Published November 26, 2007
A dust storm blew through Australia’s Simpson Desert on November 21, 2007.
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Published November 26, 2007
The small island of Blanquilla is named for its white sand beaches, visible in this astronaut photograph as a bright border along the northeastern–eastern shoreline. Surface currents extending from the western coastline of the island are caused by easterly trade winds. This dominant wind has also caused movement of beach sand to form white “fingers” extending inland along the east coast.
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Published November 24, 2007
The rainfall pattern across the United States during the first eight months of 2007 is a study in contrasts. Drought dominated both coasts, while the Great Plains states saw far more rain than average.
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Published November 24, 2007
Corral Fire in southern California
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Published November 23, 2007
In the middle of Mali, part of the landscape gleams like a giant emerald in the otherwise arid brown African Sahel. The gleaming jewel is the Inland Niger Delta.
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Published November 22, 2007
A flash of blue and green lit the waters off Namibia in early November 2007 as a phytoplankton bloom grew and faded in the Atlantic Ocean. The bloom stretches from north to south along hundreds of kilometers, though it is brightest in the center of this image. Such blooms are common in the coastal waters off southwest Africa where cold, nutrient-rich currents sweep north from Antarctica and interact with the coastal shelf. At the same time, the easterly trade winds push surface water away from the shore, allowing water from the ocean’s floor to rise to the surface, bringing with it iron and other material. The suffusion of nutrients from both the currents and upwelling water creates an environment where tiny surface-dwelling ocean plants (phytoplankton) thrive.
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