March 13, 2020 - Dust off the coast of Libya

Dust off the coast of Libay

Strong winds pushed a plume of dust across the Mediterranean Sea in early March 2020. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite acquired true-color image of the dusty scene on March 7.

Away from the coast, where a Mediterranean climate predominates, Libya consists of dry desert. Only about 1 percent of the land is arable, and vast sand seas provide plentiful material for dust storms. It’s no surprise that dust storms are one of the greatest natural hazards that affects the country.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 3/7/2020
Resolutions: 1km (97.5 KB), 500m (223.5 KB), 250m (579 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC