Gobi Desert Dust Storms: Major Mechanism for Mega Disasters

MAY YOU LIVE IN CHANGING TIMES!

Thick Plumes of Sand and Dust Continue to Blow Out of Gobi Desert Choking East Asia

The Gobi Desert Pictorial Disaster Calendar: Satellite images of ongoing severe sand and dust storms over East Asia

Gobi Dust over the Sea of Japan

Thick plumes of dust from Gobi Desert covered the Sea of Japan on May 13, 2011, when MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite took this photo-like image.

Massive plumes of sand and dust blew out of the Gobi Desert on May 11 moving toward northeastern China, and covering the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning the next day when MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite took this image. The visibility in the region was reportedly reduced to about 1,000 meters (3,000 feet). 

Gobi Desert Sand and Dust Storms Plague East Asia

For a second time in 12 days, large plumes of sand and dust blew out of the Gobi Desert and spread across the Mongolia-China border. MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite took this photo-like image on May 11, 2011.

Sand and dust storms from the Gobi Desert blew across China covering the Yellow Sea in late April and early May 2011. MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image on May 1. 2011.

Gobi Desert dust plumes  blew eastward in late April 2011.  MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this natural-color image on April 29, 2011.

Fast-moving sand from Gobi Desert reaches as far as east coast of Japan

A true color image of North China Plain, Shandong Peninsula and the Bo Haitaken was taken by MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite as sand  from Gobi Desert blew across the region. Source: NASA E-O.   Download large image (3 MB, JPEG) – Image acquired November 11, 2010

A dust storm that blew through Asia’s Gobi Desert on November 10, 2010, quickly intensified as the day wore on. When the MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image at 1:50 p.m. Beijing time (5:50 UTC), the dust plumes were considerably thicker than they had been just two hours earlier. Smaller dust plumes also appeared north of the Mongolia-China border. Source of image and caption: NASA E-O.

The dust from Gobi Desert passed over the East China Sea, and the Sea of Japan on November 12, 2010, when MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite took this image. “A veil of dust forms an arc hundreds of kilometers long, and extends from the Yellow Sea to the northern Sea of Japan. Thick dust also blows over the nation of Japan. In the northeast, clouds hide parts of the dust plume. Although skies appear mostly dust-free over the Korean Peninsula, weather reports from November 11 and 12 reported widespread dust over Seoul, the location of the Group of 20 summit.” Source of image and caption: NASA E-O. Download large image (7 MB, JPEG).

Click images to enlarge.  (Source of images: NASA-EO)

Related Links

• Gobi Tries to Bury E China
• TC Phet, SST and Intercontinental Dust Storms
• Killer Dust Storms Strike India, Middle East

• SW China on the precipice of catastrophe
• Humongous Dust Storm Sweeps Africa
• Australia: World’s Smallest Continental Dust Bowl
• Could Dust Storms Bury Sydney, Australia?
• Washington: Thousands of Tons of Topsoil Lost in Dust Storm

• Australia: Uranium Dust Threat Real?
• And dust to dust …
• The Mesopotamian Dust Bowl
• Image of the Day: Sandstorm in Saudi Desert

Mississippi River Flooding: Morganza Floodway to open Saturday

From a source of life to … in 150 years

Engineers to open key floodway to avert flooding in Baton Rouge and New Orleans

Louisiana state officials have confirmed that the Army Engineers would open the Morganza Spillway by early Saturday evening (CDT), a report said.

The move is intended to avert flooding in Louisiana’s two largest cities, Baton Rouge and New Orleans; however, it could inundate  many thousands of homes and large tracts of crops.

Flooding in Atchafalaya basin is expected to exceed20 feet, affecting about 25,000 people, more than 10,000 buildings and up to 20,000 acres of cropland.

Mississippi River

The largest river in North America, the Mississippi River flows 2,340 mi (3,765 km) from its source at Lake Itasca in the Minnesota North Woods, through the midcontinental United States, the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain, and the Louisiana Delta. “’Mississippi’ is an Ojibwa (Chippewa) word meaning great river or gathering of waters—an appropriate name because the river basin, or watershed, extends from the Allegheny Mountains in the eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains, including all or parts of 31 states and 2 Canadian provinces. The river basin measures 1.85 million mi² (4.76 million km²), covering about 40 percent of the United States and about one-eighth of North America.” Mississippi River has the world’s third largest watershed area and seventh average discharge rate. Source: USGS

Morganza Spillway – Satellite Images

Flooded Morganza Spillway.  May5, 1973. Click image to enlarge. Download largest image (2 MB, JPEG)

False color images using near-infrared, red, and green wavelengths. The top image taken by Landsat 1;  bottom image from Landsat 2.  Source: NASA-EO

Morganza Spillway area Sans flooding, 1977. Click image to enlarge. Download largest image (2 MB, JPEG)

Atchafalaya River is forecast to  crest at between 12 and 13 feet at Morgan City on May 23,  if the floodway is opened, breaking a previous record crest  10.6 feet, which was in 1973, a report said.

“They’ve still not officially made a decision on whether or when they will open the spillway, but the Corps of Engineers did tell me today that there are at 1.423 million cubic feet per second at Red River Landing and they are likely to get to 1.5 (million cubic feet) by [Saturday] evening and they will operate that system so that they will not allow that flow to exceed 1.5 through the Baton Rouge area,” Jindal said.

“The decision to open the Morganza Floodway relies on current and projected river flows and levee conditions, river currents and potential effects on navigation and revetments, extended rain and stage forecasts, and the duration of high river stages. When river flows at the Red River Landing are predicted to reach 1.5 million cubic feet per second and rising, the Corps considers opening the Morganza Floodway.” The Army Corps said.  The Army Engineers said the flow rates were 1.449 million cubic feet per second at 7:00am CDT on Friday, May 13, 2011.

Mississippi River Commission Map

Click images to enlarge.

Lower Mississippi Valley Division and  Mississippi River Commission Map

Mississippi River Floodways

 Morganza Floodway

Morganza floodway as a substitute for the East Atchafalaya floodway that was originally planned for in the 1928 Flood Control Act. Governed by a 3,900-foot long and a 125-bay intake structure, the floodway is designed to divert 600,000 cfs from the Mississippi River during the project design flood. The Morganza floodway is operated when the Mississippi River flows below Morganza are projected to exceed 1,500,000 cfs, thereby assuring that flows between Morganza and Bonnet Carré remain at or below 1,500,000 cfs. The Morganza floodway, completed in 1953, has only been operated during the 1973 flood. Source: The MR & T Flooways Project – Mississippi River Commission 1973 .

Estimated Cost of Damage: $5billion [FIRE-EARTH estimate, as of posting]

Related Links

• Mississippi River breaks flood record at Natchez Posted on May 12, 2011

• More Severe Thunderstorms, Rain and Flash Flooding
• Flooding in Memphis – Update May 10
• Mississippi River Flooding: Disaster in Slow Motion
• Epic Flooding Could Inundate Large Parts of the U-S  Posted on February 10, 2011
• The Day Before Washington’s Birthday   Posted on February 20, 2011

Global Mega Disasters

• 2011 Much More Disastrous
• 2010 Disasters [Includes Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters: 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• 2011 Disaster Calendar