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Major dust storms are a frequent occurence over northwest Africa and the Sahara Desert. This image of a massive dust storm was aquired on February 11, 2001 by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). SeaWiFS has seen similar storms every year since its launch in August 1997.

Of particular interest in this image are the eddies and waves on the lee side of the mountainous Canary Islands (center).

Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE