Dust storm in western China - related image preview

550 x 450
50 KB - JPEG

Dust storm in western China - related image preview

1100 x 900
167 KB - JPEG

Dust storm in western China - related image preview

2200 x 1800
425 KB - JPEG

Dust storm in western China

A plume of white dust blows from the dry Gaxun Lake in China’s Inner Mongolia in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image. The dust gets its color from salt and other minerals left on the lake bed when the water evaporated into the dry desert air.

NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this image on April 29, 2005, over Mongolia (top) and western China. In the lower right corner of the image, sand dunes ripple across the orange tan Badain Jaran Desert like waves on the sea. To the left of the desert is the Ruo River. The river forks into the Xi (left) and Dong Rivers (right) in the center of the image, forming an alluvial fan shape that terminates near the dry lake.


Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published April 29, 2005
Data acquired April 29, 2005

Source:
Terra > MODIS