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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. |
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Dust Plumes off Namibia
| Title |
Dust Plumes off Namibia |
| Description |
Many plumes of desert dust (tan pixels) were streaming westward off the coasts of Angola (top) and Namibia (bottom) in southwestern Africa on June 9, 2004. Notice the dark green color of the ocean beneath the dust plumes, indicating the presence phytoplankton thriving in the surface waters there. The frequent influx of iron-rich desert dust settling into the ocean here?together with cold, nutrient-rich waters upwelling from the depths?make these some of the most biologically productive ocean waters on Earth. This true-color image was acquired on June 9, 2004, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA?s Terra satellite. The high-resolution image available here is 500 meters per pixel, but the image is also available at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004161-0609/Namibia.A2004161.0930 ] Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center |
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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 |
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Seasonal floods along the Za
…
| Title |
Seasonal floods along the Zambezi River |
| Description |
Heavy rains through the month of March have pushed a section of Africa?s Zambezi River to its highest level since 1958. Just as the mighty river turns east in its path to the Indian Ocean, and immediately before it thunders over the Victoria Falls, it passes through the low-lying plains of Namibia?s Caprivi Strip. This section of the river floods often as the wet-season rains fill the river. This year, the floods have come earlier than normal, and are rising to levels not seen in nearly 50 years. The Namibian government expects to evacuate 40,000 to 50,000 people from the region as the flood waters continue to rise, though only 20,000 have been affected as of April 1. In comparison, last year?s floods, which at the time were declared the worst the region had seen since 1958, forced 12,000 people from their homes. On March 31, 2004, the waters reached 6.89 meters, surpassing the peak of last year?s flood, 6.64 meters. So far, two people have died in this year?s floods. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this view of the flood in the Caprivi Strip on March 30, 2004. The false color image shows the flood water in an inky black in sharp contrast to the bright green vegetation. Bare ground is tan and clouds are light blue. The image is available in true-color [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004090-0330/Caprivi.A2004090.1205 ] and additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004090-0330/Caprivi.A2004090.1205.721 ]. The Zambezi River forms at a spring in northern Zambia, and flows south through Zambia and Angola before turning east in Namibia?s Caprivi Strip and flowing through Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. It is Africa?s fourth largest river system after the Nile, Zaire, and Niger Rivers. The high-resolution image also shows floods along the northern section of the river in Zambia at MODIS maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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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 |
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Flooding on the Zambezi Rive
…
| Title |
Flooding on the Zambezi River |
| Description |
Nearly every April, Africa's Zambezi River swells with seasonal rain, spreading across its broad flood plain in Angola and Namibia. Some of the people most seriously affected by the regular floods live in Namibia's Caprivi Strip. As of April 11, 2006, seven settlements in the flood-prone region were surrounded by water, reported the New Era, a Namibian newspaper. The region was clearly flooded in a false-color satellite image taken on April 11 (top), by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. In this image, water is black and dark blue, clouds are pale blue, plant-covered land is green, and bare earth is tan. In the three and a half weeks that passed between the time the top image was acquired and the time the lower image was acquired, the eastern tip of the Caprivi Strip turned into a vast shallow lake. Though the river was still rising, the floods were nowhere near the record-setting levels seen in 2004 [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12081 ]. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team and the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. [ http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] |
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Flooding on the Zambezi Rive
…
| Title |
Flooding on the Zambezi River |
| Description |
Nearly every April, Africa's Zambezi River swells with seasonal rain, spreading across its broad flood plain in Angola and Namibia. Some of the people most seriously affected by the regular floods live in Namibia's Caprivi Strip. As of April 11, 2006, seven settlements in the flood-prone region were surrounded by water, reported the New Era, a Namibian newspaper. The region was clearly flooded in a false-color satellite image taken on April 11 (top), by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. In this image, water is black and dark blue, clouds are pale blue, plant-covered land is green, and bare earth is tan. In the three and a half weeks that passed between the time the top image was acquired and the time the lower image was acquired, the eastern tip of the Caprivi Strip turned into a vast shallow lake. Though the river was still rising, the floods were nowhere near the record-setting levels seen in 2004 [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12081 ]. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team and the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. [ http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] |
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2002 December 3 See Explanat
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| Title |
2002 December 3 See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. |
| Explanation |
