March 29, 2022 - Greening in Turkmenistan and Afghanistan

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Spring brings rising temperatures across Central Asia and the rapid
melting of winter’s snowpack. As the high elevation snow turns into
water, the life-giving liquid refreshes the landscape, filling rivers
and bringing a flush of green to the landscape.

On March 28, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of
spring greening in Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Scant snow remains on
the peaks of Afghanistan’s Paropamisus Mountains while a wide swath of
green covers a large area of at the edge of the Karakum Desert in
Turkmenistan (northwest) as well as Afghanistan. In the upper left
(northwest) corner of the image, a fan of lighter green can be seen.
This is the Murgab Fan, a broad plain of the Murgab, a river that rises
in the Paropamisus Mountains and carries water to this rich
agricultural region. Despite the greening, the arid nature of the sandy
desert still dominates the scene, as a cloud of dust crosses between
Turkmenistan and Afghanistan just north of the bright green patch.

While this single image gives a clear view of a spring day in Central
Asia, comparing two images of the same place taken on different days
can give a much better insight of change over time. Thanks to the NASA
Worldview App, this is simple to accomplish. To view a roll-over
comparison between this Aqua MODIS image acquired on March 28 and one
acquired in mid-winter (January 25) click here.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 3/28/2022
Resolutions: 1km (59.7 KB), 500m (116.6 KB), 250m (404.4
KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-03-29

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