January 27th, 2010 Category: Vegetation Index

India - January 20th, 2010

The green to red areas in this FAPAR image, focusing on India’s Andhra Pradesh, indicate good to high photosynthetic activity, while yellow to white zones are indications of low activity. Geographically, Andhra Pradesh is composed of most of the eastern half of the Deccan plateau and the plains to the east of the Eastern Ghats. It is the 4th Largest state in India.

The coastal plains are, for a major part, delta regions formed by the rivers Godavari, Krishna, and Penner. Most of the coastal plains are put to intense agricultural use. West and southwest parts of Andhra Pradesh have semi-arid conditions.

The Eastern ghats are a major dividing line in the state’s geography. The ghats become more pronounced towards the south and extreme north of the coast. The Eastern ghat region also is home to dense tropical forests, while the vegetation becomes sparse as the ghats give way to the deccan plateau, where shrub vegetation is more common.

Tags: Andhra Pradesh Asia Deccan Plateau Eastern Ghats FAPAR India |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

January 19th, 2010 Category: Lakes, Rivers

India - December 9th, 2009

The Godavari River flows from west to east across the top of this orthorectified image, parallel to a line of hills running through the center. The river runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India.

It originates near Trimbak in Nashik District of Maharashtra state and flows east across the Deccan Plateau into the Bay of Bengal near Rajahmundry in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

The many reservoirs scattered across the plains are part of the many multi-state irrigation projects in development, including the Godavari River Basin Irrigation Projects. Farmers in the region are economically well off due to fertile land and good irrigation.

Tags: ASAR Asia Deccan Plateau Godavari River Godavari River Basin Irrigation Project India Maharashtra Orthorectification |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

January 17th, 2010 Category: Image of the day

Persian Gulf - January 6th, 2010

The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. The Gulf has many good fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, but its ecology has come under pressure from industrialization, and in particular, petroleum spillages during the recent wars in the region.

This inland sea of some 251,000 km² is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz; and its western end is marked by the major river delta of the Shatt al-Arab, which carries the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris.  Here, sediments can be seen pouring into the Gulf from that delta.

The length of the Persian Gulf is 989 kilometres, with Iran covering most of the northern coast and Saudi Arabia most of the southern coast. The Persian Gulf is about 56 kilometres wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are overall very shallow, with a maximum depth of 90 metres and an average depth of 50 metres.

Countries with a coastline on the Persian Gulf are (clockwise, from the north): Iran, Oman (exclave of Musandam), United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar on a peninsula off the Saudi coast, Bahrain on an island, Kuwait and Iraq in the northwest. Various small islands lie within the Persian Gulf, some of which are subject to territorial disputes by the states of the region.

Tags: Arabian peninsula Asia Bahrain Gulf of Oman Indian Ocean Iran Iraq Kuwait Middle East Musandam Oman Persian Gulf Qatar Saudi Arabia Sediments Shatt al-Arab Strait of Hormuz United Arab Emirates |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

January 10th, 2010 Category: Climate Change

Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and China - November 29th, 2009

This FAPAR image focuses on central Myanmar (left half of image), northwestern Thailand (center bottom), Laos (lower right) and southwestern China (top right). FAPAR, meaning Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation, corresponds to the vegetation index of the area.

The mountainous areas in Myanmar appear red, indicating high synthetic activity. Much of the central part of the image is green to red, indicating good to high activity. The parts of China and Laos in the upper and lower right corners, respectively, appear yellow as they have lower levels of photosynthetic activity.

Tags: Asia China FAPAR Laos Myanmar Thailand |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

January 6th, 2010 Category: Image of the day, Lakes, Volcanoes

Japan - December 20th, 2009

Several volcanoes and caldera lakes can be observed in this orthorectified image of Japan’s Hokkaido island. The largest two lakes are Lake Kussharo (center) and Lake Mashu (right of the former). Prominent volcanoes include Mount Shari, northeast of the lakes, and Mount Mokoto, on the shores of Lake Kussharo.

Mount Shari is a quaternary stratovolcano, located on the Shiretoko Peninsula, with a summit of 1545 m. Nearby peaks include Mount Shibetsu, to the south, and Mount Unabetsu, to the northeast.

