ISS002 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

ISS002 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

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ISS002-E-6169 Lower Manhattan: ISS Expedition 2 crew members photographed Manhattan Island on an exceptionally clear spring day. The clarity and detail of the image provides a bird’s-eye view of lower Manhattan’s financial district, including the two World Trade Center (WTC) Towers. The early morning sun (the image was taken May 6, 2001 at about 9:00 AM, EDT) illuminates the east side of 110-story buildings, and casts long shadows over the Hudson River. The image provides some geographic context for tragedy that occurred on September 11. Only part of the complete image is shown above. Expedition 3 crew members photographed the area again shortly after the collapse of the towers (ISS003-E-5588).

ISS002-728C-79 Mt. Etna, Sicily: Two distinct airborne plumes are being generated from different source areas in this near vertical image of Mt. Etna. Notice that the lighter colored smoke plume is coming from the summit craters, while the darker colored and higher (in elevation) plume is an ash plume that is exiting the volcano through an eruptive fissure on the south flank of the volcano. Recent major lava flows that occurred during July and August of 2001 followed a path primarily along the south flank of the volcano, extending as far as 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the main eruptive fissure. Many older cinder cones are visible on the flanks of the volcano. Past lava flows are identified as color changes in the radial drainage pattern around the volcano. Much of the fertile land around the base of Mt. Etna is used for agriculture. Mt. Etna, a combination of shield and composite volcano, is located near the east coast of Sicily adjacent to the Ionian Sea.

ISS002-E-9309 Soufriere Hills, Montserrat, West Indies: Volcanic activity on the West Indian island of Montserrat has remained high for several years-the current activity started in 1995. However, remote sensing of the island has been difficult because of frequent cloud cover. The International Space Station crew flew north of the island on a clear day in early July (July 9, 2001) and recorded a vigorous steam plume emanating from the summit of Soufriere Hills. The image also reveals the extensive volcanic mud flows (lahars) and new deltas built out from the coast from the large amounts of volcanic debris delivered downstream by the rivers draining the mountain. As a small island (only 13 x 8 km), all of Montserrat has been impacted by the eruptions.

ISS002-E-9147 Dust Storm, Aral Sea: The Aral Sea has shrunk to less than half its size since 1985. The Aral Sea receives little water (sometimes no water) from the two major rivers that empty into it-the Syr Darya and Amu Darya. Instead, the river water is diverted to support irrigation for the region’s extensive cotton fields. Recently, water scarcity has increased due to a prolonged drought in Central Asia. As the Aral Sea recedes, its former sea bed is exposed. The Aral’s sea bed is composed of fine sediments-including fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals-that are easily picked up by the region’s strong winds, creating thick dust storms. The International Space Station crew observed and recorded a large dust storm blowing eastward from the Aral Sea in late June 2001. This image illustrates the strong coupling between human activities (water diversions and irrigation), and rapidly changing land, sea and atmospheric processes-the winds blow across the Sea and pick up dust (former sea bottom sediments) as soon as the blowing air masses hit land. Note that the northern boundary of the dust storm occurs along the Syr Darya, where no bottom sediments are exposed.

ISS002-E-7771 Lake Sarez, Tajikistan: Lake Sarez (top), deep in the Pamir mountains of Tajikistan, was created 90 years ago when a strong earthquake triggered a massive landslide that, in turn, became a huge dam along the Murghob River, now called the Usoi Dam. The resulting lake is perched above surrounding drainages at an elevation greater than 3000m, and is part of the watershed that drains the towering Akademi Nauk Range (see the regional image, lower). The lake is 61 km long and as deep as 500 m, and holds an estimated 17 cubic km of water. The area experiences considerable seismic activity, and scientists fear that part of the right bank may slump into the lake, creating a huge wave that will top over and possibly breach the natural dam. Such a wave would create a catastrophic flood downstream along the Bartang, Panj and Amu Darya Rivers, perhaps reaching all the way to the Aral Sea. Currently, central Asian governments, as well as the World Bank and the UN are monitoring the dam closely, and have proposed gradually lowering the lake level as a preventive measure.

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This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate.

Recommended Citation: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth." .

NASA Responsible Official: Susan Runco

Curator: jsc-earthweb@mail.nasa.gov

Contributors: Earth Sciences Web Team

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

International Space Station National Laboratory

Last Update:

Server: 1

ISS002-E-6169	Lower Manhattan: ISS Expedition 2 crew members photographed Manhattan Island on an exceptionally clear spring day. The clarity and detail of the image provides a bird’s-eye view of lower Manhattan’s financial district, including the two World Trade Center (WTC) Towers. The early morning sun (the image was taken May 6, 2001 at about 9:00 AM, EDT) illuminates the east side of 110-story buildings, and casts long shadows over the Hudson River. The image provides some geographic context for tragedy that occurred on September 11. Only part of the complete image is shown above. Expedition 3 crew members photographed the area again shortly after the collapse of the towers (ISS003-E-5588).
ISS002-728C-79	Mt. Etna, Sicily: Two distinct airborne plumes are being generated from different source areas in this near vertical image of Mt. Etna. Notice that the lighter colored smoke plume is coming from the summit craters, while the darker colored and higher (in elevation) plume is an ash plume that is exiting the volcano through an eruptive fissure on the south flank of the volcano. Recent major lava flows that occurred during July and August of 2001 followed a path primarily along the south flank of the volcano, extending as far as 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the main eruptive fissure. Many older cinder cones are visible on the flanks of the volcano. Past lava flows are identified as color changes in the radial drainage pattern around the volcano. Much of the fertile land around the base of Mt. Etna is used for agriculture. Mt. Etna, a combination of shield and composite volcano, is located near the east coast of Sicily adjacent to the Ionian Sea.
ISS002-E-9309	Soufriere Hills, Montserrat, West Indies: Volcanic activity on the West Indian island of Montserrat has remained high for several years-the current activity started in 1995. However, remote sensing of the island has been difficult because of frequent cloud cover. The International Space Station crew flew north of the island on a clear day in early July (July 9, 2001) and recorded a vigorous steam plume emanating from the summit of Soufriere Hills. The image also reveals the extensive volcanic mud flows (lahars) and new deltas built out from the coast from the large amounts of volcanic debris delivered downstream by the rivers draining the mountain. As a small island (only 13 x 8 km), all of Montserrat has been impacted by the eruptions.
ISS002-E-9147	Dust Storm, Aral Sea: The Aral Sea has shrunk to less than half its size since 1985. The Aral Sea receives little water (sometimes no water) from the two major rivers that empty into it-the Syr Darya and Amu Darya. Instead, the river water is diverted to support irrigation for the region’s extensive cotton fields. Recently, water scarcity has increased due to a prolonged drought in Central Asia. As the Aral Sea recedes, its former sea bed is exposed. The Aral’s sea bed is composed of fine sediments-including fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals-that are easily picked up by the region’s strong winds, creating thick dust storms. The International Space Station crew observed and recorded a large dust storm blowing eastward from the Aral Sea in late June 2001. This image illustrates the strong coupling between human activities (water diversions and irrigation), and rapidly changing land, sea and atmospheric processes-the winds blow across the Sea and pick up dust (former sea bottom sediments) as soon as the blowing air masses hit land. Note that the northern boundary of the dust storm occurs along the Syr Darya, where no bottom sediments are exposed.
ISS002-E-7771	Lake Sarez, Tajikistan: Lake Sarez (top), deep in the Pamir mountains of Tajikistan, was created 90 years ago when a strong earthquake triggered a massive landslide that, in turn, became a huge dam along the Murghob River, now called the Usoi Dam. The resulting lake is perched above surrounding drainages at an elevation greater than 3000m, and is part of the watershed that drains the towering Akademi Nauk Range (see the regional image, lower). The lake is 61 km long and as deep as 500 m, and holds an estimated 17 cubic km of water. The area experiences considerable seismic activity, and scientists fear that part of the right bank may slump into the lake, creating a huge wave that will top over and possibly breach the natural dam. Such a wave would create a catastrophic flood downstream along the Bartang, Panj and Amu Darya Rivers, perhaps reaching all the way to the Aral Sea. Currently, central Asian governments, as well as the World Bank and the UN are monitoring the dam closely, and have proposed gradually lowering the lake level as a preventive measure.

This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate. Recommended Citation: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth." .
	NASA Responsible Official: Susan Runco Curator: jsc-earthweb@mail.nasa.gov Contributors: Earth Sciences Web Team	National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center	International Space Station National Laboratory Last Update:
Server: 1