On December 4th [ http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/TSE2002/ TSE2002.html ], for the second time in as many years, the Moon's shadow will track [ http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/TSE2002/TSE2002txt/ T02animate.html ] across southern Africa bringing a total solar eclipse [ http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html ] to African skies. Reaching Africa just before 6:00 Universal Time [ http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/ docs/UT.html ], the narrow path of totality - corresponding to the path of the Moon's umbra or dark central shadow - will run eastward through Angola, Namibia (Caprivi Strip), Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa's Kruger National Park [ http://profjohn.com/el/el2002/index.html ], and Mozambique. Moving out across the Indian Ocean it will ultimately cross onto the Australian continent at sunset (around 9:10 UT [ http://www.csiro.au/helix/eclipse/ ]). Observers directly in this path could catch at most a minute or so of the eclipse at its total phase, but at least a partial eclipse will be visible over much of Africa, Australia [ http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/solar_eclipse_2002/ ], some parts of Indonesia, and eastern Antarctica. While watching [ http://www.mreclipse.com/TSE01reports/ TSE01galleryA.html ] last year's June 21 eclipse, astronomer Fred Espenak recorded a series of exposures used to construct this dramatic composite image. The sequence follows the 2001 geocentric celestial event from start to finish above a thorny acacia tree [ http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/ acacia_tortillis.htm ] near Chisamba, Zambia. |
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Flooding on the Zambezi Rive
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
…
zambezi_amo_2006101
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006-04-11 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
zambezi_amo_2006101 |
|
Floods in Namibia: Natural H
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
…
Namibia_TMO_2008085
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2008-03-25 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
Namibia_TMO_2008085 |
|
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 Namibia: Natural H
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
…
Namibia_TMO_2008075
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2008-03-15 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
Namibia_TMO_2008075 |
|
Historic Tropical Cyclone Tr
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Like streamers of splattered
…
tropical_cyclone_map
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006 |
| creator |
NASA -- www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Tropical_Storm_Map_png Image by Robert A. Rohde, www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/ Global Warming Art. |
| identifier |
tropical_cyclone_map |
|
Flooding along the Zambezi R
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
…
landsat_caprivi
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2001-08-28 |
| creator |
NASA -- Image provided by the edc.usgs.gov/ USGS EROS Data Center Satellite Systems Branch. |
| identifier |
landsat_caprivi |
|
Dust Plumes off Namibia: Nat
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Many plumes of desert dust (
…
Namibia_TMO2004161
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2004-06-09 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
Namibia_TMO2004161 |
|
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 Surface Changes in
…
PIA04320
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Seasonal Surface Changes in Namibia and Central Angola |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Brightness variations in the terrain along a portion of southwestern Africa are displayed in these views from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). The panels portray an area that includes Namibia's Skeleton Coast and Etosha National Park as well as Angola's Cuando Cubango. The top panels were acquired on March 6, 2001, during the region's wet season, and the bottom panels were acquired on September 1, 2002, during the dry season. Corresponding changes in the abundance of vegetation are apparent. The images on the left are natural color (red, green, blue) images from MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. The images on the right represent one of MISR's derived surface products. The radiance (light intensity) in each pixel of the so-called "top-of-atmosphere" images on the left includes light that is reflected by the Earth's surface in addition to light that is transmitted and reflected by the atmosphere. The amount of radiation reflected by the surface into all upward directions, as opposed to any single direction, is important when studying Earth's energy budget. A quantity called the surface "directional hemispherical reflectance" (DHR), sometimes called the "black-sky albedo", captures this information, and is depicted in the images on the right. MISR's multi-angle views lead to more accurate estimates of the amount of radiation reflected into all directions than can be obtained as a result of looking at a single (e.g., vertically downward) view angle. Furthermore, to generate this surface product accurately, it is necessary to compensate for the effects of the intervening atmosphere, and MISR provides the ability to characterize and account for scattering of light by airborne particulates (aerosols). The DHR is called a hemispherical reflectance because it measures the amount of radiation reflected into all upward directions, and which therefore traverses an imaginary hemisphere situated above each surface point. The "directional" part of the name describes the illumination geometry, and indicates that in the absence of an intervening atmosphere, light from the Sun illuminates the surface from a single direction (that is, there is no diffuse skylight, hence the "black-sky" terminology). The DHR is retrieved over land surfaces in each of MISR's four wavelength bands, and the images on the right are red, green, blue spectral composites. Regions where DHR could not be derived, either due to an inability to retrieve the necessary atmospheric characteristics or due to the presence of clouds, are shown in dark gray. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbits 6466 and 14388. The panels cover an area of about 380 kilometers x 760 kilometers, and utilize data from blocks 102 to 107 within World Reference, System-2 path 181. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology. |
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