September 22, 2021 - Rio de la Plata

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rio de la plata
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This stunning true-color image captures the dramatic colors created by
the mixing of muddy river water with the clear, but saline water of the
South Atlantic Ocean. This mixing occurs in Rio de la Plata, the muddy
estuary of the Paraná and Uruguay Rivers, which forms part of the
border between Argentina and Uruguay. The rich estuary supports both
capital cities of Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay.
These cities appear as gray pixels on the south shore and the north
shore of Rio de la Plata. Buenos Aires is the larger city.

The Paraná is South America’s second longest river and drains much of
the southeastern part of the continent. The extensive delta of the
Paraná nearly reaches across the mouth of the Uruguay River. The
rivers’ fertile soils support extensive agriculture, including
livestock, in the region surrounding the cities. As the rivers course
through the landscape, they accumulate large amounts of sediment, which
dumps into the estuary along with fresh water. The complex mixing
pattern creates beautiful colors, with sediment floating near the
surface appearing in shades of tan. As sediment sinks below the
surface, the reflectivity changes and this causes the color to trend
towards green when seen from space.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image on September 16,
2021, in the waning days of winter.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 9/16/2021
Resolutions: 1km (239.5 KB), 500m (670.9 KB), 250m (1.4 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-09-22

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