June 3rd, 2013 Category: Dust Storms VIIRSSuomi-NPP

Persian Gulf – June 1st, 2013

Plumes of dust arch southeastward and then southwestward from the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, in Iraq, between the borders of Iran (upper right) and Kuwait (upper left), across the northern part of the Persian Gulf, to Saudi Arabia. Since uninhabited sandy deserts comprise most of Saudi Arabia’s and the Middle East’s land surface, it is easy for strong winds to pick up dust and create storms over the region.

Tags: Arabian peninsula Dust Iran Iraq Kuwait Middle East Persian Gulf Saudi Arabia Shatt al-Arab | Comments |

May 31st, 2013 Category: Dust Storms

Persian Gulf – May 30th, 2013

A plume of dust spreads diagonally across the northern part of the Persian Gulf, just south of the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab. The Shatt al-Arab is a river in Southwest Asia of some 200 km (120 mi) in length, formed by the confluence of the Euphrates and the Tigris. The southern end of the river constitutes the border between Iraq and Iran down to the mouth of the river as it discharges into the Persian Gulf.

Tags: Dust Iran Iraq Persian Gulf Shatt al-Arab | Comments |

April 8th, 2013 Category: Dust Storms

Arabian Peninsula – April 8th, 2013

Dust blows off the Arabian Peninsula, sweeping across Oman and over the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman towards Iran and Pakistan. In Oman, the storm hit Buraimi, Ibri and adjacent areas of the Dhahirah region. The wind was blowing at around 35 knots in Buraimi and over 22 in Ibri after dust storm hit the area.

Tags: Arabian Sea Buraimi Dhahirah Gulf of Oman Ibri Iran Oman Pakistan | Comments |

February 10th, 2013 Category: Clouds, Lakes

Iran, Turkey, Armenia – January 27th, 2013

This cloud-covered image highlights the use of the Chelys Satellite Rapid Response System (SRRS) “borders” feature, which overlays countries’ boundaries on satellite images. Here, Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Russia and Azerbaijan can be observed counterclockwise from the bottom right, with Armenia in the center. While Lake Van, in Turkey, is partially visible through the clouds, the borders feature shows the location of other lakes that would be hidden: Lake Urmia (bottom), in Iran, Lake Sevan (center), in Armenia, and the Mingachevir Reservoir (upper right), in Azerbaijan.

Tags: Armenia Azerbaijan Borders Georgia Iran Lake Sevan Lake Urmia Lake Van Mingachevir Reservoir Russia SRRS Turkey | Comments |