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Images of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and China from 2004
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Rise of the Three Gorges Dam
| Title |
Rise of the Three Gorges Dam |
| Abstract |
Some call it the eighth wonder of world, others say it's the next Great Wall of China. Upon completion in 2009, the Three Gorges Dam will be the world's largest hydroelectric power generator. One of the few man-made structures so enormous that it's actually visible to the naked eye from space, NASA's Landsat satellite has had a closer look, providing detailed, vivid views of the dam since its inception in 1994. The dam is built along the Yangtze River, the third largest in the world, stretching more than 3,900 miles across China before reaching its mouth near Shanghai. Historically, the river has been prone to massive flooding, overflowing its banks about once every ten years. During the 20th century alone, Chinese authorities estimate that some 300,000 people were killed from Yangtze River floods. The dam is designed to greatly improve flood control on the river and protect the 15 million people and 3.7 million acres of farmland in the lower Yangtze flood plains. Observations from the NASA-built Landsat satellites provide an overview of the dam's construction. The earliest data set, from 1987, shows the region prior to start of construction. By 2000, construction along each riverbank was underway, but sediment-filled water still flowed through a narrow channel near the river's south bank. The 2004 data shows development of the main wall and the partial filling of the reservoir, including numerous side canyons. By mid-2006, construction of the main wall was completed and a reservoir more than 2 miles (3 kilometers) across had filled just upstream of the dam. To read more about the Three Gorges Dam, please click here. This animation was designed in three parts: Part 1: The first part of this animation zooms in to the Three Gorges Dam and travels backward and foreward through time emphasizing the dam construction and filling of the reservoir. This animation then continues seemlessly into Part 2. Part 2: Starting where Part 1 leaves off, the camera flies up the 2006 data showing the high water levels that have already filled the multiple gorges upstream. Part 3: Identical to Part 2, except showing the 1987 data prior to the dam construction. |
| Completed |
2007-05-28 |
|
Rise of the Three Gorges Dam
| Title |
Rise of the Three Gorges Dam |
| Abstract |
Some call it the eighth wonder of world, others say it's the next Great Wall of China. Upon completion in 2009, the Three Gorges Dam will be the world's largest hydroelectric power generator. One of the few man-made structures so enormous that it's actually visible to the naked eye from space, NASA's Landsat satellite has had a closer look, providing detailed, vivid views of the dam since its inception in 1994. The dam is built along the Yangtze River, the third largest in the world, stretching more than 3,900 miles across China before reaching its mouth near Shanghai. Historically, the river has been prone to massive flooding, overflowing its banks about once every ten years. During the 20th century alone, Chinese authorities estimate that some 300,000 people were killed from Yangtze River floods. The dam is designed to greatly improve flood control on the river and protect the 15 million people and 3.7 million acres of farmland in the lower Yangtze flood plains. Observations from the NASA-built Landsat satellites provide an overview of the dam's construction. The earliest data set, from 1987, shows the region prior to start of construction. By 2000, construction along each riverbank was underway, but sediment-filled water still flowed through a narrow channel near the river's south bank. The 2004 data shows development of the main wall and the partial filling of the reservoir, including numerous side canyons. By mid-2006, construction of the main wall was completed and a reservoir more than 2 miles (3 kilometers) across had filled just upstream of the dam. To read more about the Three Gorges Dam, please click here. This animation was designed in three parts: Part 1: The first part of this animation zooms in to the Three Gorges Dam and travels backward and foreward through time emphasizing the dam construction and filling of the reservoir. This animation then continues seemlessly into Part 2. Part 2: Starting where Part 1 leaves off, the camera flies up the 2006 data showing the high water levels that have already filled the multiple gorges upstream. Part 3: Identical to Part 2, except showing the 1987 data prior to the dam construction. |
| Completed |
2007-05-28 |
|
Rise of the Three Gorges Dam
| Title |
Rise of the Three Gorges Dam |
| Abstract |
Some call it the eighth wonder of world, others say it's the next Great Wall of China. Upon completion in 2009, the Three Gorges Dam will be the world's largest hydroelectric power generator. One of the few man-made structures so enormous that it's actually visible to the naked eye from space, NASA's Landsat satellite has had a closer look, providing detailed, vivid views of the dam since its inception in 1994. The dam is built along the Yangtze River, the third largest in the world, stretching more than 3,900 miles across China before reaching its mouth near Shanghai. Historically, the river has been prone to massive flooding, overflowing its banks about once every ten years. During the 20th century alone, Chinese authorities estimate that some 300,000 people were killed from Yangtze River floods. The dam is designed to greatly improve flood control on the river and protect the 15 million people and 3.7 million acres of farmland in the lower Yangtze flood plains. Observations from the NASA-built Landsat satellites provide an overview of the dam's construction. The earliest data set, from 1987, shows the region prior to start of construction. By 2000, construction along each riverbank was underway, but sediment-filled water still flowed through a narrow channel near the river's south bank. The 2004 data shows development of the main wall and the partial filling of the reservoir, including numerous side canyons. By mid-2006, construction of the main wall was completed and a reservoir more than 2 miles (3 kilometers) across had filled just upstream of the dam. To read more about the Three Gorges Dam, please click here. This animation was designed in three parts: Part 1: The first part of this animation zooms in to the Three Gorges Dam and travels backward and foreward through time emphasizing the dam construction and filling of the reservoir. This animation then continues seemlessly into Part 2. Part 2: Starting where Part 1 leaves off, the camera flies up the 2006 data showing the high water levels that have already filled the multiple gorges upstream. Part 3: Identical to Part 2, except showing the 1987 data prior to the dam construction. |
