Acquired March 9, 2010 (top), and March 8, 2009 (bottom), these false-color images show changes brought about by heavy rains in 2010, compared to the same time of year in 2009.Vegetation appears bright green. Clouds appear sky blue. Water ranges from electric blue to navy. Bare ground appears tan.
Muddy brown water fills Sandusky Bay, just south of Lake Erie in this astronaut photograph. The small city of Sandusky occupies the southeastern shore of the bay. The most striking aspect of this image is the flow of the brown water in and out of the mouth of the bay. Slight movement of lake surface water, driven mainly by wind, causes a small ebb and flow of bay water. Sediment-charged water is derived from agricultural fields along the Sandusky River upstream. Mud plumes in Lake Erie originate from prior pulses of muddy water from the bay. When this image was taken, some clear, lake water (blue-green strip) appeared to be flowing into the bay.
Satellite imagery illustrates the beginning of a land reclamation project that will transform one of the largest tidal estuaries along the Yellow Sea into farmland and a fresh-water reservoir.