Dust Storm on the Arabian Peninsula

A thick veil of dust spanned hundreds of kilometers over parts of the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf on April 5, 2013. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this natural-color image the same day.

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WORLD FROM SPACE - Dust over the Persian Gulf

Dust blew over the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, 6 March, 2013. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image on March 6, 2013. It shows a dust plume extending from eastern Saudi Arabia northward past the United Arab Emirates and over the ocean.

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Dust Plumes Shroud The Arabian Sea

Dust plumes this week blew off the coast of Oman and over the Arabian Sea. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites captured these natural-color images on the morning (top) and afternoon (bottom) of February 4. In the roughly three hours separating these images, the dust plumes lengthened and shifted southward.

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Middle East Hit By Massive Dust Storm

A dust storm struck Iraq and neighboring countries this week. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image on January 8. A veil of dust extended from northern Saudi Arabia toward the north and east. 

Dust plumes hovered over parts of Iraq, Iran, and the Persian Gulf. Dust engulfed Kuwait, where the Meteorology Department warned residents to expect high winds and low visibility.

Sand seas cover wide expanses of Saudi Arabia, and Iraq is rich in fine sediments from rivers, marshes, and lakes. The fine particles provide plentiful material for frequent dust storms.

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

Instrument: Aqua - MODIS

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Dust Cloud Shrouds The Red Sea

On September 1, 2012, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image of a dust plume blowing over the Red Sea. 

Over Sudan, the dust blended with the land surface below, discernible only by its fuzzy outline (upper left corner). Dust was thick immediately off the Sudan coast, but thinned slightly toward the southeast (visible in the high-resolution image).

On either side of the Red Sea, the Sahara Desert and the Arabian Peninsula rank among the world’s most prolific dust-producing regions. The dust in this image originated in northeastern Africa, where a network of impermanent rivers has created fine sediments that can be easily lofted into the air.
 

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott. Instrument: Aqua - MODIS

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