| Completed |
2007-05-28 |
|
Rise of the Three Gorges Dam
| Title |
Rise of the Three Gorges Dam |
| Abstract |
Some call it the eighth wonder of world, others say it's the next Great Wall of China. Upon completion in 2009, the Three Gorges Dam will be the world's largest hydroelectric power generator. One of the few man-made structures so enormous that it's actually visible to the naked eye from space, NASA's Landsat satellite has had a closer look, providing detailed, vivid views of the dam since its inception in 1994. The dam is built along the Yangtze River, the third largest in the world, stretching more than 3,900 miles across China before reaching its mouth near Shanghai. Historically, the river has been prone to massive flooding, overflowing its banks about once every ten years. During the 20th century alone, Chinese authorities estimate that some 300,000 people were killed from Yangtze River floods. The dam is designed to greatly improve flood control on the river and protect the 15 million people and 3.7 million acres of farmland in the lower Yangtze flood plains. Observations from the NASA-built Landsat satellites provide an overview of the dam's construction. The earliest data set, from 1987, shows the region prior to start of construction. By 2000, construction along each riverbank was underway, but sediment-filled water still flowed through a narrow channel near the river's south bank. The 2004 data shows development of the main wall and the partial filling of the reservoir, including numerous side canyons. By mid-2006, construction of the main wall was completed and a reservoir more than 2 miles (3 kilometers) across had filled just upstream of the dam. To read more about the Three Gorges Dam, please click here. This animation was designed in three parts: Part 1: The first part of this animation zooms in to the Three Gorges Dam and travels backward and foreward through time emphasizing the dam construction and filling of the reservoir. This animation then continues seemlessly into Part 2. Part 2: Starting where Part 1 leaves off, the camera flies up the 2006 data showing the high water levels that have already filled the multiple gorges upstream. Part 3: Identical to Part 2, except showing the 1987 data prior to the dam construction. |
| Completed |
2007-05-28 |
|
Seasonal Landcover Change ov
…
| Title |
Seasonal Landcover Change over Eastern Asia in 2004 |
| Abstract |
The Blue Marble Next Generation dataset provides a monthly global cloud-free true-color picture of the Earth's landcover at a 500-meter spatial resolution. This visualization of the dataset shows seasonal variations such as snowfall, spring greening and droughts in a seamless fashion, thereby heightening awareness of changes in the Earth's climate. Here we focus on the seasonal landcover changes over the Eastern Asia. This dataset is derived from imagery taken in 2004 by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite. |
| Completed |
2005-10-12 |
|
Seasonal Landcover Change ov
…
| Title |
Seasonal Landcover Change over Eastern Asia in 2004 |
| Abstract |
The Blue Marble Next Generation dataset provides a monthly global cloud-free true-color picture of the Earth's landcover at a 500-meter spatial resolution. This visualization of the dataset shows seasonal variations such as snowfall, spring greening and droughts in a seamless fashion, thereby heightening awareness of changes in the Earth's climate. Here we focus on the seasonal landcover changes over the Eastern Asia. This dataset is derived from imagery taken in 2004 by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite. |
| Completed |
2005-10-12 |
|
Seasonal Landcover Change ov
…
| Title |
Seasonal Landcover Change over Eastern Asia in 2004 |
| Abstract |
The Blue Marble Next Generation dataset provides a monthly global cloud-free true-color picture of the Earth's landcover at a 500-meter spatial resolution. This visualization of the dataset shows seasonal variations such as snowfall, spring greening and droughts in a seamless fashion, thereby heightening awareness of changes in the Earth's climate. Here we focus on the seasonal landcover changes over the Eastern Asia. This dataset is derived from imagery taken in 2004 by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite. |
| Completed |
2005-10-12 |
|
Autumn Fires in China and Ru
…
| Title |
Autumn Fires in China and Russia |
| Description |
As autumn advances in the Northern Hemisphere, browns and golds overtake the landscape of northern China. Centered in this image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite is a collection of fires (marked in red), which are probably agricultural in nature. The image was captured on October 13, 2004. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Autumn Fires in China and Ru
…
| Title |
Autumn Fires in China and Russia |
| Description |
A river of smoke more than 100 kilometers wide streams several hundred kilometers southward from fires (marked in red) in northern China (top left) in this image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on October 15, 2004. Another large cluster of fires is burning in southeastern Russia (right). Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Autumn Fires in China and Ru
…
| Title |
Autumn Fires in China and Russia |
| Description |
Deep red burn scars are spread across the autumn landscape of northeastern China and southeastern Russia in this image made from data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA?s Aqua satellite on October 17, 2004. The Amur River (called Heilong Jiang in Chinese) creates the boundary between the two nations, with China in the southwest portion of the scene, and Russia to the northeast. Numerous fires were burning at the time of the image, and have been marked with red dots. This image combines short-wave infrared energy detected by MODIS with visible light to make burned land stand out. Vegetation is in shades of green, burned area is deep reddish brown, smoke is light blue, snow on the mountains in the top right is bright blue, naturally bare soil is pinkish or light red, and water on the ground is dark blue. A MODIS image from October 20 [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12542 ] showed that the fires had died down, but several new burned areas were apparent. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image in additional resolutions and MODIS band combinations. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004291-1017/China.A2004291.0405 ] NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC |
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Autumn Fires in China and Ru
…
| Title |
Autumn Fires in China and Russia |
| Description |
