Foxe Basin, Canada

Officially spring, perhaps, but even as late as April 19, 2002, Foxe Basin in northeast Canada, inland of Baffin Island, was still locked in winter. Foxe Basin is at the top of this MODIS image, but south of Southampton Island, it becomes Hudson Bay proper. These images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on the Terra satellite show the arrival of spring and summer and the resulting retreat of snow and ice from the region. The final image in the series, from Sept. 19, is a more close-up view, and the Basin is almost ice-free. Sediment and possibly phytoplankton fill the waters with colorful swirls.

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Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published August 31, 2002
Data acquired August 2 - 2, 2002

Source:

Terra > MODIS

Collections:

MODIS Rapid Response

Visible Earth