Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Saharan Dust over Senegal
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Published June 9, 2002
Airborne African dust regularly reaches northeastern South America and the Caribbean. Westward dust transport from the Sahara across the central Atlantic has been a common occurrence this spring, with major events visible in both satellite images and photographs. Cap Vert, the westernmost point of Senegal, is dimly visible beneath the dust mass (center); the Arquipélago dos Bijagós in Guinea Bissau lies opposite the mouth of the sediment-laden Rio Corubal.
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Bullock Fire
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Published June 4, 2002
This image of the Bullock Fire was taken by the crew of the International Space Station using a digital camera on May 23, 2002, two days after the fire began. By May 25, fighting the fire was listed as the top national priority.
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San Francisco Bay
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Published May 26, 2002
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) took this photograph of the San Francisco Bay area in April, 2002. The gray urban footprint of San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and their surrounding suburbs contrast strongly with the green hillsides. Of particular note are the Pacific Ocean water patterns that are highlighted in the sun glint. Sets of internal waves traveling east impinge on the coastline south of San Francisco. At the same time, fresher bay water flows out from the bay beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, creating a large plume traveling westward. Tidal current channels suggest the tidal flow deep in thebay. Because the ISS orbits are not synchronous with the sun, astronauts view the Earth with variable solar illumination angles. This allows them to document phenomena such as the sun reflecting differentially off surface waters in a way that outlines complicated water structures.
Fires in Mexico and Central America
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Published May 14, 2002
The bright blue water of the Gulf of Honduras contrasts sharply with the smokey pall over Guatemala and Belize in this photograph taken from the International Space Station. Fires in the Yucatan Penninsula and northern Central America began burning in early April, and intensified by the end of the month.
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Paris in April
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Published May 12, 2002
The colors of the agricultural fields surrounding Paris are striking in thespringtime, even when viewed from a 400-kilometer orbital altitude, as seen in this photography taken by astronauts on board the International Space Station.
Mount Everest from the International Space Station
Published April 28, 2002
This detailed image of Everest, the highest (29,035 feet, 8850 meters) mountain in the world, shows early morning light on the eastern Kangshung Face. The mountains appear to jump out of the picture because the image was taken with low sunlight using an electronic still camera equipped with an 800 mm lens.
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Rio de Janeiro
Published April 14, 2002
A dengue fever outbreak has plagued Rio de Janeiro since January 2002. Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease. The elimination of standing water, which is a breeding ground for the mosquitoes, is a primary defense against mosquito-borne diseases like dengue. Removing such water remains a difficult problem in many urban regions.
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Ash and Steam, Soufriere Hills Volcano, Monserrat
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Published April 7, 2002
International Space Station crew members are regularly alerted to dynamic events on the Earth’s surface. On request from scientists on the ground, the ISS crew observed and recorded volcanic activity from the summit of Soufriere Hills on March 20, 2002.
Image Transformations-Montserrat
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Published March 27, 2002
An Earth Observatory reader used widely available software to correct the oblique perspective of an earlier photograph of Montserrat and to adjust the color. The story of how he modified the image includes step-by-step instructions that can be applied to other photographs.
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Kiritimati, Kiribati (Christmas Island)
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Published March 24, 2002
Pronounced “Ki-ris-mas,” Kiritimati Island has a large in-filled lagoon that gives it the largest land area (125 square miles, 321 square kilometers) of any atoll in the world. Captain Cook named the atoll Christmas Island when he arrived on Christmas Eve in 1777. Used for nuclear testing in the 1950s and 1960s, the island is now valued for its marine and wildlife resources. It is particularly important as a seabird nesting site—with an estimated 6 million birds using or breeding on the island, including several million Sooty Terns. Rainfall on Kiritimati is linked to El Ni&ntidle;o patterns, with long droughts experienced between the wetter El Ni&ntidle;o years.
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Tsunami Vulnerability in Camana, Peru
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Published March 17, 2002
A tsunami washed over the low-lying coastal resort region near Camaná,southern Peru, following a strong earthquake on June 23, 2001. The earthquake was one of the most powerful of the last 35 years and had a magnitude of 8.4. After the initial quake, coastal residents witnessed a sudden draw-down of the ocean and knew a tsunami was imminent. They had less than 20 minutes to reach higher ground before the tsunami hit. Waves as high as 8 meters came in four destructive surges reaching as far as 1.2 kilometers inland. Thousands of buildings were destroyed, and the combined earthquake and tsunami killed as many as 139 people.
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