Shuttle-Mir Program Earth Science Early Results

(continued)

Human-Induced Land Surface Change and Landuse

NM22-725-052 Kuwait International Border A wide view of Kuwait. In successive flights over the past 5 years, the borders of Kuwait with its neighbors have become markedly more visible. There is clearly a landuse difference between Kuwait and the neighboring countries. The oil and tar lakes produced from the 1991 Gulf war are still visible, but are diminishing rapidly. It has been suggested that the Kuwaiti effort to remove land mines throughout the country has impacted the vegetation. Hence, the marked difference in vegetation, or color as seen from space in outlines the nation of Kuwait. Also note the relatively drained and devegetated region bounding the lower Tigris-Euphrates River system in Iraq. Just a few years earlier this land was thick swamp. Compare this slide with the 1991 view, taken during the Gulf War (STS37-152-184).

STS37-152-184 Comparative view of Kuwait and Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War. Thick smoke plumes billow from the Kuwaiti oil well fires. Also, thick marshes are still visible in the lower Tigris-Euphrates region.

NM21-761-076 Clearings in Rondonia, Brazil New tracts of cleared land are coupled with the fires in Brazil. The forest in Rondonia, Brazil is progressively cleared in a herring-bone pattern. The dark green region is uncut forest. Compare this view, taken in August 1996, with the 1985 view (51G-34-0061).
	51G-34-0061 Rondonia Brazil clearings, 1985. Compare this view with the 1997 views (NM21-761-076).

NM21-762-052 Israel This wide view of Israel and the Dead Sea Rift and Jordan River provides geographic context for this politically charged region. Note the linear feature separating tan desert from gray desert near the left side of the image -- the border between Egypt (left) and Israel (right) is defined by differing landuse practices and water rights.
	NM21-773-054A Agriculture along the foothills of the Altai. This area is one of Russia's prime agricultural regions.

NM21-765-053 Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Ontario, and landuse patterns in northern Michigan and southern Canada.
	NM23-57-010 Wide view of the Netherlands. The set of estuaries is the mouth of the Rhine River -- Rotterdam is near the center of the view. Farther north, reclaimed land (polders) shows up as tan circular regions surrounding a large embayment. This land, protected by large dikes, is used for agriculture.

NM21-763-009 Laguna Oja De Liebre, (Scammons Lagoon), Baja California
	NM21-763-011 Laguna Oja De Liebre, (Scammons Lagoon), Baja California