Dust plumes off Alaska

  • Credit

    Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Plumes of gray dust blow out over the Gulf of Alaska in this true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image taken by the Terra satellite on October 16, 2003. The dust appears to be originating in the Chugach Mountain Range, which runs from the edge of the Aleutian Range to the Canadian border (not shown). Below the veil of dust, bluish-tan swirls come from sediments carried into the Gulf by the many rivers emptying into it.

Throughout the image, Alaska’s many mountain ranges are showing signs of the rapidly-approaching winter. Snow is beginning to accumulate on the peaks, though the most of the lowlands are still clear.

Metadata

  • Sensor

    Terra/MODIS

  • Visualization Date

    2003-10-16