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Summary

Description
English: Agricultural fields in the Wadi As-Sirhan Basin, Saudi Arabia. Taken by astronauts on the International Space Station.


International Space Station InsigniaISS Crew Earth Observations: ISS030-E-90918International Space Station emblem
Identification
Mission ISS030 (Expedition 30)
Roll E
Frame 90918
Country or Geographic Name Saudi Arabia
Features WADI AS-SIRHAN, CENTER PIVOT AGRICULTURE, TUBARJAL
Center Point Latitude 30.0° N
Center Point Longitude 38.5° E
Camera
Camera Tilt 40°
Camera Focal Length 65 mm
Camera Nikon D2Xs
Film 4288 x 2848 pixel CMOS sensor, RGBG imager color filter.
Quality
Percentage of Cloud Cover 0-10%
Nadir What is Nadir?
Date 2012-02-21
Time 12:10:21
Nadir Point Latitude 30.4° N
Nadir Point Longitude 41.3° E
Nadir to Photo Center Direction West
Sun Azimuth 230°
Spacecraft Altitude 202 nautical miles (374 km)
Sun Elevation Angle 34°
Original image caption
Northern Saudi Arabia hosts some of the most extensive sand and gravel deserts in the world, but modern agricultural technology has changed the face of some of them. This astronaut photograph, taken from the International Space Station presents the almost surreal image of abundant green fields in the midst of a barren desert – specifically the Wadi As-Sirhan Basin of northwestern Saudi Arabia. As recently as 1986 there was little to no agricultural activity in the area, but over the subsequent 26 years agricultural fields have been steadily developed, largely as a result of investment of oil industry revenues by the Saudi government.

The fields use water pumped from subsurface aquifers and is distributed in rotation about a center point within a circular field – a technique known as center-pivot agriculture. This technique affords certain benefits relative to more traditional surface irrigation such as better control of water use and application of fertilizers. The use of this so-called “precision agriculture” is particularly important in regions subject to high evaporative water loss; by better controlling the amount and timing of water application, evaporative losses can be minimized. Crops grown in the area include fruits, vegetables, and wheat.

For a sense of scale, agricultural fields in active use (dark green) and fallow (brown to tan), are approximately 1 kilometer in diameter. While much of the Wadi As-Sirhan Basin shown here is sandy (light tan to brown surfaces) and relatively flat, low hills and rocky outcrops (dark gray) of underlaying sedimentary rocks are visible at image left and image right.

Date
Source http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=77300
Author Expedition 30 crew
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Public domain This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
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21 February 2012

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current02:57, 16 April 2012Thumbnail for version as of 02:57, 16 April 20121,440 × 960 (2.08 MB)BurtAlert{{Information |Description ={{en|1=Agricultural fields in the Wadi As-Sirhan Basin, Saudi Arabia. Taken by astronauts on the International Space Station.}} |Source =http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=77300 |Author =Exp...

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