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Images of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and Australia and Indian Ocean from 2006
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Floods in Western Australia
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Floods in Western Australia |
| Description |
Although eight days had passed since Cyclone Emma drenched northwestern Australia, flooding was more dramatic than it had been immediately after the storm came ashore on March 1, 2006. By March 8, top image, upstream floodwater had swollen the web of rivers in the center of the image and spread across the dry landscape. Additional flooding is apparent near the shore along the top of the image, and the cloud of bright blue offshore indicates that mud-laden water is draining into the Indian Ocean. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the floods had stranded or killed cattle in the rural region.Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia1/ ] of northwestern Australia are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Floods in Western Australia
| Title |
Floods in Western Australia |
| Description |
Although eight days had passed since Cyclone Emma drenched northwestern Australia, flooding was more dramatic than it had been immediately after the storm came ashore on March 1, 2006. By March 8, top image, upstream floodwater had swollen the web of rivers in the center of the image and spread across the dry landscape. Additional flooding is apparent near the shore along the top of the image, and the cloud of bright blue offshore indicates that mud-laden water is draining into the Indian Ocean. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the floods had stranded or killed cattle in the rural region.Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia1/ ] of northwestern Australia are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Floods in Western Australia
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Floods in Western Australia |
| Description |
The largest flood on record on Australia's Murchison River was expected to peak at the river's mouth on March 16, 2006, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation [ http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200603/s1592969.htm ]. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image on the afternoon of March 16. On the right side of the image, the upper reaches of the Murchison River are clearly flooded with a wide blue band expanding out from the river's normal banks. As it enters Kalbarri National Park, the river winds through deep gorges that prevented it from spreading out. Only when it reaches the coast is the river wide again. A bright blue fan of sediment pours from the mouth of the river where mud-laden flood water is draining into the Indian Ocean. The river overflowed after Cyclone Emma inundated the basin with heavy rain on March 1. The excess water took 15 days to drain to the ocean. The floods near the shore threatened the city of Kalbarri, which sits just south of the river. The floods may also have caused damage to Kalbarri National Park, which is centered around the river and the 80 kilometers of gorges it has cut in the red rock. Even without superimposed borders, the park's southern boundary is clearly evident in this image. To the south of the river, a stark line separates the green park from the tan and pink land outside the park. The park's western border is the Indian Ocean. The park's northern and eastern borders are not visible. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia4/2006075 ] of Western Australia. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Floods in Western Australia
| Title |
Floods in Western Australia |
| Description |
The Murchison River of central Western Australia was still grossly swollen on March 12, 2006, 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 flooding started when Cyclone Emma dumped heavy rain over the river basin on March 1. Since then, the glut of flood water has steadily made its way downstream, making the river bulge as it went. On March 9, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the river was at its highest level on record, expanding to more than ten kilometers wide in places. In the days following March 12, the flood water was expected to drain into the Indian Ocean through Kalbarri National Park and the city of Kalbarri. In the image, the flood-widened river is a ribbon of blue, particularly in the southwestern reaches of the river. In these areas, the river had been a barely discernable blue line on February 20, lower image, before the cyclone hit. The large images have a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. They are available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia4/2006071/Australia4.2006071.terra.721 ], including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel, from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Floods in Western Australia
| Title |
Floods in Western Australia |
| Description |
The Murchison River of central Western Australia was still grossly swollen on March 12, 2006, 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 flooding started when Cyclone Emma dumped heavy rain over the river basin on March 1. Since then, the glut of flood water has steadily made its way downstream, making the river bulge as it went. On March 9, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the river was at its highest level on record, expanding to more than ten kilometers wide in places. In the days following March 12, the flood water was expected to drain into the Indian Ocean through Kalbarri National Park and the city of Kalbarri. In the image, the flood-widened river is a ribbon of blue, particularly in the southwestern reaches of the river. In these areas, the river had been a barely discernable blue line on February 20, lower image, before the cyclone hit. The large images have a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. They are available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Australia4/2006071/Australia4.2006071.terra.721 ], including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel, from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Rainstorms in Central Austra
