Images
February 14, 2016 - Lake Gairdner and Lake Torrens, Australia
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On February 8, 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite flew over South Australia and captured this true-color image of a clear summer day.
Several white salt lakes stand out against the red landscape of the region. Lake Gairdner lies to the west, with Lake Torrens to the east. The smaller salt flat in the far east of the image is Lake Frome. Although these white, highly reflective bodies are called ‘lakes’, in fact they are usually dry, hard-packed salt flats, and only intermittently hold water.
Rather than fishing or boating, a popular recreation at such salt flats is road racing, as the surface lends itself to high speed. The Dry Lake Racers Australia (DLRA) sponsor a Speed Week event at Lake Gairdner each year. It has also been the site for several land speed record attempts.
Lake Torrens has been set aside as a national park, and no racing is permitted. Instead it is valued as a wilderness and – intermittently – a wetland. According to National Parks South Africa, Lake Torrens is usually a dry salt flat. It has only been filled with water once in the past 150 years. However, thunderstorms can moisten the lake enough to provide small amounts of water – and it becomes very attractive to birds. Lake Torrens has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/8/2016
Resolutions:
1km (568.6 KB), 500m (1.3 MB), 250m (1 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
On February 8, 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite flew over South Australia and captured this true-color image of a clear summer day.
Several white salt lakes stand out against the red landscape of the region. Lake Gairdner lies to the west, with Lake Torrens to the east. The smaller salt flat in the far east of the image is Lake Frome. Although these white, highly reflective bodies are called ‘lakes’, in fact they are usually dry, hard-packed salt flats, and only intermittently hold water.
Rather than fishing or boating, a popular recreation at such salt flats is road racing, as the surface lends itself to high speed. The Dry Lake Racers Australia (DLRA) sponsor a Speed Week event at Lake Gairdner each year. It has also been the site for several land speed record attempts.
Lake Torrens has been set aside as a national park, and no racing is permitted. Instead it is valued as a wilderness and – intermittently – a wetland. According to National Parks South Africa, Lake Torrens is usually a dry salt flat. It has only been filled with water once in the past 150 years. However, thunderstorms can moisten the lake enough to provide small amounts of water – and it becomes very attractive to birds. Lake Torrens has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/8/2016
Resolutions:
1km (568.6 KB), 500m (1.3 MB), 250m (1 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
