By January 13, 2013, the dust storm
that originally arose in northern Iran had spread over the Arabian Sea. A
veil of dust extended southward past Oman, and eastward to the coast of
India. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua
satellite acquired this natural-color image on January 13.
Over most of
the area pictured here, the dust was translucent, but off the coast of
Oman, a swirl of dust was thick enough to completely hide the water
surface below.
Dust plumes initially arose from discrete source points in northern
Iran, and the storm likely picked up additional particles as it spread.
Over the course of three days, the dust storm traveled roughly 1,900
kilometers (1,200 miles) to the south-southwest. Over the Arabian Sea,
the leading edge of the dust storm spanned about 1,200 kilometers (700
miles).
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Michon Scott.
- Instrument: Aqua - MODIS
