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Earth observations during space shuttle missionSTS‐34: 18–23 October 1989Michael R. Helfert a , Kamlesh P. Lulla a , Victor S. Whitehead a , M. Justin Wilkinsonb , Donald E. Williams c , Michael J.. McCulley c , Ellen S. Baker c , Franklin R.Chang‐Diaz c & Shannon W. Lucid c

a Space Shuttle Earth Observations Office , NASA‐Johnson Space Center , Houston,Texas, 77058b Lockheed Engineering & Sciences Company , Houston, Texas, 77058c Astronaut Office , NASA‐Johnson Space Center , Houston, Texas, 77058Published online: 17 Sep 2008.

To cite this article: Michael R. Helfert , Kamlesh P. Lulla , Victor S. Whitehead , M. Justin Wilkinson , DonaldE. Williams , Michael J.. McCulley , Ellen S. Baker , Franklin R. Chang‐Diaz & Shannon W. Lucid (1990) Earthobservations during space shuttle mission STS‐34: 18–23 October 1989, Geocarto International, 5:3, 65-79, DOI:10.1080/10106049009354271

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10106049009354271

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Earth Observations During Space Shuttle Mission STS-34:18-23 October 1989

Michael R. Helfert, Kamlesh P. Lulla, Victor S. WhiteheadSpace Shuttle Earth Observations OfficeNASA-Johnson Space CenterHouston, Texas 77058

M. Justin WilkinsonLockheed Engineering & Sciences CompanyHouston, Texas 77058

Donald E. Williams, Michael J.. McCulley, Ellen S. BakerFranklin R. Chang-Diaz, Shannon W. LucidAstronaut OfficeNASA-Johnson Space CenterHouston, Texas 77058

I. Preface: The Astronaut Perspective

When the solid rocket motors light and we lift off, itfinally sinks in. I'm on board the Space Shuttle on my wayto Earth orbit.

Much of what I see and what I do, I know 1 am preparedfor.

Liftoff leaves no doubt that we're leaving town in ahurry. The shaking and vibration touches my core. Theacceleration is a constant force at my back. The twominutes of high-G crushes my chest. But it comes as nosurprise. I've heard dozens of descriptions of liftoff andascent and I expect it. The engines cut off eight and a halfminutes into flight. ! unstrap and float from my seat. Thisis wonderful! 1 laugh and giggle and smile. What fun! Thereis no easy way to simulate this - but somehow it feelscomfortable, easy, and natural. Using only my fingertips toguide me, I work my way up to the flight deck I pull out the70-mm camera and remove the shade covering the over-head window. The sight takes my breath away! Tears fill myeyes. We're racing silently around the world at 17,000 mph.The large orange External Tank is slowly falling awayagainst the blue and white of the ocean and clouds below.I am totally unprepared for the magnificence of this sight.

The major objective of the 31st Space Shuttle mission 'is to deploy the Galileo spacecraft. Galileo is the mostsophisticated and well-equipped interplanetary explorerlaunched to date. New textbooks will be written from whatGalileo will teach us. All eyes and attention are directedtowards the deployment 6 hours and 22 minutes into theflight. The routine is familiar. We've practiced it dozens oftimes in the simulator. I'm so used to the checklist, radiocalls, and switch throws that, for a moment, I forget I'mweightless 160 miles above the Earth - and think I'm backin Houston, still training. We have several other experi-

Geocarto International (3) 1990

ments to run throughout the course of our five-day flight.But, the pace is less demanding after the deploy.

That gives us time for Earth viewing. Someone is alwaysparked in the overhead windows. To enjoy this prime spotin the cabin you must always be ready to shoot. We arecarrying four videocameras in the payload bay, one 16-mmArriflex in the cabin, a videocamcorder, three 35mmcameras, two 70mm cameras, an MAX camera, and avariety of lenses, film, and attachments. We've spent hoursin preparation - studying hundreds of photos and maps.We've been briefed on aspects of geology, geography,oceanography, and meteorology. Nothing we've studied,no photos we've seen, no film we've viewed do justice tothe sight out thé window.

The world speeds by. We orbit once every 90 minutes.Our ground track sends us 34.3° above and below theequator.

In daylight I am struck by many things. Our world isenormous and vast. In one fell swoop I can clearly seelarge, major geologic structures - the curve of the horizon,the fault system running along the California coast, theeastern slopes of the Sierra Nevadas speckled with glaciallakes, the Grand Canyon - practically in its entirety. As wecross North Africa, the sand dunes of the desert are clearlyvisible. Even from orbit, we know which way the windblows. I can see small features and man-made structuresas well: The Earth is dotted with the grey of man's citiesand the smoke of burning cropland and forests. Small,green patches of irrigated agriculture break the monotonyof the desert. Ship's wakes stretch for miles and glisten inthe sun.

At night enormous storm systems light up Africa andSouth America. Lightning flashes continuously and thestorms seem alive. City lights slide beneath us quickly. Theaurora rains down in front of us - reds, greens, purples

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shimmering, undulating, streaming, stretching for milesand miles in all directions.

The cameras click furiously. We see something unusual,something unexpected something beautiful. We try tocapture it on film. There is little time to readjust camerasettings or change film or lenses. In an instant, the scenehas changed and the moment is gone. There are dozens ofsites we've been asked to photograph. Our NASA Earthscientists will study each frame in the months followingthe flight. Many frames will teach us something new. Somepreviously unrecognized, unrecorded features will be iden-tified and catalogued.

The days go by too quickly. I want to see and do more.As we glide back into the atmosphere, I'm starting to feelheavy- The G-meter reads only 0.5G, and I think that I'llnever stand again. There is an orange and yellow and pinkglow around the windows. The ground is silently racing upto meet us. As the wheels softly touch down, I am againoverwhelmed. The sights, sounds, and events of the pastfive days will live clearly with me forever. The right wordsand images to describe what I've experienced don't exist.

II. Mission Background

The Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis was launched asMission STS-34 at 1653 GMT (1253 EDT), 18 October1989, from the NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center,Florida, and landed 79 revolutions later at 1634 GMT(0934 PDT), 23 October 1989, at the NASA-Dryden TestFacility (Edwards Air Force Base), California2. Theprimary mission of STS-34 was the launching of the

• interplanetary scientific probe, Galileo, to Jupiter3.Galileo was deployed from Atlantis 6 hrs, 22 minutesafter the STS-34 launch. A secondary commercialactivity consisted of filming of Earth processes usingthe 1MAX 70-mm camera for the forthcoming movie"The Blue Planet"4.

The planetary alignment for the most advantageouslaunch of Galileo dictated a 34.3° orbital inclinationaround the Earth for the STS-34 mission. STS-34altitudes were 295-325 km.(166-180nm).

