|
|
Browse All
:
Images of Louisiana and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and Mississippi
|
Printer Friendly |
Hurricane Katrina Progressio
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Progression |
| Abstract |
Hurricane Katrina progression is observed by the Aqua and Terra satellites. Katrina hit land on August 29, 2005, near the Louisiana-Mississippi border. Katrina's center was located near the mouth of the Pearl River about 40-45 miles west-southwest of Biloxi, Mississippi and about 30-35 miles east-northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina is the eleventh named storm of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season. |
| Completed |
2005-09-02 |
|
Hurricane Katrina Progressio
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Progression |
| Abstract |
Hurricane Katrina progression is observed by the Aqua and Terra satellites. Katrina hit land on August 29, 2005, near the Louisiana-Mississippi border. Katrina's center was located near the mouth of the Pearl River about 40-45 miles west-southwest of Biloxi, Mississippi and about 30-35 miles east-northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina is the eleventh named storm of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season. |
| Completed |
2005-09-02 |
|
Hurricane Katrina Progressio
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Progression |
| Abstract |
Hurricane Katrina progression is observed by the Aqua and Terra satellites. Katrina hit land on August 29, 2005, near the Louisiana-Mississippi border. Katrina's center was located near the mouth of the Pearl River about 40-45 miles west-southwest of Biloxi, Mississippi and about 30-35 miles east-northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina is the eleventh named storm of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season. |
| Completed |
2005-09-02 |
|
Hurricane Katrina Progressio
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Progression |
| Abstract |
Hurricane Katrina progression is observed by the Aqua and Terra satellites. Katrina hit land on August 29, 2005, near the Louisiana-Mississippi border. Katrina's center was located near the mouth of the Pearl River about 40-45 miles west-southwest of Biloxi, Mississippi and about 30-35 miles east-northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina is the eleventh named storm of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season. |
| Completed |
2005-09-02 |
|
Hurricane Katrina Progressio
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Progression |
| Abstract |
Hurricane Katrina progression is observed by the Aqua and Terra satellites. Katrina hit land on August 29, 2005, near the Louisiana-Mississippi border. Katrina's center was located near the mouth of the Pearl River about 40-45 miles west-southwest of Biloxi, Mississippi and about 30-35 miles east-northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina is the eleventh named storm of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season. |
| Completed |
2005-09-02 |
|
Hurricane Katrina Progressio
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Progression |
| Abstract |
Hurricane Katrina progression is observed by the Aqua and Terra satellites. Katrina hit land on August 29, 2005, near the Louisiana-Mississippi border. Katrina's center was located near the mouth of the Pearl River about 40-45 miles west-southwest of Biloxi, Mississippi and about 30-35 miles east-northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina is the eleventh named storm of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season. |
| Completed |
2005-09-02 |
|
Hurricane Katrina Progressio
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Progression |
| Abstract |
Hurricane Katrina progression is observed by the Aqua and Terra satellites. Katrina hit land on August 29, 2005, near the Louisiana-Mississippi border. Katrina's center was located near the mouth of the Pearl River about 40-45 miles west-southwest of Biloxi, Mississippi and about 30-35 miles east-northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina is the eleventh named storm of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season. |
| Completed |
2005-09-02 |
|
Hurricane Katrina Progressio
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Progression |
| Abstract |
Hurricane Katrina progression is observed by the Aqua and Terra satellites. Katrina hit land on August 29, 2005, near the Louisiana-Mississippi border. Katrina's center was located near the mouth of the Pearl River about 40-45 miles west-southwest of Biloxi, Mississippi and about 30-35 miles east-northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina is the eleventh named storm of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season. |
| Completed |
2005-09-02 |
|
Hurricane Katrina Progressio
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Progression |
| Abstract |
Hurricane Katrina progression is observed by the Aqua and Terra satellites. Katrina hit land on August 29, 2005, near the Louisiana-Mississippi border. Katrina's center was located near the mouth of the Pearl River about 40-45 miles west-southwest of Biloxi, Mississippi and about 30-35 miles east-northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina is the eleventh named storm of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season. |
| Completed |
2005-09-02 |
|
Tropical storm Isodore makes
…
| Title |
Tropical storm Isodore makes landfall in Louisiana Thursday morning, September 26, 2002 |
| Abstract |
Tropical Storm Isodore blew ashore early Thursday morning packing winds just below hurricane strength. At 11 am (EST) Isodore's center was 60 miles north-northeast of New Orleans and just west of Poplarville, Mississippi. It was moving north-northeast at 17 mph. Tornado warnings and flood watches were posted from the Louisiana coast to the Florida panhandle. The storm has brought two days of steady downpours with 10-12 inch accumulations. |
| Completed |
2002-09-26 |
|
Tropical storm Isodore makes
…
| Title |
Tropical storm Isodore makes landfall in Louisiana Thursday morning, September 26, 2002 |
| Abstract |
Tropical Storm Isodore blew ashore early Thursday morning packing winds just below hurricane strength. At 11 am (EST) Isodore's center was 60 miles north-northeast of New Orleans and just west of Poplarville, Mississippi. It was moving north-northeast at 17 mph. Tornado warnings and flood watches were posted from the Louisiana coast to the Florida panhandle. The storm has brought two days of steady downpours with 10-12 inch accumulations. |
| Completed |
2002-09-26 |
|
Tropical storm Isodore makes
…
| Title |
Tropical storm Isodore makes landfall in Louisiana Thursday morning, September 26, 2002 |
| Abstract |
Tropical Storm Isodore blew ashore early Thursday morning packing winds just below hurricane strength. At 11 am (EST) Isodore's center was 60 miles north-northeast of New Orleans and just west of Poplarville, Mississippi. It was moving north-northeast at 17 mph. Tornado warnings and flood watches were posted from the Louisiana coast to the Florida panhandle. The storm has brought two days of steady downpours with 10-12 inch accumulations. |
| Completed |
2002-09-26 |
|
Hurricane Dennis
| Title |
Hurricane Dennis |
| Description |
Hurricane Dennis was bearing down on the Gulf Coast of the United States on July 10, 2005, at 12:15 p.m. (16:15 UTC) when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image. With winds of 135 miles per hour (217 kph), Dennis was a powerful Category 4 storm just hours away from making landfall. At the time this image was taken, the eye of the storm was about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south, southeast of Pensacola, Florida, and the storm was moving northwest at about 18 miles per hour (29 kph). The size of the storm put clouds of rain over most of the southeastern United States well before the storm came ashore. In this image, Dennis covers all of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and stretches over parts of Louisiana. The northern fringes of the storm appear to be over Tennessee and North Carolina. For additional information and warnings about this storm, please visit the National Hurricane Center. This image is available in additional resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC |
|
Hurricane Katrina
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina |
| Description |
Hurricane Katrina moved ashore over southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi early on August 29, 2005, as an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm. With winds of 135 miles per hour (217 kilometers per hour), a powerful storm surge, and heavy rains, Katrina pounded the U.S. Gulf Coast, triggering extensive life-threatening flooding. This GOES image shows the storm as it moved over southern Mississippi at 9:02 a.m. The eye of the storm is due east of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina continued to move north into Mississippi, and is expected to track northeast across the United States into Eastern Canada over the next two days. By mid-afternoon on August 29, Katrina had weakened into a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 95 mph (153 km/hr). A mere 24 hours earlier, Katrina had been one of the most powerful storms ever observed in the Atlantic Basin. The above animation tracks the storm's degradation from a Category 5 storm on August 28, to a Category 1 storm on August 29 as the storm spent its fury on Louisiana and Mississippi. The first image in the animation was taken at 7:15 p.m. CDT on August 28. At this time, Katrina was well-organized, with a large eye. The storm had winds of 160 mph (258 km/hr) with stronger gusts and a central pressure of 902 millibars. The lower the air pressure associated with a hurricane, the more powerful the storm tends to be. Since records began, only three storms have ever had lower air pressures. Katrina was a very powerful and extremely dangerous Category 5 storm. As the storm moved north through the night, it weakened slightly into a Category 4 storm before slamming ashore over southeastern Louisiana around 6 a.m. As the storm moved ashore during the day, it gradually lost its distinctive eye and weakened to the Category 1 storm seen in the final frame, taken at 2:45 p.m. on August 29. For more images of Hurricane Katrina, please visit the Natural Hazards [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13081 ] section of the Earth Observatory. For more information about Katrina, see the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] web site. Images courtesy GOES Project Science Office [ http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] |
|
Hurricane Katrina
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina |
| Description |
Hurricane Katrina moved ashore over southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi early on August 29, 2005, as an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm. With winds of 135 miles per hour (217 kilometers per hour), a powerful storm surge, and heavy rains, Katrina pounded the U.S. Gulf Coast, triggering extensive life-threatening flooding. This GOES image shows the storm as it moved over southern Mississippi at 9:02 a.m. The eye of the storm is due east of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina continued to move north into Mississippi, and is expected to track northeast across the United States into Eastern Canada over the next two days. By mid-afternoon on August 29, Katrina had weakened into a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 95 mph (153 km/hr). A mere 24 hours earlier, Katrina had been one of the most powerful storms ever observed in the Atlantic Basin. The above animation tracks the storm's degradation from a Category 5 storm on August 28, to a Category 1 storm on August 29 as the storm spent its fury on Louisiana and Mississippi. The first image in the animation was taken at 7:15 p.m. CDT on August 28. At this time, Katrina was well-organized, with a large eye. The storm had winds of 160 mph (258 km/hr) with stronger gusts and a central pressure of 902 millibars. The lower the air pressure associated with a hurricane, the more powerful the storm tends to be. Since records began, only three storms have ever had lower air pressures. Katrina was a very powerful and extremely dangerous Category 5 storm. As the storm moved north through the night, it weakened slightly into a Category 4 storm before slamming ashore over southeastern Louisiana around 6 a.m. As the storm moved ashore during the day, it gradually lost its distinctive eye and weakened to the Category 1 storm seen in the final frame, taken at 2:45 p.m. on August 29. For more images of Hurricane Katrina, please visit the Natural Hazards [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13081 ] section of the Earth Observatory. For more information about Katrina, see the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] web site. Images courtesy GOES Project Science Office [ http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] |
|
Hurricane Katrina
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina |
| Description |
Hurricane Katrina moved ashore over southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi early on August 29, 2005, as an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm. With winds of 135 miles per hour (217 kilometers per hour), a powerful storm surge, and heavy rains, Katrina pounded the U.S. Gulf Coast, triggering extensive life-threatening flooding. This GOES image shows the storm as it moved over southern Mississippi at 9:02 a.m. The eye of the storm is due east of New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina continued to move north into Mississippi, and is expected to track northeast across the United States into Eastern Canada over the next two days. By mid-afternoon on August 29, Katrina had weakened into a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 95 mph (153 km/hr). A mere 24 hours earlier, Katrina had been one of the most powerful storms ever observed in the Atlantic Basin. The above animation tracks the storm's degradation from a Category 5 storm on August 28, to a Category 1 storm on August 29 as the storm spent its fury on Louisiana and Mississippi. The first image in the animation was taken at 7:15 p.m. CDT on August 28. At this time, Katrina was well-organized, with a large eye. The storm had winds of 160 mph (258 km/hr) with stronger gusts and a central pressure of 902 millibars. The lower the air pressure associated with a hurricane, the more powerful the storm tends to be. Since records began, only three storms have ever had lower air pressures. Katrina was a very powerful and extremely dangerous Category 5 storm. As the storm moved north through the night, it weakened slightly into a Category 4 storm before slamming ashore over southeastern Louisiana around 6 a.m. As the storm moved ashore during the day, it gradually lost its distinctive eye and weakened to the Category 1 storm seen in the final frame, taken at 2:45 p.m. on August 29. For more images of Hurricane Katrina, please visit the Natural Hazards [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13081 ] section of the Earth Observatory. For more information about Katrina, see the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] web site. Images courtesy GOES Project Science Office [ http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] |
|
Hurricane Katrina
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina |
| Description |
Hurricane Katrina was sprawled across all or part of 16 states at 2:15 p.m. CDT on August 29, 2005, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image. After nearly eight hours over land, Katrina was still a Category 1 storm, with winds of 150 kilometers per hour (95 miles per hour) and stronger gusts. In this image, Katrina measures about 1,260 kilometers (780 miles) from east to west and about the same distance from north to south across its center. While most states under its clouds have only experienced rain so far, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida have all been pummeled by furious winds, heavy rain, and a powerful storm surge. Katrina was a strong Category 3 storm when its eye moved ashore earlier in the day. The large image provided above has a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides the image in additional resolutions, including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
|
Hurricane Katrina
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina |
| Description |
After forming in the central Bahamas, Katrina came ashore in south Florida as a Category 1 hurricane where it was responsible for 11 fatalities. The storm cut diagonally across the southern part of the state from just north of Miami on the east coast, through the Everglades, to Cape Sabel on the west coast. In the process, Katrina brought heavy amounts of rain to parts of south Florida and Cuba. This image shows the Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) rainfall totals due to the passage of Katrina for the period August 23 to 31, 2005. Storm symbols mark the track of Katrina at 0:00 UTC (8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT) on the previous day), plus symbols are the location of Katrina at 12:00 UTC (8 a.m. EDT). The solid hurricane symbol represents a hurricane, the hollow symbol is a tropical storm, while a circle marks a tropical depression. The highest rainfall totals exceeded 12 inches of rain (dark red areas) over northwestern Cuba and the lower Florida Keys. Amounts over the southern Florida peninsula were between 5 and 8 inches (green to yellow area). Local WSR-88D radar esimates were locally much higher just west of Miami, but the overall pattern and amounts over the lower keys were in good agreement with the MPA totals. After entering the Gulf of Mexico, Katrina intensified into a large, powerful Category 5 storm as it turned north towards the north-central Gulf coast. Katrina came ashore as a powerful Category 4 storm over southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi, causing catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities. Rainfall totals immediately along the coast of Mississippi were between 6 and 9 inches (yellow to orange) in very good agreement with local radar estimates. After coming ashore, Katrina tracked quickly up through Mississippi, western Tennessee and Kentucky and into Ohio. Katrina's rapid forward progress helped keep rainfall totals down across the central United States with amounts generally less than 5 inches (green to blue) across northern Mississippi and parts of the Ohio valley. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been measuring rainfall over the tropics since its launch in 1997. The MPA measures such as those show here are based on measurements by TRMM and other satellites. The MPA measurements are created at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to provide estimates of rainfall over the global tropics. 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). |
|
Hurricane Katrina
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina |
| Description |
After forming in the central Bahamas, Katrina came ashore in south Florida as a Category 1 hurricane where it was responsible for 11 fatalities. The storm cut diagonally across the southern part of the state from just north of Miami on the east coast, through the Everglades, to Cape Sabel on the west coast. In the process, Katrina brought heavy amounts of rain to parts of south Florida and Cuba. This image shows the Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) rainfall totals due to the passage of Katrina for the period August 23 to 31, 2005. Storm symbols mark the track of Katrina at 0:00 UTC (8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDT) on the previous day), plus symbols are the location of Katrina at 12:00 UTC (8 a.m. EDT). The solid hurricane symbol represents a hurricane, the hollow symbol is a tropical storm, while a circle marks a tropical depression. The highest rainfall totals exceeded 12 inches of rain (dark red areas) over northwestern Cuba and the lower Florida Keys. Amounts over the southern Florida peninsula were between 5 and 8 inches (green to yellow area). Local WSR-88D radar esimates were locally much higher just west of Miami, but the overall pattern and amounts over the lower keys were in good agreement with the MPA totals. After entering the Gulf of Mexico, Katrina intensified into a large, powerful Category 5 storm as it turned north towards the north-central Gulf coast. Katrina came ashore as a powerful Category 4 storm over southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi, causing catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities. Rainfall totals immediately along the coast of Mississippi were between 6 and 9 inches (yellow to orange) in very good agreement with local radar estimates. After coming ashore, Katrina tracked quickly up through Mississippi, western Tennessee and Kentucky and into Ohio. Katrina's rapid forward progress helped keep rainfall totals down across the central United States with amounts generally less than 5 inches (green to blue) across northern Mississippi and parts of the Ohio valley. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been measuring rainfall over the tropics since its launch in 1997. The MPA measures such as those show here are based on measurements by TRMM and other satellites. The MPA measurements are created at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to provide estimates of rainfall over the global tropics. 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). |
|
Hurricane Katrina Floods the
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Floods the Southeastern United States |
| Description |
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, much of New Orleans is under water in the top satellite image, taken on August 30, 2005, at 11:45 a.m. CDT by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. Early news reports say that as much as 80 percent of the city is flooded after levees failed to hold Katrina's massive storm surge back. The flooding is getting worse as water slowly seeps into the city from Lake Pontchartrain. On Saturday, August 27, 2005, New Orleans formed a tan and green grid sandwiched between the lake shore and the river in the lower image. Three days later, dark pools of water covered the eastern half of the city, and a large section of Lake Pontchartrain ballooned into the region immediately west of the city. Widespread flooding is visible elsewhere in the top image. Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas have nearly blended into a single body of water, separated only by a narrow strip of land. Dark smudges line the rivers flowing into both lakes, a sign that water covers the ground around them. The images are shown in false color to make water visible against the land. Water is black or dark blue where it is colored with mud, vegetation is bright green, and clouds are light blue and white. The large images provided above provide a broader view of the region. They show flooding along the Mississippi and Alabama coast [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13090 ], particularly around Mobile Bay and parts of coastal Mississippi. The large images are at MODIS' maximum resolution, but both the August 30 and August 27 images are available in additional resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
|
Hurricane Katrina Floods the
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Floods the Southeastern United States |
| Description |
Nearly a full week after Hurricane Katrina blasted ashore over southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi, the clouds cleared to give the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) a clear view of extensive flooding in the wetlands southeast of New Orleans. The floods are black against bright green vegetation in these false-color MODIS images taken on September 4, top, and August 9, bottom. The floods demonstrate how coastal wetlands function to protect inland regions from the destructive storm surge unleashed during powerful hurricanes such as Katrina. The wetlands act as a sponge, soaking up water that pounds the coast during the storm. After the storm, the wetlands retain water, which is why widespread flooding is still evident six days after the storm had passed. If the wetlands had not been there, the storm surge could have penetrated much farther inland. By contrast, there were no wetlands to buffer New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain, so the storm-churned lake was able to burst through the levees that separated it from the city. Wetlands also act as nature's "kidneys," filtering pollutants from the water. However, like kidneys, too much pollution will destroy the wetlands. If the contaminated flood water currently covering New Orleans were to be drained through the wetlands seen here, the wetlands could be damaged. Wetland loss in coastal Louisiana is a rising concern among scientists. The United States Geological Survey reports that Louisiana lost 1,900 square miles of land between 1932 and 2000, with an average 34 square miles of land disappearing every year. Though many things contribute to wetland loss, one of the primary reasons wetlands are disappearing is water use. Canals and levees prevent the regular floods along the Mississippi River that would otherwise carry sediment to the wetlands. Meanwhile, the daily ebb and flow of the ocean washes away bits of land. Since the sediment is not replaced by regular floods, the ocean gradually eats away at the wetlands until they disappear. As the top image demonstrates, without wetlands, inland cities would be more prone to storms. Though extensive flooding is evident in the wetlands, is not yet known what long-term impact Katrina had on Louisiana's wetlands. The large images provided above are at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA7 ] of the region are available in a variety of resolutions. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. Caption information provided by Dr. Frank Muller-Kerger from the University of South Florida. |
|
Hurricane Katrina Floods the
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Floods the Southeastern United States |
| Description |
Nearly a full week after Hurricane Katrina blasted ashore over southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi, the clouds cleared to give the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) a clear view of extensive flooding in the wetlands southeast of New Orleans. The floods are black against bright green vegetation in these false-color MODIS images taken on September 4, top, and August 9, bottom. The floods demonstrate how coastal wetlands function to protect inland regions from the destructive storm surge unleashed during powerful hurricanes such as Katrina. The wetlands act as a sponge, soaking up water that pounds the coast during the storm. After the storm, the wetlands retain water, which is why widespread flooding is still evident six days after the storm had passed. If the wetlands had not been there, the storm surge could have penetrated much farther inland. By contrast, there were no wetlands to buffer New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain, so the storm-churned lake was able to burst through the levees that separated it from the city. Wetlands also act as nature's "kidneys," filtering pollutants from the water. However, like kidneys, too much pollution will destroy the wetlands. If the contaminated flood water currently covering New Orleans were to be drained through the wetlands seen here, the wetlands could be damaged. Wetland loss in coastal Louisiana is a rising concern among scientists. The United States Geological Survey reports that Louisiana lost 1,900 square miles of land between 1932 and 2000, with an average 34 square miles of land disappearing every year. Though many things contribute to wetland loss, one of the primary reasons wetlands are disappearing is water use. Canals and levees prevent the regular floods along the Mississippi River that would otherwise carry sediment to the wetlands. Meanwhile, the daily ebb and flow of the ocean washes away bits of land. Since the sediment is not replaced by regular floods, the ocean gradually eats away at the wetlands until they disappear. As the top image demonstrates, without wetlands, inland cities would be more prone to storms. Though extensive flooding is evident in the wetlands, is not yet known what long-term impact Katrina had on Louisiana's wetlands. The large images provided above are at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA7 ] of the region are available in a variety of resolutions. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. Caption information provided by Dr. Frank Muller-Kerger from the University of South Florida. |
|
Hurricane Katrina Floods the
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Floods the Southeastern United States |
| Description |
The Mississippi River pours into the Gulf of Mexico through the wetlands of Louisiana. Over millennia, the river has deposited sediment into the Gulf, slowly building the long "crow's foot" delta seen here. The delta that took thousands of years to build changed dramatically overnight when Hurricane Katrina blew ashore. On August 31, 2005, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image of the Mississippi River delta. In contrast to the lower image, taken on August 9, 2005, much of the green land is under water. The false-color images show water as black, or dark blue where muddied by sediment, plant-covered land as green, and clouds as pale blue and white. The changes seen in the delta may be a result of temporary flooding brought on by the hurricane's powerful storm surge and heavy rains, or they may be permanent if the storm washed away sections of land. The Mississippi River is clearly swollen in the top image, indicating that the flooding caused by the storm had not subsided by August 31. On the other hand, the water around the delta is blue, clouded with dirt. The dirt could simply be run-off from the floods, or it could be eroded shoreline. The high-resolution images provided above are at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. They are available in additional resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response Team, which provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA7 ] of the region. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
|
Hurricane Katrina Floods the
…
| Title |
Hurricane Katrina Floods the Southeastern United States |
| Description |
The Mississippi River pours into the Gulf of Mexico through the wetlands of Louisiana. Over millennia, the river has deposited sediment into the Gulf, slowly building the long "crow's foot" delta seen here. The delta that took thousands of years to build changed dramatically overnight when Hurricane Katrina blew ashore. On August 31, 2005, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image of the Mississippi River delta. In contrast to the lower image, taken on August 9, 2005, much of the green land is under water. The false-color images show water as black, or dark blue where muddied by sediment, plant-covered land as green, and clouds as pale blue and white. The changes seen in the delta may be a result of temporary flooding brought on by the hurricane's powerful storm surge and heavy rains, or they may be permanent if the storm washed away sections of land. The Mississippi River is clearly swollen in the top image, indicating that the flooding caused by the storm had not subsided by August 31. On the other hand, the water around the delta is blue, clouded with dirt. The dirt could simply be run-off from the floods, or it could be eroded shoreline. The high-resolution images provided above are at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. They are available in additional resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response Team, which provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA7 ] of the region. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
|
Hurricane Rita
| Title |
Hurricane Rita |
| Description |
After forming east of the Turks and Caicos, Rita moved west and sideswiped the Florida Keys before entering the Gulf of Mexico where it strengthend into the 3rd most powerful hurricane on record (in terms of central air pressure). Rita eventually made landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border as a Category 3 storm. After making landfall, Rita weakened into a tropical depression and moved northeastward through central Arkansas and into southeast Missouri. The image about shows the Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) rainfall totals due solely to Rita for the period September 18-26, 2005, with storm symbols marking the storm track. The highest rainfall totals are over coastal Louisiana where a swath of 8- to 10-inch amounts (yellow and orange areas) extends eastward from the Texas border to near Morgan City. Parts of the Keys and far southwestern peninsular Florida received up to 5 inches from Rita (green areas). Overall, the inland rainfall totals across the central Mississippi valley were not very high, generally less than 4 inches (light green to blue), as Rita rather quickly moved off to the northeast. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been measuring rainfall over the tropics since its launch in 1997. The TRMM-based, near-real time MPA at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides estimates of rainfall over the global tropics. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and captioned by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
|
Hurricane Rita
| Title |
Hurricane Rita |
| Description |
Rita became a Category 5 hurricane late on September 21, 2005, with sustained wind speeds of 275 kilometers per hour (170 miles per hour), making it the fourth most powerful storm ever measured. It was easing off this strength slightly by mid-day September 22 when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image at 12:55 p.m., U.S. Eastern time. The storm bears the markings of a powerful hurricane: it is compact and circular, though clouds have formed in the eye of the storm. This closed or "dirty" eye shape is typical of a storm which has reached its peak strength and is slackening. However, Rita remained a remarkably powerful storm. At the time this image was acquired, Rita had winds of 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour) with gusts as high as 310 km/hr (195 mph). Rita is the second Category 5 storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. The first was Hurricane Katrina, which devastated much of the Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama shoreline when it came ashore on August 29. Rita is expected to weaken slightly before coming ashore over the Texas or Louisiana coastline on September 23 or 24 as a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher). In this photo-like image, the Gulf Coast of the United States frames the open water to the north, while the Yucatan Peninsula is visible to the south. The air just below the cloud banks of Rita is remarkably clear, where wind and pressure patterns caused by the storm have banked polluted air away to the north and west. The large image has a resolution of 250 meters per pixel. It is available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2005265-0922/Rita.A2005265.1655 ] from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. For more information about Hurricane Rita, please visit the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] web site. NASA image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. |
|
Hurricane Rita
| Title |
Hurricane Rita |
| Description |
Rita was building into an extremely dangerous Category 5 hurricane when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image at 12:10 p.m., U.S. Eastern time on September 21, 2005. The storm bears the markings of a powerful hurricane: it is compact and circular, with an open eye through which the deep blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico are visible. At the time this image was acquired, Rita had winds of 220 kilometers per hour (140 miles per hour) with gusts to 270 kph (170 mph). Within a few hours, the storm intensified to a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 265 kph (165 mph). Rita is the second Category 5 storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. The first was Hurricane Katrina, which devastated much of the Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama shoreline when it came ashore on August 29. Rita is expected to weaken slightly before coming ashore over the Texas or Louisiana coastline on September 23 or 24 as a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher). In this photo-like image, the Gulf Coast of the United States frames the open water to the north, while the Yucatan Peninsula is visible to the south. MODIS detected several fires, marked with red dots, burning in the southeastern United States. The fires are probably agricultural fires. The large image has a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. It is available in additional resolutions, including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel, from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. For more information about Hurricane Rita, please visit the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] web site. NASA image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
|
Hurricane Rita
| Title |
Hurricane Rita |
| Description |
Hurricane Rita was slowly winding down as it approached the Louisiana and Texas shoreline on September 23, 2005. At 2:05 p.m. U.S. Central time, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image, Rita was a dangerous Category 3 storm, down from the near-record-breaking Category 5 hurricane it was on September 21. At its core, Rita had sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour (125 miles per hour) and stronger gusts. A mere two days earlier, the storm packed wind speeds of 275 kilometers per hour (170 miles per hour), making it the fourth most powerful storm ever measured. In this image, the outer bands of the storm already extend well over Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas, affecting many regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina on August 29. Over the Gulf of Mexico, Rita's well-defined eye has clouded over. This closed or "dirty" eye shape is typical of a storm that has reached its peak strength and is slackening. Though the center of the storm is forecast to come ashore in Texas near the Louisiana border, Rita will likely have a far-reaching effect. The massive storm has hurricane-strength winds that reach 140 kilometers (85 miles) from the eye, with weaker tropical-storm-strength winds that extend as far as 335 kilometers (205 miles) from the storm's center. Rita will also bring heavy rain—up to 20 inches in some locations, the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] warns—high tides, and battering waves. For more images of Hurricane Rita, please visit the Natural Hazards [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13158 ] section of the Earth Observatory. For more information about Rita, see the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ]. The large image provided above has a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2005266-0923/Rita.A2005266.1910 ], including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel, from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
|
Fires Across Southern United
…
| Title |
Fires Across Southern United States |
| Description |
This image of fires in the southern United States was captured on March 10, 2004, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite. Actively burning fires have been marked with red dots in Oklahoma (top left), Texas (bottom left), Arkansas (top center), Louisiana (bottom center), and (left to right across the rest of the image) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Most of us don?t think of late winter as fire season in the United States, but according to the Southern Coordination Center for the National Interagency Fire Center, just over 993,000 acres had been affected by fire in the Southern region as of March 23, 2004: 11,936 human-caused fires affected 130,385 acres, 18 lightning-caused fire affected 225 acres, and 1,084 prescribed fires (those set by land management agencies for natural resource management purposes) affected 862,772 acres. 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 |
|
Fires Across the Southern U.
…
| Title |
Fires Across the Southern U.S. |
| Description |
A mixture of prescribed fires and wildfires was burning throughout the southern United States on January 14, 2003. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite, and shows active fire detection by MODIS marked with red dots. States with fires include (bottom left to right) Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South and North Carolina, with Florida in the bottom right corner. According to the January 15 morning report from the Southern Fire Coordination Center of the National Interagency Fire Center, 17 prescribed burns were underway on more than 11,500 acres in Arkansas (visible, but cloud-covered in the high-resolution image), Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina. Dozens of additional small fires were reported on state lands throughout the south as well. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC |
|
Fires Across the Southern U.
…
| Title |
Fires Across the Southern U.S. |
| Description |
This image of the south-central United States on February 4, 2003, shows scattered fires (red dots) across the region. The fires are most heavily concentrated at the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana. The image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS' maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
|
Fires Across the United Stat
…
| Title |
Fires Across the United States |
| Description |
This expansive image of the United States was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) on NASA?s Terra and Aqua satellites. The left hand portion of the image comes from Aqua MODIS observations captured on the afternoon of October 22, 2003, while the right hand part of the image is from Terra MODIS observations captured a few hours earlier. Several geographic regions are experiencing fires, which were detected by the sensors and are marked with red dots. At upper left, fires are still burning across the Northern Rockies, the highest concentration is in Idaho, with additional fires in Montana to its east, and southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon, to the west. In the Southwest, fires are burning in southern California near Los Angeles (gray patch right at edge of image to the north of the Baja Peninsula), as well as in the arc of mountains running through Arizona. At top center, fires are scattered across the northern Great Plains, from North Dakota and across the United States? border into Canada. Far to the south, dozens more fires are burning in the Mississippi River Valley in Mississippi (against right edge), Louisiana (to the west) and Arkansas (north of Louisiana). The high-resolution image provided above is 2 kilometers per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC |
|
Fires Across the United Stat
…
| Title |
Fires Across the United States |
| Description |
This expansive image of the United States was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) on NASA?s Terra and Aqua satellites. The left hand portion of the image comes from Aqua MODIS observations captured on the afternoon of October 22, 2003, while the right hand part of the image is from Terra MODIS observations captured a few hours earlier. Several geographic regions are experiencing fires, which were detected by the sensors and are marked with red dots. At upper left, fires are still burning across the Northern Rockies, the highest concentration is in Idaho, with additional fires in Montana to its east, and southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon, to the west. In the Southwest, fires are burning in southern California near Los Angeles (gray patch right at edge of image to the north of the Baja Peninsula), as well as in the arc of mountains running through Arizona. At top center, fires are scattered across the northern Great Plains, from North Dakota and across the United States? border into Canada. Far to the south, dozens more fires are burning in the Mississippi River Valley in Mississippi (against right edge), Louisiana (to the west) and Arkansas (north of Louisiana). The high-resolution image provided above is 2 kilometers per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC |
|
Fires and Haze Along U.S. Gu
…
| Title |
Fires and Haze Along U.S. Gulf Coast |
| Description |
In Louisiana and other sugarcane-producing states in the Deep South, the burning of the sugarcane fields prior to autumn harvest is a long-standing agricultural practice. Burning eliminates the non-sugar-containing parts of the plants before they are harvested, reducing harvest time and processing costs. Like other open field burning, however, there is a downside to the practice: air pollution. Because of the potential negative health impacts of the particulates and carbon monoxide released during open agricultural burning, the Environmental Protection Agency is working with the agriculture industry to develop guidelines for agricultural burning that will reduce its contribution to poor air quality. This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Terra satellite on October 3 shows a broad swath of haze across the Gulf Coast states in the southern United States. The Mississippi River Valley runs through the center of the scene in a broad tan-colored swath. Scattered fires are marked in red. Fires and resulting build-ups of haze have been occurring on and off since the remnants of Hurricane Ivan came ashore for the second time in late September. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, based on data from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. |
|
Phytoplankton Bloom in the G
…
| Title |
Phytoplankton Bloom in the Gulf of Mexico |
| Description |
. 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/ ]., A dark green plume of phytoplankton extends away from the crow?s foot of the Mississippi River Delta in this image, acquired on December 13, 2004, by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view (SeaWiFS) Sensor flying on the OrbView-2 satellite. Phytoplankton blooms usually occur where cold water rushes up from the bottom of the ocean carrying nutrients to sunlit waters. In this case, the bloom may be related to recent flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Heavy rains early in December triggered floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12619 ] across the southeastern United States. The draining flood water carried agricultural run-off into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, and that may have provided the nutrients the microscopic ocean plants needed to thrive. In the above images, the Red River twists across southeastern Louisiana from the upper left corner and pours into the Mississippi River beneath the cloud bank. Also concealed by clouds, the Mississipppi drains into the Gulf of Mexico, but just beyond the river?s mouths, the Gulf of Mexico is green with phytoplankton. The lower image shows high chlorophyll concentrations, yellow, corresponding to the green bloom. Scientists have suspected that phytoplankton blooms such as this one may be connected to agricultural run-off, and a recent study seems to confirm this. Using images from NASA?s SeaWiFS sensor, scientists from Stanford University?s School of Earth Sciences compared the timing of irrigation along the west coast of Mexico and phytoplankton blooms in Mexico?s Sea of Cortez (Golfo de California) and found a close correlation. (See press release [ http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/2004/agugulf-0112.html ] for more information.) Phytoplankton blooms occurred in the Sea of Cortez shortly after irrigation along the coast carried fertilizers and other agricultural run-off into the sea. The bloom detected in the Gulf of Mexico on December 13 may be similarly linked to agricultural run-off. Phytoplankton are an important source of food for many marine animals, so waters that are rich in phytoplankton usually support a thriving ecosystem. But in some cases, phytoplankton blooms can be deadly to the very ecosystem they typically support. Some blooms, such as red tide, are toxic and result in wide-spread fish deaths. Large blooms can also create dead zones in the ocean?oxygen-poor regions where fish cannot survive? when the plants die. The bacteria that break down the decaying plants consume all of the oxygen, leaving a dead spot. The Gulf of Mexico is annually plagued with one such dead zone every summer near the location of the current bloom. NASA image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project [ http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS.html ], NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE [ http://www.orbimage.com/ ] |
|
Phytoplankton Bloom in the G
…
| Title |
Phytoplankton Bloom in the Gulf of Mexico |
| Description |
