southeastern Africa
Description Heavy rains across southeastern Africa led to flooding throughout Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique that displaced thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of acres of invaluable crops. This true color image of flooding in Zambia was acquired on January 10, 2003, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA?s Terra spacecraft. The floods looks like bruises on the land just below Lake Bengwuelu. Farther east in Malawi and Mozambique, flooding has driven over 30,000 people from their homes and killed seven people. The fallout from the floods, however, may be worse than the floods themselves. A food shortage currently exists in southeastern Africa, and the floods have now destroyed much valuable cropland along the rivers and lakes. In this false-color image, land is green, water is black and dark blue, and clouds are light blue and white. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
Flooding in the Zambezi Vall …
Title Flooding in the Zambezi Valley
Description The ribbon of blue flood water that surrounds the Zambezi River in the top image is not unusual. Every year, when the rainy season sets in over southern Angola and western Zambia, the river rises and spreads wide across its flood plain. The intense rains that fell from mid-December through March 2007 caused widespread flooding across southern Africa [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14125 ] from Angola to Mozambique. The floods caused dozens of deaths, displaced thousands, and caused extensive damage to both agriculture and infrastructure, said the Dartmouth Flood Observatory. [ http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7efloods/Archives/2007sum.htm ] Many of the deadly floods have occurred along various sections of the Zambezi and its tributaries. The floods shown here caused agricultural losses. In additional to being heavier than normal, the rains also came early, reported the Dartmouth Flood Observatory. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image on March 4, 2007. The lower image was taken on December 1, 2006, by the MODIS sensor flying on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, and is provided here to show the river during the dry season. The images were made with visible and infrared light to highlight the presence of water on the ground. Water is dark blue, while the surrounding plant-covered land is green. Bare or lightly vegetated ground is tan, and clouds are pale blue and white. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided by the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team.
Flooding in the Zambezi Vall …
Title Flooding in the Zambezi Valley
Description The ribbon of blue flood water that surrounds the Zambezi River in the top image is not unusual. Every year, when the rainy season sets in over southern Angola and western Zambia, the river rises and spreads wide across its flood plain. The intense rains that fell from mid-December through March 2007 caused widespread flooding across southern Africa [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14125 ] from Angola to Mozambique. The floods caused dozens of deaths, displaced thousands, and caused extensive damage to both agriculture and infrastructure, said the Dartmouth Flood Observatory. [ http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7efloods/Archives/2007sum.htm ] Many of the deadly floods have occurred along various sections of the Zambezi and its tributaries. The floods shown here caused agricultural losses. In additional to being heavier than normal, the rains also came early, reported the Dartmouth Flood Observatory. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image on March 4, 2007. The lower image was taken on December 1, 2006, by the MODIS sensor flying on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, and is provided here to show the river during the dry season. The images were made with visible and infrared light to highlight the presence of water on the ground. Water is dark blue, while the surrounding plant-covered land is green. Bare or lightly vegetated ground is tan, and clouds are pale blue and white. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided by the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team.
Flooding in Zambia
Title Flooding in Zambia
Description In late March 2003, heavy rains in Zambia led to floods that displaced over 10,000 people and destroyed thousands of valuable acres of farmland. The floods can be seen in this false-color image (right) acquired on March 27, 2003, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA?s Terra spacecraft. The most devastating floods occurred in the southern part of Zambia. The loss of cattle and crops in the floods has exacerbated a food shortage due to recent droughts. The food shortage could potentially affect over two million people in the small country. During dry season (left, acquired by MODIS Aqua on October 21, 2002), there is hardly any standing water in southern and western Zambia. In this false-color image, water is black. Clouds appear as pale blue and white, and land is green and tan. Image by Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA-GSFC
Widespread Burning across So …
Title Widespread Burning across South Central Africa
Description Many fires (red pixels) dot the landscape across Southern Central Africa, including parts of Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There is a faint greyish haze covering much of the region, particularly toward the north (top) of this scene. The fires are mostly the result of slash and burn agriculture, which is a common practice in this region during this time of year. Please note that the high-resolution scene provided here is 500 meters per pixel. For a copy of the scene at the sensor?s fullest resolution, visit the MODIS Rapid Response Image Gallery. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
Widespread Burning across So …
Title Widespread Burning across South Central Africa
Description On September 4, 2002, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA&#8217s Terra satellite captured this image of the southern Africa burning season still going strong. Numerous fires were detected by MODIS and are indicated with red dots. In the top half of the image is Zambia, and the Zambezi River can be seen as a prominent green line running southeast out of the upper left. In the southern past of the image are Botswana (left) and Zimbabwe (right). Beneath the streamers of smoke and cloud, the lush vegetation of the Okavango River Delta in Botswana is partially visible. Image by Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA-GSFC
