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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: STS060-97-38 Date: Feb. 1994
Geographic Region: SAUDI ARABIA
Feature: TUWAYQ PIVOT IRRIGATION

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  STS060-097-038 Pivot Irrigation, Saudi Arabia February 1994
Modern drilling, pumping, and distribution systems have permitted many arid and semiarid regions of the world to become productive farmlands. This infrared photograph of the southwestern end of the Tuwayq Mountains shows one of four areas in Saudi Arabia where center-pivot irrigation has produced a dramatic circle of vegetation in an otherwise barren desert. Specific field sizes vary; however, many circular plots in this photograph measure approximately 0.6 mile (1 kilometer) in diameter. Water (known as fossil water) is extracted from subsurface aquifers of previous, wetter geological periods. Dark circles represent fields where crops are presently grown; faint circles outline field patterns where no crops are being grown. Some fields have been taken out of production to lie fallow, some have been harvested or planted with a new crop, and some have been taken out of production indefinitely. Although many desert regions of the world are now successfully farmed, a finite supply of fossil water exists, and eventually the supply of water will be exhausted.
 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 151k
Mission: STS060  
Roll - Frame: 97 - 38
Geographical Name: SAUDI ARABIA  
Features: TUWAYQ PIVOT IRRIGATION  
Center Lat x Lon: 20.0N x 45.0E
Film Exposure: N   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 0
 
Camera: HB
 
Camera Tilt: 25   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 250  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: NW   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?: Y   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number: 48  
 
Date: 19940206   YYYYMMDD
Time: 122903   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 19.0N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 46.1E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 238   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 191   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 30   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: DESERT, ESCARPMENT, DUNE, HILL  
Water Views:  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views: AGRICULTURE, PIVOT IRRIGATION  
City Views:  
Associated Photos in Sequence:

IMAGEPhoto #: STS032-96-32
Description: SAUDI ARABIA, NAFUD-1990; CHANGING DESERT PIVOT IRRIGATION PATTERNS
Sequence ID: 8A

IMAGEPhoto #: STS060-97-38 ** Currently displayed photo **
Description: SAUDI ARABIA, NAFUD-1/94; CHANGING DESERT PIVOT IRRIGATION PATTERNS
Sequence ID: 8B

IMAGEPhoto #: STS062-110-AA
Description: SAUDI ARABIA, NAFUD-3/94; CHANGING DESERT PIVOT IRRIGATION PATTERNS
Sequence ID: 8C



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