MODIS satellite captures images of sediment flushed into the Gulf of Mexico
NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) from the Terra satellite captured images of sediment from the Central U.S. floods that flushed into the Gulf of Mexico.
This is nothing new for the Gulf as snow melts in the spring and flows into the Mississippi River, sweeping away soil and other contaminants along with it. Typically, the soil would settle on the land near the river, but levees built to prevent flooding prevent the soil from settling out of the water.
May 28, 2010 NASA satellites captured the oil spill since it began in April. You can clearly see how the oil spill is expanding over time.
"High concentrations of soil, fertilizer, and other nutrients from farms, lawns and sewage treatment plants pour into the northern Gulf of Mexico," according to NASA's Earth Observatory.
"This sediment contributes to algae blooms, which can lead to the depletion of oxygen in the water and create "dead zones."
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