For NASA observations of the Earth, the crew of STS-34 carried two NASA-modified Hasselblad 500 EL/Mcameras and 16 rolls of film. The five-person STS-34astronaut crew (see Fig. 1) acquired-1316 frames of 70-mm Hasselblad photography in color visible and colorinfrared5. The STS-34 Hasselblad photography,' as withall Earth photography taken during NASA mannedspaceflights, is in the public domain and availablethrough the User Services Section, EROS Data Center,Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA 57198.

The global distribution of mission photography isshown on Figure 2. Pre-mission focus was given to theSouthern United States and portions of CentralAmerica and the Caribbean archipelagoes. Highestemphasis for STS-34 was the U:S. Southeast to

Figure I. The five astronauts of the STS-34 missionwhile in orbit. From left to right: Chang-Diaz; Lucid;Williams; Baker; McCulley. NASA Photograph S34-09-01.

Figure 2. Map showing nadir points of the" OrbiterAtlantis during the time of exposure of the 1300+frames of Earth photography obtained during SpaceShuttle Mission STS-34. The nadir points are accurateto within about 6 km.

document conditions prevailing after the passage ofCategory IV Hurricane Hugo across the Carolinas inmid-September. •

Local nighttime prevailed during overpasses ofSouthern Africa, South America, and most ofAustralasia, so no photographic sites were identifiedfor those regions. The best lighting and sun angleconditions for Earth photography were concentratedover North Africa and the Mid-East as well as SoutheastAsia. A number of secondary sites of interest wereaccordingly emphasized for those areas..

The most significant STS-34 Earth photography isreviewed below. The review is geographical: NorthAfrica and the Mid-East (Sect. Ill); South and Southeast;Asia, associated islands and archipelagoes (Sect. IV);Central America and the Caribbean (Sect V.); and theUnited States (Sect. VI). This regional review isfollowed by a section on meteorological (Sect. VII)processes and phenomena documented. Not all

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referenced scenes are illustrated due to spaceconstraints. The additional scene identifications areincluded for those scientists involved in specific topicalor geographic research.

III. North Africa, Mediterranean, SW Asia,Mid-East

During their five-day mission, the STS-34 astronautsacquired 312 scenes over North Africa and the Mid-East, Mediterranean Europe, and Southwest Asia6. Themission's orbital inclination allowed emphasis uponacquisition of scenes of the North African and Iberiancoasts and associated islands7 not usually seen at nadirduring a 28.5° mission8.

Timing of the mission did not coincide with the highgreenness period in the Northern Hemisphere, soprospects of vegetation classification using digitizedphotography from STS-34 are not good. Nevertheless,both traditional and more modern unit farming weredocumented along coastal Morocco. Additionally,photography was hindered over the western Sahara, theSahel, and the Gulf of Guinea by dust storms, smoke,and haze9.

Further to the east. Upper Nile Basin runoff has beenat normal to near-normal conditions. Evidence for thisobservation is in the view of Lake Nasser in nearly fullconditions. Starting from its 1984-86 minima, LakeNasser was first seen with some filling and turbidfloodwaters input during STS-26 in October, 1988. Thelake has continued to rise since 1988 (Figure 3).

Data of exceptional quality that allows insight intoimportant geomorphological processes was gatheredover the arid-hyperarid areas of Upper (South) Egyptand Sudan. The STS-34 crew photographed hot desertsin which wind streaks10 are well developed. Streaks areof interest in themselves as large features visible fromspace. Streaks indicate particle movement directionand, by their color, the minéralogie composition ofdune fields and other source regions. Being generatedby modern winds, streaks also provide anunderstanding of existing.dune-field alignments andthe possible importance of past wind regimes.

More research has been done on Martian streaksthan those on Earth. A specialized use of streakorientation analysis applied to Mars has provided basicdata, for example, for reconstruction of the grossMartian atmospheric circulation. From such dataThomas and Veverka (1979) demonstrated that Martianatmospheric hemispheres are asymmetrical. As hasbeen observed in the scientific literature, "With theexception of modeling studies, the relation oftopography to [terrestrial) streak pattern anddistribution has not yet been studied in detail" (El Bazet al, 1979). Ironically, this remains true a decade later,although Earth-based examples can provide real

situations from which to evaluate the Martian streaks.(Wilkinson, 1989). Now, based largely on the 30-yearlength-of-record of NASA astronaut photography, asurvey of Earth's streak fields and orientations is finallyunderway. Although no formal study of theirdistribution yet exists, streaks have been identified

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Figure 3. A mid-oblique of the majority of Lake Nasser,Egypt-Sudan. Lake Nasser was last photographed fullduring the flight of STS-2 in November 1981 (See S02-13-197). The droughts of the 1980's in the upperwatersheds of the Blue Nile emanating from Lake Tana,Ethiopia, and the White Nile emanating from LakeVictoria, caused drastic lowering of Lake Nasser. By1984-1985, the Nile River flow was reduced to very lowlevels at Khartoum, the capital of the Sudan, and pointsdownstream. The level of Lake Nasser was reduced bysome 30 meters by time of the flight of STS-13 in April1984 (S13-3I-I064). The lake continued to fall until theSTS-61C observation in January 1986 (61C-45-041).

The rains returned to the upper watersheds of theBlue & White Nile at the end of summer, 1988. Majorfloods down both branches of the Nile ensued andresulted in the almost complete flooding of Khartoum,Sudan, at the junction of the two rivers in August 1988(see S26-39-068). By October, 1988, the leading tongueof turbid flood water entered the upper (southern)portion of Lake Nasser (see S26-26-001 through -007and S26-34-67 through -074).. By STS-34, Lake Nasserhad apparently returned to a nearly full state. NASAPhotograph S34-76-027.

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from Space Shuttle photographs worldwide - STS-34added new examples previously unknown.

Streaks are best developed in flatter shield desertswhere winds blow unhindered. In the high Andean andHimalayan montane deserts, streaks are shorter andappear almost exclusively on the beds of dry lakes.Such source regions are conducive to streak formationbecause of the flatness of the surface, the ready supplyof fine material and the greatest exposure to wind.

In the Namib Desert of Namibia and the Grand ErgOriental of Algeria", streaks are aligned tens of degreesoff the alignment of neighboring linear dune chains.Since streaks result from strong, modern sand-movingwinds, it is a reasonable assumption that linear dunechains of different orientation formed under anatmospheric circulation different from that of today.These examples suggest that the present commonapproach of employing modern wind data as the basisfor analysis of some existing dune.alignments (McKeeet al., 1979) may need to be revisited.

The great streaks that cross the Western Desert ofEgypt southwards towards Lake Nasser are defined aslarge bedform streaks12. STS-34 provided excellentimages of these great bedform streaks in SW Egypt.These Egyptian streaks have also received attention aspossible Martian streak analogs. Slezak and El-Baz(1979), using 1975 Apollo-Soyuz and 1966 Gemini and1968 Apollo astronaut photography, showed that majorstreaks had shifted laterally in seven years. The STS-34image (Figure 4) provides documentation an additional15 years later in which further lateral shifts aredetectable13.

Another example of this geomorphic form,illustrated here (Figure 5), is a curvilinear bedformstreak which lies on the easternmost tip of the Horn ofAfrica. In this area, southerly winds, blowing across a30 mile-wide beach, give rise to a broad streak. Thestreak curves where it bends around the spur of amountain14. Numerous Martian streaks are curved,probably also as a result of topographic effects such asthat of the Somali circumstance.

The relative visibility of streaks changes whenseen from different directions. In oblique viewstransverse to the streak alignment, the streaks are moreeasily visible. This also obtains in the "streak fields" inNortheastern Saudi Arabia and Eastern Jordan.Dramatic sequences during the STS-34 flyby show thesame sets better from angles transverse to alignmentdirections15 than foreshortened in the line ofextension16.

Two areas have more than one streak alignment, theTigris-Euphrates basin (Eastern Iraq) and parts of theNamib Desert. Such dual alignments suggest that twomajor wind modes, perhaps seasonal, exist.

Further eastward, dust and smoke plumes in Iraq,driven by northwesterly winds, were photographed by68

Figure 4. Bedform sand streaks in the Gilf KebirPlateau-Uweinat Mountains region of the desert ofSouthwest Egypt. In this SE-looking view, GebelOweinat is the oval of dark rock (top) where theinternational borders of Egypt, the Sudan and Libyameet. Large sand streaks can be seen winding betweenthis and other dark massifs. Sandless areas (erosionstreaks) of intermediate albedo between these sandsheets are of the same size and shape as many streaksidentified on the surface of Mars. NASA PhotographS34-76-024.

Figure 5. Curvilinear bedform streak. In this near-nadirview, a large, light-colored sand streak can be seensweeping north out of a bay on the coast of Somalianear the Horn of Africa. Barchan dunes can beidentified within the area of the streak. NASAPhotograph S34-84-092.

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the STS-34 astronauts (Figure 6). Aligned parallel withthese are several short, tapering streaks on the flatTigris-Euphrates floodplain17. Almost transverse tothese are a large set of diffuse streaks east of the TigrisRiver extending up into the higher ground. Severalnorth-looking views from STS-34 show poorly definedE-W streaks east of the lower Tigris River18.

The STS-34 mission obtained some remarkable lowlight, low sun angle, high spatial resolution scenes ofthe Al Kidan and As Sarit Dunefields in Saudi Arabia19

(Figure 7). These scenes of classic orange barchan, star,and linear dunes overlying greenish paleolakesediments have some overlap between frames. Theshadowing provided by the 9-10° local sun elevation(1707 local time, 20 October 1990) provides a uniqueopportunity to researchers for precision calculation ofdune height distribution across these large fields, andthe opportunity for documenting dune morphologicalclass elevations on a large data set now alreadygathered (and in a rather painless manner).

The low sun elevations over the Mid-East andSouthwest Asia during STS-34 provided anotherexample of how well low sun elevations enhancetopographic analysis. In a second instance, the ruggedZagros Mountain Range of coastal Iran werephotographed in low sun angle conditions. The detailsvisible in this series include salt domes and saltglaciers, mass wasting features, paleo- and episodicdrainage features, and well-preserved arid geomorphicfeatures, particularly hogbacks or cuestas (Figure 8).

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Figure 6. Two northwest-looking views of southern Iraqshow dust and smoke plumes. Short, tapering streakscan be seen near the top of the views at the source ofthe right-hand dust plume. NASA Photograph S34-85-022.

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Figure 7. Star and linear dunes overlying paleolakesediments, As Sarit Dunefield, Eastern Saudi Arabia.The centerpoint of this photograph is 21.9°N 54.1CE.The sun elevation is 10°. NASA Photograph S34-78-087.

Figure 8. Zagros Mountains, Iran. NASA PhotographSun elevation is estimated at less than 10°. NASAPhotograph S34-72-093 (Part of a stereo pair with S34-72-094).

Good atmospheric clarity over much of the aridregions of North Africa and the Mid-East allowsexcellent delineation of a variety of cultural features,particularly in the photography of desert landscapes ofLibya and Saudi Arabia. The photography of the

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coastal cultural features and cities of South andSoutheast Asia are also noteworthy. An excellentexample is an oil field and associated transportationnetwork in Southeastern Libya (29.5°N 20.5°E) on S34-71-002 and S34-71-003. The sharp and crispdelineation is a product of good photographictechniques used by the crew members and the spatialresolution of the lens/film combination being flown onthese Space Shuttle missions. The analysis of thedynamics of urban- morphology, growth and decline,planning and urban-rural interaction from spaceplatforms has been documented widely (Lulla, et al.,1989; Welch, 1982). Space photography provides avaluable tool in defining land use patterns, growth ofindividual urban centers, and in detecting velocity andmagnitude changes in urban activities.

IV. South/Southeast/East Asia

The 6° poleward extension of the STS-34 orbital trackover the normal 28.5° inclination allowed dataacquisition of areas of China and Japan, in particular,that are seldom seen in nadir views. Additionally, pre-mission estimations of the sun angles for the STS-34Asian overpasses were 35-45° with local crossing timesof the Orbiter of 0930-1100 hrs. Accordingly,photography over these regions was emphasized assecondary only to documentation of the Southern U.S.The astronauts responded to these desires by acquiring269 scenes over South, Southeast, and East Asia20.

Color infrared photography of Sri Lanka and theFolded Ranges of Burma and China was to be a focuswithin the region. Cloud cover (persistent thin cirrus)prevented good coverage, but some useful scenes wereadded to the 30-year archive (Figure 9).

Color infrared film was employed on one ascendingorbit nadir views over this region on October 21. Theinitial frame21 is centered at 8.5°N 81°E. Cloud .coverinterceded until the fourth frame over the Dayao Mts ofSoutheastern China (24.5°N 110°E). Overlappingcoverage ended with the fifteenth frame over the GanRiver, China (27°N 115°E). An excellent scene of HongKong-Victoria-Kowloon-N.T., Guangzhou (Canton),Macao, and the Pearl River Estuary is amenable tostudies of urban expansion and the seaward growth ofthe Pearl River of 80-100 mtrs/yr22.

Excellent synoptic coverage with color visible filmwas obtained of the Gulf of Martaban, Burma, and theRed and Mekong River Valleys of Vietnam23. TheMekong River coverage is enhanced by partial sunglintconditions that delineate major irrigation works,river/coastal edges, and water bodies. Conversely theMekong River coverage has more clouds, especially inthe Can Tho, Long Xuyen, and Saigon areas, than overthe Red River region and coastal regions of northernVietnam.70

Figure 9. Color infrared view of the region aroundTrincomalee, Sri Lanka.NASA Photograph S34-88-037.

Low sun angles prevented good employment of bothcolor visible and color infrared films over theIndonesian and Philippine Archipelagoes. A minoreruption of Raung Volcano, Java, (8°S 114°E) wasdocumented; and a very low sun angle view ofSumbawa Volcano is actually enhanced, although dark,by this shadowing24. In Northern Luzon Island,Philippines, evidence of recent large-scaledeforestation and detritus from sluice-hydraulic miningassociated with a local gold rush was evident in theCayagan River Valley (19.6°N 122.6°E)25.

Further north, atmospheric pollution over thelowlands of Taiwan was so dense as to obviate usefulphotography for the fourth out of the five past SpaceShuttle missions26. As this overpass was at 0900L,stratus/fog banks associated with oceanic upwellingalong both sides of the island may have contributed toatmospheric opacity27. On the other hand, therepetition of this phenomenon at all seasons and atdifferent times of day, and a long-term ground report(B. Kile, pers. comm.) of pervasive atmosphericpollution throughout the lowlands of Taiwan tends toconfirm the interpretation of the phenomenon aspersistent and dense atmospheric pollution. Thecombination of the two possibilities - coastal upwellingand industrial/urban air pollution - would most likelybe noted as acid fogs similar to the "garau" of theAtacama Desert which follows massive squid andanchovy kills. Certainly, based upon a review of thelength-of-record of space photography of atmosphericpollution episodes elsewhere (Tokyo-Yokohama; LosAngeles; Mexico City, D.F.; Sao Paulo and Rio delaneiro; Europe and the USSR), the Taiwaneseatmospheric opacity is one of the worst observedoutside of the great smoke palls associated withCanadian and Brasilian forest fires and the urban-industrial atmospheric pollution documented over the

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Southern/Western USSR (Whitehead, et al. I990).In strong contrast to the poor atmospheric clarity of

Taiwan, Japan was characterized by surprisingly goodobserving conditions over Honshu, Kyushu, andShikoku28. This was despite the ongoing, long-termeruption of Sakurajima Volcano29 in Southern Kyushu(Figure 10), the possible continuing eruption of aseamount 80 miles south of Tokyo30, and priorobservations of large, dense smog palls over Tokyo-Yokohama, Tokyo Bay, and drifting south along theHonshu coast inland towards Fujiyama and towardsNagoya31. The previous Tokyo smog pall was notobserved during STS-34, and as a result, the metroplexwas documented under unusually good conditions(Figure 11). Smooth water areas downwind of ships inTokyo Bay indicate that a strong surface wind waspresent during the STS-34 mission that may haveassisted in these unusually good atmospheric visibilityconditions.

V. Central America/Caribbean Islands

As in Africa, Earth observations over the Americaswere limited by the sunset terminator at and south ofthe equator throughout STS-34. The passage ofHurricanes Hugo and Jerry through the Caribbean amonth prior to the STS-34 launch invited theopportunity to look for evidence of major damage onthose Caribbean islands affected. Additionally,emphasis was given to documentation of large firescars and forest blowdowns along the Eastern Yucatan

Figure 10. Sakurajima Volcano and Kagoshima City,Southern Kyushu, Japan. Sakurajima Volcano has beenin various eruption phases during many past SpaceShuttle missions. NASA Photograph S34-86-049.

Figure 11. Tokyo-Yokohama metroplex and Tokyo Bay,Honshu, Japan. This photograph of the Tokyo-Yokohama megalopolis of 31+ million people isunusual in the clarity of the atmosphere. The circulardark-green area in the center (on the west side of TokyoBay) in downtown Tokyo (the heart of old Edo) are thepalace and grounds of the Emperor of Nippon (Japan).An appreciation of the importance of this port to Japanmay be gained by the presence of no less than 128vessels visible in Tokyo Bay on this scene. NASAPhotograph S34-78-054.

Peninsula following the passage .of the 1988 Class VHurricane Gilbert. These tasks the crew gladlyundertook, as well as documentation of areas of CentralAmerica in which they also have scientific interests. Alltold, the crew acquired 191 scenes over Central Americaand the Caribbean32.

One of the highlights of Earth observations duringSTS-34 was the successful documentation of blowdownand fire-scarred forest areas in the Yucatan Peninsula ofMexico. A separate report on the Yucatan forest lossassociated with the 1988 passage of Hurricane Gilbertis being prepared for later publication.

Elsewhere in Mexico the majority of Earth sceneswere acquired in areas of Baja California and themountainous areas of Northern Mexico. The exceptionwas an excellent pass across the coastal andmountainous forested areas of extreme southwesternMexico. This orbital pass is one of our first looks at thisarea of difficult access which is undergoing rapidenvironmental transformation. Evidences of road-building, urbanization, deforestation, and erosion were

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visible from Punta Mita, 21°N 105.5°W southeastwardto Chiapas and the Sierra Madre del Sur (17°N 97.5°W)and to the Gulf of Tehuantepec ( 16°N 97.5°W)33.

More high-quality color infrared exposures wereacquired over Central America and the Caribbeanregion than for any other area. Of particular import isthe CIR photography acquired of Western Nicaragua,especially of the Managua and Gulf of Fonseca(Nicaragua-Honduras) areas. The CIR photographyallows ready discrimination of forested/non-forestedareas. In the Managua scene (Figure 12), discriminationof urban areas, recent volcanic lithologie units, andcenter pivot irrigation areas (east and south sides ofLake Managua) is possible. The Gulf of Fonseca scene(Figure 13) delineates the active mangrove forest frontin the intertidal zone of the gulf. Additionally, anumber of rectangular areas in the intertidal zone arevisible. It is assumed that these rectilinear, dikedponds are areas of aquaculture, most probably that ofCaribbean shrimp.

Southern Central America is almost always a difficultarea for acquisition of good data. The problem ispersistent cloud cover. The STS-34 crew was fortunatein documenting some areas in this region that wererelatively cloud-free34. In particular, scenes of bothPanama and Costa Rica are valuable. Althoughsomewhat oblique, these frames are fully capable ofrectification following digitization. The value of theCosta Rica scene lies in its delineation of forested vs.non-forested areas (Figure 14).

Excellent color infrared coverage was obtained of

Figure 13. Gulf of Fonseca, Nicaragua-Honduras. Thepresumed aquaculture ponds are the rectilinearimpoundments along the eastern side of the Gulf.NASA Photograph S34-88-005

Figure 12. Lake Managua-Managua, Nicaragua.Center-pivot irrigation is prominent on both theeastern and southern shores of the lake. Managua ison the western shore. NASA Photograph S34-88-008.

Figure 14. Costa Rica. Much of Costa Rica is visible inthis rare cloud-free view. The Pacific Ocean is visibleleft and the Caribbean Sea is visible right. The viewincludes nearer parts of the neighboring countries ofPanama (bottom right comer) and Nicaragua (topright). San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica, is visiblein the center of the picture. Forested mountain slopessurround the capital and reach altitudes of more than11,000 feet.

The Gulf of Nicoya is prominent top left, protectingthe port city of Puntarenas. NASA Photograph S34-71-OBH.

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nearly all of Jamaica in almost cloud-free conditions.These near-nadir views35, taken with the high-resolutionlens, are of sufficient quality as to encourage inclusioninto GIS routines for vegetation cover mapping. This isespecially true for the forests of the very rough karst(Cockpit Country) of the interior. Also delineated onthe Jamaican CIR scenes are urban areas, areas ofturbid littoral waters and plumes, and the strongyellow-green signatures of island holding ponds andstream systems contaminated with bauxite tailings(Figure 15).

The 10-22 September passage of Hurricanes Hugofrom the Cape Verde Islands across the Caribbeancaused major damage to islands in its path. Hugopassed across Puerto Rico on 18 September with windsof 200 kph, gusting to 265 kph, and precipitation totalsin excess of 235mm. Direct damages to Puerto Ricoand the Virgin Islands were estimated at about $2billion, and perhaps $500 million in other areas of theCaribbean (NCDC-NOAA, 1989). The impact of Hugoupon Caribbean forests was particularly devastating. InPuerto Rico, the eye of Hugo passed directly overCaribbean National Forest at El Yunque. Nearly totaldefoliation resulted on 22,000 acres in the 28,000 acreNational Forest (Boucher, 1990). Although STS-34 didnot overfly Puerto Rico and other islands of theCaribbean until a month after Hugo, it was hoped thatsome knowledge of the vegetation and hydrologiedamage could be gleaned from photography of theregion36. Surprisingly, as with the passage of Gilbertacross the Yucatan in 1988, drainage from Puerto Ricoof excessive highly turbid runoff from Hugo's rains wasstill evident (Figure 16). Vegetation damage

assessment is not possible using the color visibleimages.

Major vegetation damage was not striking in thecolor visible photograph of Puerto Rico above. Runoffis evident as a number of turbid plumes and freshwaterlenses around the island's periphery. These samephenomena were also noted in the Carolinas of themainland U.S. The cause of the apparent lack of.vegetation damage one month after the storm isuncertain, but is possibly due to the presence of still

Figure 15. Cockpit Country, North lamaica.Photograph S34-88-013.

NASA

Figure 16. Sediment runoff from Puerto Rico after the passage of Hurricane Hugo. NASA Photograph S34-76-088.

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green leaf clutter throughout the area. In the case ofHurricane Gilbert in the Yucatan, vegetation damagewas only evident some months after the storm'spassage.

VI. North America

The STS-34 crew had interests in photographingmajor urban areas in the Southern U.S., particularly thecoastal areas of South and North Carolina. The goal ofthe latter focus was to document shoreline andvegetation changes that might be attributable to thepassage of Hurricane Hugo immediately to thenortheast of Charleston, S.C., on 21-22 September. 240frames of 70-mm photography, both color visible andcolor infrared, were acquired over the United States.

Good success was met in acquiring scenes of nofewer than 51 major U.S. cities from San Francisco toNorfolk37. Excellent atmospheric conditions obtainedduring overpasses from Southern California to theMississippi River. Scattered clouds were present overareas of interest along the U.S. Southeast coast. Urbangrowth and the decline of agricultural areas wasparticularly marked in the Phoenix-Tempe, Arizonametroplex area as compared to earlier views (Figure17).

A nadir-viewing, cloud-free overpass of the MiddleColorado River of Arizona also allowed overlapping(stereoscopic) photography to be obtained along the

entire length of the Grand Canyon (Figure 18)38.Hurricane Hugo went ashore immediately northeast

of Charleston, S.C. with winds of about 225 kph andprecipitation totals of 100-230 mm. Damages in thearea have been conservatively estimated at $7.071billion (NCDC, 1989). Acquisition of data by the STS-34crew over areas around Charleston was partiallyimpeded by cloud cover. Nevertheless some high-quality color infrared photography was obtained (Figure19).

As noted for Puerto Rico earlier, vegetation damageassociated with Hugo is not obvious in the STS-34photography. Insufficient time had passed between the

Figure 17. Phoenix-Tempe, Arizona, 1989. The urbansprawl of this metroplex and consequent demise ofagriculture in this region should be contrasted with therespective farm and urban areas evident in from Skylabin 1973 (See SL3-86-011). NASA Photograph S34-74-067.

Figure 18. The Grand Canyon of the Colorado Riverand Kaibab Plateau and National Forest, Arizona. TheColorado flows from the top to the bottom of thisimage. The Grand Canyon amazed early explorers ofThe West as one North America's largest river-cutvalleys: the Colorado River in the valley bottom lies4,000-4,500 feet below the rims of the Canyon. Verticalwalls of the Canyon suddenly interrupt the flat, drylandscapes of the Colorado Plateau exposing ancientrocks in the Canyon floor. Because of its altitude above6,500 feet, the Canyon Rim is favored vacation countryfor Arizonans during summer when cities like Phoenixand Tucson in the low deserts swelter in 100° heat. TheColorado River excavated the huge Canyon in less thanfour million years, a small fraction of geological time.The low sun elevation of this scene enhances the reliefdifferences with some shadowing and muted coloringof different stratigraphie and vegetation cover units.The entire length of the Grand Canyon was documentedby six overlapping frames by the STS-34 astronauts.There is sufficient overlap in these scenes to allowstereoscopic reconstruction of the entire GrandCanyon. Centerpoint of this scene is 36.0°N 112.0°W.NASA Photograph S34-72-056. (Stereo series is S34-72-052 through 72-057).

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Figure 19. Savannah, Georgia region and coastfollowing Hurricane Hugo. The lack of obviousvegetation damage, forest blowdown, or forestdefoliation in this color infrared scene is probablyattributable to the general presence of active leaf littersome two weeks after the passage of the storm. NASAPhotograph S34-88-036.

Figure 20. Cape Hatteras outflow plume from PamlicoSound. The outflow from the precipitation runoff ofHurricane Hugo was still evident during the STS-34mission. This same delayed or extended runoffphenomenon was also very marked along the YucatanPeninsula periphery following Hurricane Gilbert in1988.NASA Photograph S34-83-069.

event and the documentation for the full vegetationdamage to be evident. Coastal changes are also notmarked, although littoral waters, especially thosebehind barrier islands such as Cape Hatteras (PamlicoSound), were still highly turbid during the mission(Figure 20)39, and freshwater runoff lenses into theAtlantic Ocean offshore are strongly evident40.

VII. Meteorology/Aeronomy

Meteorological conditions were well suited forphotography during most of the flight. This was not toounexpected as most of the photographic opportunitieswere in the Northern Hemisphere and the subsidenceassociated with the fall season suppresses cloudformation.

There were no named tropical storms observed ordocumented and the polar front cloud band was narrowand ill-defined. Those clouds present within the STS-34imagery tended to contribute as much in esthetics anddepiction of cloud dynamics as they took away fromsurface coverage. As the Shuttle-acquired imageryprovides high-resolution (compared to environmentalsatellites), non-nadir views of cloud forms, it is ideallysuited to depict the various types and scales ofatmospheric convection.

