October 20, 2020 - Sediment in the northern Persian Gulf

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   Tigris-Euphrates River Basin
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   On October 19, 2020, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
   (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of
   sediment flowing into the northern Persian Gulf. As sediment pours into
   the Gulf, it lays near the surface of the water and appears muddy tan.
   As the sediment sinks, the reflectivity changes and it then appears
   green or turquoise when seen from space.

   Much of the sediment clouding the blue waters of the Gulf comes from
   the Shatt al-Arab River, which is visible as a muddy curving line along
   the border between Iran (east) and Iraq (west). The Shatt al-Arab is
   formed by the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers of Iraq and
   the Karun River of Iran. It is the main source of freshwater to the
   northern Persian Gulf and, along with the associated marshes (seen as
   dark green areas) provide nutrients, sediment, and pollutants, making
   the river profoundly important to the northern Gulf ecosystem.

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Aqua
   Date Acquired: 10/19/2020
   Resolutions:  1km (33.1 KB),  500m (115.3 KB),  250m (355.1
   KB)
   Bands Used: 1,4,3
   Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2020-10-20
 
