Images
February 18, 2011 - Dust storm off Oman
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Dust blew off the coast of Oman and over the Arabian Sea in mid-February 2011. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on February 13, 2011.
The dust blows toward the southeast, over the island of Jazirat Masirah. Near the coast of mainland Oman, the dust forms distinct plumes. Farther from the shore, the dust fans out, forming a thin, nearly transparent veil. A long line of small clouds fringes the eastern edge of the massive dust veil, and east of that cloud line, skies are clearer.
In the west, cloud- and dust-free skies allow MODIS a view of the sand dunes of the Arabian Peninsula’s Empty Quarter, or Rub’ al Khali. Unperturbed by winds in this image, the Empty Quarter dunes resemble a giant fingerprint. Clear skies over those dunes indicate that the dust blowing off the coast of Oman has arisen from sediments closer to the shore.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 2/13/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Dust blew off the coast of Oman and over the Arabian Sea in mid-February 2011. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on February 13, 2011.
The dust blows toward the southeast, over the island of Jazirat Masirah. Near the coast of mainland Oman, the dust forms distinct plumes. Farther from the shore, the dust fans out, forming a thin, nearly transparent veil. A long line of small clouds fringes the eastern edge of the massive dust veil, and east of that cloud line, skies are clearer.
In the west, cloud- and dust-free skies allow MODIS a view of the sand dunes of the Arabian Peninsula’s Empty Quarter, or Rub’ al Khali. Unperturbed by winds in this image, the Empty Quarter dunes resemble a giant fingerprint. Clear skies over those dunes indicate that the dust blowing off the coast of Oman has arisen from sediments closer to the shore.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 2/13/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
