Dust Cloud over Sea of Japan

Dust Cloud over Sea of Japan

The East Asian dust storm appears to have diminished somewhat on March 20, 2002, as compared to previous days. However, it appears there may be a new batch of dust rising toward the lefthand side of this image. This scene spans from eastern Asia across Japan and out over the western North Pacific, where the dust was partly entrained by a low-pressure system (note the characteristic spiral cloud pattern).

This true-color image was acquired by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), flying aboard the OrbView-2 satellite.

Image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE