March 16th, 2012 Category: Dust Storms, Fires, Image of the day, Rivers

Dust off West Africa - March 14th, 2012

Dust from the Sahara Desert has been blowing off the western coast of the African continent over the last few days, veiling the skies over countries such as Mauritania, Senegal, the Gambia and Guinea Bissau, and stretching towards the Cape Verde islands (click here for previous images).

Here, the dust is blowing in a southwesterly direction, partially obscuring the mouths of rivers such as the Geba River, in Guinea Bissau (near image center). Visible near the border of Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, by the right edge of the image in the lower right quadrant, are a series of fires, releasing a cloud of smoke that mingles with the dust.

Tags: Côte d'Ivoire Dust Fires Geba River Guinea Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mauritania Sahara Desert Senegal The Gambia West Africa | Comments |

February 16th, 2012 Category: Rivers

Gambia - February 9th, 2012

This wide-swath ASAR image shows rivers flowing into the Atlantic Ocean along the west coast of Africa. The river with the very wide mouth near the center right is the Gambia River.  It runs 1,130 kilometres (700 mi) from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul (visible as a white area on the coastline). About 100 km from its mouth it gradually widens to over 10 km wide where it meets the sea.

Another wide estuary can be observed near the center of the bottom edge: the mouth of the Geba River. It rises in Guinea, passes through Senegal, and reaches the Atlantic Ocean in Guinea-Bissau, for a course of about 340 miles (550 km) in total length. After passing by Geba town and Bambadinca, the river broadens into a wide estuary below Xime (where it is joined by the Corubal River), with a total width of about 10 miles (16 km) at Bissau.

Tags: Atlantic Ocean Banjul Gambia Rier Geba River Guinea-Bissau Senegal The Gambia Wide-swath ASAR | Comments |

January 27th, 2012 Category: Rivers, Vegetation Index

Guinea Bissau - January 6th, 2012

This FAPAR image shows the vegetation index of the Gambia, Senegal and Guinea Bissau, in Western Africa. The index in Gambia and northern Senegal is quite low (yellow), with areas of good (green) photosynthetic activity visible only near the banks of the Gambia River.

To the south, the vegetation index is generally good, particularly near the coast and the Geba River, on on the offshore islands. Here, the distribution of activity appears to be the opposite of the pattern to the north: lower activity is visible by the banks of the rivers.

Tags: Africa FAPAR Gambia River Geba River Guinea-Bissau Senegal The Gambia | Comments |

January 25th, 2012 Category: Rivers

Guinea Bissau - January 6th, 2012

Several rivers can be observed flowing into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa. Visible in the upper left corner is the Saloum River. It rises about 105 kilometers east of Kaolack, Senegal, and flows to the Saloum Delta. Mangrove forests occupy a 5-kilometer belt on either side of the river almost 70 kilometers upstream.

South of the mouth of the Saloum is the mouth of the Gambia River.  It runs 1,130 kilometres (700 mi) from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. About 100 km from its mouth it gradually widens to over 10 km wide where it meets the sea.

Further down the coast is the Geba River, easily spotted due to the heavy load of sediments it releases into the Atlantic. It rises in Guinea, passes through Senegal, and reaches the Atlantic Ocean in Guinea-Bissau. It is about 340 miles (550 km) in total length. After passing by Geba town and Bambadinca, the river broadens into a wide estuary below Xime (where it is joined by the Corubal River), with a total width of about 10 miles (16 km) at Bissau.

Tags: Gambia River Geba River Guinea-Bissau Saloum River Senegal The Gambia | Comments |