Images
March 12, 2024 - Dust over the Red Sea
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A blanket of tan dust hung over the Red Sea on March 10, 2024, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image.
Although a point source cannot be identified in this image, it is likely that the dust rose from the northern Sahara Desert and blew eastward starting on March 8. That’s when a low-pressure weather system over Egypt and eastern Libya first appeared to stir up dust, based on daily MODIS images. Dust has continued to move over the Red Sea through March 11.
Dust storms are common in this region in the springtime, when strong southerly winds, known as the khamsin, sweep across the desert. The hot, dry, dust-filled winds are said to derive their name from the Arabic word for “fifty”, referring to the approximately 50-day period during which the wind typically appears.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Date Acquired: 3/10/2024
Resolutions:
1km (950.4 KB), 500m (2.5 MB), 250m (1.4 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A blanket of tan dust hung over the Red Sea on March 10, 2024, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image.
Although a point source cannot be identified in this image, it is likely that the dust rose from the northern Sahara Desert and blew eastward starting on March 8. That’s when a low-pressure weather system over Egypt and eastern Libya first appeared to stir up dust, based on daily MODIS images. Dust has continued to move over the Red Sea through March 11.
Dust storms are common in this region in the springtime, when strong southerly winds, known as the khamsin, sweep across the desert. The hot, dry, dust-filled winds are said to derive their name from the Arabic word for “fifty”, referring to the approximately 50-day period during which the wind typically appears.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Date Acquired: 3/10/2024
Resolutions:
1km (950.4 KB), 500m (2.5 MB), 250m (1.4 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
