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On April 18, 2003, strong southwesterly winds were blowing dust and sand from the deserts of Kazakhstan out over the Aral Sea. The above true-color image of the dust plume was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument, flying aboard NASA’s Aqua spacecraft.
Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC.
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Satellites have observed episodes of dust swirling across the basin in western China for decades.
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