A dust plume hovered over the border between Russia’s Far East and China on April 30, 2007. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite took this picture the same day.
In this image, the dust plume appears as a tan blob over the border between Russia and China. The dust plume likely originated in the arid west, perhaps in Mongolia. The dust particles enjoy plenty of company as they cloud the skies over eastern Asia. Surrounding the dust are not only white clouds but also dingy gray haze, likely resulting from fires in the region. Just east of the dust plume are three distinct fingers of smoke that blow toward the northwest in a counterclockwise direction. The high-resolution image shows a burn scar (dark brown areas) at the southeastern base of these smoke plumes. South of the dust plume, the haze may result from pollution.
References & Resources
NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team.
