Volga River Delta and Caspian Sea

  • Credit

    Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

This true-color MODIS image from May 10, 2002, captures Russia’s Volga River (running south through the center) emptying into the northern portion of the Caspian Sea. The waters of the Caspian Sea are quite murky in this image, highlighting the water quality problems plaguing the sea. The sea is inundated with sewage and industrial and agricultural waste, which is having measurable impact on human health and wildlife. According reports from the Department of Energy, in less than a decade the sturgeon catch dropped from 30,000 tons to just over 2,000 tons. National and international groups are currently joining together to find strategies of dealing with the environmental problems of the Caspian Sea.

Metadata

  • Sensor

    Terra/MODIS
  • Visualization Date

    2002-06-12