Dust Storm in Turkmenistan

A dust storm blew through Turkmenistan at the end of February 2013. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image on February 28. The dust formed an arc, blowing first to the west then curving toward the north.

Sand seas stretch over most of Turkmenistan, providing ample material for dust storms. This storm, however, appears to have arisen from sandy desert terrain in Afghanistan. The storm likely picked up additional dust particles over Turkmenistan.

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Michon Scott.

Published March 1, 2013
Data acquired February 28, 2013

Source:

Aqua > MODIS