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Hurricane Dennis
Title Hurricane Dennis
Abstract The formation of Hurricane Dennis on July 5 made that the earliest date on record that four named storms formed in the Atlantic basin. Dennis proved to be a powerful and destructive storm in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It crossed over Cuba on July 8 and 9, leaving at least 10 dead, and caused additional deaths in Haiti. After re-emerging over open water, Dennis re-strengthened into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with top wind speeds of 233 kilometers per hour (145 mph). The storm passed within 90 kilometers (55 miles) of Pensacola, Florida, and hit land about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of where Hurricane Ivan struck in September, 2004. A large storm surge of more than 10 feet was created in certain areas, and many homes and businesses in low-lying areas were flooded.
Completed 2005-07-11
Aerosols from Earth Probe TO …
Title Aerosols from Earth Probe TOMS: Venezuela from 3/11/98 to 4/4/98 (3 times @ 1.5 days/sec)
Completed 1998-12-07
Progression of Hurricane Den …
Title Progression of Hurricane Dennis, 2005 (WMS)
Abstract The formation of Hurricane Dennis on July 5 made that the earliest date on record that four named storms formed in the Atlantic basin. Dennis proved to be a powerful and destructive storm in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It crossed over Cuba on July 8 and 9, leaving at least 10 dead, and caused additional deaths in Haiti. After re-emerging over open water, Dennis re-strengthened into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with top wind speeds of 233 kilometers per hour (145 mph). The storm passed within 90 kilometers (55 miles) of Pensacola, Florida, and hit land about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of where Hurricane Ivan struck in September, 2004. A large storm surge of more than 10 feet was created in certain areas, and many homes and businesses in low-lying areas were flooded.
Completed 2005-07-18
Duckweed on Lake Maracaibo
Title Duckweed on Lake Maracaibo
Description Traces of duckweed still form green swirls atop Lake Maracaibo in northern Venezuela. The weed, more formally called "Lemna obscura", began to grow on the lake sometime between January and March 2004. With an outlet to the Caribbean Sea, Lake Maracaibo is usually too salty to support duckweed and other similar aquatic plants. The lake's fresh water sits on top of a dense layer of salty water. The lower, salty layer traps nutrients at the bottom of the lake, depriving any potential surface plants of the nutrients they need to survive. This year, however, unusually heavy rain brought additional fresh water to the lake, which stirred the layers and allowed nutrients to float to the surface. It is also likely that the heavy rains brought the duckweed to the center of Lake Maracaibo. Since the plant doesn't normally grow on the lake, there was some question as to how it got there. The current hypothesis, according to Federico Troncone, the Head of the Water Quality Division of the Institution for the Conservation of Lake Maracaibo (a government research group charged with the study of Lake Maracaibo under the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources) is that the plants were carried from ponds on the edges of the lake, where they do grow, to the main body of Lake Maracaibo on stronger-than-normal currents. Normally, the plants that get washed into Lake Maracaibo die or their growth is limited by the lack of nutrients. This year, when the rains dislodged the plants and carried them to the center of the lake, the plants ended up in fertile waters. For a brief time, while nutrients were plentiful, the plants doubled in area every day. Then, as the lake began to settle back into its normal layers with nutrient-rich waters on the bottom instead of the top, the duckweed's growth slowed and eventually stopped. The trend is clear in the image pair shown above. In the right image, taken on June 26 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, the swirls of duckweed appear more solid and cover a broader area. In the more recent image, acquired by MODIS on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ], satellite on September 1, the swirls are thinner. By the end of June, when the first image was taken, the duckweed already covered less of the lake than it did at its height. In mid-May, the plant covered 14.5 percent of Lake Maracaibo, according to Eduardo Klein, the Director of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies at Simon Bolivar University in Caracas, Venezuela. He and colleague Carlos Castillo based their analysis in part on MODIS images, such as the above, provided through collaboration with University of South Florida. By the end of August, the weed only covered 5.36 percent of the lake. While the duckweed appears to be dying down, scientists at ICLAM fear that heavy rains during the next few weeks could recreate the conditions that allowed the duckweed to grow in the first place. If that happens, the duckweed could begin to grow again. For more information, see Duckweed Invasion in Lake Maracaibo [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16605 ]. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC
Duckweed on Lake Maracaibo
Title Duckweed on Lake Maracaibo
Description Traces of duckweed still form green swirls atop Lake Maracaibo in northern Venezuela. The weed, more formally called "Lemna obscura", began to grow on the lake sometime between January and March 2004. With an outlet to the Caribbean Sea, Lake Maracaibo is usually too salty to support duckweed and other similar aquatic plants. The lake's fresh water sits on top of a dense layer of salty water. The lower, salty layer traps nutrients at the bottom of the lake, depriving any potential surface plants of the nutrients they need to survive. This year, however, unusually heavy rain brought additional fresh water to the lake, which stirred the layers and allowed nutrients to float to the surface. It is also likely that the heavy rains brought the duckweed to the center of Lake Maracaibo. Since the plant doesn't normally grow on the lake, there was some question as to how it got there. The current hypothesis, according to Federico Troncone, the Head of the Water Quality Division of the Institution for the Conservation of Lake Maracaibo (a government research group charged with the study of Lake Maracaibo under the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources) is that the plants were carried from ponds on the edges of the lake, where they do grow, to the main body of Lake Maracaibo on stronger-than-normal currents. Normally, the plants that get washed into Lake Maracaibo die or their growth is limited by the lack of nutrients. This year, when the rains dislodged the plants and carried them to the center of the lake, the plants ended up in fertile waters. For a brief time, while nutrients were plentiful, the plants doubled in area every day. Then, as the lake began to settle back into its normal layers with nutrient-rich waters on the bottom instead of the top, the duckweed's growth slowed and eventually stopped. The trend is clear in the image pair shown above. In the right image, taken on June 26 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, the swirls of duckweed appear more solid and cover a broader area. In the more recent image, acquired by MODIS on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ], satellite on September 1, the swirls are thinner. By the end of June, when the first image was taken, the duckweed already covered less of the lake than it did at its height. In mid-May, the plant covered 14.5 percent of Lake Maracaibo, according to Eduardo Klein, the Director of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies at Simon Bolivar University in Caracas, Venezuela. He and colleague Carlos Castillo based their analysis in part on MODIS images, such as the above, provided through collaboration with University of South Florida. By the end of August, the weed only covered 5.36 percent of the lake. While the duckweed appears to be dying down, scientists at ICLAM fear that heavy rains during the next few weeks could recreate the conditions that allowed the duckweed to grow in the first place. If that happens, the duckweed could begin to grow again. For more information, see Duckweed Invasion in Lake Maracaibo [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16605 ]. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC
Hurricane Dean
Title Hurricane Dean
Description Hurricane Dean was the first hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The storm system formed off the coast of South America on August 13. It traveled west, building strength from the warm waters as it headed towards the South American coast and the southern arc of the Caribbean Islands. By August 17, it had grown in power to become a Category 3 hurricane, [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] and forecasters were calling for it to potentially gain yet more strength as it passed over the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea. Dean was projected to cause major damage. Mexican authorities, according to news sources, were warning residents in the Yucatan Peninsula of the danger of the coming storm, which was projected to strike the peninsula. The storm might also brush against the islands of Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Cuba among others. Some forecasters were concerned about the possibility of Dean developing into super storm in the Gulf of Mexico, where storm surge and waves as well as winds might pose significant dangers to the oil and gas platforms. This data visualization of the hurricane shows observations from the QuikSCAT satellite on August 16, 2007, at 6:55 p.m. local time (21:55 UTC). At this time, Dean was poised to cross the Windward Islands of the Caribbean, while grazing the coast of Venezuela on the South American mainland. Peak winds were around 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour, 85 knots) at this time, according to Unisys Weather's Hurricane information page, [ http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/ ] making Dean a Category 2 hurricane. The image depicts wind speed in color and wind direction with small barbs. White barbs point to areas of heavy rain. QuikSCAT measurements of the wind strength of Hurricane Dean and other tropical cyclones can be slower than actual wind speeds. QuikSCAT's scatterometer sends pulses of microwave energy through the atmosphere to the ocean surface and measures the energy that bounces back from the wind-roughened surface. The energy of the microwave pulses changes depending on wind speed and direction. To relate the radar signal to actual wind speed, scientists compare measurements taken from buoys and other ground stations to data the satellite acquired at the same time and place. Because the high wind speeds generated by cyclones are rare, scientists do not have corresponding ground information to know how to translate data from the satellite for wind speeds above 50 knots (about 93 km/hr or 58 mph). Also, the unusually heavy rain found in a cyclone distorts the microwave pulses in a number of ways, making a conversion to exact wind speed difficult. Instead, the scatterometer provides a nice picture of the relative wind speeds within the storm and shows wind direction. NASA image courtesy of David Long, Brigham Young University, on the QuikSCAT Science Team [ http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/ ], and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Hurricane Dennis
Title Hurricane Dennis
Description The swirling clouds of Tropical Storm Dennis span from the northern tip of Venezuela to the southern half of the island of Hispaniola in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) image. NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on July 6, 2005, at 10:05 a.m. local time (15:05 UTC) when Dennis was building to winds of 110 kilometers per hour (70 mph). The storm was moving northwest across the Caribbean and should pass between the eastern arm of Haiti and Jamaica, hammering both with four to eight inches of rain. The National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] predicts that Dennis may become a major hurricane—Category 3 or higher—by July 8. This image is available in additional resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response System. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC
Hurricane Emily
Title Hurricane Emily
Description Hurricane Emily is shown here in the Carribbean north of Venezuela on July 14, 2005. The image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite at 17:20 UTC (13:20 Eastern Daylight Time). At this time, it was a well developed and powerful hurricane with winds over 150 kilometers an hour (85 knots). It passed through the chain of islands known as the Windward Islands, causing one death in the city of St. George?s on Grenada. It is building up towards a Category 4 hurricane, the second strongest storm on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale. Projections take it glancing off Jamaica, striking the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and continuing across into the Gulf of Mexico to make landfall again somewhere near Brownsville, Texas on the border with Mexico and the United States. Predicting hurricane strength and intensity is challenging, and Emily might be either stronger or weaker than expected, and it may not stay on its predicted course. The hurricane has already become somewhat stronger than first anticipated. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Lake Valencia, Venezuela
Title Lake Valencia, Venezuela
Description Lago de Valencia (Lake Valencia) is located in north-central Venezuela and is the largest freshwater lake in the country. The lake was formed approximately 2-3 million years ago due to faulting and subsequent damming of the Valencia River. The lake has been completely dry during several discrete periods of its geologic history. Since 1976 Lake Valencia water levels have risen due to diversion of water from neighboring watersheds—it currently acts as a reservoir for the surrounding urban centers (such as Maracay). The vivid green algal blooms present in this image result from a continual influx of untreated wastewater from the surrounding urban, agricultural, and industrial land uses. This contributes to ongoing eutrophication, contamination, and salinization of the lake. Despite its picturesque location between the Cordillera de la Costa to the north and the Serrania del Interior to the south, Lake Valencia's poor water quality limits opportunities for tourism and recreational activities. Astronaut photograph ISS010-E-5194 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS010&roll=E&frame=5194 ] was acquired October 27, 2004 with a Kodak K-760C digital camera with a 180 mm lens and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Group, Johnson Space Center. The International Space Station Program [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/ ] supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ ]
Fires Across Northern South …
Title Fires Across Northern South America
Description In eastern Columbia (left) and northern Venezuela (right), a vast stretch of plains called the Llanos rests at the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite detected numerous fires (red dots) scattered across the region, even in wetland areas between two of the Llanos? majors rivers: the Apure (running from center toward the right of the image) and the Meta (flowing northeast from bottom left). Where the Meta leaves the Columbia-Venezuela border, it is joined by the Atabapo River and becomes the Orinoco, which flows out to meet the Atlantic. In the high-resolution imagery, dark purplish-brown burn scars are apparent against the green vegetation of the prairies. At bottom right, the grasses of the llanos give way to the upper reaches of the Amazon Rainforest. This image was captured December 12, 2002. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Fires Across Northern South …
Title Fires Across Northern South America
Description Widespread biomass burning in northern South America that began in late 2002 has continued into the new year. This true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Terra satellite on January 4, 2003, shows active fire detections (red dots) in Columbia (left) and Venezuela (right). Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Fires Across Northern South …
Title Fires Across Northern South America
Description Fires were still burning across the Llanos on January 13, 2003. This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image shows Columbia (left) and Venezuela (right) and numerous fires (red dots) scattered across the region. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Fires Across Northern South …
Title Fires Across Northern South America
Description Widespread fires are producing smoky skies over Columbia (left) and Venezuela (right) on March 4, 2003. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite shows fire detections marked with red dots. 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
Fires Across Northern South …
Title Fires Across Northern South America
Description The fires currently burning across northern South America are producing a significant amount of pollution, as indicated by enhanced levels of carbon monoxide in the region. This false-color image shows the concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) at an altitude of roughly 3 km (700 millibars) in the atmosphere. The data were taken by the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite for the period February 24-March 4, 2003. The colors represent the mixing ratios of carbon monoxide in the air, given in parts per billion by volume. The large grey areas in the center of the image show where no data were collected, either due to persistent cloud cover or gaps between satellite viewing swaths. The regions of high carbon monoxide correlate well with observations of the source fires [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=5633 ] by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Carbon monoxide is produced as a result of incomplete combustion during burning processes, and is important due to its impact on chemistry in the lower atmosphere. It is a good indicator of atmospheric pollution, and its presence adversely affects the atmosphere's ability to cleanse itself. Because carbon monoxide is persistent for several weeks, it clearly shows the propagation of pollution plumes from the region of the fires over Columbia and Venezuela westward out into the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. The high levels of carbon monoxide in the right of the image over the Atlantic Ocean result from pollution plumes that have traversed the Atlantic from the fires that are currently burning in western Africa [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=5400 ]. Image courtesy the NCAR and University of Toronto MOPITT Teams
Fires Across Northern South …
Title Fires Across Northern South America
Description The fires currently burning across northern South America are producing a significant amount of pollution, as indicated by enhanced levels of carbon monoxide in the region. This false-color image shows the concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) at an altitude of roughly 3 km (700 millibars) in the atmosphere. The data were taken by the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite for the period February 24-March 4, 2003. The colors represent the mixing ratios of carbon monoxide in the air, given in parts per billion by volume. The large grey areas in the center of the image show where no data were collected, either due to persistent cloud cover or gaps between satellite viewing swaths. The regions of high carbon monoxide correlate well with observations of the source fires [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=5633 ] by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Carbon monoxide is produced as a result of incomplete combustion during burning processes, and is important due to its impact on chemistry in the lower atmosphere. It is a good indicator of atmospheric pollution, and its presence adversely affects the atmosphere's ability to cleanse itself. Because carbon monoxide is persistent for several weeks, it clearly shows the propagation of pollution plumes from the region of the fires over Columbia and Venezuela westward out into the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. The high levels of carbon monoxide in the right of the image over the Atlantic Ocean result from pollution plumes that have traversed the Atlantic from the fires that are currently burning in western Africa [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=5400 ]. Image courtesy the NCAR and University of Toronto MOPITT Teams
Fires Across Northern South …
Title Fires Across Northern South America
Description In northern South America, fires (red dots) continue to cover a wide area of Columbia (far left) and Venezuela (center and right). This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on March 20, 2003, shows fires concentrated heavily east of keyhole-shaped Lake Maracaibo. A thick cloud of smoke hangs over the country. 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
Fires Across Northern South …
Title Fires Across Northern South America
Description Biomass burning in Columbia (left) and Venezuela (right) appears to be intensifying as of March 22, 2003. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite shows hundreds of fires marked in red, and thick smoke hanging over the southern part of the image. 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
Fires Across Northern South …
Title Fires Across Northern South America
Description Fires continue to burn across northern South America over large regions of Colombia and Venezuela. Measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) from the Measurements of Pollution in The Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite show very high concentrations over the region of the fires. This false-color image shows the mixing ratios of CO at an altitude of about 3 km (700 hPa) averaged from March 13-18, 2003. Gray areas indicate where no data are available, either due to cloud cover or gaps between satellite views. The concentrations observed during this period are higher than those measured a couple weeks earlier [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=5640 ]. The highest concentrations correlate well with the recent images of the fires [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=6116 ] observed by MODIS. Relatively high mixing ratios also are seen being transported to the west over the Pacific Ocean, and to the north into the Caribbean Sea. Image courtesy NCAR and University of Toronto MOPITT Teams
Oil Slicks on Lake Maracaibo …
Title Oil Slicks on Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela
Description browse image of orbit 16081 (310 KB JPEG) Several oil slicks occurred on Lake Maracaibo in northwestern Venezuela between December 2002 and January 2003, and were observed by various satellite instruments. These images from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) provide new information relating to one such event near the center of Lake Maracaibo on December 26, 2002. In unpolluted areas, the water surface is "ruffled" by wind and the resulting wave facets divert reflected rays into many directions. An oil film dampens the presence of small wind-driven "capillary" waves, resulting a smoother, more mirror-like surface. Also, oil is more strongly absorbing than the surrounding water. Therefore, at most viewing angles, a surface slick will appear darker than the surrounding unpolluted areas, whereas near the specular angle (the angle at which a perfect mirror reflects light) it will appear brighter. Simultaneous observation at multiple view angles therefore enhances the reliability of oil-slick detection using optical imaging. An example of how the optical contrast of an oil film on a water surface changes as a function of viewing angle is illustrated by these false-color MISR images, comprised of near-infrared, red and blue spectral data at three different angles, using the vertical-viewing camera (left), the 26ø-forward-viewing camera (center) and the 46ø-forward-viewing camera (right). A swirly area in the middle of the lake appears darker than the surrounding waters at both the nadir and 46° views, but brighter than the surrounding waters at the 26° view. Of the three images, only the 26° camera observes close to specular reflection angle. Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America. The lake is somewhat saline, since it is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by a narrow strait in the north. Venezuela is the largest oil producing nation in the Western Hemisphere, and the Lake Maracaibo basin includes the largest oil fields and almost a quarter of this nation's population. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously from pole to pole, and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. The MISR Browse Image Viewer [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/MISRBR/ ] provides access to low-resolution true-color versions of these images. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 16081. The panels cover an area of 72 kilometers x 225 kilometers. Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] Text by Clare Averill (Acro Service Corporation/JPL)
Oil Slicks on Lake Maracaibo …
Title Oil Slicks on Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela
Description browse image of orbit 16081 (310 KB JPEG) Several oil slicks occurred on Lake Maracaibo in northwestern Venezuela between December 2002 and January 2003, and were observed by various satellite instruments. These images from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) provide new information relating to one such event near the center of Lake Maracaibo on December 26, 2002. In unpolluted areas, the water surface is "ruffled" by wind and the resulting wave facets divert reflected rays into many directions. An oil film dampens the presence of small wind-driven "capillary" waves, resulting a smoother, more mirror-like surface. Also, oil is more strongly absorbing than the surrounding water. Therefore, at most viewing angles, a surface slick will appear darker than the surrounding unpolluted areas, whereas near the specular angle (the angle at which a perfect mirror reflects light) it will appear brighter. Simultaneous observation at multiple view angles therefore enhances the reliability of oil-slick detection using optical imaging. An example of how the optical contrast of an oil film on a water surface changes as a function of viewing angle is illustrated by these false-color MISR images, comprised of near-infrared, red and blue spectral data at three different angles, using the vertical-viewing camera (left), the 26ø-forward-viewing camera (center) and the 46ø-forward-viewing camera (right). A swirly area in the middle of the lake appears darker than the surrounding waters at both the nadir and 46° views, but brighter than the surrounding waters at the 26° view. Of the three images, only the 26° camera observes close to specular reflection angle. Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America. The lake is somewhat saline, since it is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by a narrow strait in the north. Venezuela is the largest oil producing nation in the Western Hemisphere, and the Lake Maracaibo basin includes the largest oil fields and almost a quarter of this nation's population. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously from pole to pole, and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. The MISR Browse Image Viewer [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/MISRBR/ ] provides access to low-resolution true-color versions of these images. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 16081. The panels cover an area of 72 kilometers x 225 kilometers. Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] Text by Clare Averill (Acro Service Corporation/JPL)
Fires in Northern South Amer …
Title Fires in Northern South America
Description Across the grassy plains, known as the "Llanos," that stretch across Venezuela and Columbia in northern South America, numerous fires (yellow) were detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on February 1, 2004. The area supports ranching and other agriculture, and many of these fires are probably intentional fires set by people for land management purposes. Though not necessarily hazardous, such large-scale burning can have a strong impact on weather, climate, human health, and natural resources. At bottom left, a pall of smoke hangs over the area, and a few scattered fires in the heart of the forests (deep green areas at right) could be related to deforestation. Image courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
Fires in Venezuela
Title Fires in Venezuela
Description As can be seen in this true-color scene acquired on April 9, 2002, many fires dotted the landscape across Venezuela. This image was acquired by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modarch.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] (MODIS), flying aboard NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. Please note that the high-resolution scene provided here is 500 meters per pixel. For a copy of this scene at the sensor?s fullest resolution, visit the MODIS Rapidfire [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2002092-0402 ] site. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] at NASA GSFC
Flooding in Columbia and Ven …
Title Flooding in Columbia and Venezeula
Description February is typically the dry season in northern Venezuela, but not in 2005. Torrential rains brought deadly floods to the country's coastal provinces, including the capital, Caracas. In this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) image, blue smudges along the coast show flooding in the Falcon Province. In these false-color images, clear water is black, while muddy water is blue. Clouds are white and pale blue, and vegetation is green. When this image was acquired by NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on February 14, up to 25,000 people had been affected by floods throughout the country. NASA image credited by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Flooding in Columbia and Ven …
Title Flooding in Columbia and Venezeula
Description February is typically the dry season in northern Venezuela, but not in 2005. Torrential rains brought deadly floods to the country's coastal provinces, including the capital, Caracas. In this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) image, blue smudges along the coast show flooding in the Falcon Province. In these false-color images, clear water is black, while muddy water is blue. Clouds are white and pale blue, and vegetation is green. When this image was acquired by NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on February 14, up to 25,000 people had been affected by floods throughout the country. NASA image credited by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Flooding in Columbia and Ven …
Title Flooding in Columbia and Venezeula
Description February is typically the dry season in northern Venezuela, but not in 2005. Torrential rains brought deadly floods to the country's coastal provinces, including the capital, Caracas. In this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) image, blue smudges along the coast show flooding in the Falcon Province. In these false-color images, clear water is black, while muddy water is blue. Clouds are white and pale blue, and vegetation is green. When this image was acquired by NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on February 14, up to 25,000 people had been affected by floods throughout the country. NASA image credited by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Flooding in Columbia and Ven …
Title Flooding in Columbia and Venezeula
Description Unseasonable torrential rains drenched northern South America in February 2005. By February 17, at least 55 had died in floods and mudslides in the mountains of northeastern Colombia, and dozens more had been killed across the border in Venezuela. On February 11, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite detected high water levels on rivers southwest of Lake Maracaibo. The swollen, sediment-laden rivers form a wide blue smudge across the bright green vegetation in the top false-color image. By contrast, more clearly defined river channels were filled with clear, darker water on January 27. In both images, clouds are white and pale blue, while bare earth is pink. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Flooding in Columbia and Ven …
Title Flooding in Columbia and Venezeula
Description Unseasonable torrential rains drenched northern South America in February 2005. By February 17, at least 55 had died in floods and mudslides in the mountains of northeastern Colombia, and dozens more had been killed across the border in Venezuela. On February 11, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite detected high water levels on rivers southwest of Lake Maracaibo. The swollen, sediment-laden rivers form a wide blue smudge across the bright green vegetation in the top false-color image. By contrast, more clearly defined river channels were filled with clear, darker water on January 27. In both images, clouds are white and pale blue, while bare earth is pink. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Flooding in Columbia and Ven …
Title Flooding in Columbia and Venezeula
Description Though water levels have subsided since mid-February, the Escalante River of southwestern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia was still flooded on February 26, 2005. The floods along this river and others were triggered by days of heavy rain early in February, and resulted in nearly 100 deaths and left thousands homeless throughout both countries. In this image, taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, the muddy flood water is light blue. The river covers a broader area than it did on January 27, 2005. In both images, clouds are white and turquoise, plant-covered land is bright green, and deep, clear water is black. Further evidence of flooding can be seen in Lake Maracaibo in the center of the image. Flood water carries dirt into the rivers that empty into the lake. The sediment entering the lake reflects light, which makes the water appear a lighter shade of blue in satellite imagery. While sediment is present in the southwest corner of the lake on January 27, the sediment plume is much brighter and larger on February 26. On both dates, green swirls of duck weed [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12404 ] float on the surface of the lake. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team and the Goddard Land Processes DAAC.
Flooding in Columbia and Ven …
Title Flooding in Columbia and Venezeula
Description Though water levels have subsided since mid-February, the Escalante River of southwestern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia was still flooded on February 26, 2005. The floods along this river and others were triggered by days of heavy rain early in February, and resulted in nearly 100 deaths and left thousands homeless throughout both countries. In this image, taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, the muddy flood water is light blue. The river covers a broader area than it did on January 27, 2005. In both images, clouds are white and turquoise, plant-covered land is bright green, and deep, clear water is black. Further evidence of flooding can be seen in Lake Maracaibo in the center of the image. Flood water carries dirt into the rivers that empty into the lake. The sediment entering the lake reflects light, which makes the water appear a lighter shade of blue in satellite imagery. While sediment is present in the southwest corner of the lake on January 27, the sediment plume is much brighter and larger on February 26. On both dates, green swirls of duck weed [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12404 ] float on the surface of the lake. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team and the Goddard Land Processes DAAC.
Tropical Storm Isidore
Title Tropical Storm Isidore
Description This image captures the formation of Hurricane Isidore, the first major storm of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season. Isidore first developed from a tropical disturbance north of Venezuela on September 14. The image shows the vertical structure of precipitation within Isidore?s clouds, taken through the center of the storm at 7 a.m. local time on September 21, 2002. In this scene, the rain cross section is oriented from southwest to northeast and is labeled ?AB.? The larger cloud and rainband structure is shown in white, while rainfall intensity is indicated by the different colors. Blue represents light rain and red shows the heaviest rain. At the time this image was acquired, Isidore was passing through the narrow Yucatan Strait and was beginning to grow in intensity. Winds were 85 knots and the central pressure was 969 millibars. TRMM captured these data at a point when a slender eye was beginning to develop and intense thunderstorms were erupting in the storm?s core. Maximum cloud top heights of 10 km are shown adjacent to the eye. Isidore later became a major Category 3 hurricane before making landfall over the Yucatan Peninsula. As of the evening of Sept. 24, Isidore was being watched for possible landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Image courtesy Hal Pierce, NASA GSFC Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Branch (Code 912). For more information and other examples of TRMM data, visit the TRMM [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] Web site.
Solar Eclipse in View
Title Solar Eclipse in View
Explanation Friday's solar eclipse [ http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEmono/HSE2005/ HSE2005.html ] will be a rare hybrid - briefly appearing as [ http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/eclipses/ article_1445_1.asp ] either an annular eclipse or a total eclipse when viewed from along the narrow track of the Moon's shadow [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040926.html ]. Unfortunately that track, never more than about 30 kilometers wide, lies [ http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEmono/HSE2005/ HSE2005fig/HSE2005map1b.GIF ] mostly across the Pacific Ocean, beginning south of New Zealand and just ending in Venezuela. Skywatchers along the beginning and end of the shadow track will see an annular eclipse of the Sun, with the Moon's silhouette briefly surrounded by a bright ring of fire [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030605.html ], while observers along the middle of the track will witness a total eclipse [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031122.html ] phase. But the good news is that over a much broader region of the globe, including New Zealand and much of South and North America, a partial eclipse can be seen as the Moon appears to take a bite [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001221.html ] out of the Sun. If you want to view the eclipse [ http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/ article_1492_1.asp ], take care to do it safely [ http://www.mreclipse.com/Totality/TotalityCh11.html ], and check the times [ http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEmono/HSE2005/ PSE2005.html ] for your specific location [ http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/LC/ LC2005-2.html#2005Apr08H ]. So, what location is this solar eclipse view from? The picture above [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031208.html ] was recorded in November of 2003 from within the track of the Moon's shadow across Antarctica, of course.
Earth observations - STS-7
Title Earth observations - STS-7
Description Earth observations - STS-7. North part of Western Australia province, Dampier Land, Fitzroy and Lennard Rivers and the Buccaneer Archipelago (35792), Lake Titicaca, on the Peru-Bolivia border. The Bolivian capital city La Paz is also visible (35793), Denham Sound and Shark Bay in Western Australia are easily recognizable (35794), The Mona Loa Volcano, on the island of Hawaii can be seen in this view. A close look reveals lava flows from the active volcano (35795), Africa, Namibia, Grandberg and Cape Cross, Atlantic Ocean as photographed from the Challenger (35796), View of Venezuela, Aruba, Curacao, and Peninsula de Paraguana (35797).
Date 06.26.1983
Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela: I …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Ciudad Guayana lies on the s …
ISS012-E-11779
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-12-08
creator NASA -- Astronaut photograph eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS012&roll=E&frame=11779 ISS012-E-11779 was acquired December 8, 2005, with a Kodak 760C digital camera with a 400 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Group, Johnson Space Center. The spaceflight.nasa.gov/home/index.html International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.
identifier ISS012-E-11779
Fires Across Northern South …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Widespread biomass burning i …
Venezuela.TMOA2003004
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-01-04
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Venezuela.TMOA2003004
Fires Across Northern South …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Widespread fires are produci …
Colombia.AMOA2003063
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-03-04
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Colombia.AMOA2003063
Isla Blanquilla, Venezuela: …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
The small island of Blanquil …
ISS015-E-07771
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier ISS015-E-07771
Earth observations taken dur …
johnsonspacecentermediaarchi …
Earth observations taken dur …
STS081-711-009
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 1997-01-21
creator NASA
identifier STS081-711-009
Earth observations taken dur …
johnsonspacecentermediaarchi …
Earth observations taken dur …
STS081-711-042
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 1997-01-21
creator NASA
identifier STS081-711-042
Inside Hurricane Isidore: Im …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
This image captures the form …
Isidore_TRMM
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2002-09-21
creator NASA -- Image courtesy Hal Pierce, NASA GSFC Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Branch (Code 912). For more information and other examples of TRMM data, visit the trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ TRMM Web site.
identifier Isidore_TRMM
Fires Across Northern South …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
In eastern Columbia (left) a …
NSAmerica.TMOA2002346
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2002-12-12
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier NSAmerica.TMOA2002346
Fires Across Northern South …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
The fires currently burning …
Llanos_TMP2003063
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-03-04
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Llanos_TMP2003063
Fires Across Northern South …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
The fires currently burning …
Llanos_TMP2003063
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-03-04
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Llanos_TMP2003063
Flooding in Columbia and Ven …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
columbia_amo_15feb27jan05
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-02-15
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier columbia_amo_15feb27jan05
Flooding in Columbia and Ven …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
columbia_amo_15feb27jan05
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-02-15
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier columbia_amo_15feb27jan05
Duckweed on Lake Maracaibo: …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
Maracaibo_AMO_2004245
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2004-09-01
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Maracaibo_AMO_2004245
Close-up of Lake Maracaibo, …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
This false-color (near-infra …
maracaibo_aster
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-01-20
creator NASA -- Image courtesy NASA Earth Observatory
identifier maracaibo_aster
Maracaibo City and Oil Slick …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
This astronaut photograph de …
ISS014-E-14618
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-02-23
creator NASA -- Featured astronaut photograph eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS014&roll=E&frame=14618 ISS014-E-14618 was acquired February 23, 2007, with a Kodak 760C digital camera using a 400 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image in this article has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. The spaceflight.nasa.gov/home/index.html International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.
identifier ISS014-E-14618
Jau National Park, Brazil: I …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
The above Landsat 7 scene sh …
landsat_art_jau
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2000-08-31
creator NASA -- Image provided by the edc.usgs.gov/ USGS EROS Data Center Satellite Systems Branch. This image is part of the ongoing Landsat edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/l7dhf/ias_folder/images/artscene/artscene.html Earth as Art series.
identifier landsat_art_jau
Duckweed Invasion in Lake Ma …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Green swirls of duckweed dom …
ge_04654
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2004-06-26
creator NASA -- NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption information courtesy Dr. Nola Fernandez Acosta, the Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Zulia in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
identifier ge_04654
Duckweed Invasion in Lake Ma …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Green swirls of duckweed dom …
ge_04654
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2004-06-26
creator NASA -- NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption information courtesy Dr. Nola Fernandez Acosta, the Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Zulia in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
identifier ge_04654
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