Dust storms regularly sweep out over the Atlantic Ocean from the Sahara Desert at this time of year, sometimes blowing all the way to North and South America. This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Aqua satellite on May 25, 2003, shows several plumes of dust billowing from the West African coastline. In the coastal waters, colorful blooms of marine organisms color the waters blue and green.
The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS’ maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters.
Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
