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| Fig. 1 Asian Dust on March 2 |
Fig. 2 Asian Dust on March 3 |
Asian Dust ("KOSA" meaning "Yellow Sand" or "Yellow Dust" in Japanese) was observed in Japan on March 2 and 3. It was mainly observed in Western Japan but also spread over Northeastern Japan. The sky over Tokyo was hazy after noon on March 3, and the visibility was 8km.
Figures 1 (March 2) and 2 (March 3) depict the vicinity of Japan as observed by MODIS on board the NASA Earth-observing satellite Terra. Deep brown KOSA is visible over China and the Korean Peninsula in Fig. 1, and over Kyushu and the Japan Sea in Fig. 2.
Asian Dust is a natural phenomenon of westward wind carrying dust raised into the air from China's desert area and rough agricultural soil.
Asian dust is also feared to cause a variety of health problems because of pollutants including heavy metals such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and mercury. The pollutants are carried with air pollution when the dust passes through China's industrial areas.
Explanation of the Images:
Figs. 1 and 2, Click the image twice to enlarge.
| Satellite: |
EOS-Terra (NASA) |
| Sensor: |
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS; NASA) |
| Date: |
0225 (UTC) May 2, 2008
0128 (UTC) May 3, 2008 |
| Resolution: |
500m |
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