Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Napoli and Volcanism - Vesuvius and Mt. Etna
Published November 4, 2001
For more than 240 million years the region now known as Italy has been the scene of episodic volcanic activity. East-southeast of Napoli (Naples) stands the imposing cone of Vesuvius, which erupted explosively in 79 A.D. to bury Pompeii and Herculaneum.
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Chetumal Bay Coral Reef
Published October 28, 2001
Chetumal Bay lies on the Border between Mexico and Belize. To the east of the bay, Ambergris Cay connects the Belize Barrier Reef to the Yucatan Peninsula. The north of the island is Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve. Here, the barrier reef comes very close to the east side of the island. In 1998, reefs in Belize were hit by two major events that led to heavy coral mortality: El Niño-related coral bleaching and Hurricane Mitch.
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Jungfrau and Interlaken, Switzerland
Published October 21, 2001
The Bernese Alps form the centerpiece of this late summer view of Switzerland; Jungfrau (4158 m), Moench (4089 m), and Eiger (3970 m) are among the higher peaks of the Central Alps. North of the range is the city of Interlaken, flanked by the Thune See and Brienzer See (lakes); the long, straight-segmented valley of the Rhone lies to the south.
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Space Station view of the Pyramids at Giza
Published October 14, 2001
This image represents, for its time, the greatest detail of the Giza plateau captured from a human-occupied spacecraft.
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St. Vincent Island, Apalachicola River Delta, Florida
Published October 7, 2001
Sand ridges (cheniers) sweep in bands across St. Vincent Island, about 120 kilometers southwest of Tallahassee, Florida. These ridges have accumulated over time in the Apalachicola River delta complex. During high flow, the river delivers abundant sediment to the delta; as flow wanes the stream drops its load of coarser material around the channel mouth, to be redistributed primarily by waves. Variations in sediment supply and wave energy result in alternating bands of sand and mud. The crew of Space Shuttle 102 used the reflection of the sun off water that lies in the swales between ridges to emphasize the variable topography of the cheniers. Similar draping arrays of sand ridges and spits can be seen on the Po and Ebro river deltas of Italy and Spain, respectively.
"Boilers" along the southeast coast of Bermuda
Published September 30, 2001
Along the south shore of Bermuda, waves break continuously along algal/vermetid reefs (composed of algae and molluscs, not coral), forming “boilers.” Boilers are named because the continuous breaking of waves makes it look as if the sea is boiling. This photograph taken from the International Space Station shows the eastern half of the main islands of Bermuda. Land use is about 6 percent cropland, 55 percent developed and 34 percent rural. Reflective white-colored areas are buildings and other developments surrounded by green areas of vegetation. St. David’s Island is also home to the airport, with runways built out into Castle Harbour.
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Biogenic Films at the Mouth of the Suez Canal
Published September 23, 2001
Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery used the sunglint off the surface of the Mediterranean Sea to reveal biogenic films on the ocean surface (“Biogenic film” refers to a thin layer of biologically-produced film resting on the surface.). The films dampen surface capillary waves, creating brighter and darker reflections, which, in turn, trace the complex surface water movements along the coast. The sunglint also highlights coastal features (jetties, submerged costal areas) near the Port of Suez.
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Urban Growth in Cairo 1965-98
Published September 16, 2001
Astronaut photographs from the Gemini era and from the space shuttle reveal tremendous growth.
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African Dust Blows over the Caribbean
Published September 9, 2001
Shuttle astronauts frequently track Saharan dust storms as they blow from north Africa across the Atlantic Ocean. Dust palls blowing from Africa take about a week to cross the Atlantic. Recently, researchers have linked Saharan dust to coral disease, allergic reactions in humans, and red tides. The top photograph, a classic image showing African dust over the Caribbean, was taken at a time when few scientists had considered the possibility. The image was taken by Space Shuttle astronauts on July 11, 1994. This photograph looks southwest over the northern edge of a large trans-Atlantic dust plume that blew off the Sahara desert in Africa. In this view, Caicos Island in the Bahamas and the mountainous spines of Haiti are partly obscured by the dust. Closer to the foreground, (about 26 degrees north latitude), the skies are clear.
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California Wildfires as Seen From the Space Shuttle
Published September 2, 2001
An astronaut on the Space Shuttle photographed several wildfires burning in California in August 2001.
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Elephant damage to vegetation in Botswana
Published August 26, 2001
At the junction of the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers, Botswana, increasing elephant populations are having large impacts on local vegetation. Scientists working in the region used spectral analysis of an astronaut photograph digitized from film to identify areas where woodland vegetation had been heavily damaged by the elephants. The technique used the analysis of texture of the red band (or channel) in the image.
Klamath Basin, California-Oregon
Published August 19, 2001
The Klamath Basin, on the California-Oregon border, had been in the news because of water shortages due to the drought in the United States’ Pacific Northwest. Diverse interest groups have come into conflict over the limited availability of Klamath Project water. In order to protect endangered Sucker Fish and threatened Coho Salmon in Upper Klamath Lake, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation cut off the flow of irrigation water to farmers in the project in April 2001.
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