In northeast Asia, where the Bureya River (flowing southward from top center) joins the Amur River (entering the image at top left), huge fires erupted in mid-October and raced across the autumn landscape. In their wake, they left these bright red burn scars in northeast China (southwest of the Amur) and Russia (northeast of the Amur). In the left hand side of the scene, the burn scar is massive and has irregular borders, which suggests the fire was out of control. News reports of wildfires blazing through forestry plantations in the Heilongjiand province of northeast China corroborate the imagery. Across the river, a pattern of speckling of burn scars and green vegetation suggests controlled agricultural burning. To the northeast, larger burn scars are visible. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on October 20, 2004. The large burned areas at top right were absent or much smaller in MODIS imagery from October 17. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12543 ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Haze along the Himalaya Fron
…
| Title |
Haze along the Himalaya Front Range |
| Description |
A film of haze hangs over northern India along the dark green curve of the Himalaya Mountains in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) image, taken on November 10, 2004, by NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. The haze is probably being caused by widespread agricultural fires [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12558 ] burning along the mountain front. The fires have been marked with small red dots. Urban pollution and industry may also have contributed to the pollution. This pattern of haze is common in India and Nepal because the southern air mass cannot pass over the barrier formed by the Himalaya. The mountains also seem to be blocking clouds from moving from China, top right, to India and Pakistan, lower left. China is cloudy, but the areas southwest of the mountains are mostly clear. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Haze Over Eastern China
| Title |
Haze Over Eastern China |
| Description |
*Haze Over Eastern China* The widespread pall of haze and pollution continued to hang over eastern China on February 15, 2004. Some of the pollution can be seen blowing over and just north of Taiwan and eastward far out to sea over the Pacific Ocean in this true-color image acquired by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). The strong winds blowing over eastern China have several other effects evident in this scene. Note the patterns of suspended sediments (light browns and turquoise) in the East China Sea, which are being churned up in the water column by the strong winds. These sediments are being washed out of the mouth of the Yangtze River and Hangzhou Bay in such abundance that they color the water a deep caramel along a long stretch of coastline, making it almost indistinguishable from land in some areas. Note also the cloud vortex streets extending southward from Korea and Japan, as well as the brownish dust and haze streaming eastward north of Tokyo. Image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project, [ http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov ] NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE [ http://www.orbimage.com/ ] |
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Haze Over Eastern China
| Title |
Haze Over Eastern China |
| Description |
Across eastern China, the increased use of coal and wood for heating in the winter often leads to widespread haze, such as that seen in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Terra satellite on February 9, 2004. The topography contributes to the effect, as this region is very bowl-like and ringed by mountainous terrain to the west, which prevents the pollution from dispersing. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] at NASA GSFC |
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Haze Over Eastern China
| Title |
Haze Over Eastern China |
| Description |
A thick, gray blanket of haze hangs over eastern China in this image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite on February 19, 2004. The haze pools in the gullies and valleys of the mountain ranges along the left edge of the scene, and in many places, completely hides the coastal plain from view. Unfortunately for the residents of the region, such events are not rare, especially in winter, when people need to burn additional amounts of coal and wood. In this case, numerous fires burning in southeastern China may be contributing to the haze as well. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] at NASA GSFC |
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Haze Over Eastern China
| Title |
Haze Over Eastern China |
| Description |
The air over the eastern China cleared somewhat on February 25, 2004, as the haze and pollution (gray pixels) moved eastward over the East China Sea and toward the open Pacific Ocean. There also continues to be a large amount of sediment (light brown) washing into the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] at NASA GSFC |
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Haze Over Eastern China
| Title |
Haze Over Eastern China |
| Description |
Thick haze blurs the North China Plain, right, and snakes through the valley the Yellow River cuts through the Luliang Shan Mountains, left. In the north, the haze seems to dissipate near China's capital, Beijing, west of the Bo Hai, the bay off the Yellow Sea. In this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) image captured on April 5, 2004, by the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, the haze clings near the ground, letting the peaks of the mountains peek through, while white clouds hover above. Such haze is common in Eastern China, particularly during the winter when people burn coal and wood for heat. 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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Haze Over the Yellow Sea
| Title |
Haze Over the Yellow Sea |
| Description |
A dense gray pall of pollution covered much of eastern China on January 4, 2004. The haze has been lingering over this region for more than a month. Some of the aerosol can be seen blowing eastward across the Yellow Sea. This true-color scene was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Terra satellite. NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] NASA GSFC |
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Haze Over the Yellow Sea
| Title |
Haze Over the Yellow Sea |
| Description |
The air over most of eastern China was filled with a thick, gray pall of aerosol pollution on January 29, 2004. The haze, easily distinguished from the much brighter, white clouds in this scene, is so thick in places that it almost completely obscures the view of the surface. The aerosol can be seen blowing eastward over the Yellow Sea toward the Korean Peninsula. The coastal waters of the Yellow Sea range from turquoise to light brown due to the heavy load of sediment washing off the land. Image by Jesse Allen, NASA Earth Observatory, based upon data provided by the MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] at NASA GSFC |
