![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090831094647im_/http://veimages.gsfc.nasa.gov//19778/terra_aceh_29dec04_tn.jpg)
Images & Animations
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Credit
NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team and the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC.
A magnitude 9.0 earthquake - the largest in 40 years - struck offshore of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on December 26, 2004. These images show the damage caused by the resulting tsunami to the shores of northwestern Sumatra.
- Large Images: <LI> December 29, 2004 (1.2 MB) <LI> December 17, 2004 (1.3 MB)
Though MODIS was not specifically designed to make the very detailed observations that are usually necessary for mapping coastline changes, the sensor nevertheless observed obvious differences in the Sumatran coastline. On December 17, the green vegetation along the west coast appears to reach all the way to the sea, with only an occasional thin stretch of white that is likely sand. After the earthquake and tsunamis, the entire western coast is lined with a noticeable purplish-brown border.
The brownish border could be deposited sand, or perhaps exposed soil that was stripped bare of vegetation when the large waves rushed ashore and then raced away. On a moderate-resolution image such as this, the affected area may seem small, but each pixel in the full resolution image is 250 by 250 meters. In places the brown strip reaches inland roughly 13 pixels, equal to a distance of 3.25 kilometers, or about 2 miles. On the northern tip of the island (shown in the large image), the incursion is even larger.
Metadata
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Sensor
Terra/MODIS -
Start Date
2004-12-29 -
Event Start Date
2004-12-26 -
NH Image ID
12644 -
NH Event ID
10569 -
NH Posting Date
2004-12-29