November 7th, 2011 Category: Tropical Storms

Depression ARB 03 - November 7th, 2011

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On November 6, The India Meteorological Department upgraded an area of low pressure area into a Depression, designating it ARB 03. On the same day a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert was issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). The system was forecast to intensify into a deep depression and move towards the Gulf of Aden in the next 72 hours.

As of 10:30 AM IST, 7 November 2011, ARB 03 was located near 11.5°N 63.5°E, about 1250 km west-southwest of Mangalore, 1050 km east-southeast Socotra Island and 1200 km southeast of Salalah. The system is forecasted to intensify into a deep depression and move towards the coast of Oman in the next 48 hours.

Tags: Arabian peninsula Arabian Sea Depression ARB 03 Gulf of Aden North Indian Ocean Oman Yemen | | Leave a comment

July 25th, 2011 Category: Dust Storms

Gulf of Aden - July 21st, 2011

Dust blows over the Gulf of Aden, between the Arabian Peninsula (above) and the Horn of Africa (below). It is thickest near the left edge, by the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait leading to the Red Sea.

Two particularly interesting dust plumes can be seen blowing northeastward off the island of Socotra, belonging to Yemen. It lies some 240 kilometres (150 mi) east of the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometres (240 mi) south of the Arabian Peninsula.

Tags: Arabian peninsula Dust Gulf of Aden Oman Socotra Yemen | | Leave a comment

July 12th, 2011 Category: Dust Storms

Oman - July 4th, 2011

Dust from the Arabian Peninsula spreads across Oman (left) and over the Gulf of Oman (above) and the Arabian Sea. The dust reaches Iran (top edge) and also veils the United Arab Emirates (upper left).

Visible through the veil of dust, parallel to the coast, are the Hajjar Mountains. They are located in northeastern Oman and also the eastern United Arab Emirates, and are the highest mountain range in the eastern Arabian peninsula. They separate the low coastal plain of Oman from the high desert plateau, and lie 50–100 km inland from the Gulf of Oman coast.

Tags: Arabian peninsula Arabian Sea Gulf of Oman Hajjar Mountains Iran Oman United Arab Emirates | | Comments (1)

July 4th, 2011 Category: Dust Storms

Persian Gulf - June 21st, 2011

Some dust can be seen blowing in the air south of the Arabian Peninsula, off the coasts of Yemen (lower left) and Oman (center right). Some dust can also be observed off the shores of the United Arab Emirates in the upper left quadrant.

Visible in the upper part of the image is a segment of the shoreline of Iran, separated from the peninsula at its narrowest point by the Strait of Hormuz. The strait also links the Persian Gulf (west) to the Gulf of Oman (east).

Tags: Arabian peninsula Gulf of Oman Iran Oman Persian Gulf Strait of Hormuz United Arab Emirates Yemen | | Leave a comment

June 27th, 2011 Category: Mountains

Persian Gulf - June 23rd, 2011

Visible at the top center of this image is the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway connecting the Gulf of Oman (east) and the Persian Gulf (west).

On the north coast is Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates. In the full image, a series of artificial islands can be seen near the country’s coastline, including Palm Jebel Ali, Palm Jumeirah, Palm Deira and The World Archipelago.

Reaching eastward from the UAE across Oman,  parallel to the coast, are the Al Hajar Mountains. The range extends about 300 km (186 mi), between 50-100 km (31-62 mi) inland from the Gulf of Oman coast.

Tags: Al Hajar Mountains Gulf of Oman Iran Oman Palm Deira Palm Jebel Ali Palm Jumeirah Persian Gulf Strait of Hormuz The World Archipelago United Arab Emirates | | Leave a comment

May 31st, 2011 Category: Deserts

Arabian Peninsula - May 23rd, 2011

The Rub’ al Khali is one of the largest sand deserts in the world, stretching over most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula.

The desert covers parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, reaching over an area larger than France.

In the full image, many rows of orange-red sand dunes can be observed in the southern part of the desert. The light tan areas amongst the dunes tend to be pale gravel plains.

Tags: Arabian peninsula Oman Rub' al Khali Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Yemen | | Leave a comment

March 16th, 2011 Category: Deserts

Iran - February 18th, 2011

Visible on the left side of this image is the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway connecting the Gulf of Oman (right) and the Persian Gulf (left). On the north coast is Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman.

While much of the Arabian Peninsula visible here is covered by the sands of the Rub’ al Khali desert, the terrain in Iran is significantly more mountainous. Some snow can be seen atop the mountains due north of the Strait of Hormuz.

Located by these mountains is the Khabr National Park and Ruchun wild life refuge. The lowest elevation is 1000 and the highest 3845 m. The area has a rich flora (about 750 species) and about 120 endemic species.

Tags: Iran Oman Rub' al Khali Strait of Hormuz United Arab Emirates | | Leave a comment

February 13th, 2011 Category: Deserts, Mountains

Somalia - January 17th, 2011

This image shows the southern coast of Yemen (above), with a small section of the southern coast of Oman visible in the upper right corner.

Those two countries, on the Arabian Peninsula, are separated from Somalia (below) by the Gulf of Aden. Visible off the coast of Somalia, near the right edge, is the island of Socotra. Some of the land near the lower left corner belongs to Ethiopia.

Most of the terrain is arid desert. The light tan terrain in Yemen is part of the sandy desert of the Rub’ al Khali. Some green vegetation is visible, however, in Somalia along the slopes of the Surud Mountain Range, parallel to the coast.

Tags: Ethiopia Gulf of Aden Oman Rub' al Khali Socotra Somalia Surud Mountains Yemen | | Leave a comment

February 6th, 2011 Category: Image of the day

Oman - January 16th, 2011

The large island off the east coast of Oman in the lower part of this image is Masirah. It is 95 km long north-south, between 12 and 14 km wide, with an area of about 649 km². The waters between the Omani mainland and the island appear green from sediments and algae.

Located about 19 km off the east side of Barr al Hikman, the island is generally hilly, especially on its east side. The hills along the east side of the island are separated from the island coast by a narrow sandy plain; they run nearly its entire length.

A steep plateau stands in the middle of the range on the northeast side of the island. Along the west side of the island, there are a few low hills separated from the east range by an extensive sandy plain marked by several hillocks.

Tags: Barr al Hikman Masirah Oman | | Leave a comment