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March 15, 2022 - Waters off of Florida
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On March 12, 2022, clouds covered southwestern Florida as a vicious winter storm pushed across the state, bringing severe winds, torrential rain, and even a few tornadoes to the state. When the clouds cleared on March 13, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of a spectacular halo of color of the southwestern coast, extending from Florida Bay to well north of Fort Myers.
The striking colors in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Bay are mostly likely caused by heavy sediment. According to local media, winds topped 76 mph (122.3 km/h) on March 12 as the storm battered central Florida. If the winds were sustained for one minute, that would be equivalent to the wind speed of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. An EF-1 tornado touched down in Ocala in central Florida, carrying winds of 110 mph (177 km/h), knocking out power to more than 6,000 people. The tornado travelled about 25 miles (120 km) through Marion County. A waterspout churned the waters off of Ft. Meyers that same day, catching the attention of beach goers at a local resort who posted photos of the spout to social media. It then came over land and touched down briefly before dissipating. Fort Myers sits on the Gulf Coast near the top of this image. Ocala is located to northeast of Fort Meyers.
The storm system moved over the Gulf of Mexico before striking Florida, carrying plenty of wind to kick up significant waves. The blowing wind and wicked waves likely churned large amount of sediment from the shallow seafloor near Florida’s coastline. Runoff from the land as torrential rain swept across the state also likely contributed to the sediment. While sediment appears brown or muddy-tan when floating near the surface, as it sinks the reflectivity of the tiny particles of sediment change, making it appear green or blue. The Florida Bay, surrounding and just north of the chain of islands known as the Florida Keys, has a very shallow bottom which is rich is carbonate mud. Similar to limestone, carbonate often appears white when suspended in water, and carbonate mud or sediment rich in carbonate lends a milky-green or milky-blue hue.
The NASA Worldview App gives an easy way to compare changes over time in any given area on Earth. To view Aqua MODIS images acquired before the storm (March 9) and on March 13, after the storm, click
here.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 3/13/2022
Resolutions:
1km (107.8 KB), 500m (367.2 KB), 250m (1.1 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
On March 12, 2022, clouds covered southwestern Florida as a vicious winter storm pushed across the state, bringing severe winds, torrential rain, and even a few tornadoes to the state. When the clouds cleared on March 13, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of a spectacular halo of color of the southwestern coast, extending from Florida Bay to well north of Fort Myers.
The striking colors in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Bay are mostly likely caused by heavy sediment. According to local media, winds topped 76 mph (122.3 km/h) on March 12 as the storm battered central Florida. If the winds were sustained for one minute, that would be equivalent to the wind speed of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. An EF-1 tornado touched down in Ocala in central Florida, carrying winds of 110 mph (177 km/h), knocking out power to more than 6,000 people. The tornado travelled about 25 miles (120 km) through Marion County. A waterspout churned the waters off of Ft. Meyers that same day, catching the attention of beach goers at a local resort who posted photos of the spout to social media. It then came over land and touched down briefly before dissipating. Fort Myers sits on the Gulf Coast near the top of this image. Ocala is located to northeast of Fort Meyers.
The storm system moved over the Gulf of Mexico before striking Florida, carrying plenty of wind to kick up significant waves. The blowing wind and wicked waves likely churned large amount of sediment from the shallow seafloor near Florida’s coastline. Runoff from the land as torrential rain swept across the state also likely contributed to the sediment. While sediment appears brown or muddy-tan when floating near the surface, as it sinks the reflectivity of the tiny particles of sediment change, making it appear green or blue. The Florida Bay, surrounding and just north of the chain of islands known as the Florida Keys, has a very shallow bottom which is rich is carbonate mud. Similar to limestone, carbonate often appears white when suspended in water, and carbonate mud or sediment rich in carbonate lends a milky-green or milky-blue hue.
The NASA Worldview App gives an easy way to compare changes over time in any given area on Earth. To view Aqua MODIS images acquired before the storm (March 9) and on March 13, after the storm, click
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 3/13/2022
Resolutions:
1km (107.8 KB), 500m (367.2 KB), 250m (1.1 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
