Saharan Dust Plume

Saharan Dust Plume

A day after blowing off the west coast of Africa, a massive plume of Saharan dust moved westward over the Atlantic. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on July 17, 2007. This image, which captures the eastern portion of the plume, shows that it has thinned somewhat, but still remains visible from space. As on the previous day, the dust plume mixes with clouds.

NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.