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Dust and Haze Blow Across Ch
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| Title |
Dust and Haze Blow Across China |
| Description |
Blowing desert dust adds to existing haze in the eastern basin of China. The grayish haze spread across most of the center of the image is likely a mixture of urban, industrial, and residential air pollution, possibily mingling with smoke from agricultural and other fires. Around Beijing, in the top center of the image, the haze includes a large, yellowish-tan plume of dust. Spring brings numerous dust storms to eastern China from the interior deserts, such as the Gobi Desert. According to regional news, this combination of air quality problems caused the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau to lower the air quality index to its most unhealthy level and to advise people to stay indoors until the air clears. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite on April 6, 2005. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. |
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Dust Over Japan
| Title |
Dust Over Japan |
| Description |
Something more than clouds hovered over Japan on April 18, 2006. Dust filled the skies as well. The dust traveled to the island nation from the Gobi Desert. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took this picture on April 18. In this image, the eastward-moving, tan dust mingles with white clouds. An especially thick plume of dust heads toward the Korean Peninsula and the island of Japan from the west coast of China. The same day this picture was taken, Japan's Meteorological Agency announced that the dust storm reached Tokyo, the first such weather event in that city in six years. The agency predicted reduced visibility but no health hazards. Research results published in 2005, however, suggested that dust storms may carry bacteria from China to Japan. If the Japanese hoped others could understand the frustrations this dust storm caused, they needed to look no further than Beijing. Spring is the season for Gobi Dust storms, but this storm appeared to be unusually hard on China's citizens. According to news reports, it was the worst in five years, dumping some 300,000 tons of dust on Beijing. It was also the second dust storm to hit that city in a week. According to some reports, Chinese officials planned to seed clouds in hopes of bringing some relief. In 2005, a Nature paper examined China's changing environment. Partially worsened by human actions such as overgrazing and grassland degradation, dust storms began to increase in the 20th century. Between AD 300 and 1949, northwestern China saw a dust storm on average every 31 years. After 1990, the average jumped to one such storm per year. According to news reports, at the time this storm hit, the average rate of dust storms for the Beijing region (in northeastern China) was five or six a year. This storm was the eighth to hit the region in 2006. 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 Storm in the Taklimakan
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| Title |
Dust Storm in the Taklimakan Desert |
| Description |
A large dust storm struck China's Taklimakan Desert in early December 2005. Big, dry, hot, and about as far from the ocean as anyplace on Earth, the Taklimakan Desert provides plenty of material for dust storms. Such storms have been on the rise in the region, posing a health hazard for China's people. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ], flying onboard the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, took this picture on December 3, 2005. In this image, the dust storm appears in pale beige, and sweeps toward the northeast. Clouds hover to the northwest and southwest, and mountains fringe the sandy basin where the dust storm originated. The Taklimakan Desert occupies the Tarim Basin between the Tien Shan Mountains in the north, and Kunlun Mountains in the south. The lowest point of this basin is about 150 meters below sea level, and because the area has no drainage, a great deal of salt has collected in the basin. The mountains to the north block cold air from the Arctic, and the location's distance from the ocean eliminates monsoon-related precipitation, so the area remains warm and dry. This desert is one of the largest shifting-sand deserts on Earth, and it supports very little vegetation. Dust storms from this region can spread all over the world, turning up in places as far away as Greenland. Closer to home, the dust poses risks to the Chinese. As reported in the scientific magazine Nature, between AD 300 and 1949, northwestern China witnessed a major dust storm on average every 31 years. Since 1990, the same region has seen a major dust storm almost every year. Besides posing visibility hazards, these storms cause respiratory illness. The storms have become more common at the same time that roughly 75 percent of China's urban population lives below the country's air-quality standard. In some areas China is taking aggressive steps to combat people's exposure to dust, including the investment of several billion dollars in a reforestation effort in the terrain around the outskirts of Beijing. NASA image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ], NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Dust Storm over the Yellow S
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| Title |
Dust Storm over the Yellow Sea |
| Description |
On November 6, 2005, a massive dust storm swept southward over the Yellow Sea from northern China. This storm followed on the heels of perhaps the worst air pollution [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13250 ] in nearby Beijing in six months, according to news reports. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on November 6. In this image, pale beige dust plumes streak southward over the Bo Hai, Korea Bay, and Yellow Sea, likely mixing with air pollutants from other parts of the country as the dust passes over the ocean. According to a news report [ http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1605041,00.html ] in The Guardian, China was named the "air pollution capital of the world" in the fall of 2005. This dust storm, however, owes its existence to more than pollution. The sandy deserts of Mongolia lie to the north, and Mongolia is one of the world's most prolific sources of dust. Yet this region produces some treasures along with natural hazards. Sandwiched between Mongolia to the north, and Bo Hai to the south, is Liaoning, a part of China that has become famous in recent years for its fossils, such as feathered dinosaurs [ http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dinosaurs/diorama/forest.php ]. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
In the last two decades, China's economy has been developing rapidly. The energy source that has driven the growth is coal. Scientists estimate that as much as 70 percent of the country's energy comes from the burning of coal. The growth of the economy has come hand in hand with both urbanization and the ability of more individuals to own their own cars. With less strict vehicle emission standards than those in developed countries, cities have become increasingly crowded with cars, while skies have become increasingly thick with pollution. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA?s Terra satellite on February 12, 2005, illustrates the air pollution problems China faces as it continues to develop. The east coastal plain, ringed on the west by several rugged mountain ranges, can seem like a bowl filled with hazy air. Pollution gets especially bad over major cities like Beijing and Tianjin, as well as along the Yellow River where it flows eastward out of the mountains. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides these images at additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Smog and Sand over Beijing
| Title |
Smog and Sand over Beijing |
| Description |
Pollution blanketed Beijing on March 5, 2006. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image the same day. In this image, pollution tints nearly the entire area a uniform shade of brownish gray. Thick sediment likewise clouds the waters of Bo Hai, immediately to the southeast of the city. Only a band of white clouds contrasts with the rest of the image. A report in Nature in 2005 indicated that 75 percent of the people in China's urban areas lived below the country's air-quality standard. In Beijing, this problem was exacerbated by the city's sheer size. As of 2003, it was one of the world's megacities, home to more than 10 million residents. As of early 2006, however, the Chinese government expressed a desire to address the problem of unrestrained growth. According to news reports, the Chinese government called for slower growth through 2011, partly in hopes of fostering a cleaner environment. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Smog over Beijing, China
| Title |
Smog over Beijing, China |
| Description |
Thick pollution obscured the sky over Beijing and nearby regions on November 4, 2005. According to news reports, [ http://www.terradaily.com/news/pollution-05zr.html ] the city's pollution index reached the highest level on the scale between November 4-5, and residents were warned to spend as little time as possible outdoors. Children, elderly, and those with respiratory conditions were cautioned to be especially careful. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on November 4 as pollutants lingered over the area. In this image, a nearly opaque band of gray smog obscures the view of Beijing and the region to the south. Whiter clouds lie over the smog in the lower portion of the scene, while nearer to the top center of the scene, the haze appears to be hovering above a strip of fog. The rugged mountains that encircle the eastern coastal plain appear to be hemming in the haze, which spreads out in tendrils into the folds of the mountains to the north and west. Various weather conditions can contribute to a pile-up of pollution, including high pressure, high humidity, and large pools of cold air settling near the Earth's surface. Most of the time, atmospheric temperature decreases as altitude increases, and warmer air near the surface rises upward, mixing pollution away. Occasionally, the atmosphere's temperature profile can become inverted, with cold air near the surface and warm air higher up. The cold air is less buoyant, and pollution doesn't disperse. One or more of these meteorological conditions may have played a role in the poor air quality over Beijing at the end of the first week of November. As China industrializes at a record pace, air pollution problems, including acid rain and premature deaths due to respiratory and cardiovascular problems, will continue to be a challenge for the country. According to an article published on October 30, 2005, on NYT.com, acid rain affects 33 percent of China's citizens. And the scientific journal Nature published an article in June 2005 indicating that perhaps as many as 75 percent of China's city dwellers live below the country's acceptable air-quality standard. Second only to the United States in the production of greenhouse gases, China could surpass the United States in the near future as its coal-powered economy continues to grow. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_China4/2005308/FAS_China4.2005308.terra ] of this region. |
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Smog over Beijing, China
| Title |
Smog over Beijing, China |
| Description |
China has one of the world's fastest growing economies. While economic growth increases income and wealth, the associated increase in environmental pollution from the burning of fossil fuel and biofuel is a rising concern. One of the gases emitted during incomplete combustion processes is carbon monoxide (CO). CO has a lifetime on the order of weeks and is therefore a well-suited tracer for pollution. This image shows the total CO column density (in molecules per square centimeter) over China averaged for October 27-to November 7, 2005. High CO levels (indicated in red) are detected over large regions in China. The data were collected by the Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument on board the EOS Terra satellite, which has been retrieving CO concentrations in the troposphere since the beginning of 2000. Missing data due to clouds are color-coded in gray. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Toronto MOPITT Teams. |
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Smog over China
| Title |
Smog over China |
| Description |
A thick plume of smog hung over the region of Beijing on September 1, 2005. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image the same day. Clouds cover the region in the north, but in the south, smog appears as a heavy band of gray. According to The Seattle Times, China builds a new power plant every week. This building boom has led to a market for equipment that scrubs sulfur from power plant emissions. Unfortunately, not every pollutant has been reduced. Nature has reported that nitrogen dioxide in China's atmosphere has risen by 50 percent in the last decade, and the pollutant continues to accumulate at an increasing rate. Added to the country's appetite for electricity is its appetite for cars, the number of cars in China doubled between 1995 and 2002. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Beijing ] of the Beijing region. |
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Smog over China
| Title |
Smog over China |
| Description |
A huge, thick cloud of haze hung over eastern China in early September 2005. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on September 10, 2005. In this image, haze covers China from the coastline in the east to the mountains in the west. The mountains actually play a role in trapping haze and smog. Weather patterns also play a role. When air is cooler near the ground and warmer higher up in the atmosphere, haze accumulates in the region. China's industrialization and urban growth contribute to the region's air quality problems. A megacity is an urban center with 10 million or more inhabitants. Two of Earth's 20 most populous cities—Shanghai with 12.8 million inhabitants, and Beijing with 10.8 million inhabitants—are in eastern China. Even outside these major cities, smaller urban areas dot the landscape, appearing in this image as little beige splotches. This image also shows thick sediment along China's coast, pushed toward the ocean by the country's network of rivers. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Smog over China
| Title |
Smog over China |
| Description |
A huge, thick cloud of haze hung over eastern China in early September 2005. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on September 10, 2005. In this image, haze covers China from the coastline in the east to the mountains in the west. The mountains actually play a role in trapping haze and smog. Weather patterns also play a role. When air is cooler near the ground and warmer higher up in the atmosphere, haze accumulates in the region. China's industrialization and urban growth contribute to the region's air quality problems. A megacity is an urban center with 10 million or more inhabitants. Two of Earth's 20 most populous cities—Shanghai with 12.8 million inhabitants, and Beijing with 10.8 million inhabitants—are in eastern China. Even outside these major cities, smaller urban areas dot the landscape, appearing in this image as little beige splotches. This image also shows thick sediment along China's coast, pushed toward the ocean by the country's network of rivers. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Spring Dust Storms Scour Chi
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| Title |
Spring Dust Storms Scour China |
| Description |
A river of dust stretched hundreds of kilometers over China on April 28, 2005. The dust storm originated in the Gobi Desert near the border with Mongolia. Blown by powerful winds from Mongolia, the dust crossed the Luliang Mountains, the peaks of which divide the tan cloud that filled the lower valleys, and blanketed the North China Plain, a highly populated region where several large cities, including Beijing, are located. This image of the storm was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on the morning of April 28. Such dust storms occur frequently in the spring when winds blow out of the north. The large image provided above has a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions, including MODIS? maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Spring Dust Storms Scour Chi
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| Title |
Spring Dust Storms Scour China |
| Description |
