Winds blowing out of the north sent a thick plume of dust over western Afghanistan and eastern Iran on January 7, 2010. The dust is blowing off the dry lakebeds that become the Sistan Wetlands during wet years. The fine, desiccated soil lifts easily when the wind blows. The Sistan Wetlands are among the most common sources of dust in southwest Asia.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on the morning of January 7, 2010. The highest resolution version of the image is provided above. The image is available in additional resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response Team.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek.