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Rainstorms in Central Australia |
| Description |
A persistent low-pressure system sat over Australia's "Red Center" for several days at the end of January and into February 2006, bringing rain to a landscape better known for its dry conditions and parched starkness. Storms are normal phenomena, however, in the Australian monsoon season (locally known as "The Wet"). The Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported moderate rain falling through most of the area, with occasional heavy rains of 20-40 millimeters (1-2 inches). While this amount is not an impressive-sounding quantity, sustained over several days, it amounted to considerable rain totals, and streambeds that are typically completely dry filled and overflowed, causing flooding in many areas. The satellite image shows the swirling clouds associataed with the low-pressure system. This image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on February 1, 2006, at 01:50 UTC (10:50 a.m. local time). In the southern hemisphere, low-pressure systems develop spiral patterns that wind clockwise around the center of the system because of the rotation of the Earth. (Low-pressure systems spin counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere). This particular system was being fed moisture from the Indian Ocean, where warm seas evaporate water into the air. The moist air was then carried along in a low-pressure frontal system. Called a "monsoon trough," such systems typically bring intense rains of themselves. When the monsoon trough combines with low-pressure systems such as the one pictured here, heavy monsoon rains fall in northern Australia. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Tropical Cyclone Clare
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Tropical Cyclone Clare |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Clare is a moderately strong storm system in the Indian Ocean off the Australian coast. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite observed the cyclone at 06:05 UTC (2:05 p.m. local time) on January 9, 2006, it was a well-developed system with peak sustained winds of around 100 kilometers per hour (60 miles per hour). The cyclone (the local term for a hurricane or typhoon) was about 200 kilometers offshore from Port Hedland in Western Australia, the nearest major city. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Tropical Cyclone Floyd
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Tropical Cyclone Floyd |
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Tropical Cyclone Floyd formed northwest of Australia in the Timor Sea on March 21, 2006. The cyclone gained power gradually and was heading west into the Indian Ocean. It was not predicted to travel over any large landmasses, though it may pose a threat to Christmas Island well off the Western Australia coast in the Indian Ocean. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite observed the storm at 11:55 a.m. Australian Western Daylight Saving time (02:35 UTC) on March 22, 2006, Tropical Cyclone Floyd was continuing to slowly build power and size. When MODIS made this observation, the storm had peak winds of around 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour), and forecasts at the time called for it to continue to gather strength for at least several days, with predicted peak winds of 170 kilometers per hour (105 mph), according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Tropical Cyclone Glenda
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Tropical Cyclone Glenda |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Glenda formed off the northwestern coast of Australia on March 27, 2006. Powerful winds whipped up surf along the coastline of Western Australia's Pilbara region, and the storm brought heavy rains to the islands off the Kimberly coast. On March 29, it was classified as a Category 5 storm, the highest rating on the cyclone-strength scale. However, as it came ashore a day later, it had lost a small fraction of its strength. By March 31, 2006, the storm had lost considerable power and was ranked as a mere tropical depression. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on March 31, 2006, at 10:30 a.m. local time (02:30 UTC), roughly 40 hours after coming ashore near Onslow. The remnants of Cyclone Glenda still have a vaguely spiral appearance, but they lack the well-developed eye and tight-wound shape of the mature, powerful storm of previous days. Clouds from the storm cover most of the Indian Ocean coast of Western Australia. Sustained, peak winds in the storm system were considerably diminished, roughly 65 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour) around the time the image was captured. Damage assessments in Onslow showed the town fared better than expected in the face of such a powerful storm. However, it will be many days before clean-up operations are concluded. Meteorologists were also concerned about the widespread flooding potential as the storm continued to travel inland. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Floods in Western Australia:
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nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
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Australia_AMO_2006075
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2006-03-16 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
Australia_AMO_2006075 |
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