Dust blew off the coast of Libya and over the Mediterranean Sea in early March 2013. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this image on March 7. Northwest of Banghazi (Benghazi), the dust formed a cloud thick enough to completely hide the ocean surface below.
Source points for the dust are not obvious in this image, but desert covers most of Libya; a milder climate prevails only along the coast. Sand seas occur throughout the interior. The sand seas provide ample material for dust storms, which are some of Libya’s most frequent natural hazards.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Michon Scott.
