Dust plumes blew over the Persian Gulf on September 12, 2008. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite took this picture the same day.

In this true-color, photo-like image, the most obvious plume blows off the coasts of Kuwait and Iraq toward the southeast. Although not very large, the dust plume is thick enough to hide the water surface below. As skies appear clear inland, this plume probably results from fine sediments near the coast. East of Qatar, a large, diffuse plume of dust creates a thin haze over the Gulf. The source of this plume is not obvious, although abundant sand seas fill Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, small, isolated plumes blow off the coasts of Iran and Bahrain.

NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott.

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