September 1, 2020 - Dust off Socotra Island

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   Dust off Socotra Island
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   Dust frequently flows over the Gulf of Aden, moving between the Arabian
   Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. At times, the wind-borne dust creates
   interesting patterns in the air, particularly when it interacts with
   the rugged landscape of the Island of Socotra.

   On August 30, 2020, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
   (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of
   a pair of parallel dust plumes blowing north-east from the Island of
   Socotra across the Gulf of Aden.

   Part of the Republic of Yemen, the Island of Socotra (Soqotra) lies
   about 200 miles (320 km) south of the mainland. Tall mountains rise to
   about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) from near the center of the 80-mile-long
   island, making a steep, rugged topography – tall enough to stop the
   forward motion of air, pushing it around the steep mountains.

   When dust is aloft, the movement of the air may be written in the
   plumes of tan dust that it carries. This is the most likely scenario
   for the creation of these long plumes that begin at the edges of
   Socotra Island – northwesterly-moving, dust laden air has been stopped
   by and pushed past the tall mountains at their edges, leaving two
   parallel lines of concentrated dust on the lee side of the island.
   While the air on the immediate windward side appears relatively clear,
   a cloud of dust sits in the southeast. Pulses of dust are common in
   this region.

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Terra
   Date Acquired: 8/30/2020
   Resolutions:  1km (619.4 KB),  500m (1.8 MB),  250m (1.8 MB)
   Bands Used: 1,4,3
   Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2020-09-01
 
