Florida’s Everglades is a region of broad, slow-moving sheets of water flowingsouthward over low-lying areas from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico. Inplaces this remarkable ‘river of grass’ is 80 kilometers wide. These images fromthe Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer show the Everglades region on January16, 2002. Each image covers an area measuring 191 kilometers x 205 kilometers.
On the left is a natural color view acquired by MISR’s nadir camera. A portionof Lake Okeechobee is visible at the top, to the right of image center. South ofthe lake, whose name derives from the Seminole word for ‘big water,’ anextensive region of farmland known as the Everglades Agricultural Area isrecognizable by its many clustered squares. Over half of the sugar produced inUnited States is grown here. Urban areas along the east coast and in thenorthern part of the image extend to the boundaries of Big Cypress Swamp,situated north of Everglades National Park.
The image on the right combines red-band data from the 46-degree backward, nadirand 46-degree forward-viewing camera angles to create a red, green, bluefalse-color composite. One of the interesting uses of the composite image is fordetecting surface water. Wet surfaces appear blue in this rendition because sunglitter produces a greater signal at the forward camera’s view angle. Wetlandsvisible in these images include a series of shallow impoundments called WaterConservation Areas which were built to speed water flow through the Evergladesin times of drought. In parts of the Everglades, these levees and extensivesystems such as the Miami and Tamiami Canals have altered the natural cycles ofwater flow. For example, the water volume of the Shark River Slough, a naturalwetland which feeds Everglades National Park, is influenced by the TamiamiCanal. The unique and intrinsic value of the Everglades is now widelyrecognized, and efforts to restore the natural water cycles are underway.
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Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team
