Still fragile and shaped by the river currents, a thin layer of new ice formed over Québec, Canada’s, St. Lawrence River in mid-January 2010. This image, taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on January 17, shows the mouth of the river.
The water ranges from black to a rich blue-green tone, its color intensified by the contrast between it and the winter white landscape around it. The green tones of the river are visible beneath the thin ice, which is semi-transparent. Thicker ice (solid white) is evident along the south shore. The bright white line on the north shore of the river is probably land cleared for power lines.
The highest resolution version of the image (250 meters per pixel) is provided above. The image is available in additional resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response Team.
References & Resources
- Canadian Ice Service. (2010, January 18). St. Lawrence River Bulletin, Les Escoumins to Cabot Strait. Environment Canada. Accessed January 18, 2010.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek.
