- September 17, 2005 (1.99 MB)
- August 7, 2005 (2.20 MB)
Gulf Coast cities weren’t the only land surfaces to take a beatingfrom Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Barrier islands stretching fromTexas to Florida were also scoured by the wind and waves of the powerfulstorm. Permanent changes to the shape and elevation of Horn and PetitBois Islands south of Pascagoula, Mississippi, are visible in theseinfrared-enhanced images captured by the Advanced Spaceborne ThermalEmission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite. The eastern andwestern tips of Horn island have been eroded so greatly that they arenow below sea level, their white sandy beaches (August 7 image) nowcovered by blue water (September 17 image). The sound (northern) side ofthe island is layered with sand, which stands out in grayish-whiteagainst the red of vegetation. On Petit Bois Island, the changes appearmore subtle, but there, too, the red of the island’s vegetationappears softened by bright sand.
References & Resources
NASA images courtesy Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
