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 Terra satellite on June 4, 2003, shows a large plume of dust billowing over Senegal and Gambia on the West African coastline. In the coastal waters to the north, colorful blooms of marine organisms color the waters a bright aquamarine.
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
