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File:Desert Coast—Morocco, Western Sahara.jpg

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Desert_Coast—Morocco,_Western_Sahara.jpg (720 × 480 pixels, file size: 185 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Description
English: Recently tweeted from the International Space Station, this image of the extremely arid West African coast of the Atlantic Ocean looks otherworldly. The image shows 215 kilometers (134 miles) of the Saharan coastline. The main patterns seen from orbit are the straight lines produced by strong northerly winds that blow parallel to the coast, producing wind streaks of sand and sand-free surfaces.

The Sun’s rays are reflected off salty lagoons known as sabkhas near the coast. Reflected sunlight (sunglint) also highlights wave features on the ocean in the upper right corner of the image. Known as internal waves, the waves move in groups towards the coastline. Surface waves are responsible for the ocean’s green tint on the left. The waves erode the coastline, and the resulting sediment colors the water.

The bright straight line at image lower left is a transport corridor of roads, railroads and conveyor belt systems that transport phosphates 100 km (60 miles) from inland mines to the coast. Strong northerly winds blow dust and phosphate into the desert, giving a jagged edge to this line on its south side. The features in this image—unfamiliar to many—are common in other west coast deserts such as the Namib Desert of Namibia and the Atacama Desert of Chile and Peru
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Source http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=83931&src=eoa-iotd
Author Astronaut photograph ISS040-E-788
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Public domain This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
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20 May 2014

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current21:04, 4 July 2014Thumbnail for version as of 21:04, 4 July 2014720 × 480 (185 KB)Tillman{{Information |Description ={{en|1=Recently tweeted from the International Space Station, this image of the extremely arid West African coast of the Atlantic Ocean looks otherworldly. The image shows 215 kilometers (134 miles) of the Saharan coastli...

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