Flooding in the Zambezi Vall …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
upperzambezi_tmo_2007063
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-03-04
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier upperzambezi_tmo_2007063
Intense Seasonal Floods in S …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
Zambia_TMO_2008008
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2008-01-08
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Zambia_TMO_2008008
Widespread Burning across So …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
On September 4, 2002, the mo …
sthrn_africa_05sep02
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2002-09-04
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier sthrn_africa_05sep02
Floods in Southern Africa: N …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
Mozambique_TMO_2007041
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-01-10
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Mozambique_TMO_2007041
Floods in Southern Africa: N …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
Zambezi_TMO_2007039
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-02-08
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Zambezi_TMO_2007039
Food Shortages in Southeast …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
zambia_TMO_2005065
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-03-06
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier zambia_TMO_2005065
Smoke in Southern Africa : I …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
This SeaWiFS true-color imag …
seawifs_safrica_smoke
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2000-09-04
creator NASA -- Image courtesy Gene Feldman, SeaWiFS Project and Orbital Sciences
identifier seawifs_safrica_smoke
Floods on the Kafue River, Z …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
The swampy wetlands that sur …
ge_08519
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2008-02-14
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ge_08519
Floods on the Kafue River, Z …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
The swampy wetlands that sur …
ge_08519
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2008-02-14
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ge_08519
Floods on the Kafue River, Z …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
The swampy wetlands that sur …
ge_08519
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2008-02-14
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ge_08519
Floods on the Kafue River, Z …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
The swampy wetlands that sur …
ge_08519
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2008-02-14
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ge_08519
Flooding in southeastern Afr …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Heavy rains across southeast …
zambia.TMO2003010
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-01-10
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier zambia.TMO2003010
Flooding in southeastern Afr …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Heavy rains across southeast …
zambia.TMO2003010
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-01-10
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier zambia.TMO2003010
Fires in Central and Souther …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
The southern Africa burning …
angola_12sep02
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2002-09-12
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier angola_12sep02
Seasonal floods along the Za …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
On April 12, 2004, the cloud …
terra_zambezi_12apr04
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2004-04-12
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier terra_zambezi_12apr04
Floodwaters Renew Zambia's K …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Not all floods are unwanted. …
PIA04371
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-07-19
creator NASA -- Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ MISR Team. Text by Clare Averill (Raytheon ITSS/JPL).
identifier PIA04371
Fire and Smoke in Angola: Na …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
In August and September, acc …
terra_africa_28aug04
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2004-08-28
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier terra_africa_28aug04
Fires in Central and Souther …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Scores of fires were burning …
Congo_2002129
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2002-05-09
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Congo_2002129
Fires in Central and Souther …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Just south of the image of t …
Zambia_2002131
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2002-05-09
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Zambia_2002131
Flooding in Zambia: Natural …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
In late March 2003, heavy ra …
zambia.TMO2003086
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-03-27
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier zambia.TMO2003086
Floods in Southern Africa: N …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
Zambia_TMO_2007037
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-02-06
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Zambia_TMO_2007037
Fires and Smoke in Central A …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
This year's fire season in c …
modis_zambia_fires
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2000-08-23
creator NASA -- Image By Jacques Descloitres, modis-land.gsfc.nasa.gov/ MODIS Land Team
identifier modis_zambia_fires
Chambeshi River Floods, Zamb …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Zambia's Chambeshi River had …
ge_07404
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-02-06
creator NASA -- NASA images courtesy the rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
identifier ge_07404
Chambeshi River Floods, Zamb …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Zambia's Chambeshi River had …
ge_07404
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-02-06
creator NASA -- NASA images courtesy the rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
identifier ge_07404
Chambeshi River Floods, Zamb …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Zambia's Chambeshi River had …
