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			Photo #: ISS022-E-12224 Date: Dec. 2009 Geographic Region: CHILE Feature: EVAPORATION PONDS, SALAR DE ATACAMA



	Evaporation Ponds, Salar de Atacama, Chile The Salar de Atacama in Chile is an enclosed basin with no drainage outlets. (Salar is Spanish for "salt flat.") The salar is located in the southern half of the Atacama Desert; with no historical or current records of rainfall in some parts of this desert, it is considered to be one of the driest places on Earth. While the grey-brown surface of the salar is flat and desiccated, mineral-rich brines--water with a high percentage of dissolved salts--are located below the surface. The subsurface brines of the Salar de Atacama are particularly rich in lithium salts. Lithium is an essential component of advanced batteries and medicines. The brines are pumped to the surface through a network of wells and into large, shallow evaporation ponds; three such evaporation facilities are visible in the center of the image. Color variations in the ponds are due to varying amounts of salts relative to water. The dry and windy climate enhances evaporation of the water, leaving concentrated salts behind for extraction of the lithium. This astronaut photograph illustrates the central portion of the Salar de Atacama. It is bounded by brown to grey-brown folded and faulted rock layers of the Cordillera de la Sal to the northwest (image upper left) and darker bedrock of the Cordon de Lila to the south (image lower right).

Images:	All Available Images Low-Resolution 151k
Mission:	ISS022
Roll - Frame:	E - 12224
Geographical Name:	CHILE
Features:	EVAPORATION PONDS, SALAR DE ATACAMA
Center Lat x Lon:	23.5S x 68.4W
Film Exposure:		N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP:	10
Camera:	N2
Camera Tilt:	14	LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length:	180
Nadir to Photo Center Direction:	SW	The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:		Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number:	3456
Date:	20091215	YYYYMMDD
Time:	182521	GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat:	22.8S	Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon:	68W	Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth:	263	Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude:	187	nautical miles
Sun Elevation:	63	Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views:	BASIN, DESERT, SALAR
Water Views:
Atmosphere Views:
Man Made Views:
City Views:

Photo is not associated with any sequences

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