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ISS015-E-15323

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View	ISS015-E-15323.JPG	53364	639	435	No	No
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Identification

Mission: ISS015 Roll: E Frame: 15323 Mission ID on the Film or image: ISS015
Country or Geographic Name: ALGERIA
Features: BECHAR,DUNES,ZOUSFANA WADI
Center Point Latitude: 31.7 Center Point Longitude: -1.9 (Negative numbers indicate south for latitude and west for longitude)
Stereo: (Yes indicates there is an adjacent picture of the same area)
ONC Map ID: JNC Map ID:

Camera

Camera Tilt: 46
Camera Focal Length: 70mm
Camera: E4: Kodak DCS760C Electronic Still Camera
Film: 3060E : 3060 x 2036 pixel CCD, RGBG array.

Quality

Film Exposure:
Percentage of Cloud Cover: 10 (0-10)

Nadir

Date: 20070628 (YYYYMMDD)GMT Time: 185107 (HHMMSS)
Nadir Point Latitude: 28.7, Longitude: -0.9 (Negative numbers indicate south for latitude and west for longitude)
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: North
Sun Azimuth: 296 (Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point)
Spacecraft Altitude: 181 nautical miles (335 km)
Sun Elevation Angle: 2 (Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point)
Orbit Number: 1260

Captions

ISS015-E-15323 (27 June 2007) --- Part of Bechar Basin, Algeria is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 15 crewmember on the International Space Station. The Bechar Basin of northwestern Algeria reaches depths of 8,000 meters, and is a producing hydrocarbon region. According to scientists, the basin was formed as Paleozoic (approximately 250-540 million years old) sedimentary layers were folded and faulted during much later collision of the continents of Africa and Europe during the Tertiary Period (approximately 2-65 million years ago). Hydrocarbon reservoirs are located within clastic (formed of variably-sized pieces of pre-existing rock) sedimentary rocks and fossilized coral reefs. Dark brown to tan folded ridges of these Paleozoic sedimentary layers extend across this view from top to bottom. Sand dunes are visible to the north, south, and west of the city of Bechar (gray-blue region to the left of the fold ridges) at center. Wadis (river channels) are dry most of the year in the arid climate of the region. Unconsolidated (loose) sands left in the channels by intermittent streams are transported by surface winds after the water is gone. This leads to the formation of individual dunes and larger dune fields (both bright tan in color) along the wadi courses, which also concentrate sands from other sources; dune fields are visible to the south of Bechar and at lower right. The oblique -- looking at an angle from the International Space Station, versus looking straight down - view of this photo accentuates cliff and dune shadows, providing a sense of the topography of the region.

Bechar Basin, Algeria:

The Béchar Basin of northwest Algeria formed as layers of sedimentary rocks from the Paleozoic Era (250-540 million years ago) folded and cracked during collisions of Africa and Europe during the Tertiary Period (2-65 million years ago). Hydrocarbon (coal, oil) reservoirs are tucked among the fragments of sedimentary rocks and fossilized coral reefs that make up the basin’s rock layers, which are up to 8,000 meters thick. In this photograph of part of the basin captured by astronauts on the International Space Station on June 27, 2007, dark brown to tan folded ridges of these Paleozoic sedimentary layers extend across the image from top to bottom.

Sand dunes are visible to the north, south, and west of the city of Béchar (gray-blue region to the left of the ridges) at image center. Wadis (river channels) are dry most of the year in the arid climate of the region. Unconsolidated (loose) sands left in the channels by intermittent streams are transported by surface winds after the water is gone. This leads to the formation of individual dunes and larger dune fields (both bright tan in color) along the wadi courses, which also concentrate sands from other sources; dune fields are visible to the south of Béchar and at image lower right. The oblique view (looking at an angle, not straight down, from the International Space Station) of this astronaut photograph accentuates cliff and dune shadows, providing a sense of the topography of the region.

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