Three such examples are shown here. Figure 21demonstrates convection in the very thin stratoformclouds around Santa Barbara Island, California.

Over a land surface, one would expect this cloudform to occur during the morning hours as thin stratusbegins to break-up, then dissipate, finally followed by

Figure 21. Stratoform clouds and von Karman vorticesover the California Current, near Santa Barbara Island,California. NASA Photograph S34-72-066.

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development of cumulus during the afternoon. Overthe cool water environment of the California Current,however, these clouds tend to represent an almoststeady-state situation diurnally. They are capped by astrong inversion of superior air (subsidence from aloft),and where in many cases an onshore development ofcumulus forced by the wind would occur, in this casethe energy of the wind field is dissipated by thegeneration of downwind von Karman vortices.

These vortices, in turn generate their own verticalmotion fields as manifested by the cloud densityvariation near the center of the individual vortices.

Figure 22 depicts convection associated with aclassical mountain-valley effect. This image of the Hsimountains of China (29°N 108°E)41 demonstrates theeffects of heating of the sides of mountains relative tothe heating of the air at the same level over the valley.

Note that in this image the clouds do not appear tobe on the windward side nor do the curves in theclouds lines appear to be offset appreciable from thecurves in the ridges. From the similarity in cloud andridge pattern, without offset, it is likely a very light, ifany, prevailing wind is present; hence the cloudsrepresent only the thermal forcing action, with nomechanical outside action forcing their development.

Figure 23 was taken just east of the Bahama Islands,from over 24. PN 74.5°W in the eastern Atlantic Oceanat 1530 local time. The view is to the south. Theshearing of the cumulus, with the cloud bottom moving

faster than the top, is noticeable in the clouds in thedistance. This phenomenon is very typical of the cloudactivity in trade wind zones in the central and westernoceans. The trade wind inversion, if it exists, is likelynear the 3000-mtr level and is weak. Nearer to theShuttle position some perturbing force, probably

Figure 22. Mountain-valley convection effect, HsiMountains, China. NASA Photograph S34-78-023.

Figure 23. Trade wind shearing of Atlantic Ocean cumulus field. NASA Photograph S34-74-079.

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frontal in nature, has caused sufficient low-levelconvergence to cause the trade wind inversion to bepenetrated and cumulo-nimbus to develop. This isatmospheric convection in its most intense form. Thelarge cirrus shield that forms as a result may persist forseveral hours, perhaps days, and represents acontribution both to the Earth's albedo and to theinflux of water vapor into the stratosphere.

Mission Highlights

With the completion of the STS-34, thecatalogued archive of photography acquired NASAmanned spaceflights from 1961 is now approaching105,000. The value of this data is severalfold, as hasbeen discussed in Space Shuttle mission reviewspreviously published in Geocarto International. One of themore significant aspects of this data, other thandocumentation of the processes obtaining and st&te ofthis small planet for the past 30 years, is the impact oftechnological evolutions that allow analog data to bereadily digitized, that is, the ability to reshape andreinterpret this photographic data into numeric datathrough computer digitization, rectification,classification, overlaying, and mensuration (as in thecase of the forthcoming report on the digitization ofSTS-34 photography of the Yucatan forest damageassociated with Hurricane Gilbert).

Individual highlights of this mission include thedocumentation of the impact of the Yucatan forestblowdown and fires a year after the passage ofHurricane Gilbert; the apparent recovery of the waterlevel of Lake Nasser to conditions similar to thoseduring the second Space Shuttle mission (1981); thesurprising persistence and opacity of the atmosphericpollution veil that has characterized Taiwan for the pastyear; and the reinforcement of the high value of spacephotography under low and very low sun angleconditions for geological and geomorphologicalanalyses.

References

Boucher, D.H. 1990. Growing back after hurricanes. BioScience,40(3): 163-166.

+Breed, C. S. et al. (6) 1979. Regional studies of sand seasusing Landsat (ERTS) imagery. In E. D. McKee (ed.), AStudy of Global Sand Seas, Prof Paper, U. S. Geol. Surv. No.1052:305-397.

+El-Baz, F. Maxwell, T.A. 1979. Eolian streaks in southwesternEgypt and similar features in the Cerberus of Mars. Proc,Lunar & Planetary Science Conf. 10: 3017-3030.

+Greeley, R., Iversen, J.D. 1985. Wind as a Geological Process.London, Cambridge Univ Pr, 333 pp.

+Lulla, K.P. et al. (9) 1989. Earth observations during SpaceShuttle Flight STS-29: Discovery's Voyage to the Earth, 13-18 March 1989. Geocarto Intnl, 4(4): 67-80.

McKee, E. D. (ed.) 1979. A Study of Global Sand Seas, ProfPaper, U. S. Geol Surv, No. 1052. 429 pp.

NCDC-NOAA 1989. Tropical Storms and Hurricanes. I.Hurricane Hugo. Storm Data, (Nat'l Climatic Data Ctr(NOAA), Asheville, N.C., 31(9): 11-27.

Slezak, M. H., El-Baz, F. 1979. Temporal changes as depicted onorbital photographs of arid regions in North Africa. In F. El-Baz and D. M. Warner (eds.) Apollo-Soyuz Test Project:Summary Science Report. Vol. II: Earth Observations andPhotography NASA Spec'l Publ, SP-412, pp. 263-272.

Thomas, P. Veverka, I. 1979. Seasonal and secular variation ofwind streaks on Mars: an analysis of Mariner 9 and Vikingdata. J Geophys Res, 84:8131-8146.

Welch, R.1982. Spatial resolution requirements for urbanstudies, Intntl J Remote Sensing, 3: 139-149.

Whitehead, V.S. et al. (14) 1990. Earth observations duringSpace Shuttle Mission STS-28: 8-13 August 1989. GeocartoIntntl, 5(2): 63-80.

Wilkinson, M. J. 1988. Linear dunes in the Central NamibDesert: theoretical and chronological perspectives fromwind streaks. In G. F. Dardis and B. P. Moon (eds.),Geomorphological Studies in Southern Africa, Rotterdam,Balkema. 290 pp.

Wilkinson, M. J. 1989. Streaking on Earth and Mars. Abstr,Lunar & Planetary Science CONF, 20 (3): 1203-1204.

FOOTNOTES

1. Ed Note: The 31st Space Shuttle mission carried thedesignator "STS-34"; NASA mission numbers are notnecessarily sequential.

2. International Designator for STS-34 was 1989 084A.Launch weight of the entire vehicle stack on Pad 39B was2,049,285 kg. Launch weight of the Orbiter Atlantis with itspayload was 119,943 kg. Orbital period was 90.5 minutes,with a perigee of 295 km, and an apogee of 323 km.Mission length was 4 days, 23 hrs, 39 mins. The missionwas shortened by two revolutions because of high windsforecast at the recovery site.

