March 30, 2014 - Dust from Gobi Desert over China

Dust from Gobi Desert over China

A windy, dusty late winter season continued on March 17, 2014 as a thick blanket of sand blew from the Gobi Desert over northeastern China. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image at 02:40 UTC (10:40 a.m. China Standard Time) on that same day.

The Gobi Desert straddles the China-Mongolia border, and is among the world’s leading dust producers. Dust storms tend to be the most frequent in late winter and spring, especially in March and April.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 3/17/2014
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC