STS106-704-92
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Aral' Sea, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan: The Aral' Sea has
diminished dramatically since the 1950's, when ambitious agricultural
water-diversion projects began along the Amu Darya and Syr Darya
rivers. By 1990, the surface area of the Aral' had decreased by more
than 50 percent, and the salinity had tripled since 1960, when the
sea covered about 68,000 square kilometers. The most noticeable
changes observed from orbit betweeen January, 1998 and September,
2000 have been the expansion of the large north-trending island, the
decrease in total water area, and the isolation of the smaller
northern water body.
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STS106-706-55
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Etna Volcano, Sicily, Italy: Mt. Etna is known as the volcano
with the longest record of volcanic activity with the firdst historic
eruption in fifteen hundred years BC. It has erupted many since then
and is almost continuously venting gas and steam, as shown in this
view. Astronauts can almost be assured of seeing some venting
whenever they fly. Mt. Etna appears as a cone with an almost circular
base in this near-vertical view. The Salso River winds around the
western and southern flanks of the volcano. The city of Catania
appears as a diffuse gray patch at the foot of the volcano where the
river meets the Mediterranean Sea. Mt. Etna has a complex of
cones at its summit, which is nearly 3300 meters above sea level. Its
slopes are a patchwork of colors, the darker colors being lava flows
of different ages. Greens are patches of forest on slopes which have
not been disrupted by lava and ash in the last few decades. Mt. Etna
is a constructional landform which has been built upwards for
millennia; it contrasts subtly but distinctly in this view with the
surrounding lower hills which are water-eroded landforms everywhere
sculpted into V-shaped valleys by the erosive power of flowing water
of streams.
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STS106-713-2
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Lake Tiberius (Sea of Galilee): The lake is the only natural
fresh-water lake in Israel. It borders on the Golan Heights on its
East Side. The port of Haifa is visible on the coast. The large
agriculture projects on the Israeli side are irrigated by the lake
and the Jordan River.
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STS106-713-57
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Cape Town and the Karroo Ranges, South Africa: Cape Town
occupies the north end of the Cape of Good Hope peninsula and extends
to the shore of False Bay; the city is home to about 2.7 million
people. Tourism and viticulture contribute importantly to the local
economy, and the city is a service center for government and industry
-- particularly mining. The great folded mountain ranges of South
Africa were formed during the assembly of the ancient supercontinent
of Gondwana. Broad N-trending folds of the Cedarburg range, South
Africa formed first, about 230 million years ago, and the W-trending
Karroo ranges formed a little later.
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STS106-718-56
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Afghanistan Dust Front: Winds in the upper Amu Darya valley,
along the northern border of Afghanistan lofted thick, light brown
dust into the air (top half of the view). In this desert environment
land surfaces are not protected by vegetation from the effect of
blowing wind. The central Asian deserts experience the greatest
number of dust storm days on the planet each year. The sharp dust
front shows that the dust has not traveled far, but has been raised
from the surfaces in the view. Dust is entrained in the
atmosphere by horizontal winds but also by vertical movements. Here
the vertical component is indicated by the fact that the higher
points along the dust front are each topped by a small cumulus cloud,
which appear as a line of small white puffballs. Cumulus clouds
indicate upward motion and here the air which has entrained the dust
is lifting the air above to the level of condensation at each point
where a small cloud has formed.
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STS106-713-9
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Jerusalem: The City of Jerusalem is nearly due west of the
northern tip of the Dead Sea approximately 20 miles. It is not very
visible in photography. This is due to most of the buildings being
made out of native materials. There is also not much vegetation to
provide contrast with the city. However, the contrast in this shot is
superior to previous astrounaut photographs of Jerusalem, making it
an outstanding addition to the collection of "Cities from Space."
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STS106-718-9
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Jungfrau and Interlaken, Switzerland: The Bernese Alps form
the centerpiece of this late summer view of Switzerland; Jungfrau (J
- 4158 m), Moench (M - 4089 m), and Eiger (E - 3970 m) are among the
higher peaks of the Central Alps. North of the range is the city of
Interlaken, flanked by the Thune See and Brienzer See (lakes); the
long, straight-segmented valley of the Rhone lies to the south.
On the southern flank of the Jungfrau massif is the Aletsch glacier,
meltwaters of which feed the upper Rhone; another source is the Rhone
glacier at the eastern end of the valley. One estimate holds that
roughly half the ice in glaciers of the European Alps has melted
since 1850 (http://www.geographical.co.uk/geographical/features/feb_2001_climate.html).
U-shaped valleys carved by glaciers are clearly visible; some, such
as that of the Rhone, have been modified by through-flowing rivers.
The Swiss Alps are elements of a great mountain system that was
constructed as Africa and Eurasia collided, starting more than 90
million years ago. Ancient basement rocks (>325 million years old) of
the Bernese Alps were uplifted, folded, and forced northward between
~29 and 10 million years ago.
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