This image of Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of Saudi Arabia and Iran was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on March 21, 2003, at 07:25 UTC (or 10:25 a.m. local time in Baghdad.) The image shows dust over the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, as well as several thermal anomalies detected by MODIS that have been marked with red dots or outlines. Large plumes of black smoke are associated with these hot spots and locations are consistent with known oil well locations. It is not uncommon for MODIS to see thermal signatures at the numerous oil wells in the area; however, the amount of smoke being produced is larger than normal.
The high-resolution image provided above is a sub-section of a larger image. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides the image of the full scene at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters.
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Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
