Earth from Space - Image Information


LOCATION Direction Photo #: ISS031-E-148455 Date: Jun. 2012
Geographic Region: EGYPT
Feature: L. NASSER, TOSHKA LAKES, DAKHLA OASIS


IMAGE
 
Toshka Lakes 2002-2012, southern Egypt

The Toshka Lakes were formed in the Sahara Desert of Egypt by water from the River Nile conveyed from Lake Nasser by a canal to the Toshka Depression. Flooding of the Toshka Depression had created the four main lakes with a maximum surface area in 2002 of ~1450 km2 -- around 25.26 billion cubic meters of water. By 2006 the stored water was reduced by 50% and by 2012, this image shows open water only in the lowest parts of the main western and eastern basins--representing a reduction in surface area to 307 km2--nearly 80% smaller than the 2002 surface area. Standing water is almost completely absent from the central basin.

From space, astronauts documented the first lake--the easternmost one--in 1998. The lakes progressively grew in depressions to the west, the westernmost filling between 2000 and 2001. The image shows lines of center-point agricultural fields near the east-basin lake (dark dots at image center) nearest Lake Nasser. Sunglint on the western lake makes the water surface appear both light and dark, depending on which parts of the surface were ruffled by the wind at the moment the image was taken.


Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 156k
Mission: ISS031  
Roll - Frame: E - 148455
Geographical Name: EGYPT  
Features: L. NASSER, TOSHKA LAKES, DAKHLA OASIS  
Center Lat x Lon: 24.5N x 30.5E
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 0
 
Camera:: N2
 
Camera Tilt: 52   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 14  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: W   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number:  
 
Date: 20120621   YYYYMMDD
Time: 115656   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 26.4N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 34.5E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 272   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 211   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 60   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: BASIN, DESERT  
Water Views: CANAL, FLOODING, LAKE, RIVER, SUNGLINT  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  

Photo is not associated with any sequences


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