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The Aral Sea

April 4, 2016
Image of the Aral Sea

The Aral Sea, split between Uzbekistan to the south and Kazakhstan to the north, used to be one of the largest lakes in the world. Now, after years of water loss, it is mostly dried up lake beds. This image, taken on March 4, 2016, uses multiple spectral bands (SVI 4, 1, 3) from the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite that are sensitive to subtle differences in surface temperature, condition, and vegetation. Dark areas are where water still stands, blues are the surrounding barren lands, and greens are associated with the wetlands that feed the inland sea.