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Browse All : Images of Louisiana and Gulf of Mexico from 2005

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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
Hurricane Katrina Erodes the …
Title Hurricane Katrina Erodes the U.S. Gulf Coast
Description Gulf Coast cities weren't the only land surfaces to take a beating from Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Barrier islands stretching from Texas to Florida were also scoured by the wind and waves of the powerful storm. Permanent changes to the shape and elevation of Timbalier Island and its northeastern companions are visible in this pair of infrared-enhanced images from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite. Timbalier Island, the largest island pictured here, sits at the interface between the Gulf of Mexico (south) and Terrebonne Bay (north) along the Louisiana coast southwest of New Orleans. Compared to the image from 2000 (bottom), a large swath of bright sand dominates the eastern side of Timbalier Island in the September 13 image, having either been piled there or exposed by waves and storm surge. To the east-northeast, two small, curving islands have disappeared completely, while farther north, the fierce seas turned two small slots in a barrier island into a single large gap. NASA images courtesy Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]
Hurricane Katrina Erodes the …
Title Hurricane Katrina Erodes the U.S. Gulf Coast
Description Gulf Coast cities weren't the only land surfaces to take a beating from Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Barrier islands stretching from Texas to Florida were also scoured by the wind and waves of the powerful storm. Permanent changes to the shape and elevation of Timbalier Island and its northeastern companions are visible in this pair of infrared-enhanced images from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite. Timbalier Island, the largest island pictured here, sits at the interface between the Gulf of Mexico (south) and Terrebonne Bay (north) along the Louisiana coast southwest of New Orleans. Compared to the image from 2000 (bottom), a large swath of bright sand dominates the eastern side of Timbalier Island in the September 13 image, having either been piled there or exposed by waves and storm surge. To the east-northeast, two small, curving islands have disappeared completely, while farther north, the fierce seas turned two small slots in a barrier island into a single large gap. NASA images courtesy Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]
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 Hurricanes form over tropical waters, encouraged by sea surface temperatures of 26.5 °C (80 °F) or higher. Over such warm waters, hurricanes can explode in size and intensity, becoming Category 4 or 5 storms by the time they make landfall. Like its predecessor Katrina, Hurricane Rita has picked up steam in its trip over a warm Gulf of Mexico. The dark grey circles show measured positions of the hurricane, while lighter grey circles show forecasted positions. Maximum sustained wind speeds at each location are shown in miles per hour (white numbers). A quartet of satellites, including NASA's Topex/Poseidon and Jason satellites, have monitored sea surface height during Rita's journey toward the Gulf Coast. This map results from a combination of data from these satellites collected on September 21, 2005. This image shows ocean circulation patterns in the Gulf of Mexico, framed by the Florida peninsula on the right and the Texas-Mexico Gulf Coast on the left (shown in gray). Red indicates strong circulation of warm waters. Sea surface height is a useful measure of potential hurricane activity because storm-fueling warm water is higher than surrounding cooler water. The area shown in red is approximately 35 to 60 centimeters (roughly 13 to 23 inches) higher than the surrounding Gulf. A hurricane's track depends primarily on the winds that steer it, and these winds are forecasted with atmospheric models. The hurricane's energy source, however, comes from the ocean. Hurricanes travel over both strong ocean currents and smaller currents running in different directions (eddies). As of September 22, 2005, Hurricane Rita was forecasted to continue crossing a circulation feature in the Gulf of Mexico known as the Loop Current, then pass near a warm-water eddy known as the Eddy Vortex. The Eddy Vortex is in the north central Gulf, south of Louisiana. The Jason satellite carries a radar altitude meter, otherwise known as an altimeter. To determine the ocean's height, the altimeter measures the time it takes for the microwave pulses to bounce off the surface and return to the spacecraft. This measure, multiplied by the speed of light, gives the range from the satellite to the ocean surface. The joint U.S.-French Topex/Poseidon mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Image courtesy NASA/JPL/University of Colorado CCAR [ http://ccar.colorado.edu/ ]
Hurricane Rita
Title Hurricane Rita
Description The onslaught from the 2005 hurricane season continued with the arrival of Hurricane Rita, the second Category 5 storm to threaten the Gulf of Mexico in less than a month. As it was passing south of the Florida Keys on September 20, 2005, Hurricane Rita was in the process of slowly intensifying from a Category 1 storm into a Category 2 storm. However, upon entering the Gulf of Mexico, Rita tapped into a deep layer of very warm water located in the southeast part of the Gulf associated with the Loop Current. This allowed Rita to undergo a process known as rapid deepening, which transformed it into a powerful Category 5 hurricane with the 3rd lowest air pressure ever recorded in an Atlantic Basin storm. Fortunately, as Rita moved across the Gulf away from the loop current, it slowly began to weaken. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite observed Rita at 13:45 UTC (9:45 am EDT) on September 23, 2005 as the hurricane was passing south of the central Louisiana coast. The center of the storm lies within the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) swath. Areas of very heavy rain (dark red areas) associated with an outer rainband are approaching the the Louisiana coast. The eyewall is not as symmetrical as in earlier observations, one sign of a weakening storm. Rita, however, was still strong with sustained winds of 220 kilometers per hour (140 miles per hour) when this image was taken. The TRMM satellite is one of many being used to monitor hurricanes and typhoons. Launched in November of 1997 to measure rainfall over the tropics, TRMM has proven to be a valuable platform for observing tropical cyclones and can provide unique images and information on these storms. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and captioned by Steve Lang (SSAI/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
Hurricane Rita Floods U.S. G …
Title Hurricane Rita Floods U.S. Gulf Coast
Description Hurricane Rita pummeled the Louisiana and Texas shoreline when it came ashore on September 24, 2005. Though the Category 3 storm spared major cities, it left much of the southwestern and central Louisiana shoreline under water. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image of the floods on September 25, 2005. The trailing edge of Rita's clouds, light blue and white in this false-color image, still cover the region. The shoreline resembles a line of barrier islands fringing a large bay more than the solid coast that existed four days earlier, lower image. Many of the communities most severely affected by the storm are shown in these images, including hard-hit Lake Charles and Cameron, Louisiana. Lake Charles isn't clearly visible under the clouds, but traces of dark blue beneath the clouds hint at flooding in the region. Cameron and other coastal communities like Pecan Island and Grand Chenier (located on the shore just east of the plume of smoke seen in the lower image) appear to be almost entirely under water. Offshore, sediment swirls in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, coloring the water blue in contrast to its normal inky black. The sediment is probably a combination of sludge stirred up from the ocean floor when Rita's winds and rains churned Gulf waters and run-off from the extensive flooding seen in this image. The large images provided above are at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA7 ] of the region in a variety of resolutions. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Hurricane Rita Floods U.S. G …
Title Hurricane Rita Floods U.S. Gulf Coast
Description Hurricane Rita pummeled the Louisiana and Texas shoreline when it came ashore on September 24, 2005. Though the Category 3 storm spared major cities, it left much of the southwestern and central Louisiana shoreline under water. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image of the floods on September 25, 2005. The trailing edge of Rita's clouds, light blue and white in this false-color image, still cover the region. The shoreline resembles a line of barrier islands fringing a large bay more than the solid coast that existed four days earlier, lower image. Many of the communities most severely affected by the storm are shown in these images, including hard-hit Lake Charles and Cameron, Louisiana. Lake Charles isn't clearly visible under the clouds, but traces of dark blue beneath the clouds hint at flooding in the region. Cameron and other coastal communities like Pecan Island and Grand Chenier (located on the shore just east of the plume of smoke seen in the lower image) appear to be almost entirely under water. Offshore, sediment swirls in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, coloring the water blue in contrast to its normal inky black. The sediment is probably a combination of sludge stirred up from the ocean floor when Rita's winds and rains churned Gulf waters and run-off from the extensive flooding seen in this image. The large images provided above are at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA7 ] of the region in a variety of resolutions. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Hurricane Rita Floods U.S. G …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
Louisiana_AMO_2005268
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-09-25
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Louisiana_AMO_2005268
Hurricane Katrina Floods the …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
MissDelta_AMO_2005221
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-08-31
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier MissDelta_AMO_2005221
Hurricane Rita: Natural Haza …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
After forming east of the Tu …
rita_trmm_18-26sep05
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-09-26
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier rita_trmm_18-26sep05
Hurricane Katrina: Natural H …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
katrina_trmm_23-31aug05
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-08-31
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier katrina_trmm_23-31aug05
Hurricane Rita: Natural Haza …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Rita was building into an ex …
Rita_TMO_2005264
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-09-21
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Rita_TMO_2005264
Lake Pontchartrain: Image of …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
pontchartrain_amo_11feb05
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-02-11
creator NASA -- NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, usind data obtained courtesy the rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
identifier pontchartrain_amo_11feb05
Hurricane Rita: Natural Haza …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
The onslaught from the 2005 …
rita_trmm_23sep05
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-09-23
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier rita_trmm_23sep05
Hurricane Katrina Erodes the …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
timbalier_ast_13sep05
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-09-13
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier timbalier_ast_13sep05
Hurricane Rita: Image of the …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Hurricane Rita was slowly wi …
Rita_AMO_2005266
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-09-23
creator NASA -- NASA image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
identifier Rita_AMO_2005266
Flooding in the Aftermath of …
PIA04385
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title Flooding in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Original Caption Released with Image These views of the Louisiana and Mississippi regions were acquired before and one day after Katrina made landfall along the Gulf of Mexico coast, and highlight many of the changes to the rivers and vegetation that occurred between the two views. The images were acquired by NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on August 14 and August 30, 2005. These multiangular, multispectral false-color composites were created using red band data from MISR's 46° backward and forward-viewing cameras, and near-infrared data from MISR's nadir camera. Such a display causes water bodies and inundated soil to appear in blue and purple hues, and highly vegetated areas to appear bright green. The scene differentiation is a result of both spectral effects (living vegetation is highly reflective at near-infrared wavelengths whereas water is absorbing) and of angular effects (wet surfaces preferentially forward scatter sunlight). The two images were processed identically and extend from the regions of Greenville, Mississippi (upper left) to Mobile Bay, Alabama (lower right). There are numerous rivers along the Mississippi coast that were not apparent in the pre-Katrina image, the most dramatic of these is a new inlet in the Pascagoula River that was not apparent before Katrina. The post-Katrina flooding along the edges of Lake Pontchartrain and the city of New Orleans is also apparent. In addition, the agricultural lands along the Mississippi floodplain in the upper left exhibit stronger near-infrared brightness before Katrina. After Katrina, many of these agricultural areas exhibit a stronger signal to MISR's oblique cameras, indicating the presence of inundated soil throughout the floodplain. Note that clouds appear in a different spot for each view angle due to a parallax effect resulting from their height above the surface. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously, viewing the entire globe between 82° north and 82° south latitude every nine days. Each image covers an area of about 380 kilometers by 410 kilometers. The data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbits 30091 and 30324 and utilize data from blocks 64-67 within World Reference System-2 path 22. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology.
Rita Roars Through a Warm Gu …
PIA06428
Sol (our sun)
Altimeter
Title Rita Roars Through a Warm Gulf (September 21, 2005)
Original Caption Released with Image This sea surface height map of the Gulf of Mexico, with the Florida peninsula on the right and the Texas-Mexico Gulf Coast on the left, is based on altimeter data from four satellites including NASA?s Topex/Poseidon and Jason. Red indicates a strong circulation of much warmer waters, which can feed energy to a hurricane. This area stands 35 to 60 centimeters (about 13 to 23 inches) higher than the surrounding waters of the Gulf. The actual track of a hurricane is primarily dependent upon steering winds, which are forecasted through the use of atmospheric models. However, the interaction of the hurricane with the upper ocean is the primary source of energy for the storm. Hurricane intensity is therefore greatly affected by the upper ocean temperature structure and can exhibit explosive growth over warm ocean currents and eddies. Eddies are currents of water that run contrary to the direction of the main current. According to the forecasted track through the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Rita will continue crossing the warm waters of a Gulf of Mexico circulation feature called the Loop Current and then pass near a warm-water eddy called the Eddy Vortex, located in the north central Gulf, south of Louisiana. The Jason satellite carries a dual-frequency radar altimeter. This instrument beams microwave pulses-at 13.6 and 5.3 Gigahertz, respectively-downward toward the Earth. To determine the ocean's height, the instrument precisely measures the time it takes for the microwave pulses to bounce off the surface and return to the spacecraft. This measure, multiplied by the speed of light, gives the range from the satellite to the ocean surface. The joint U.S.-French Topex/Poseidon mission is managed by the JPL for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Research on Earth's oceans using Jason and other space-based capabilities is conducted by NASA's Earth Science Enterprise to better understand and protect our home planet. For more information on Topex/Poseidon, see http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov ].)
Rita Roars Through a Warm Gu …
PIA06427
Sol (our sun)
Altimeter
Title Rita Roars Through a Warm Gulf (September 22, 2005)
Original Caption Released with Image This sea surface height map of the Gulf of Mexico, with the Florida peninsula on the right and the Texas-Mexico Gulf Coast on the left, is based on altimeter data from four satellites including NASA?s Topex/Poseidon and Jason. Red indicates a strong circulation of much warmer waters, which can feed energy to a hurricane. This area stands 35 to 60 centimeters (about 13 to 23 inches) higher than the surrounding waters of the Gulf. The actual track of a hurricane is primarily dependent upon steering winds, which are forecasted through the use of atmospheric models. However, the interaction of the hurricane with the upper ocean is the primary source of energy for the storm. Hurricane intensity is therefore greatly affected by the upper ocean temperature structure and can exhibit explosive growth over warm ocean currents and eddies. Eddies are currents of water that run contrary to the direction of the main current. According to the forecasted track through the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Rita will continue crossing the warm waters of a Gulf of Mexico circulation feature called the Loop Current and then pass near a warm-water eddy called the Eddy Vortex, located in the north central Gulf, south of Louisiana. The Jason satellite carries a dual-frequency radar altimeter. This instrument beams microwave pulses-at 13.6 and 5.3 Gigahertz, respectively-downward toward the Earth. To determine the ocean's height, the instrument precisely measures the time it takes for the microwave pulses to bounce off the surface and return to the spacecraft. This measure, multiplied by the speed of light, gives the range from the satellite to the ocean surface. The joint U.S.-French Topex/Poseidon mission is managed by the JPL for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Research on Earth's oceans using Jason and other space-based capabilities is conducted by NASA's Earth Science Enterprise to better understand and protect our home planet. For more information on Topex/Poseidon, see http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov ].)
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