Images
March 19, 2009 - Clouds over the Aral Sea
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In this image, captured by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on March 12, 2009, wave clouds form over the western basin of the Southern Aral Sea.
Wave clouds are created when stable air is disturbed, causing air to
move along the disturbance, like waves in a pond. If the layer of stable air is humid, where the air flows up, a cloud forms at the crest. Where it flows down, the cloud evaporates. This is what gives clouds the rippled pattern.
Because the wave clouds in this image tightly hug the coastline of the Aral Sea, it's likely that it is the coastline, or the geography along the coastline, causing the disturbance. The Aral Sea is located in Kazakhstan (north) and Uzbekistan
(south).
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 03/12/2009
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
In this image, captured by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on March 12, 2009, wave clouds form over the western basin of the Southern Aral Sea. Wave clouds are created when stable air is disturbed, causing air to move along the disturbance, like waves in a pond. If the layer of stable air is humid, where the air flows up, a cloud forms at the crest. Where it flows down, the cloud evaporates. This is what gives clouds the rippled pattern.
Because the wave clouds in this image tightly hug the coastline of the Aral Sea, it's likely that it is the coastline, or the geography along the coastline, causing the disturbance. The Aral Sea is located in Kazakhstan (north) and Uzbekistan (south).
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 03/12/2009
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
