Earth from Space - Image Description

STS091-729-043 Southern Dos Patos Lagoon, Brazil June 1998
The sediment-laden Rio Grande empties into the Dos Patos Lagoon and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean. The Dos Patos (center of image) is a shallow tidal lagoon separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a wide sandbar or sandy peninsula. The peninsula has an average width of 15 miles (24 km). Barely discernible and entering the scene from the bottom center (southwest) is a canal or river that flows generally northward from the Mirin Lagoon (not on image) to the city of Pelotas (midway between the left center and bottom left) and empties into the southern portion of the Dos Patos Lagoon. The Mirin Lagoon's darker waters can be seen mixing with the muddy waters of the Dos Patos Lagoon as they both head in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean. The waters in these lagoons has been degraded by increased industrial and domestic effluents during last three decades. Efforts are underway by the government of Brazil to reduce these effluents.

This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Earth Science & Remote Sensing Unit, ARES Division, Exploration Integration Science Directorate.