Dust off Morocco and fires in Portugal

Saharan Desert dust (tan pixels) was spreading northwestward over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco on September 13, 2003. In this scene, the Canary Islands are visible in the lower left corner while the western tip of the Iberian Peninsula can be seen in the upper right. A thick plume of gray smoke is streaming westward from a large forest fire that had been burning in Portugal since the previous week.

This true-color image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), aboard NASA's Aqua satellite.

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Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published September 16, 2003
Data acquired September 13 - 13, 2003

Source:

Aqua > MODIS

Topics:

Biosphere > Terrestrial Ecosystems > Deserts

Biosphere > Terrestrial Habitat > Desert

Human Dimensions > Natural Hazards > Fires