The Sahara Desert was on the move when the Terra satellite passed over northern Africa on March 12, 2005. In each of three consecutive orbits, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) detected clouds of swirling dust blowing across the continent and out over the Atlantic Ocean. Dust storms can have both positive and negative effects on ocean and terrestrial ecosystems, delivering important minerals to the ocean, for example, or transporting disease-causing microorganisms.
The high-resolution image provided above is 4 kilometers per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions.
NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center
