Mouth of the Lena River, Russia
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Credit
Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
This series of MODIS images from late May and June of 2002 shows the Lena River in northern Siberia beginning to break free of its winter mantle of ice. Ice jams in the northern part of the river can cause flooding further south. The Lena River flows north through Siberia and into the Laptev Sea. As the sea ice thins, it becomes bright blue from the reflection of the water underneath.