A dust storm blew through northeastern Mauritania on Sunday.
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.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Michon Scott.