. 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/ ]., A dark green plume of phytoplankton extends away from the crow?s foot of the Mississippi River Delta in this image, acquired on December 13, 2004, by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view (SeaWiFS) Sensor flying on the OrbView-2 satellite. Phytoplankton blooms usually occur where cold water rushes up from the bottom of the ocean carrying nutrients to sunlit waters. In this case, the bloom may be related to recent flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Heavy rains early in December triggered floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12619 ] across the southeastern United States. The draining flood water carried agricultural run-off into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, and that may have provided the nutrients the microscopic ocean plants needed to thrive. In the above images, the Red River twists across southeastern Louisiana from the upper left corner and pours into the Mississippi River beneath the cloud bank. Also concealed by clouds, the Mississipppi drains into the Gulf of Mexico, but just beyond the river?s mouths, the Gulf of Mexico is green with phytoplankton. The lower image shows high chlorophyll concentrations, yellow, corresponding to the green bloom. Scientists have suspected that phytoplankton blooms such as this one may be connected to agricultural run-off, and a recent study seems to confirm this. Using images from NASA?s SeaWiFS sensor, scientists from Stanford University?s School of Earth Sciences compared the timing of irrigation along the west coast of Mexico and phytoplankton blooms in Mexico?s Sea of Cortez (Golfo de California) and found a close correlation. (See press release [ http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/2004/agugulf-0112.html ] for more information.) Phytoplankton blooms occurred in the Sea of Cortez shortly after irrigation along the coast carried fertilizers and other agricultural run-off into the sea. The bloom detected in the Gulf of Mexico on December 13 may be similarly linked to agricultural run-off. Phytoplankton are an important source of food for many marine animals, so waters that are rich in phytoplankton usually support a thriving ecosystem. But in some cases, phytoplankton blooms can be deadly to the very ecosystem they typically support. Some blooms, such as red tide, are toxic and result in wide-spread fish deaths. Large blooms can also create dead zones in the ocean?oxygen-poor regions where fish cannot survive? when the plants die. The bacteria that break down the decaying plants consume all of the oxygen, leaving a dead spot. The Gulf of Mexico is annually plagued with one such dead zone every summer near the location of the current bloom. NASA image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project [ http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS.html ], NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE [ http://www.orbimage.com/ ] |
|
Phytoplankton Bloom in the G
…
| Title |
Phytoplankton Bloom in the Gulf of Mexico |
| Description |
. 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/ ]., A dark green plume of phytoplankton extends away from the crow?s foot of the Mississippi River Delta in this image, acquired on December 13, 2004, by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view (SeaWiFS) Sensor flying on the OrbView-2 satellite. Phytoplankton blooms usually occur where cold water rushes up from the bottom of the ocean carrying nutrients to sunlit waters. In this case, the bloom may be related to recent flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Heavy rains early in December triggered floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12619 ] across the southeastern United States. The draining flood water carried agricultural run-off into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, and that may have provided the nutrients the microscopic ocean plants needed to thrive. In the above images, the Red River twists across southeastern Louisiana from the upper left corner and pours into the Mississippi River beneath the cloud bank. Also concealed by clouds, the Mississipppi drains into the Gulf of Mexico, but just beyond the river?s mouths, the Gulf of Mexico is green with phytoplankton. The lower image shows high chlorophyll concentrations, yellow, corresponding to the green bloom. Scientists have suspected that phytoplankton blooms such as this one may be connected to agricultural run-off, and a recent study seems to confirm this. Using images from NASA?s SeaWiFS sensor, scientists from Stanford University?s School of Earth Sciences compared the timing of irrigation along the west coast of Mexico and phytoplankton blooms in Mexico?s Sea of Cortez (Golfo de California) and found a close correlation. (See press release [ http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/2004/agugulf-0112.html ] for more information.) Phytoplankton blooms occurred in the Sea of Cortez shortly after irrigation along the coast carried fertilizers and other agricultural run-off into the sea. The bloom detected in the Gulf of Mexico on December 13 may be similarly linked to agricultural run-off. Phytoplankton are an important source of food for many marine animals, so waters that are rich in phytoplankton usually support a thriving ecosystem. But in some cases, phytoplankton blooms can be deadly to the very ecosystem they typically support. Some blooms, such as red tide, are toxic and result in wide-spread fish deaths. Large blooms can also create dead zones in the ocean?oxygen-poor regions where fish cannot survive? when the plants die. The bacteria that break down the decaying plants consume all of the oxygen, leaving a dead spot. The Gulf of Mexico is annually plagued with one such dead zone every summer near the location of the current bloom. NASA image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project [ http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS.html ], NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE [ http://www.orbimage.com/ ] |
|
Fires in Mississippi Valley
| Title |
Fires in Mississippi Valley |
| Description |
What they lack in drama, the fires in the Southeast U.S. make up for in numbers each year. There are more fires in the Mississippi Valley, the Plains and the Southeast every year than there are out West, but they are generally much smaller and do not gain the attention of the national news media. This image captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite on September 16, 2003, shows dozens of actively burning fires (red dots) in the states east and west of the Mississippi River Plain, which cuts vertically through the image. States shown include (bottom row, left to right) Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. North of Louisiana, numerous fires are burning in Arkansas. Left and right of Arkansas are Oklahoma and Tennessee, respectively. Across the top (left to right) are Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky. The vegetation that is spread over the region is showing little sign of the approaching autumn equinox. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS' maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC |
|
Severe Thunderstorms over th
…
| Title |
Severe Thunderstorms over the Southeastern United States |
| Description |
Up to ten inches of rain fell over parts of Houston, Texas, between October 10 and October 17, 2006. The rain fell as a line of strong storms, fueled by moisture being pulled up from the Gulf of Mexico, swept across the southeastern United States. Several tornados and deadly flooding were reported across the region. Four people died as a result of the flooding around Houston, said news reports. The top image shows rainfall totals over the southeastern United States for October 10 through October 17, 2006. The rainfall totals come from the near-real-time, Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis, which is partially based on rainfall measurements made by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]). The highest totals, shown in red, are around 12 inches (300 millimeters) and occur over north-central Louisiana. Ten-inch (250-millimeter) amounts (lighter red) are visible north of Galveston Bay, and most of eastern Texas and western Louisiana received at least 5 inches (130 millimeters) of rain (green areas). The lower image provides a snapshot of the line of storms at 11:17 p.m. Central Daylight Time on October 16 (4:17 UTC on October 17), as the storm system was passing through central Louisiana. Taken by the instruments on the TRMM satellite, the image shows rain intensity associated with the advancing line of storms. The rains are stretched out in a long, broken line of storms extending from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico through central Louisiana and into southwestern Mississippi. The line of intense rain (dark reds) is relatively thin across Louisiana. A broader area of weaker rain (wide blue and green area) extends farther north. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, a unique space-borne precipitation radar, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. TRMM was placed into service in November of 1997. From its low-earth orbit, TRMM has been measuring rainfall over the global tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors. 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). |
|
Severe Thunderstorms over th
…
| Title |
Severe Thunderstorms over the Southeastern United States |
| Description |
Up to ten inches of rain fell over parts of Houston, Texas, between October 10 and October 17, 2006. The rain fell as a line of strong storms, fueled by moisture being pulled up from the Gulf of Mexico, swept across the southeastern United States. Several tornados and deadly flooding were reported across the region. Four people died as a result of the flooding around Houston, said news reports. The top image shows rainfall totals over the southeastern United States for October 10 through October 17, 2006. The rainfall totals come from the near-real-time, Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis, which is partially based on rainfall measurements made by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]). The highest totals, shown in red, are around 12 inches (300 millimeters) and occur over north-central Louisiana. Ten-inch (250-millimeter) amounts (lighter red) are visible north of Galveston Bay, and most of eastern Texas and western Louisiana received at least 5 inches (130 millimeters) of rain (green areas). The lower image provides a snapshot of the line of storms at 11:17 p.m. Central Daylight Time on October 16 (4:17 UTC on October 17), as the storm system was passing through central Louisiana. Taken by the instruments on the TRMM satellite, the image shows rain intensity associated with the advancing line of storms. The rains are stretched out in a long, broken line of storms extending from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico through central Louisiana and into southwestern Mississippi. The line of intense rain (dark reds) is relatively thin across Louisiana. A broader area of weaker rain (wide blue and green area) extends farther north. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, a unique space-borne precipitation radar, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. TRMM was placed into service in November of 1997. From its low-earth orbit, TRMM has been measuring rainfall over the global tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors. 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). |
|
Severe Thunderstorms over th
…
| Title |
Severe Thunderstorms over the Southeastern United States |
| Description |
Up to ten inches of rain fell over parts of Houston, Texas, between October 10 and October 17, 2006. The rain fell as a line of strong storms, fueled by moisture being pulled up from the Gulf of Mexico, swept across the southeastern United States. Several tornados and deadly flooding were reported across the region. Four people died as a result of the flooding around Houston, said news reports. The top image shows rainfall totals over the southeastern United States for October 10 through October 17, 2006. The rainfall totals come from the near-real-time, Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis, which is partially based on rainfall measurements made by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]). The highest totals, shown in red, are around 12 inches (300 millimeters) and occur over north-central Louisiana. Ten-inch (250-millimeter) amounts (lighter red) are visible north of Galveston Bay, and most of eastern Texas and western Louisiana received at least 5 inches (130 millimeters) of rain (green areas). The lower image provides a snapshot of the line of storms at 11:17 p.m. Central Daylight Time on October 16 (4:17 UTC on October 17), as the storm system was passing through central Louisiana. Taken by the instruments on the TRMM satellite, the image shows rain intensity associated with the advancing line of storms. The rains are stretched out in a long, broken line of storms extending from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico through central Louisiana and into southwestern Mississippi. The line of intense rain (dark reds) is relatively thin across Louisiana. A broader area of weaker rain (wide blue and green area) extends farther north. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, a unique space-borne precipitation radar, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. TRMM was placed into service in November of 1997. From its low-earth orbit, TRMM has been measuring rainfall over the global tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors. 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). |
|
Severe Thunderstorms over th
…
| Title |
Severe Thunderstorms over the Southeastern United States |
| Description |
Up to ten inches of rain fell over parts of Houston, Texas, between October 10 and October 17, 2006. The rain fell as a line of strong storms, fueled by moisture being pulled up from the Gulf of Mexico, swept across the southeastern United States. Several tornados and deadly flooding were reported across the region. Four people died as a result of the flooding around Houston, said news reports. The top image shows rainfall totals over the southeastern United States for October 10 through October 17, 2006. The rainfall totals come from the near-real-time, Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis, which is partially based on rainfall measurements made by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]). The highest totals, shown in red, are around 12 inches (300 millimeters) and occur over north-central Louisiana. Ten-inch (250-millimeter) amounts (lighter red) are visible north of Galveston Bay, and most of eastern Texas and western Louisiana received at least 5 inches (130 millimeters) of rain (green areas). The lower image provides a snapshot of the line of storms at 11:17 p.m. Central Daylight Time on October 16 (4:17 UTC on October 17), as the storm system was passing through central Louisiana. Taken by the instruments on the TRMM satellite, the image shows rain intensity associated with the advancing line of storms. The rains are stretched out in a long, broken line of storms extending from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico through central Louisiana and into southwestern Mississippi. The line of intense rain (dark reds) is relatively thin across Louisiana. A broader area of weaker rain (wide blue and green area) extends farther north. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, a unique space-borne precipitation radar, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. TRMM was placed into service in November of 1997. From its low-earth orbit, TRMM has been measuring rainfall over the global tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors. 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). |
|
Severe Thunderstorms over th
…
| Title |
Severe Thunderstorms over the Southeastern United States |
| Description |
Up to ten inches of rain fell over parts of Houston, Texas, between October 10 and October 17, 2006. The rain fell as a line of strong storms, fueled by moisture being pulled up from the Gulf of Mexico, swept across the southeastern United States. Several tornados and deadly flooding were reported across the region. Four people died as a result of the flooding around Houston, said news reports. The top image shows rainfall totals over the southeastern United States for October 10 through October 17, 2006. The rainfall totals come from the near-real-time, Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis, which is partially based on rainfall measurements made by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]). The highest totals, shown in red, are around 12 inches (300 millimeters) and occur over north-central Louisiana. Ten-inch (250-millimeter) amounts (lighter red) are visible north of Galveston Bay, and most of eastern Texas and western Louisiana received at least 5 inches (130 millimeters) of rain (green areas). The lower image provides a snapshot of the line of storms at 11:17 p.m. Central Daylight Time on October 16 (4:17 UTC on October 17), as the storm system was passing through central Louisiana. Taken by the instruments on the TRMM satellite, the image shows rain intensity associated with the advancing line of storms. The rains are stretched out in a long, broken line of storms extending from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico through central Louisiana and into southwestern Mississippi. The line of intense rain (dark reds) is relatively thin across Louisiana. A broader area of weaker rain (wide blue and green area) extends farther north. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, a unique space-borne precipitation radar, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. TRMM was placed into service in November of 1997. From its low-earth orbit, TRMM has been measuring rainfall over the global tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors. 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). |
|
Severe Thunderstorms over th
…
| Title |
Severe Thunderstorms over the Southeastern United States |
| Description |
Up to ten inches of rain fell over parts of Houston, Texas, between October 10 and October 17, 2006. The rain fell as a line of strong storms, fueled by moisture being pulled up from the Gulf of Mexico, swept across the southeastern United States. Several tornados and deadly flooding were reported across the region. Four people died as a result of the flooding around Houston, said news reports. The top image shows rainfall totals over the southeastern United States for October 10 through October 17, 2006. The rainfall totals come from the near-real-time, Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis, which is partially based on rainfall measurements made by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]). The highest totals, shown in red, are around 12 inches (300 millimeters) and occur over north-central Louisiana. Ten-inch (250-millimeter) amounts (lighter red) are visible north of Galveston Bay, and most of eastern Texas and western Louisiana received at least 5 inches (130 millimeters) of rain (green areas). The lower image provides a snapshot of the line of storms at 11:17 p.m. Central Daylight Time on October 16 (4:17 UTC on October 17), as the storm system was passing through central Louisiana. Taken by the instruments on the TRMM satellite, the image shows rain intensity associated with the advancing line of storms. The rains are stretched out in a long, broken line of storms extending from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico through central Louisiana and into southwestern Mississippi. The line of intense rain (dark reds) is relatively thin across Louisiana. A broader area of weaker rain (wide blue and green area) extends farther north. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, a unique space-borne precipitation radar, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. TRMM was placed into service in November of 1997. From its low-earth orbit, TRMM has been measuring rainfall over the global tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors. 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). |
|
Smoke from Alaskan Fires ove
…
| Title |
Smoke from Alaskan Fires over Louisiana |
| Description |
This image of the southern United States from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite is a picture-perfect example of what meteorologists mean when they describe the atmosphere as a fluid. In the center of the image, an airborne river of smoke from fires raging across Alaska is flowing down the Mississippi River corridor and spreading out across the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico, at the bottom of the scene. Thick smoke hangs over Louisiana (bottom center) as well as Texas, to the west, and Arkansas to the north. MODIS captured the image on July 19, 2004. NASA image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at GSFC |
|
Fires in the Southern U.S.
| Title |
Fires in the Southern U.S. |
| Description |
Across the southern United States, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite detected scores of fires burning on March 24, 2003. In the image, the fires have been marked with red dots. At this time of year, the fires can have a variety of causes. Some are prescribed fires being set by state and federal land and forest management agencies to reduce fuels in preparation for the summer wildfire season. A few are wildfires, and others are agricultural fires being used to clear pasture or farmland. The fires are heavily concentrated in Oklahoma (left center), while the fires with the largest smoke plumes are to the east in Arkansas. At bottom center, the Mississippi River flows out into the Gulf of Mexico through Louisiana. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS' maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
|
Fires in the Southern United
…
| Title |
Fires in the Southern United States |
| Description |
In the southern United States on March 5, 2006, a number of fires were puffing small plumes of smoke that created hazy conditions across the region. This image of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite. Places where the sensor detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. In Alabama, several individual puffs of smoke are visible in locations where the sensor did not detect a fire. This may be because those fires were not hot enough or large enough for the sensor to register them as "hot spots." A swath of haze lingers over the Gulf of Mexico at lower right. At lower left is the Mississippi River Delta. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
|
Thunderstorms Across the Sou
…
| Title |
Thunderstorms Across the Southern US |
| Description |
An advancing frontal system has brought heavy rains to the Mississippi Valley region and the northern Gulf Coast. Low pressure over the central plains tapped into abundant gulf moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to produce numerous storms ahead of an advancing cold front. Deep-layer southerly winds in front of the low transported warm, moist air up from the Gulf northward into the Mississippi Valley. Storms that formed within this moist air ahead of the cold front deposited significant amounts of rain from eastern Texas up through the Mississippi Valley and over to the Florida panhandle. The continuous regeneration of storms all the way down into the Gulf of Mexico combined with their movement to the north led to an effect known as "training" whereby several different storms pass over the same area. This can lead to significant rainfall accumulations. This image shows rainfall totals for the period 12 to 19 November 2003 from the TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. A swath of moderate rainfall (green region) of 3-inch plus rainfall extends from East Texas across Louisiana up through the Mississippi Valley and into the Ohio Valley with locally heavier amounts of near 8 inches (in red). A similar pattern extends back into western Missouri and into northeastern Illinois. Moderate amounts fell over the Gulf Coast region from southern Mississippi across the Florida panhandle.TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency NASDA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC) |
|
Tropical Storm Allison
| Title |
Tropical Storm Allison |
| Description |
The Atlantic Hurricane Season officially began June 1 and almost on cue Tropical Storm Allison formed June 5 in the northwest Gulf of Mexico. A slow-moving storm with sustained winds around 60 miles per hour (97 km per hour), Allison made her way steadily northwestward toward Galveston, Texas. Quite extensive in her reach, Allison packed tropical storm-force winds up to 90 miles (145 km) from the center of the storm. Like an uninvited guest who doesn't know when to leave, Allison is still hanging around a week after she formed, still drawing in moisture from the Gulf and thoroughly soaking the Gulf Coast states from Texas to Florida. In Houston, Texas, Allison dropped as much as 25 inches of rain over the weekend. She dropped another two feet of water in many parts of southern Louisiana. The storm has caused at least 20 fatalities, due to the flooding, high winds and one caused by lightning. In southeastern Texas, roughly 3,500 homes have been damaged by flood waters and many counties have been declared disaster areas. Officials estimate the damage in Texas alone will exceed $1 billion. In this true-color image acquired on June 11 by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://modarch.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] (MODIS), flying aboard NASA's Terra [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, the storm center appears to be located over the Mississippi-Alabama border. Allison continues to move slowly toward the northeast. Today (June 12) her effects are still being felt in the southeastern states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas. Meanwhile, the hurricane forecast team at Colorado State University, led by professor William Gray, revised its prediction for the Atlantic Hurricane season. They expect there will be 12 tropical storms this year (up from their original estimate of 10), 7 hurricanes (up from 6), and 3 major hurricanes (up from 2). Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://modland.nascom.nasa.gov/ ] Rapid Response Team |
|
Tropical Storm Bertha in the
…
| Title |
Tropical Storm Bertha in the Gulf of Mexico |
| Description |
Now downgraded to a tropical depression, Tropical Storm Bertha can be seen at full strength in this true-color image taken on August 4, 2002, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flying aboard NASA?s Terra spacecraft. Originating in the Gulf of Mexico, the tropical storm touched land 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of New Orleans, Louisiana, which is covered by clouds in the above image. The storm continued northeast into Mississippi and Alabama, dumping up to five inches of rain in some areas and generating gusts of up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour. Other than the flooding of neighborhood streets, the storm caused no damage. Image courtesy Jesse Allen, NASA Earth Observatory, data provided by MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
|
|
