June 7th, 2010 Category: Sediments

Australia - June 1st, 2010

Greenish sediments flow into the Spencer Gulf (upper left quadrant), a triangular inlet of the Indian Ocean that indents the southeastern coast of South Australia, between the Eyre and Yorke peninsulas. Its maximum width is 80 miles (130 km) and overall length 200 miles (320 km).

The Sir Joseph Banks, Thistle, Gambier, and Neptune islands are located in its 50-mile- (80-kilometre-) wide mouth. Mangrove swamps line the eastern shore and marine fibre beds the western. Major ports are Whyalla, Port Pirie, and Port Augusta (near the head of the inlet) and Port Lincoln (at the entrance on the west).

Tags: Australia Eyre Peninsula Indian Ocean South Australia Spencer Gulf Yorke Peninsula |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

May 23rd, 2010 Category: Rivers, Sediments

Madagascar - April 28th, 2010

Madagascar is an island nation in the western Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of Africa. The island is the world’s fourth largest, about 975 mi (1,570 km) long and 355 mi (570 km) wide. It is separated from the African coast by the Mozambique Channel.

Here, rusty red sediments from the Sofia River (above) and the Betsiboka River (below) can be seen spilling into the Mozambique Channel. The sediments’ distinct red color is due to the red lateritic soils in Madagascar’s central highlands.

Tags: Africa Betsiboka River Indian Ocean Madagascar Mozambique Channel Sediments Sofia River |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

May 14th, 2010 Category: Rivers, Sediments

Australia - March 5th, 2010

King Sound (left) is an inlet of the Indian Ocean, in northern Western Australia, measuring 90 miles by 35 miles (145 km by 56 km). Its entrance is flanked by Cape Leveque to the west and the four island clusters of the Buccaneer Archipelago in Yampi Sound to the east. A peninsula that divides the inner section of the inlet has the port of Derby on its western shore.

The mouths of the Fitzroy, Meda, Lennard, May, and Robinson rivers are along its shores, releasing tan colored sediments into the sound and clouding its waters.  A 35-foot (11-metre) tidal range poses a challenge to navigators, as does the presence of many shoals.

Tags: Australia Buccaneer Archipelago Cape Leveque Derby Fitzroy River Indian Ocean King Sound Lennard River May River Meda River Robinson River Sediments Western Australia Yampi Sound |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

May 9th, 2010 Category: Snapshots

Australia - March 5th, 2010

Eighty Mile Beach is the coastal edge of the arid, sedimentary Great Sandy Desert and the Canning Basin, in northwestern Western Australia, bordering the Indian Ocean. Extending in a curve northeast from Cape Keraudren (east of the De Grey River mouth) to Cape Bossut, it is about 85 miles (140 km) long, hence its name.

The beach, generally low and sandy but with an expanse of dunes in the area around Anna Plains, experiences a tidal range as great as 28 feet (9 m). It is bordered with salt and samphire (plant) marshes that extend inland. Here, the beach appears as a bright white line along the coast, while the marshy region is darker in color although still light in comparison with the rusty red terrain further inland.

Tags: Anna Plains Australia Canning Basin Eighty Mile Beach Great Sandy Desert Indian Ocean Salt Marshes Western Australia |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

May 8th, 2010 Category: Image of the day, Vegetation Index

Madagascar - April 28th, 2010

This FAPAR image shows the vegetation index entire island of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. It is the fourth-largest island in the world, and is home to 5% of the world’s plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are endemic to Madagascar.

Here, coastal areas and the northern part of the island show a good vegetation index (green), with some areas having a high index (red). The southern part of the island, including an area of highland plateaus, shows lower levels of photosynthetic activity (yellow).

Tags: Africa Indian Ocean Madagascar |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

April 27th, 2010 Category: Lakes, Rivers, Salt Flats

Australia - March 5th, 2010

Between the Great Sandy and Gibson Deserts in Western Australia lie several playa lakes, white in color. The largest is Lake Disappointment, near the image center. To the north lies the smaller Lake Dora, on the Rudall River. These bodies of water are ephemeral and frequently appear as white salt flats.

Moving northwest, another white area is visible: the light sands of Eighty Mile Beach, forming the coastline where the Great Sandy Desert approaches the Indian Ocean. It is one of the most important sites for migratory shorebirds, or waders, in Australia, and is recognised as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Close to Eighty Mile Beach and included in the Eighty Mile Beach Ramsar Site is the Mandora Marsh, also known as Mandora Salt Marsh, a complex and diverse wetland system. It lies at the western edge of the Great Sandy Desert bioregion and within the Mandora Station pastoral lease.

Tags: Australia Eighty Mile Beach Gibson Desert Great Sandy Desert Indian Ocean Lake Disappointment Lake Dora Mandora Marsh Mandora Station Ramsar Wetland Rudall River Western Australia |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

April 19th, 2010 Category: Vegetation Index

Australia - March 5th, 2010

The Kimberley is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northern part of Western Australia, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts, and on the east by the Northern Territory.

This more arid geography to the south is mirrored in this FAPAR image:  southern areas appear yellow, indicating low photosynthetic activity, while coastal areas appear green, thus showing a good vegetation index.

With regards to flora, much of the Kimberley is chiefly covered in open savanna woodland dominated by low bloodwood and boab trees with Darwin stringybark and Darwin woollybutt eucalypts in the wetter areas.

The red sandy soil of the Dampier Peninsula in the south is known for its characteristic pindan wooded grassland while in the more fertile areas like the Ord valley the trees are grasslands of Chrysopogon, Aristida, Dicanthium and Xerochloa (rice grass) in the wetter valleys.

The banks of the Ord, Fitzroy and other rivers are home to a greater variety of vegetation while in sheltered gorges of the high rainfall north there are patches of rainforest. There are also areas of mangrove in river estuaries where the coast is flatter.

Tags: Australia Dampier Peninsula FAPAR Great Sandy Desert Indian Ocean Kimberley Northern Territory Tanami Desert Timor Sea Western Australia |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

April 10th, 2010 Category: Image of the day

South Africa - March 5th, 2010

The shoreline here belongs to South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province, with the city of Port Elizabeth located on the land protuding outward between two bays. The coast, along the Indian Ocean, is generally rugged with interspersed beaches.

The province becomes progressively wetter from west to east. The west is mostly semi-arid Karoo, except in the far south, which is temperate rainforest in the Tsitsikamma region.

Most of the province is hilly to very mountainous between Graaff-Reinet and Rhodes including the Sneeuberge (Snow Mountains), Stormberge, Winterberge and Drakensberg (Dragon Mountains). The highest point in the province is Ben Macdhui at 3001m.

The east from East London towards the Kwa-Zulu Natal border is lush grassland with intermittent forest. This region, Transkei, is rolling hills punctuated by deep gorges.

Tags: Africa Ben Macdhui Dragon Mountains Drakensberg Eastern Cape Province Graaff-Reinet Indian Ocean Karoo Port Elizabeth Rhodes Sneeuberge Snow Mountains South Africa Stormberge Tsitsikamma Winterberge |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

February 24th, 2010 Category: Rivers

Somalia - February 16th, 2010

The Shebelle River begins in the highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu it turns sharply southwest, where it follows the coast.

This arch is clearly visible here, reaching from Ethiopia in the upper left corner to the Somalian coast just right of the image center. The river and surrounding valley appear greenish in color, in contrast with the reddish brown hues of the rest of the surrounding landscape.

Below Mogadishu the river becomes seasonal. Most years the river dries up near the mouth of the Jubba River, while in seasons of heavy rainfall the river actually reaches the Jubba and thus the Indian Ocean.

Tags: Africa Ethiopia Indian Ocean Jubba River Shebelle River Shebelle Valley Somalia |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment