Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Data acquired October 4 - 4, 2003 700 x 900 122 KB - JPEG
Data acquired October 4 - 4, 2003 1400 x 1800 458 KB - JPEG
Data acquired October 4 - 4, 2003 2800 x 3600 1 MB Bytes - JPEG
The heavy rains of India's summer monsoon drenched the land, filling lakes and rivers. These Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images contrast the wet and the dry seasons in the Rann of Kutch in northwestern India. The post-monsoon images, taken in October, show vast regions of standing water over what is otherwise desert land as can be seen in the pre-monsoon image taken on May 10, 2003. September 30 marked the end of the monsoon season, which runs from July through September. Normally a salt clay desert covering some 10,800 square miles, the Rann of Hutch becomes a salt marsh during the annual rains. Nestled between the Gulf of Kutch in India's northwestern state of Gujarat and the mouth of the Indus River in southern Pakistan, the region is home to Asia.s last herds of wild asses. Patches of high ground seen in the image become a refuge for wildlife during the wet season.
Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
Published October 4, 2003 Data acquired October 4 - 4, 2003