Earth from Space - Image Information


LOCATION Direction Photo #: ISS064-E-7784 Date: Nov. 2020
Geographic Region: MEXICO
Feature: CIUDAD DEL CARMEN, AIRPORT, ZACATAL BRIDGE, LAGUNA DE TERMINOS, SEDIMENT


 

While orbiting over the Gulf of Mexico, an astronaut onboard the International Space Station took this photograph of Isla del Carmen, a barrier island on the Yucatan Peninsula. The population boomed here in the 1970s with the discovery of oil in the shallow offshore waters. Today the Mexican city is a hub for fishing and petroleum industries. The island is connected to the mainland by the Zacatal Bridge, one of the longest in Central America.

Several rivers discharge freshwater and sediment into the lagoon, and inlets on either side of the island create a circulatory water exchange. In the photo, dark, sediment-laden water flows out of Laguna de Términos, while white streaks trace the wakes of ships moving through the plume. Water flows out of the lagoon via Carmen Inlet, and the sediment mixes and disperses in the blue waters of the Bay of Campeche.

Laguna de Términos is the largest coastal lagoon in Mexico and likely along the entire Gulf Coast (including the United States). The area is home to a variety of protected flora and fauna, including bottlenose dolphins, sea turtles, and mangroves, which appear as dark green shoreline vegetation in the photo. The less populated, marshy mainland to the left side is a protected area for many coastal plant and bird species.





Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 297k
Mission: ISS064  
Roll - Frame: E - 7784
Geographical Name: MEXICO  
Features: CIUDAD DEL CARMEN, AIRPORT, ZACATAL BRIDGE, LAGUNA DE TERMINOS, SEDIMENT  
Center Lat x Lon: 18.7N x 91.8W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera:: N8
 
Camera Tilt: 38   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 800  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: S   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: 20201129   YYYYMMDD
Time: 192046   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 21.6N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 92.2W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 207   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 225   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 42   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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