November 25, 2015 - Dust storms off the coast of Namibia

Dust storms off the coast of Namibia

Streams of dust poured off the coast of Namibia in early November 2015. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite captured this true-color image of the scene on November 3. Various shades of tan and beige blow from the sandy interior towards the southwest over the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the plumes are parallel, giving evidence of the steady and strong winds that blow from the northeast. Away from the coast the plumes widen and fade as the dust settles into the ocean waters.

The Namib Desert stretches hundreds of miles along the Namibian coast. A marked change in color and land cover occurs at the Kuiseb River. The land north of the river consists of rocky hills and gravel plains and appears relatively smooth and gray-colored from space. South of the river, however, the desert appears rusty red and, at higher resolutions, large sand dunes are visible. Almost all of the dust plumes rise from the area south of the Kuiseb River where sand is most abundant.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 11/3/2015
Resolutions: 1km (98.8 KB), 500m (355.4 KB), 250m (949 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC