Earth from Space - Image Information


LOCATION Direction Photo #: ISS052-E-14188 Date: Jul. 2017
Geographic Region: BRAZIL
Feature: SAND DUNES, N. E. LAGOA DOS PATOS, E. ATLANTIC COAST


 
Image Caption: Barchan Dunes and Lagoon, Southern Brazil

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured this photograph of Lagoa dos Barros and crescent-shaped barchan dunes on the Atlantic coastline of southern Brazil. Lagoa dos Barros is approximately 4.5 kilometers (2.8 mile) long. The lagoons along the Brazilian coast formed around 400,000 years ago as part of the cyclic rise and fall of sea level - known to geologists as the transgression-regression cycle. The formation of Lagoa dos Barros is similar to what occurred alongside Lagoa Mirim, 340 kilometers to the south-southwest.

Strong winds blowing in from the Western Atlantic sculpt the sand along the coast into distinctive crescent shapes. Multiple dunes have overlapped and coalesced to form dune fields, with prominent examples visible to the northeast and southwest of the lake. The tips of barchan dunes point downwind, indicating the prevailing wind direction. These fragile formations act as barriers keeping the wind and waves from penetrating inland, blunting the effect of storms and minimizing coastal erosion.



Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 479k
Mission: ISS052  
Roll - Frame: E - 14188
Geographical Name: BRAZIL  
Features: SAND DUNES, N. E. LAGOA DOS PATOS, E. ATLANTIC COAST  
Center Lat x Lon: 30.5S x 50.4W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera:: N6
 
Camera Tilt: 27   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 1150  
 
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=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number:  
 
Date: 20170709   YYYYMMDD
Time: 170240   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 31.4S  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 48.7W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 332   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 222   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 31   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views:  
Water Views:  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  

Photo is not associated with any sequences


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