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Dust poured from the Arabian Peninsula and over the Gulf of Aden in late February 2020. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the scene on February 27.
A heavy veil of tan sand can be seen overlying most of Yemen on the southern Arabian Peninsula. Sheets of the dust cross over the blue waters of the Gulf of Aden, almost reaching the coast of Somalia. In areas the dust is so thick that none of the blue waters can be seen.
The Empty Quarter, or Rub’ al Khali covers large parts of the Arabian Peninsula, including parts of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. It is the world’s largest sand sea. The region provides plentiful material for dust storms.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/27/2020
Resolutions:
1km (566.1 KB), 500m (1.5 MB), 250m (1 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC