Saharan Dust over Italy

On July 16, 2003, Saharan Dust over Italy the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite captured this image of a river of Saharan dust streaming out over the Mediterranean Sea and northeastward to Italy.
The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS’ maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters.

Due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, Italy has historically been home to myriad peoples and cultures. In addition to the various ancient peoples dispersed throughout modern-day Italy, the most predominant being the Indo-European Italic peoples who gave the peninsula its name, beginning from the classical era, Phoenicians and Carthaginians founded colonies mostly in insular Italy, Greeks established settlements in the so-called Magna Graecia of Southern Italy, while Etruscans and Celts inhabited central and northern Italy respectively. An Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom in the 8th century BC, which eventually became a republic with a government of the Senate and the People. Also Saharan Dust over Italy is very common in this area and happens during the high winds.

Credit: Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC