Satellite: Aqua Sensor: MODIS Date: 27 November 2011 Time: 20:50 UTC Description: Dust clouds blowing out of Mexico across an otherwise cloud-free view of Baja California Red channel: Band 1 (620-670 nm) Green channel: Band 4 (545-565 nm) Blue channel: Band 3 (459-479 nm) Projection: Near-sided perspective from 2124 kilometers above 6 North by 110 West Image created by: Norman Kuring
Baja California and Mexico Dust clouds blowing out of Mexico across an otherwise cloud-free view of Baja California. The natural-color images required to make this oblique view were acquired on November 27, 2011, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite. The Ocean Color Team at NASA Goddard processes images like this to help assess the presence of sediment and plankton in the sea. Dust storms interfere with that processing, as the sandy aerosols block much of the incoming sunlight and the outgoing, reflected light. Dust storms can disturb human activity on land, but once they blow out over the Gulf of California and Pacific Ocean, they help fertilize the waters with nutrients that promote phytoplankton blooms. In winter, the waters around Baja are often full of whales, as the largest creatures in the sea often eat the smallest plankton. Satellite: Aqua Sensor: MODIS Date: November 27, 2011
Size: 12000px × 10000px
Photo credit: © NASA Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: america, atmosphere, baja, california, central, change, climate, cloud, clouds, dust, earth, ecology, environment, environmental, global, globe, green, home, mexico, north, ocean, outer, planet, space, systems, universe, warming, weather
