This map shows the abundance of airborne particulates, or aerosols, over
Southern Africa during the period August 14 - September 29, 2000. Low
particle concentrations are shown in shades of blue, and high
concentrations in shades of red. The results were generated from MISR
imagery acquired over this time period, and processed using
MISR's automated software system. The approach for deriving
aerosol amount makes use of the variation of scene brightness and
contrast as a function of observation angle. Black areas
over the land area correspond to places where a result was not
obtained, for example, due to the presence of clouds.
Extensive burning of grass and shrubland for land management and
agriculture comprises a principal source of these aerosols. Vegetation
availability increases northward, hence the greater abundance of haze
and smoke in Angola and southern Zaire. The lower aerosol abundance
around Lesotho and southeastern South Africa is consistent with the
higher terrain elevations near the Drakensberg Mountains.
Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/JPL, MISR Team.
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