Dust Storm in the Sahara Desert

A dust storm blew through northeastern Mauritania in late January 2013. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image on January 20. Many of the dust plumes arose in Western Sahara, perhaps fueled by the fine sediments of impermanent rivers and lakes. The dust storm likely picked up more material in northeastern Mauritania, where sand seas cover most of the land surface. Dust-laden winds are some of the most common natural hazards in Mauritania, and less than 1 percent of the land is arable.

1. References

2. CIA World Factbook. (2013, January 14) Mauritania. Accessed January 22, 2013.

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Michon Scott.

Instrument: 

Aqua - MODIS - NASA