< STS062-110-AA >
| NASA Photo ID | STS062-110-AA |
| Focal Length | 250mm |
| Date taken | 1994.03.__ |
| Time taken | GMT |
Resolutions offered for this image:
3955 x 3963 pixels 638 x 640 pixels 5700 x 5900 pixels 500 x 518 pixels 640 x 480 pixels
3955 x 3963 pixels 638 x 640 pixels 5700 x 5900 pixels 500 x 518 pixels 640 x 480 pixels
Cloud masks available for this image:
Spacecraft nadir point:
Photo center point: 26.5° N, 42.5° E
Photo center point by machine learning:
Photo center point: 26.5° N, 42.5° E
Photo center point by machine learning:
Nadir to Photo Center:
Spacecraft Altitude: nautical miles (0km)
Country or Geographic Name: | SAUDI ARABIA |
Features: | AN NAFUD, PIVOT AGRICULTURE |
| Features Found Using Machine Learning: | |
Cloud Cover Percentage: | 5 (1-10)% |
Sun Elevation Angle: | ° |
Sun Azimuth: | ° |
Camera: | Hasselblad |
Focal Length: | 250mm |
Camera Tilt: | |
Format: | 5048: Kodak, natural color positive, Lumiere 100x/5048, ASA 100x, standard base |
Film Exposure: | Normal |
| Additional Information | |
| Width | Height | Annotated | Cropped | Purpose | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3955 pixels | 3963 pixels | No | No | Earth From Space collection | Download Image |
| 638 pixels | 640 pixels | No | No | Earth From Space collection | Download Image |
| 5700 pixels | 5900 pixels | No | No | Download Image Download Color Calibration Image for this Image |
|
| 500 pixels | 518 pixels | No | No | Download Image Download Color Calibration Image for this Image |
|
| 640 pixels | 480 pixels | No | No | Download Image |
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No GeoTIFF is available for this photo.Image Caption: STS062-110-0AA Irrigated Agriculture, Saudi Arabia March 1994
During the last two decades, the Saudi Arabia Government has invested in making the country self-sufficient in food production. As a result, widespread drilling for water increased, producing crop surpluses. This low-oblique, panoramic photograph shows a large area northwest of the capital of Riyadh, where the Saudis have converted nonvegetated desert land into thousands of circular, center-pivot-irrigated, cultivated fields. These irrigated fields vary in size from hundreds of yards (hundreds of meters) to more than a mile (2 kilometers) in diameter. This photograph shows a gradual arc that extends in a swath from south-southwest of Riyadh to the An Nafud (red desert) in northwest Saudi Arabia where center-pivot irrigation has transformed the desert into productive farmland. This drilling activity has been extremely costly, and the underground water supply (fossil water) is proving to be a one-time-only, nonrenewable resource. In the short term, the country has benefited by increasing its food production for internal consumption; however, because of a finite subsurface water supply, some scientific forecasters predict that in the near future the Saudi Arabian desert agriculture may revert to the original, nonvegetated desert environment.
During the last two decades, the Saudi Arabia Government has invested in making the country self-sufficient in food production. As a result, widespread drilling for water increased, producing crop surpluses. This low-oblique, panoramic photograph shows a large area northwest of the capital of Riyadh, where the Saudis have converted nonvegetated desert land into thousands of circular, center-pivot-irrigated, cultivated fields. These irrigated fields vary in size from hundreds of yards (hundreds of meters) to more than a mile (2 kilometers) in diameter. This photograph shows a gradual arc that extends in a swath from south-southwest of Riyadh to the An Nafud (red desert) in northwest Saudi Arabia where center-pivot irrigation has transformed the desert into productive farmland. This drilling activity has been extremely costly, and the underground water supply (fossil water) is proving to be a one-time-only, nonrenewable resource. In the short term, the country has benefited by increasing its food production for internal consumption; however, because of a finite subsurface water supply, some scientific forecasters predict that in the near future the Saudi Arabian desert agriculture may revert to the original, nonvegetated desert environment.