3. The Galileo satellite, built at an approximate cost of $1.2billion, contains 17 scientific instruments on the Jupiterorbiter and atmospheric probe. The InternationalDesignator for Galileo is 1989 084B. At launch the 5.5 mtrsatellite with its Interim Upper Stage weighed about 3881kg. At full deploy, Galileo measures 15 mtrs in length.Galileo's trip to Jupiter is enhanced by a gravity-assisttrajectory from Venus-Earth-Earth-asteroid Gaspra, whereflybys impart accelerations. After arrival in December,1995, Galileo will orbit Jupiter for 22 months at a distanceof 315,000 to 19 million km while acquiring some 50,000color images and other data on the highly activemagnetosphere and atmosphere, and basic geography ofthe planet and its satellites. The 337 kg atmospheric probewith its six instruments will be expended into the Jovianatmosphere to obtain an in situ vertical profile of variousparameters for about 75 minutes before it is crushed bythe pressure of the Jovian atmosphere.

4. As IMAX photography is proprietary, NASA scientistsneither review nor have access to this data. The movienoted is scheduled for release in late 1990. Inquiriesconcerning IMAX photography should be directed to IMAXCorp.

5. Color visible film was Kodak Ektachrome Professional 5017(Rolls 71-74; 76-79; 83-86) and color infrared film was

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Kodak Aerochrome 2443 (Rolls 88 and 89).6. The distribution of scenes acquired over this region is

outlined below:Africa, General 16 Mali 1Algeria 40 Maltese Islands 2Azores 1 Mauritania 9Balearic Islands 3 Morocco 31Canary Islands 4 Mozambique 1Chad 3 Niger 2Comoros 1 Oman 4Crete I Pakistan 8Cyprus 1 Saudi Arabia 31Egypt 27 Somalia 4Greece 11 Spain 7Iran 30 Sudan 1Iraq 11 Syria 2Israel 4 Tunisia 6Italy/Sicily 4 Turkey 8Jordan 2 Un Arab Emirates 1Liby 25 Western Sahara 1Madeira Is. 2 Yemen 7

Total 312

Scientists wishing to obtain detailed data catalogs forSpace Shuttle missions' Earth observations photographyshould write to Manager, Space Shuttle EarthObservations Office, Code SN15, NASA-JSC, Houston,Texas 77058 USA. The STS-34 data catalog is entitledCatalog of Space Shuttle Earth Observations Handheld Photography(NASA-ISC Doc. 24297, July 1990).

7. Some of the islands not often seen during Space Shuttlemissions which were documented during STS-34 includeMalta and Gozo Islands (S34-72-088); Madeira and PortosSantos Islands with atmospheric vortices (S34-72-066);Cyprus (S34-85-002, -006); Crete with atmospheric leewakes (S34-86-098); and islands and peninsulas of AegeanGreece (S34-86-094, -095).

8. The 28.5° orbital inclination typical of most Space Shuttlemissions is the preferred minimum-energy, due eastlaunch path to Low Earth Orbit from NASA Kennedy SpaceCenter.

9. See S34-72-006 for conditions of atmospheric opacity overthe Gulf of Guinea (the jettisoned External Tank is alsovisible in this view); in western Niger and Mauritaniasavanna fires and blowing dust were marked (S34-74-013).The Inter Tropical Front of the Sahel is well delineated as acloud field in Nigeria at 14.2°N 2.2°E (S34-74-022). Full,well-developed TRW+ typical of the ITCZ and GreaterCongo Basin are evident further to the south, but theseareas were near or at the sunset terminator during STS-34(See S34-74-030 in Zaire at 1.8°S 21.9°E).

10. Wind streaks are defined by Greeley and lversen (1985:209) as "patterns of contrasting albedo [which form] as aresult of various aeolian processes." Streaks are straight,narrow features of little or no relief, markedly parallel withone another. They are usually situated downwind oftopographic obstacles, are elongated along the prevailingwind direction, and may result from grain size differences,grain mineral (color) composition, or eolian bedforms(Greeley and lversen, 1985).

11. See S34-86-087 and -088 for examples from the Grand ErgOriental.

12.. See S34-71-009, S34-84-083, S34-85-073, and -074.13. Also see S34-76-025, and S34-84-081. For earlier

photography see S66-54529, S66-54776 (1966), and AS9-233533 (1968). Nearby Sudanese yardangs of interest may

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be found on S34-84-093. Also see S34-84-083 and -084 forSouth Egyptian and Nubian Desert yardangs and streaks.

14. An excellent photograph of this same feature was takenduring Gemini VI in 1965-, see S65-63130. Other Somaliancoastal geomorphic features of interest documented athigh spatial resolution include sabkhas/raised beaches,fault scarps, and parallel faults on S34-84-092 and -093.

15. For Saudi Arabian example, see S34-84-065, -066; forJordanian example, see S34-84-069.

16. For Saudi Arabian example, see S34-84-071; for Jordanianexample, see S34-85-006.

17. Good detailed views of this phenomenon are on S34-84-072, -073.

18.. The Iraqi sand streaks in the Lower Tigris-Euphrates basinare also on S34-85-010, -11, -012, -103, -021, and -023.Local dust/sandstorms have been commonly noted duringpast missions. A good earlier example is S17-37-095. Theblack plumes in the S17 scene are not to be confused withmoving terrestrial matter, but are rather the result of firesand smoke following Iraqi missile attacks on oil storageand loading facilities, tankers, and oil productionplatforms at Kharg Island and the nearby offshore NowruzOilfield. A good synoptic view of the region is S17-121-034, and a clear, high spatial resolution scene from STS-34of the Euphrates Delta region is S34-72-089.

19. The barchans of Al Kidan ((22°N 53.5°E) are on S34-78-085and -086; the stars, linears, and lake sediments of As Sarit(22°N 54.5°N) are on S34-78-087 and -088. Of additionalinterest are the Saudi Arabian dunefields around the AjaMountains (27.9°N 40.5°E) on S34-78-076, -077, and -078.

20. The geographic distribution of Asian scenes is outlinedbelow:

Bangladesh 6 Malaysia 12Burma 8 Philippines 1China 80 South Korea 4India 50 Sri Lanka 3Indonesia 15 Taiwan 7Japan 63 Thailand 4Kampuchea 2 Vietnam 14

21. S34-88-037, -38, -039, all in Northern Sri Lanka; S34-88-040 through -050 includes the Dayao and Taiping Mts, andthe Qian, Xiang, and Gan River valleys, China.

22. The 1989 scene, S34-77-010, is of sufficient quality as to bedigitially and GIS compared to the 1983 scene, S09-33-1276. Also see S34-85-059 for details of Hong Kong andLingding Bay; S34-77-006 captures urban and culturaldetails in the Leizhou region adjacent to the South ChinaSea.

23. The Gulf of Martaban coverage is on S34-86-053 through -055. Near cloud-free Red River coverage, including Hanoiand Haiphong, may be seen on S34-83-011 through 83-014; Lower Mekong mid-oblique, overlapping coveragemay be found on S34-86-059 through -065. As a note,Burma is now known as "Myanmar" by its governingmilitary leaders.

24. The Raung Volcano eruption is on S34-73-080. Sumbawais on S34-84-034, frame centerpoint at 10.4°S 113.2°E.Other Java scenes of interest are S34-79-068 and -069.

25. S34-83-010 with a centerpoint at 19.6°N 122.6°E.26.See S34-84-034 and S34-86-046 of the Taiwanese air

pollution episode. Upwelling is more marked along theTaiwanese west coast than east coast. Similar Taiwaneseatmospheric pollution conditions were noted during STS-27, -28, and -30. Also see S28-87-041, Fig. 12 inWhitehead, et al. 1990. Contrast 1989 atmosphericpollution conditions with atmospheric clarity conditions in1966 (S66-54868), and as late as 1984 when Taiwanese

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west coast alluvial fans were sharply delineated, S11-31-1177.

27. See S66-54868 for first documentation of thisphenomenon.

28.See S34-77-071 (Kyushu, sunglint, 32.5°N 131°E); S34-77-075 (Nagoya, Honshu, 34.5°N 136.5°E); S34-83-026(Kyushu, 32.5°N 130.5°E); S34-83-029 (Shikoku & Honshu,33.5°N 133°E); S34-84-056 (Shikoku & Honshu, 34°N133.5°E).

29. Views of Sakurajima in eruption during STS-34 may beseen on S34-84-038, and S34-86-048, -049.

30. This seamount (35.3°N 139.5°E) was first seen activeduring STS-28 in August 1989. The STS-28 photograph, thefirst space photograph known to us of a seamount ineruption, shows a ring of probable pumice around acentral elliptical whitish area of probable boiling waterand pumice, and a plume estimated to be some 25-30 kmin length (see S28-90-008). The same area wasphotographed during STS-34, but the site was partiallyobscured by clouds. The evidence in STS-34 frames forthis continuing eruption is equivocal (see S34-77-078 and -079).

31. An illustration of the Tokyo-Yokohama metroplex smogpall during STS-2 in 1981 is S02-09-392. Contrast the STS-2 scene with S34-78-054 (Figure 10 above) and S34-77-079.Fuji-san is on the latter scene.

32. The geographic distribution of scenes acquired is below:BahamasBelizeBermudaCosta RicaCubaDominican Rep.El SalvadorGuatemalaHonduras

714871213

JamaicaLesser AntillesMexicoNicaraguaPanamaPuerto RicoVenezuelaS. America, gen'lVirgin Islands

989117361661

33. See S34-86-009 through -030. Also see S34-83-002(Acapulco, Mexico).

34. Of potential interest for investigators are: Costa Rica (S34-

71-OBH, -OB), -OBL, color visible); Panama (S34-71-OBK,color visible); Guatemala (S34-71-015, color visible); andJamaica (S34-88-012 through -018, color infrared).

35.The STS-34 Jamaica color infrared scenes (S34-88-012through -018) may be compared to a similar set of colorvisible scenes from STS-51B in 1985 (S19-32-012 through -018).

36. STS-34 photography of Puerto Rico includes: S34-71-OBS,71-OBT; 76-087, -088, -089, and 85-064.

37. Some of the scenes are.- Mobile, AL (S34-76-051);Birmingham, AL (S34-76-080); Phoneix, AZ (S34-74-067);San Diego, CA (S34-72-067); Pensacola, FL (S34-74-074);Ft. Walton Beach, FL (S34-76-075); Jacksonville, FL (S34-74-077); St. Petersburg-Tampa, FL (S34-84-019); Miami, FL(S34-84-020); Savannah, GA (S34-74-009 and 88-029);Atlanta, GA (S34-83-051); Wilmington, NC (S34-76-055);Albuquerque, NM (S34-83-088); Austin, TX (S34-73-070);Waco, TX (S34-73-071); El Paso, TX (S34-83-045); Ft. Worth,TX (S34-83-092); and Dallas, TX (S34-83-093).

38. Earlier scenes useful to assess the cycle of clear-cutting inthe upland forest of the Grand Canyon, the KaibabNational Forest are SL3-122-2581 from 1973, and 51J-43-069 from 1985.

39. Other post-Hugo coastal/littoral scenes in the Carolinasand Georgia include.

North Carolina (S34-74-011, -012, -046 through -052;76-055; 79-026, -027; and 83-040;

South Carolina (S34-73-023; 74-042 through -045, -052through -054; 83-061 and-062; 88-034, and -035;

Georgia (S34-74-009, -010; 76-074; 83-051; and 88-029.40. Another excellent example of post-hurricane freshwater

lenses ponding in offshore saline water may be seen offthe Yucatan following Hurricane Gilbert on S26-35-020.Identical features are especially prominent followingHurricane Hugo in the breaks of Cape Hatteras barrierisland chain between Pamlico Sound and the openAtlantic (see S34-83-068 and -069). The surprise in thephenomenon is not its presence, but rather its persistenceovertime.

41. A 100-mm, synoptic view of this same phenomenon wasacquired simultaneous with this view, see S34-77-051.

Front CoverThe Grand Canyon of the Colorado River and Kaibab Plateau and National Forest. Arizona. The

Colorado flows from the top to the bottom of this image. The Grand Canyon amazed early explorers ofThe West as one North America's largest river-cut valleys: the Colorado River in the valley bottom lies4,000-4,500 feet below the rims of the Canyon. Vertical walls of the Canyon suddenly interrupt the flat, drylandscapes of the Colorado Plateau exposing ancient rocks in the Canyon floor. Because of its altitudeabove 6,500 feet, the Canyon Rim is favoured vacation country for Arizonans during summer when citieslike Phoenix and Tucson in the low deserts swelter in 100° heat. The Colorado River excavated the hugeCanyon in less than four million years, a small fraction of geological time. The low sun elevation of thisscene enhances the relief differences with some shadowing and muted coloring of different stratigraphieand vegetation cover units. The entire length of the Grand Canyon was documented by six overlappingframes by the STS-34 astronauts. There is sufficient overlap in these scenes to allow stereoscopicreconstruction of the entire Grand Canyon. Centerpoint of this scene is 36.0°N 112.0°W. NASA PhotographS34-72-056 (Stereo series is S34-72-052 through 72-057).

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First Mosaic of North America

The first digital mosaic of the North American continent has been completed by ERIM, workingin conjunction with National Geographic and with the cooperation of the EROS Data Center,Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, and NOAA.

AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) LAC (Local Area Coverage) data,collected between December 1985 and July 1989, have been geocoded, resampled to one kilo-meter, and mosaicked to produce a stereographic projection of the entire continent.

Image Data Processing by the Environment Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM), Ann Arbor,US.A. For further information on this and other products, contact Larry Reed at ERIM, P.O. Box8618, Ann Arbor, Ml 48107-8618, U.S.A. Tel: (313) 994-1200; Fax: (313) 665-6559

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