Lake Kussharo is a caldera lake in Akan National Park, eastern Hokkaidō. It is the largest caldera lake in Japan in terms of surface area, and sixth largest lake in Japan. It is also the largest lake in Japan to freeze over completely in winter. The lake’s central island, Nakajima, is a composite volcano.

Lake Mashū is a landlocked endorheic crater lake formed in the caldera of a dormant volcano. It is also located in Akan National Park. It has been called the clearest lake in the world.

Tags: Akan National Park ASAR Asia Caldera Lake Hokkaido Japan Lake Kussharo Lake Mashu Mount Mokoto Mount Shari Mount Shibetsu Mount Unabetsu Nakajima Orthorectification Volcanoes |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

January 5th, 2010 Category: Lakes

India - December 9th, 2009

This orthorectified image shows the western coast of India in the country’s Karnataka state. The body of water in the upper right corner is the Bhadra Reservoir.

The state has three principal geographical zones: the coastal region of Karavali, the hilly Malenadu region comprising the Western Ghats and the Bayaluseeme region comprising the plains of the Deccan plateau.

The highest point in Karnataka is the Mullayanagiri hills in Chikkamagaluru district which has an altitude of 1,929 metres (6,329 ft).

Tags: ASAR Asia Bayaluseeme Bhadra Reservoir Chikkamagaluru Deccan Plateau India Karavali Malenadu Mullayanagiri Hills Orthorectification Western Ghats |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

December 29th, 2009 Category: Snapshots

China - October 5th, 2009

China’s topography ranges from mostly plateaus and mountains in the west to lower lands in the east. Southern China is dominated by hills and low mountain ranges. This image focuses on southwestern China,  including parts of the Tibet Region and Sichuan Province, north of Myanmar and extreme northeastern India. The mountain peaks are capped with snow, while rivers below them appear greenish tan from sediments.

China’s southwest has a vast calcareous tableland traversed by hill ranges of moderate elevation, and the Himalayas, containing Earth’s highest point, Mount Everest. During many dynasties, the southwestern border of China has been the high mountains and deep valleys of Yunnan, which separate modern China from Burma, Laos and Vietnam.

Tags: Asia China Himalayas Sichuan Tibet Yunnan |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

December 28th, 2009 Category: Image of the day, Lakes, Rivers

The Narmada River in central India is the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. It forms the traditional boundary between North India and South India and flows westwards over a length of 1,312 km (815.2 mi) before draining into the Arabian Sea. It is one of only three major rivers in pensinsular India that runs from east to west. It is also the only river in India that flows in a rift valley flowing west between the Satpura and Vindhya ranges.

In this orthorectified image, the Narmada can be seen connected to a large reservoir that is part of the Indira Sagar Project, a multipurpose key Project of Madhya Pradesh on the Narmada River at Narmadanagar in the Khandwa District of Madhya Pradesh. The construction of main dam started in 1992. Total catchment area at the dam site is 61642 km2.

Tags: ASAR Asia India Indira Sagar Project Khandwa District Madhya Pradesh Narmada River Narmadanagar Orthorectification Satpura Range Vindhya Range |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

December 22nd, 2009 Category: Snapshots

Southeast Asia - November 10th, 2009

While most of this image is occupied by mountainous and forested areas, the Gulf of Martaban by Myanmar and the Gulf of Tonkin by Vietnam are visible in the lower left corner and center right side, respectively.

Myanmar occupies the land on the left side of the image, with northern Thailand visible east of the Gulf of Martaban. Part of Vietnam covers the right side of image, with Laos visible south-southwest of the Gulf of Tonkin. Finally, part of southeastern China can be seen as a reddish brown area towards the top center.

The borders of Laos are formed by the Mekong River, which forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand, and the mountains of the Annamite Chain, which form most of the eastern border with Vietnam. The rest of this landlocked country has a thickly forested landscape consisting mostly of rugged mountains, with some plains and plateaus.

Tags: Annamite Mountains Asia China Gulf of Martaban Gulf of Tonkin Laos Mekong River Myanmar Thailand Vietnam |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment