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August 7, 2025 - Dust Plume over the Caspian Sea
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On August 3, 2025, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image of dust streaming across the Caspian Sea.
Strong winds carried several streamers of tan dust westward from Turkmenistan, with the largest plume crossing over the Cheleken Peninsula. The center of this hammer-head-shaped spit of land extends approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) into the Caspian Sea and is roughly 22 kilometers (14 miles) wide. Like much of the region, the peninsula has a dry desert environment and is rich in sand dunes and dry lakebeds, which can be rich sources of material for dust storms.
Some of the dust may also rise from inland sources, which cannot be seen in this image. Sand seas stretch over much of Turkmenistan, including the very arid Kara Kum Desert. These all provide copious material for dust storms.
The waters of the Caspian Sea are tinted tan and green with sediment and, most likely, a bloom of phytoplankton. Dust falling on water becomes suspended as sediment and, when floating near the surface, appears tan. As it sinks, the reflectivity of sediment changes and so the satellite “sees” it as green. When present in abundance, phytoplankton—microscopic plant-like organisms—may also give a green or blue tint to the water.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/3/2025
Resolutions:
1km (24.9 KB), 500m (49.1 KB), 250m (114.5 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
On August 3, 2025, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image of dust streaming across the Caspian Sea.
Strong winds carried several streamers of tan dust westward from Turkmenistan, with the largest plume crossing over the Cheleken Peninsula. The center of this hammer-head-shaped spit of land extends approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) into the Caspian Sea and is roughly 22 kilometers (14 miles) wide. Like much of the region, the peninsula has a dry desert environment and is rich in sand dunes and dry lakebeds, which can be rich sources of material for dust storms.
Some of the dust may also rise from inland sources, which cannot be seen in this image. Sand seas stretch over much of Turkmenistan, including the very arid Kara Kum Desert. These all provide copious material for dust storms.
The waters of the Caspian Sea are tinted tan and green with sediment and, most likely, a bloom of phytoplankton. Dust falling on water becomes suspended as sediment and, when floating near the surface, appears tan. As it sinks, the reflectivity of sediment changes and so the satellite “sees” it as green. When present in abundance, phytoplankton—microscopic plant-like organisms—may also give a green or blue tint to the water.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/3/2025
Resolutions:
1km (24.9 KB), 500m (49.1 KB), 250m (114.5 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