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Drought in Northern China
| Title |
Drought in Northern China |
| Description |
A mild drought set in over the Yellow River Basin and parts of the North China Plain during the first five months of 2006. Dry weather and warmer-than-average temperatures in February, March, and much of April left soil dry, reported the United States Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service. The effect of the dry weather on crops and other vegetation is apparent in this vegetation anomaly (difference from normal) image. The image was created from data taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite between April 23 and May 8, and it shows the relative health of plants in 2006 compared to the average for 2000-2005. Wide pockets of brown indicate regions where plants were growing more slowly than average, while brushes of green show more growth than average. The cream-colored background reveals where plants were growing normally, and regions that were cloud-covered during the entire sixteen-day period are gray. According to the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the drought-affected region accounts for about 38 percent of China's winter wheat production. Despite the drought, the FAS predicted that the winter wheat harvest in the country as a whole, scheduled to peak in early June, would be slightly larger than it was in 2004 or 2005. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by Inbal Reshef as part of the Global Agricultural Monitoring Project [ http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/glam.cfm ] between NASA, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and the University of Maryland. |
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Drought in Southeast Asia
| Title |
Drought in Southeast Asia |
| Description |
China?s lush island province, Hainan is in the grip of a severe drought, which started in late 2004. Green with sugar and rubber plantations, natural vegetation, and other crops in 2004 (lower image) by February 2005 (top), Hainan is brown and parched. According to media reports, over half of the arable land?approximately 196,200 hectares?is threatened by the dry weather. Water is in short supply, with reservoirs holding just over 30% of their normal water storage and 64 small and mid-sized rivers dry, leaving about 555,000 of the island?s residents with limited access to drinking water. The government may soon begin to ration water in urban areas. The water shortage is also visible in a comparison of the two above images. Almost without exception, every black body of water on the island is significantly smaller on February 7, 2005 than it was on February 12, 2004. The drought is affecting nations across Southeast Asia, including parts of Vietnam, Thailand, India, and China, and may be linked to a weak El Niño, which tends to decrease rainfall in these regions. No significant rain is expected in Hainan until May. The above images were acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. The scenes are shown in false color so that plant-covered areas are bright green and bare soil is a pinkish tan. NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. |
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Drought in Southeast Asia
| Title |
Drought in Southeast Asia |
| Description |
China?s lush island province, Hainan is in the grip of a severe drought, which started in late 2004. Green with sugar and rubber plantations, natural vegetation, and other crops in 2004 (lower image) by February 2005 (top), Hainan is brown and parched. According to media reports, over half of the arable land?approximately 196,200 hectares?is threatened by the dry weather. Water is in short supply, with reservoirs holding just over 30% of their normal water storage and 64 small and mid-sized rivers dry, leaving about 555,000 of the island?s residents with limited access to drinking water. The government may soon begin to ration water in urban areas. The water shortage is also visible in a comparison of the two above images. Almost without exception, every black body of water on the island is significantly smaller on February 7, 2005 than it was on February 12, 2004. The drought is affecting nations across Southeast Asia, including parts of Vietnam, Thailand, India, and China, and may be linked to a weak El Niño, which tends to decrease rainfall in these regions. No significant rain is expected in Hainan until May. The above images were acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. The scenes are shown in false color so that plant-covered areas are bright green and bare soil is a pinkish tan. NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. |
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Drought in Southeast Asia
| Title |
Drought in Southeast Asia |
| Description |
Southeast Asia?s rainy season came to an early end in October 2004, and since that time, little rain has fallen on the Indochina Peninsula and parts of southern China. The dry spell has launched the region into the worst drought it has seen in years, with wells and reservoirs drying, crops withering, and, for some, food shortages. The effects of the drought are clearly visible in this image, generated from data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] and Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellites between February 18 and March 5, 2005. The image shows vegetation anomaly, a measure of plant density and health over a wide area. To determine the state of vegetation this year, the data are compared to the average of vegetation measurements collected during the same period in 2000 to 2004. Regions that are drier, where plants are less dense and healthy than normal, are brown, while areas with denser-than-average vegetation are green. In the latter half of February 2005, Southeast Asia was very dry, with plants showing clear signs of drought stress. Clouds, masked out in grey, covered much of southern China, central Vietnam, Laos, and parts of Thailand and Cambodia during this two-week period. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by the joint Global Agricultural Monitoring Project between NASA, USDA?s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and the University of Maryland. More data and information about this joint project is available at Satellite Information for Agricultural Monitoring [ http://tripwire.geog.umd.edu/usda/ ]. |
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Dust Storm in Taklimakan
| Title |
Dust Storm in Taklimakan |
| Description |
*Dust Storm in Taklimakan* Almost the entire expanse of the Taklimakan Desert, situated in northwest China, is covered by a massive dust storm in this true-color image acquired on March 10, 2004, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA?s Aqua satellite. The tan color of the dust provides some contrast with the much brighter, white clouds in this scene. The dust is being swept slightly westward. Image by Jesse Allen, NASA Earth Observatory, using data courtesy MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] |
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Dust Storm in the Taklimakan
…
| Title |
Dust Storm in the Taklimakan Desert |
| Description |
Plumes of dust were being pulled from the Tian Shan Mountains and across the Taklimakan Desert basin in western China on March 26, 2004, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image. The image is unusual in that it shows the very beginnings of a dust storm. Typically, the basin fills with dust so that the source of the storm can't be identified. Here, the dust has only just blown from its source on or near the mountains, image left, and is moving east. The dust seldom leaves the basin, but instead is contained in the bowl formed by the Tian Shan Mountains on the north and the west, and the Kunlun Shan and the Altun Shan on the south and the east. The high resolution image provided above is at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004086-0326/Taklimakan.A2004086.0750 ]. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Dust Storm in the Taklimakan
…
| Title |
Dust Storm in the Taklimakan Desert |
| Description |
This true-color image shows clearly that dust is being generated around the periphery of the Taklimakan Desert basin, situated in northwest China. The sources of the dust in this scene appear to be located at the base of the mountains to the north and northeast of the desert basin, so in this case the dust is not originating in the dune fields in the interior of the basin. This image was acquired on April 7, 2004, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Terra satellite. The high-resolution image provided above is at 500 meters per pixel. There are copies of this same scene available at additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004098-0407/Taklimakan.A2004098.0500 ]. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Dust Storm in the Taklimakan
…
| Title |
Dust Storm in the Taklimakan Desert |
| Description |
On April 23, 2004, a dust storm was whipping up in the Taklimakan Desert of western China. A thick, light tan plume of dust mingles with clouds in the southwest corner of the desert, with separate plumes visible to the north and at other locations along the desert's perimeter. Spring is the season for dust storms in China, and the particulates can spread across the globe. On the day of this dust event, dust warnings were issued as far away as South Korea. This image of the event was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC |
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Dust Storm over East China
| Title |
Dust Storm over East China |
| Description |
Strong winds originating out of China?s Mu Us Desert sent thick plumes of dust billowing eastward over and through passes in the Luliang Mountains on December 6, 2004. The true-color image above was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA?s Aqua satellite. The MODIS instrument aboard Terra captured an image of this same event several hours earlier. [ http://eobadmin.gsfc.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12607 ] The high resolution image available above is 500 meters per pixel. Copies of this scene are also available at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Beijing ] NASA image courtesy MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Dust Storm over East China
| Title |
Dust Storm over East China |
| Description |
Strong winds originating out of China?s Mu Us Desert sent thick plumes of dust billowing eastward over and through passes in the Luliang Mountains on December 6, 2004. The true-color image above was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA?s Terra satellite. You will notice there is a line of discontinuity running diagonally from top to bottom just right of center in this image. This discontinuity is due to fact that parts of two adjacent swaths, acquired about 100 minutes apart, were stitched together from consecutive overpasses of the Terra satellite in order to make the one image you see here. The MODIS sensor aboard the Aqua satellite captured an image of this same event several hours later. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12608 ] The high resolution image available above is 500 meters per pixel. Copies of this scene are also available at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Beijing ] NASA image courtesy MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Monsoon Rains Flood East Asi
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| Title |
Monsoon Rains Flood East Asia |
| Description |
The summer rainy season brought on by the summer monsoon has arrived over eastern Asia bringing with it seasonal flooding and torrential rains. Over the past few weeks, parts of Nepal, India and Bangladesh have been devastated by floods, but areas farther north have received their share of heavy rain too. China, Korea, and Japan have all suffered casualties recently as a result of flooding brought on by torrential rains. Over the past week, at least 17 people were lost due to flooding and mudslides in Japan. The situation is even worse in China as the death tolls have climbed into the hundreds so far this year. Hardest hit are southern, central and, more recently, eastern China particularly along the Huai River, which is at its highest level in over a decade. In November of 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] (TRMM) satellite was launched in an effort to provide better estimates of rainfall over the global Tropics. Since that time, TRMM has been providing unprecedented estimates of rainfall over the Tropics using its array of passive and active sensors. TRMM can cover vast areas of the Tropics where rainfall is poorly measured such as over oceans and land areas where radar coverage is poor or lacking. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides rainfall estimates over the global Tropics. MPA rainfall totals for July 12 through July 19, 2004, are shown for East Asia. A swath of 4 to 8 inch rainfall (green area) extends from central China across the Yellow Sea, South Korea, and the Sea of Japan and into central Japan. The highest totals are over eastern China in the Shandong, Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces where between 12 and 20 inches (red area) of rain fell. Localized areas of over a foot of rain appear along parts of the southern and eastern coast of South Korea and over central Japan along the east coast of Honshu. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Monsoon Rains Flood East Asi
…
| Title |
Monsoon Rains Flood East Asia |
| Description |
The summer rainy season brought on by the summer monsoon has arrived over eastern Asia bringing with it seasonal flooding and torrential rains. Over the past few weeks, parts of Nepal, India and Bangladesh have been devastated by floods, but areas farther north have received their share of heavy rain too. China, Korea, and Japan have all suffered casualties recently as a result of flooding brought on by torrential rains. Over the past week, at least 17 people were lost due to flooding and mudslides in Japan. The situation is even worse in China as the death tolls have climbed into the hundreds so far this year. Hardest hit are southern, central and, more recently, eastern China particularly along the Huai River, which is at its highest level in over a decade. In November of 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] (TRMM) satellite was launched in an effort to provide better estimates of rainfall over the global Tropics. Since that time, TRMM has been providing unprecedented estimates of rainfall over the Tropics using its array of passive and active sensors. TRMM can cover vast areas of the Tropics where rainfall is poorly measured such as over oceans and land areas where radar coverage is poor or lacking. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides rainfall estimates over the global Tropics. MPA rainfall totals for July 12 through July 19, 2004, are shown for East Asia. A swath of 4 to 8 inch rainfall (green area) extends from central China across the Yellow Sea, South Korea, and the Sea of Japan and into central Japan. The highest totals are over eastern China in the Shandong, Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces where between 12 and 20 inches (red area) of rain fell. Localized areas of over a foot of rain appear along parts of the southern and eastern coast of South Korea and over central Japan along the east coast of Honshu. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Monsoon Rains Flood Malaysia
| Title |
Monsoon Rains Flood Malaysia |
| Description |
At least eleven people have perished and more than 10,000 have been evacuated in the worst flooding to hit Malaysia in over a decade. The hardest hit areas are along the east coast of peninsular Malaysia in the states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. The city of Kota Baru was particularly hard hit. For Malaysia, December is part of the northeast monsoon. Prevailing northeasterly winds flow across the South China Sea bringing in abundant moisture. Typically, during the northeast monsoon, heavy rain events lasting on the order of a few days are common. The prevailing winds can interact with the topography squeezing out the moisture. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global tropics. This image shows the accumulated rainfall between December 7 and December 13, 2004, with respect to the topography of the Malaysian peninsula. The heaviest rainfall is co-located with the eastern slopes of the coastal topography (red area) indicating where the prevailing moisture laden winds interacted with the terrain.TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Fires at the Mouth of the Ya
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| Title |
Fires at the Mouth of the Yangtze River |
| Description |
Dozens of fires were burning in eastern China near the mouth of the Yangtze River (top of the image) on May 6, 2004. The fires were detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite during its morning overpass of the region, and have been marked in this image with red dots. The large lake in the left half of the scene is Tai Lake, and to its east, right on the coast, is a gray patch that is the city of Shanghai. The widespread nature of the fires, their location (generally located away from remaining natural vegetation, which appears deeper green), and the time of year suggests that these fires are being set intentionally for agricultural purposes. Though not necessarily hazardous, such large-scale burning can have a strong impact on weather, climate, human health, and natural resources. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
This true-color image reveals much of eastern China covered by a thick blanket of smog, on September 12, 2004. The gray-colored haze, easily distinguished in this scene from the brighter white clouds, extends from the province of Mongolia (top center) all the way south to the Hunan Province (bottom center). Such intense, long-lived pollution events are particularly concerning in light of new research by the U.S. National Institutes of Health which shows that air pollution can reduce children's lung function. [ http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/sep2004/niehs-08a.htm ] According to the researchers' findings, published in the "New England Journal of Medicine," "Children who live in polluted communities are five times more likely to have clinically low lung functionless than 80 percent of the lung function expected for their age." The researchers conducted their study over an 8-year period in some of the most polluted areas across the greater Los Angeles area. They tracked levels of air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide, acid vapor, elemental carbon, and particulate matter in areas where children live and found that children living in the most polluted areas showed "significant reductions in the volume of air that they could exhale after taking a deep breath as compared to children living in areas with cleaner air." This image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite. The high-resolution copy available here is 250 meters per pixel. NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] Team |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
This true-color scene shows a widespread pall of gray smog lingering over eastern China on September 27, 2004. The darker hue of the pollution?comprised of soot and sulfate particles produced by human industry?make it easy to distinguish from the much brighter, white clouds in this scene. This image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard NASA?s Terra satellite. Click on the image above to access the high-resolution copy, which is 250 meters per pixel. NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, produced using data courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response Team at Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
A large pocket of polluted air was hanging over eastern China on September 28, 2004. The air flow pattern that would typically sweep this polluted air eastward over the Pacific Ocean has been halted by Typhoon Meari [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12468 ] which is advancing northward up China?s east coast. This true-color image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA?s Aqua satellite. Click the image above to access the high-resolution copy, which is 250 meters per pixel. NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
Thick haze hung over the North China Plain on October 8, 2004. The densest haze has gathered at the foot of the Luliang Mountains in the north and is snaking west along the Wei River Valley. According to news reports, Beijing was plagued by a soupy mixture of fog and pollution, and this image supports the story. Beijing is located west of the Bo Hai (Sea) under the northernmost section of the haze. The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor aboard the OrbView-2 satellite captured this image. On the right edge of the image, Typhoon Ma-on [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12510 ] can be seen approaching Japan. NASA images courtesy the SeaWiFS Project [ http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS.html ], Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE [ http://www.orbimage.com/ ] |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
Thick fog and haze obscured much of the North China Plain from view when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite flew over on October 7, 2004. The fog has been clinging to the landscape for the past several days [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_China4/2004282 ]. In the top center of the image, the fog creeping up the river valleys cut through the Jundu Mountains, tracing out the contours of the land as it clings to the lower elevations. MODIS also detected a few scattered fires, which have been marked with red dots. The high-resolution copy available above is 250 meters per pixel. Additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004281-1007/China.A2004281.0505 ] are also available. NASA image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response team, Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from October 22, 2004, shows trans-boundary pollution from eastern China spreading out over the east China Sea south of the Korean Peninsula (top right) and out of the scene at image right, where the westernmost edge of the Japanese island of Kyushu is visible. Urban and industrial pollution is a major environmental concern for China and the countries downwind. This image was captured by the MODIS on NASA's Terra satellite. Other geographic reference points include the island of Taiwan, at bottom center, and the mouth of the Yangtze River, roughly in image center. Just south of South Korea, the island of Cheju is creating a swirling wake in the clouds to its south. Cheju is home to the Halla volcano, a shield volcano that last erupted in 1007. It appears that a plume of dust or smoke from the island is joining the larger flow from mainland China. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
The atmosphere is a globally shared natural resource, and this image from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) illustrates the point. A pool of air pollution has spread out over eastern China and then slipped over the coast like water over a dam. A river of haze flows across the East China Sea past the Korean Peninsula and northeastward toward Japan, where it arcs along the western coastline of the island chain before disappearing out of the scene at upper right. Rapidly developing China is the world?s second largest consumer of energy (the United States is first), and its primary fuel is coal, most of it burned in inefficient power plants that emit large amounts of carbon emissions and sulfur dioxide, which is the precursor to acid rain. Increasing affluence in the country is also giving rise to a vehicle boom. As cities become more and more clogged with cars, skies become more and more clogged with automobile emissions. Scenes such as this one from October 22, 2004, are not uncommon for this region. With the typical Northern Hemisphere ?Westerlies? flowing from west to east across the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the air pollution from eastern China regularly spreads to South Korea and Japan and out over the Pacific Ocean. Trans-boundary pollution occurs in many places across the globe, and most nations are simultaneously sources of pollution for countries ?downwind,? and recipients of another country?s pollution. Image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS.html ] NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
Thick pearly white haze hung heavily over much of Eastern China on October 25, 2004, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image. The haze has lingered over China for much of October, trapped in place largely by a string of typhoons moving through the East China Sea. The remnants of the most recent typhoon, Nock-ten, is visible along the right edge of the image. The thickest smog is in the north, near China?s capital, Beijing, top right. The most current image of the Beijing region as well as additional resolutions of this image are available from the MODIS Rapid Response System [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_China4 ]. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
In east-central China, the broad coastal plain through which the Yellow River drains out to Bo Hai is surrounded in an arc by a landscape of ridges and valleys. In this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the sensor on the Aqua satellite on November 17, 2004, the coastal plain takes up most of the scene. Grayish haze spreads across the coastal plain, and it fills valleys in the west, highlighting the topography. For example, the south-flowing Fen River at left center edge cuts a broad swath into the Taiyue Shan ("Shan" means "mountains" in Chinese), and haze has settled into the low-lying terrain. The haze flows off the continent and out over Bo Hai (top right) and the Yellow Sea (center right). The haze is likely a combination of several factors: emissions from the country's coal-dominated electricity production, smoke from home heating fires, and vehicle exhaust and other urban pollution from the region's large cities, such as Beijing and Tianjin. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
Thick haze streamed out of Eastern China over the Korean Peninsula and Japan on November 9, 2004. Cool winter weather often means poor air quality in eastern China, which relies heavily on coal-fired power plants and coal for heating and cooking. Haze blanketed much of eastern China during the first week of November, but a storm moving in on November 8 and 9 seemed to push much of the haze east over the Yellow Sea and Korea. The edge of the clouds are visible on the right side of the image. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on November 9, 2004. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
Thick haze blanketed much of China on November 4, 2004. Haze is a frequent problem in China, where coal is a source of energy and heat for many. In anticipation of the 2008 Olympics, Beijing has set a plan in action to reduce haze over the city, which is located near the left edge of the image. The city plans to relocate several factories and switch to natural gas where possible to cut down on pollution. Beijing is not the only part of China being affected by the haze on November 4. The thick air stretches from the southern edge of the Gobi Desert (left) down to the South China Sea (right), and from the East China Sea (top) to the mountains of central China (right)a distance of well over 2,000 kilometers in each direction. The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor aboard the OrbView-2 satellite captured this image on November 4, 2004. Image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project [ http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS.html ], NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE [ http://www.orbimage.com/ ]. |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
Thick gray haze hangs over the eastern coastal plain of China on November 19, 2004. The particle pollutionlikely a mixture of emissions from coal-fired power plants, home heating and cooking fires, and vehiclesfills the bowl of land surrounded by rugged mountains around the western perimeters and the seas to the east. The haze is banked against the Taihang Shan ("Shan" means "Mountains"), which run southwest from Beijing for several hundreds kilometers. The Huang He (Yellow River) is almost completely hidden by smoke, but its outlet into Bo Hai is located near image center, and the sediment that the river carries into the sea creates a tan border along the coastline. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
Sooty haze in eastern China was abundant on November 23, 2004, when this image of the region was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite. The haze accumulates in the atmosphere from the burning of carbon-based fuels (for example, fossil fuels and wood) for heating, transportation, and power. In addition to the respiratory health consequences, the persistent, thick hazewhich occurs throughout the year at different intensitiesalso reduces crop yields. Although many factors can control crop yields, in places where crops are both irrigated and fertilized, as they are in China's most agriculturally productive areas, sunlight often becomes the limiting factor. This shielding effect of haze occurs throughout the world, both in developing countries and, to a lesser extent, developed ones, where technology, alternative fuels, and regulation generally foster cleaner air. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
Sooty haze in eastern China was abundant on November 23, 2004, when this image of the region was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite. The haze accumulates in the atmosphere from the burning of carbon-based fuels (for example, fossil fuels and wood) for heating, transportation, and power. In addition to the respiratory health consequences, the persistent, thick hazewhich occurs throughout the year at different intensitiesalso reduces crop yields. Although many factors can control crop yields, in places where crops are both irrigated and fertilized, as they are in China's most agriculturally productive areas, sunlight often becomes the limiting factor. This shielding effect of haze occurs throughout the world, both in developing countries and, to a lesser extent, developed ones, where technology, alternative fuels, and regulation generally foster cleaner air. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
On December 13, 2004, hazy air spread out across a wide area of eastern China. It is not uncommon for the eastern coastal plain to experience poor air quality in fall and winter. Most of China's energy comes from burning coal, the emissions often pile up over the low-lying coastal plain. The haze may be augmented on this day by dust from China?s interior deserts. Satellite images from December 6 [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12608 ] show a large dust storm blowing over the mountains to the west and out to sea. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Particle Pollution in Easter
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| Title |
Particle Pollution in Eastern China |
| Description |
Cool winter weather probably contributed to the build-up of haze over Eastern China on December 15, 2004. Much of China relies on burning coal for winter heating and energy, and that produces the black aerosols that form the haze seen here. Fog has also moved over parts of the country, and the two events may be related. Sulfate particles emitted during burning provides hygroscopic sites for fog droplets to coalesce, making it easier for thick fogs to form over the region. In this image, acquired by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view (SeaWiFS) Sensor flying on the OrbView-2 satellite on December 15, thick fog blankets the North China Plain, top, and parts of the Yangtze River Valley. The thinner, grayish haze casts a brown tint on the fog as the haze sails over the low clouds. In the top of the image, fog and haze fill the mountain valleys to the west of the North China Plain. NASA image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project [ http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS.html ], NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE [ http://www.orbimage.com/ ]. NOTE: All SeaWiFS images and data are for research and educational use only. All commercial use of SeaWiFS data must be coordinated with ORBIMAGE [ http://www.orbimage.com/ ]. |
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Sandstorms Sweep Across Nort
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| Title |
Sandstorms Sweep Across Northern China |
| Description |
Thick clouds of dust sweep across the Gobi Desert in Northern China and Southern Mongolia in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) image taken by the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on March 27, 2004. According to China's official news agency, about 70 million people in 11 provinces were affected by sandstorms on March 27 and 28. The worst of the storm was concentrated here, in Inner Mongolia, where yellow sand blew for sixteen hours. Mongolia, top, was also affected by the storm. The high resolution image provided above has a resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004087-0327/China.A2004087.0340 ]. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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