ge_07404
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-02-06
creator NASA -- NASA images courtesy the rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
identifier ge_07404
Chambeshi River Floods, Zamb …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Zambia's Chambeshi River had …
ge_07404
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-02-06
creator NASA -- NASA images courtesy the rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
identifier ge_07404
MISR Images Zambia and Botsw …
PIA02621
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title MISR Images Zambia and Botswana
Original Caption Released with Image These MISR images of Zambia and Botswana, Africa were acquired on August 25, 2000 during Terra orbit 3655. The left image is a "true" color view from the vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. True color means that the images acquired through MISR's red, green, and blue filters, respectively, are displayed as red, green, and blue when creating the digital image. The middle image combines data from the green, red, and near-infrared bands. The right image contains red band data only, but is a composite of imagery from the nadir (An), 70.5-degrees forward (Df), and 70.5-degrees aftward (Da) cameras. The color variations in the multi-angle composite arise not from how the different parts of the scene reflect light at different wavelengths, but rather, at different angles. The distinctive fan-like feature on the left of each image is the highly vegetated Okavango Delta, a mosaiced network of grasslands and water channels, observed here during the dry season. The town of Maunis at its southeastern edge. Note how the plant life, which is highly reflective in the near-infrared, shows up as bright red in the middle image. Vegetation also preferentially reflects light back toward the source of illumination, so in the right image, the Df camera image, which is displayed in green, is brighter in this region. The body of water in the upper right is the Itezhi-Tezhi Dam, fed by the Kafue River in Zambia. At the lower left, south of the Okavango Delta, is Lake Ngami. A smoke plume is present at the southern edge of the lake. This plume and others show up in shades of blue and purple in the multi-angle composite as a result of the manner in which the smoke particles scatter sunlight. Other landmarks include the Ntwetwe Pan, whose western edge is visible as the bright area in the lower right. The Zambezi River enters from the upper left and wends its way southeast, passing the Caprivi Strip, a narrow panhandle in northeast Namibia. The greater abundance of vegetation here testifies to the high rainfall that occurs during the wet season. Near the right-hand edge of the images is the location where the Zambezi plunges into Victoria Falls, considered to be among the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. 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.
Floodwaters Renew Zambia's K …
PIA04371
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title Floodwaters Renew Zambia's Kafue Wetland
Original Caption Released with Image Not all floods are unwanted. Heavy rainfall in southern Africa between December 2003 and April 2004 provided central Zambia with floodwaters needed to support the diverse uses of water within the Kafue Flats area. The Kafue Flats are home to about one million people and provide a rich inland fishery, habitat for an array of unique wildlife, and the means for hydroelectricity production. The Flats falls between two dams: Upstream to the west (not visible here) is the Izhi-tezhi, and downstream (middle right of the images) is the Kafue Gorge dam. Since the construction of these dams, the flooded area has been reduced and the timing and intensity of the inundation has changed. During June 2004 an agreement was made with the hydroelectricity company to restore water releases from the dams according to a more natural flooding regime. These images from NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) illustrate surface changes to the wetlands and other surfaces in central Zambia resulting from an unusually lengthy wet season. The Kafue Flats appear relatively dry on July 19, 2003 (upper images), with the Kafue River visible as a slender dark line that snakes from east to west on its way to join the Zambezi (visible in the lower right-hand corner). On July 21, 2004 (lower images), well into the dry season, much of the 6,500-square kilometer area of the Kafue Flats remains inundated. To the east of the Kafue Flats is Lusaka, the Zambian capital, visible as a pale area in the middle right of the picture, north of the river. In the upper portions of these images is the prominent roundish shape of the Lukanga Swamp, another important wetland. The images along the left are natural-color views from MISR's nadir camera, and the images along the right are angular composites in which red band data from MISR's 46° forward, nadir, and 46° backward viewing cameras is displayed as red, green and blue, respectively. In order to preserve brightness variations among the various cameras, the data from each camera were processed identically. Here, color changes indicate surface texture, and are influenced by terrain, vegetation structure, soil type and soil moisture content. Wet surfaces or areas with standing water appear blue in this display because sun glitter makes smooth, wet surfaces look brighter at the backward camera's view angle. Mostly the landscape appears somewhat purple, indicating that most of the surfaces scatter sunlight in both backward and forward directions. Areas that appear with a slight greenish hue can indicate sparce vegetation, since the nadir camera is more likely to sight the gaps between the trees or shrubs, and since vegetation is darker (in the red band) than the underlying soil surface. Areas which preferentially exhibit a red or pink hue correspond with wetland vegetation. The plateau of the Kafue National Park, to the west of Lukanga Swamp, appears brighter in 2004 compared with 2003, which indicates weaker absorption at the red, band. Overall, the 2004 image exhibits a subtle blue hue (preference for forward-scattering) compared with 2003, which indicates overall surface changes that may be a result of enhanced surface wetness. The Multiangle 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 orbits 19072 and 24421. The panels cover an area of 235 kilometers x 239 kilometers, and utilize data from blocks 100 to 103 within World Reference System-2 path 172. 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.
1-50 of 50