Just as flowering and greening plants, migrating birds, and flooding herald the coming of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, dust storms are a sign of spring in northern China. Cold fronts from Siberia to the north bring strong winds to the deserts of Inner Mongolia. The winds pick up sand and carry it southeast over the densely populated region surrounding the Bo Hai and the Yellow Sea. In the most powerful storms, the dust may be carried all the way across the Pacific Ocean to North America. The storms subside in mid-May when warm air moves up from the southwest. On April 20, 2005, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this photo-like image of dust over the Yellow Sea. The storm that generated this dense brown cloud of dust covered much of Northern China, including Beijing, with a dusty haze. The dust blew east into Korea, where officials referred to it as the worst dust storm so far this year. The winds are expected to calm on Friday, April 22, 2005. Not all of the brown seen in this image is caused by airborne dust. Near the shores, sediment colors the water of the Yellow Sea. The brown of the sediment fades to green as the dirt is diluted in the sea. The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides the image in additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Smog over China: Natural Haz
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A thick plume of smog hung o
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chinasmog_tmo_2005244
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-09-01 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
chinasmog_tmo_2005244 |
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Dust Storm over the Yellow S
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
On November 6, 2005, a massi
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ysdust_amo_2005310
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-11-06 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
ysdust_amo_2005310 |
|
Smog over Beijing, China: Na
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
China has one of the world's
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china_MOP_2005300-311
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-11-07 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
china_MOP_2005300-311 |
|
Particle Pollution in Easter
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
In the last two decades, Chi
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China4.TMOA2005043
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-02-12 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
China4.TMOA2005043 |
|
Thick Smog over Beijing, Chi
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Thick pollution obscured the
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chinasmog_tmo_2005308
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-11-04 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA image courtesy the rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_China4/2005308/FAS_China4.2005308.terra daily images of this region. |
| identifier |
chinasmog_tmo_2005308 |
|
Dust Storm in the Taklimakan
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nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
A large dust storm struck Ch
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taklimakan_amo_2005337
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-12-03 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ MODIS Rapid Response Team , NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center. |
| identifier |
taklimakan_amo_2005337 |
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Smog over China: Natural Haz
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A huge, thick cloud of haze
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chinahaze_tmo_2005253
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-09-10 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
chinahaze_tmo_2005253 |
|
Smog over China: Natural Haz
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A huge, thick cloud of haze
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chinahaze_tmo_2005253
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-09-10 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
chinahaze_tmo_2005253 |
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Spring Dust Storms Scour Chi
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Just as flowering and greeni
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YellowSea_TMO_2005110
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-04-20 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
YellowSea_TMO_2005110 |
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Spring Dust Storms Scour Chi
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A river of dust stretched hu
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China_TMO_2005118
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-04-28 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
China_TMO_2005118 |
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Dust and Haze Blow Across Ch
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Blowing desert dust adds to
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beijing_amo_06apr05
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2005-04-06 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
beijing_amo_06apr05 |
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| General Description |
International Space Station Imagery |
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| General Description |
International Space Station Imagery |
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| General Description |
International Space Station Imagery |
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| General Description |
International Space Station Imagery |
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| General Description |
International Space Station Imagery |
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| General Description |
International Space Station Imagery |
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