NASA: It is happening now - Está sucediendo ahora - 11-08-10 - Flooding in Pakistan - Phytoplankton Bloom off Newfoundland - Hydrogen Sulfide and Dust Plumes along the Coast of Namibia
Posted by Ricardo Marcenaro | Posted in NASA: It is happening now - Está sucediendo ahora - 11-08-10 - Flooding in Pakistan - Phytoplankton Bloom off Newfoundland - Hydrogen Sulfide and Dust Plumes along the Coast of Namibia | Posted on 16:04
Flooding in Pakistan
Floodwaters continued rushing down the Indus River on August 10, 2010. The BBC reported that high waters had traveled more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles), from the northern reaches of the country to Pakistan’s breadbasket in Punjab Province, and on to Sindh Province. In Sindh, two million people had already evacuated.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured these images on August 10, 2010 (top), and almost exactly one year earlier, August 11, 2009 (bottom). The images show the lower Indus River, at the boundary of Punjab and Sindh Provinces. Both images use a combination of infrared and visible light to increase the contrast between water and land. Water appears in varying shades of blue. Vegetation is green, and bare ground is pinkish brown. Clouds range in color from pale blue-green to bright turquoise.
In 2009, the Indus appears as a thin river—a braided stream north of Sukkur (where a barrage affects water flow), and a very skinny meandering waterway south of that city. In 2010, the river has completely filled the river valley, merging the braided streams north of Sukkur, and pushing water over riverbanks in places. Northwest of the river valley, around the city of Sibi, standing water is evident on what appears to be normally arid ground. Pools of water also appear due east of Sibi, on the other side of the river.
On August 10, 2010, the Indus River is less swollen south of Sukkur than it is north of the city, but even compared to an image acquired on August 8, water levels downstream from Sukkur appear higher. Early in the day on August 9, the BBC reported, the recorded water flow through Sukkur Barrage was up to 1.4 million cubic feet per second (cusecs). The barrage is only designed to withstand a maximum of 900,000 cusecs.
According to Agence France-Presse, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that the scale of destruction from Pakistan’s monsoon flooding in July and August of 2010 surpassed the devastation from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 northern Pakistan earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined.
References
- BBC. (2010, August 9). Pakistan floods threaten key barrage in southern Sindh. Accessed August 10, 2010.
- Agence France-Presse. (2010, August 8). UN to launch appeal for Pakistan flood disaster. Accessed August 10, 2010.
NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.
- Instrument:
- Aqua - MODIS
Phytoplankton Bloom off Newfoundland
Phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that live in watery environments. When conditions are right, phytoplankton undergo explosive population growth, creating blooms visible from space. Such a bloom occurred in the North Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Newfoundland in early August 2010. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on August 9, 2010. The paisley pattern of peacock blue owes its color to the chlorophyll in phytoplankton.
Phytoplankton thrive at high latitudes, especially in the spring and summer when abundant sunlight spurs photosynthesis, and relatively calm seas allow the tiny organisms to congregate in sunlit waters. Blooms can last for weeks even though an individual phytoplankton lifespan may be just a few days. To learn more, see the Earth Observatory fact sheet What are Phytoplankton?
NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Michon Scott.
- Instrument:
- Terra - MODIS
Hydrogen Sulfide and Dust Plumes along the Coast of Namibia
Cloudless skies allowed a clear view of dust and hydrogen sulfide plumes along the coast of Namibia in early August 2010. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on August 10, 2010.
Multiple dust plumes blow off the coast toward the ocean, most or all of them probably arising from streambeds. Unlike the reddish-tan sands comprising the dunes directly south of the Kuiseb River, the stream-channel sediments are lighter in color. Wind frequently pushes dust plumes seaward along the Namibian Coast. Easterly trade winds blow from the Indian Ocean over the African continent, losing much of their moisture as they go. The winds are hot and dry as they pass over Namibia’s coastal plain, where they are prone to stir fine sediments.
Even with dust plumes overhead, the marked change in land cover is obvious along the Kuiseb River. South of the river, sand dunes predominate, but the vegetation along the Kuiseb River prevents the dunes from advancing northward. North of the river, the land surface consists primarily of gravel plains punctuated by rocky hills.
Hydrogen sulfide appears as a swath of irridescent green running parallel to the coast north of Walvis Bay. A 2009 study linked the emissions in this region to ocean currents, biological activity in the water column, and carbon-rich organic sediments under the water column. The meeting of hydrogen sulfide gas and oxygen-rich surface waters causes pure sulfur to precipitate into the water. The sulfur’s yellow color makes the water appear green to the satellite sensor.
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References
- Brüchert, V., Currie, B., Peard, K.R. (2009). Hydrogen sulphide and methane emissions on the central Namibian shelf. Progress in Oceanography, 83, 169–179.
- Geological Survey of Namibia. (2002). Simplified Geological Map of Namibia. Accessed August 10, 2010.
NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.
- Instrument:
- Terra - MODIS
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NASA: It is happening now - Está sucediendo ahora - 11-08-10 - Flooding in Pakistan - Phytoplankton Bloom off Newfoundland - Hydrogen Sulfide and Dust Plumes along the Coast of Namibia
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