Shuttle-Mir Program Earth Science Early Results

(continued)

Water Features and Water Issues: Africa

NM22-705-079 Lake Nasser, Egypt (July 1996)
	NM22-743-048 Lake Nasser, Egypt (September 1996)

Rapid and unpredictable rates of change are demonstrated by this pair of images taken from the Mir of Lake Nasser, Egypt. Lake Nasser on the Nile River resulted from the damming of the Nile by the Aswan dam in the early 1960s. The level of the lake fluctuates with the regional rainfall. After extremely heavy rains in the Sahel in early September, 1996, Lake Nasser filled to its highest level, ever. These two views were taken about 2 months apart, and show the rise in water level in Lake Nasser after the heavy rains.

NM22-736-055 The Niger River inland delta, wet and green after the summer rains (September 1996).
	NM23-730-271 The Niger River inland delta, brown and dry by spring 1997.

NM22-746-081 Omo delta, Color Infrared The Omo River drains southern Ethiopia and empties into Lake Turkana, Kenya. The delta has grown tremendously since the 1970s, in response to changes in landuse, resulting differences in sediment runoff, and lake level fluctuations. The growth continues to be rapid. The NM22 view is taken with Kodak color infrared film (Kodak 2443), and the red color highlights the thick vegetation growing on the delta. Compare with STS41-76-016 (1990) and note the new lobe of the delta which is building along the western edge of the main delta.

STS41-76-016 A 1990 view of the Omo delta.

NM22-723-083 Okavango Delta, Botswana Drought in the Kalahari and increasing demands for water have impacted the Okavango delta. The Okavango is a large inland delta; the swampy distributaries appear like a dark fan-shaped web in the middle of the light-colored desert. Compared with images taken just a few years ago, a large section of the delta distributaries now appear dry. Regional demands for the water will continue to increase. The swamps in the Okavango inland delta are home to many species of endangered African wildlife.

This server is scheduled to be off starting the evening of Thursday October 10 and ending the morning of Tuesday October 15 to accommodate a scheduled power outage.

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: Tracy Calhoun 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