I had selected this image (link pasted below) initially because it was an image that had recently been posted in the news, and at first glance I didn’t find much importance (no agriculture or urban areas severely fragmenting the land). Once I put my photo interpretation skills to the test, I observed two tan-colored columns of cloud dust (center of the image), which were contrastingly darker than the white clouds (south of the image). This would make sense once I re-read the header, Dust Storms of Argentina. This is apparently a common natural hazard in this region.
On November, 3rd, 2016, this true-color image was taken from NASA’s Aqua satellite, using a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor. The image credit was given to Jeff Schmaltz and the MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, which collects global imagery to monitor air quality, floods, dust storms, snow cover, agriculture. The dust storm is approximate located at the southern borders of Argentina and the coastline conjoined with the Atlantic Ocean. The smooth light brown texture represents the low plains of the Patagonia Desert and in the image there are two lakes that are ‘fed’ from the Senguerr River. Lake Musters in greenish and Lake Calhué Huapí is covered by sediment blown in from the dust storms. There was a very bad case of drought this year, affecting not only this region, but neighboring countries, such as Brazil and Paraguay. MODIS images help demonstrate the severity of natural hazards occurring in sensitive regions.
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