Blowing dust off the Alaskan coast
A QuickTime animation of GOES-11 visible channel images (above) revealed multiple plumes of glacial sediment blowing offshore along the coast of Alaska on 06 November 2006. Strong chinook winds in the glacial valleys were lofting dust and carrying it out over the adjacent Gulf of Alaska. This phenomenon had been occurring on other days in early November (as seen on a MODIS true color image 5 days earlier).
A longer (14-hour) animation using the GOES-11 10.7µm – 12.0µm IR difference product (below) shows a subtle blowing dust signal that can be followed during the non-daylight hours as well (when visible channel imagery is not available). The airborne particulate matter associated with the largest dust plume reduced the surface visibility to 2-3 miles at Cordova, Alaska (station identifier PACV) late in the day; also, note the rapid rise in temperature farther to the east at Yakutat, Alaska (station identifier PAYA), as easterly chinook winds arrived and gusted to 18 mph at 20:00 UTC.
