April 6, 2013 - Southern Scandinavia

Southern Scandinavia

Snow covered southern Scandinavia in the earliest days of spring, 2013. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image on March 23, 2013.

Black borderlines have been placed on the image to delineate country boundaries. Norway, with the snow-shrouded Scandinavia Mountains lies in the west, and Sweden lies in the east. Ice covers the southern portion of Sweden’s bi-lobed Lake Vanern (west), while Lake Vattern (east), appears ice-free.

In the south, on the lower edge of the image, the tip of Denmark also wears a mantle of winter-white. Tan and teal-colored swirls paint the water of the North Sea on Denmark’s western coast. This color may arise from an early phytoplankton bloom, sediment from coastal run-off – or may be a combination of the two.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 3/23/2013
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC