Running through the deserts of Iraq (image center) are the Tigris
(right) and Euphrates (left) Rivers. The land between the confluence of
the two rivers is the culturally, historically, and ecologically
significant Mesopotamian Fertile Crescent, situated just southeast of
center in this true-color image from NASAs Moderate-resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), acquired on August 29, 2001. Recent reports estimate that within the past
two decades, over 85 percent of the wetlands making up the Fertile
Crescent have disappeared due to demand for irrigation in the
region.
In the 250-m (full resolution)
image, several remarkable features can be seen. Desert
sands and sediments are pouring into the Persian Gulf, bottom right,
bringing nutrients that have supported a phytoplankton bloom that colors
the waters of the Gulf bright blue and green. In the upper right, beyond the
mountainous terrain of northern Iran, the Caspian Sea is banked in by
clouds. In the lower left of the image, the reddish-orange sands of
Saudi Arabias An Nafud desert stretch eastward and become the Ad
Dahna, a narrow band of sand mountains also called the River of
Sand.
Several manmade features are also apparent. At Iraqs southeastern
border with Kuwait, burning oil smoke is visible. Crisscrossing the
deserts of southern Iraq and Saudi Arabia are white lines that reveal
the location of oil pipelines. The unusual polygonal shapes that appear
to the east of the Ad Dahna are areas that are protected from
grazing.
MODIS is one of five sensors flying aboard NASA's Terra satellite.
Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC