ISS023-E-15093
NASA Photo ID | ISS023-E-15093 |
Focal Length | 800mm |
Date taken | 2010.03.30 |
Time taken | 23:13:24 GMT |
Resolutions offered for this image:
1000 x 691 pixels 540 x 373 pixels 720 x 480 pixels 4288 x 2929 pixels 640 x 437 pixels
1000 x 691 pixels 540 x 373 pixels 720 x 480 pixels 4288 x 2929 pixels 640 x 437 pixels
Cloud masks available for this image:
Country or Geographic Name: | RUSSIAN FEDERATION |
Features: | URUP ISLAND, ICE FLOES, SNOW |
Features Found Using Machine Learning: | |
Cloud Cover Percentage: | 10 (1-10)% |
Sun Elevation Angle: | 35° |
Sun Azimuth: | 127° |
Camera: | Nikon D2Xs Electronic Still Camera |
Focal Length: | 800mm |
Camera Tilt: | 13 degrees |
Format: | 4288E: 4288 x 2848 pixel CMOS sensor, RGBG imager color filter |
Film Exposure: | |
Additional Information | |
Width | Height | Annotated | Cropped | Purpose | Links |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1000 pixels | 691 pixels | No | Yes | Earth From Space collection | Download Image |
540 pixels | 373 pixels | Yes | Yes | Earth From Space collection | Download Image |
720 pixels | 480 pixels | Yes | Yes | NASA's Earth Observatory web site | Download Image |
4288 pixels | 2929 pixels | No | No | Download Image | |
640 pixels | 437 pixels | No | No | Download Image |
Download Packaged File
Download a Google Earth KML for this Image
View photo footprint information
Download a GeoTIFF for this photo
Image Caption: Ice Floes off the Northeastern Tip of Urup Island, Russia
From space, it is sometimes difficult to tell where land ends and sea ice begins in the southern Sea of Okhotsk. This is particularly evident in this detailed astronaut photograph of the northeastern tip of Urup Island, one of the many islands in the Kuril chain, which extends from northern Japan to the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia.
The approximately 120-kilometer-long island extends to the southwest from the point illustrated in the image; like the other Kuril Islands, Urup was formed from volcanic processes along the active subduction boundary between the Pacific and Okhotsk tectonic plates. The northeastern tip of the island and three small islands to the northeast are recognizable by their uniform cover of white snow and shadowing along the northwestern coastlines.
Sea ice that formed to the north in the Sea of Okhotsk has been piled up against the islands by prevailing northwesterly winds, forming an irregular mass connecting the islands (image center). The orientation of patchy low clouds over Urup Island (image lower left) also suggests that northwesterly winds are present.
Smaller ice floes are breaking off from the main ice mass at gaps between the islands and forming fingerlike projections of ice fragments that extend to the southeast (image lower right). Surface winds may be channeled through these gaps and accelerated, hastening the breakup and movement of ice.
From space, it is sometimes difficult to tell where land ends and sea ice begins in the southern Sea of Okhotsk. This is particularly evident in this detailed astronaut photograph of the northeastern tip of Urup Island, one of the many islands in the Kuril chain, which extends from northern Japan to the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia.
The approximately 120-kilometer-long island extends to the southwest from the point illustrated in the image; like the other Kuril Islands, Urup was formed from volcanic processes along the active subduction boundary between the Pacific and Okhotsk tectonic plates. The northeastern tip of the island and three small islands to the northeast are recognizable by their uniform cover of white snow and shadowing along the northwestern coastlines.
Sea ice that formed to the north in the Sea of Okhotsk has been piled up against the islands by prevailing northwesterly winds, forming an irregular mass connecting the islands (image center). The orientation of patchy low clouds over Urup Island (image lower left) also suggests that northwesterly winds are present.
Smaller ice floes are breaking off from the main ice mass at gaps between the islands and forming fingerlike projections of ice fragments that extend to the southeast (image lower right). Surface winds may be channeled through these gaps and accelerated, hastening the breakup and movement of ice.