Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Yellow River Delta
540 x 540 JPEG
Published August 23, 2004
The Yellow River Delta coastline along the Gulf of Bohai has always experienced dramatic changes, and those changes continue today. This mosaic of images taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station shows several things. First, the image shows today’s configuration of the delta of China’s Yellow River, which is one of the most dynamic coastlines on Earth. Second, the scene allows mapping of land use along the coastal plain, including the boundaries of the Shengli Oil Field, China’s second largest oil field. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of this image is the large patch of green water off the northern coast of the delta—a presumed plankton bloom.
Related images:
1000 x 961 1018 KB Bytes - JPEG
Athens, Greece
Published August 16, 2004
Athens, Greece, enjoys both historical and current significance on the world stage. The ancient city of Athens, considered to be the birthplace of many Western traditions in philosophy, the arts, and the scientific method, is located in the Central Plains region of Attica in eastern Greece. This astronaut photograph captures the western extent of the modern urban area.
660 x 1000 640 KB - JPEG
Cabarete Bay, Dominican Republic
Published August 9, 2004
The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea. The island has a variety of ecosystems ranging from arid plains to tropical rain forests created by three roughly parallel east-west mountain ranges. The northernmost of these ranges, the Cordillera Septentrional, is visible in this astronaut photograph as the dark green region north of the river. Clearcut regions within the Cordillera Septentrional are visible as irregular light green regions interspersed with dark green forested areas.
1000 x 1000 621 KB - JPEG
Mount Kilimanjaro Closeup
1000 x 662 256 KB - JPEG
Published August 2, 2004
Most scientists agree that the glaciers of Mt. Kilimanjaro will be gone by the year 2020, but there is less agreement as to why they are now receding.
663 x 1000 278 KB - JPEG
Ebro River Delta, Northeastern Spain
Published July 26, 2004
The Ebro River Delta, located along the eastern coast of Spain, is one of the largest wetland areas in the western Mediterranean region.
1000 x 662 358 KB - JPEG
Tucson, Arizona
Published July 19, 2004
Tucson lies between the forested Catalina Mountains and the Tucson Mountains (dark reddish brown at the left image margin).The typical western North American cityscape is a pattern of regular north-south aligned rectangles outlined by major streets set one mile apart.
662 x 1000 505 KB - JPEG
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
540 x 405 JPEG
Published July 12, 2004
Located on the highly populated Hawaiian island of Oahu just west of Honolulu, Pearl Harbor is the historic center of events on “the day that will live in infamy”—December 7, 1941—when the Japanese fleet launched a surprise air attack on Pearl Harbor and other strategic military targets on Oahu. The ISS-6 Space Station crew obtained this high-resolution image of Pearl Harbor in March 2003, enabling detailed observations of the harbor and its multiple uses.
1000 x 656 465 KB - JPEG
Barcelona, Spain
Published July 5, 2004
The roofs of Barcelona’s buildings appear as a widespread pink swath on the Mediterranean coastal plain, between forested hills (dark green, top) and the sea. The Llobregat River enters the view top center, cuts through a canyon in the hills and historically constructed a broad, convex delta south of the forested hills. Channelization of the Llobregat River to control flooding has encouraged development of the delta for a variety of urban and agricultural land uses. Barcelona’s airport is located in the central portion of the delta, while the western portion is used for intensive agriculture (light green areas).
1000 x 662 488 KB - JPEG
Colorado River Delta, Baja California
540 x 357 JPEG
Published June 28, 2004
The Colorado River is the largest watershed in the southwestern US, emptying into the Salton Trough before reaching the Sea of Cortez. Over the past 2-3 million years, river sediments built a delta that extends from the US-Mexico border for a distance of 87 miles (140 kilometers). However, today the Colorado River delta is undergoing significant erosion and diminishing in size due to the lack of sediment replenishment from upstream sources.
1000 x 662 381 KB - JPEG
Solitons, Strait of Gibraltar
540 x 436 JPEG
Published June 21, 2004
Surf’s up! This image is a mosaic of two photographs taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station viewing large internal waves in the Strait of Gibraltar. These subsurface internal waves occur at depths of about 100 m, but appear in the sunglint as giant swells flowing eastward into the Mediterranean Sea. The narrow Strait of Gibraltar is the gatekeeper for water exchange between the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. A top layer of warm, relatively fresh water from the Atlantic Ocean flows eastward into the Mediterranean Sea. In return, a lower, colder, saltier layer of water flows westward into the North Atlantic ocean. A density boundary separates the layers at about 100 m depth.
1000 x 807 306 KB - JPEG
Mount Baker, Washington—a Hazardous Beauty
1000 x 663 372 KB - JPEG
Published June 14, 2004
The Cascade Range is an arc of volcanoes that extends from southwestern British Columbia to northern California. One of the six major composite volcanoes (formed by alternating layers of extruded lava and compacted ash) is Mount Baker in northern Washington.
1000 x 663 355 KB - JPEG