May 1, 2009 - Dust Storm in the Taklimakan Desert

Dust Storm in the Taklimakan Desert

Dust continued blowing eastward out of the Taklimakan Desert on April 19, 2008, although the plumes were less intense than they had been two days earlier.

The MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on April 19, 2009. Besides covering almost the entire desert basin, dust plumes in this image extend hundreds of kilometers eastward. North of the thickest dust plumes, skies northeast of the Taklimakan Desert appear slightly hazy. Northwest of the desert basin, however, skies appear crystal clear, with snowy mountain peaks contrasting with the deep blue lake in Kyrgyzstan in the top left corner of the image.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 04/19/2009
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC