MSGID: 1:317/3 628928a8   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   May 21, 2022 - Saharan Dust approaching South America   
      
      Saharan Dust approaching South America   
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      On May 19, 2022, a cloud of dust from Africa’s Sahara Desert was   
      captured approaching northeastern South America by the Moderate   
      Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua   
      satellite. The leading edge of a thick pulse of tan dust, which appears   
      to be mixed in with the white clouds, can be seen to the east (right)   
      in this image, sitting about 860 miles (1,85 km) off the coast of   
      Venezuela and heading southwest. A thinner veil of dust has already   
      crossed the Atlantic Ocean to move over the Lesser Antilles, Venezuela,   
      Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.   
      
      A wide silvery-tan band that crosses the image from north to south is   
      actually caused by an optical phenomenon known as “sunglint”. This   
      occurs when sunlight reflects off the surface of water at the same   
      angle that a satellite sensor views it. The result is a mirror-like   
      reflection of sunlight off water and back at the sensor, creating a   
      silver streak in an image. While the quantity of dust suspended in the   
      atmosphere in the streak of sunglint is the same as the area   
      surrounding it, the streak appears darker due to the sunglint.   
      
      The dust seen in this image is just the leading edge of a long train of   
      dust created by repetitive pulses of dust that have blown off of   
      Western Africa from May 12 through May 19. By May 17, the Trinidad and   
      Tobago Weather Center warned that a “significant and high”   
      concentration of dust was set to move across the Lesser Antilles on May   
      18 – 20, and elevated Saharan Dust levels are expected to remain across   
      that country until May 27. Over the next several days the dust is   
      expected to move northward over the Gulf of Mexico to impact the Gulf   
      Coast of the United States, including parts of Texas and most of   
      Florida, with impacts the heaviest on or around May 24.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Aqua   
      Date Acquired: 5/19/2022   
      Resolutions:  1km (2.7 MB),  500m (7.8 MB),  250m (5.8 MB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-05-21   
       
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