In this Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image the features that look like folded material are calcium carbonate (a mineral composed of calcium, carbon, and oxygen) sand dunes in the shallow waters of Tarpum Bay, southwest of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas. The sand making up the dunes comes from the erosion of limestone coral reefs, and has been shaped into dunes by ocean currents. The image was acquired on May 12, 2002 and the large image covers an area of 28.2 x 46.1 km.
related image:
Ocean Sand, Bahamas
Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
