On May 18, 2011, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite observed water in the Morganza Floodway along the Mississippi River.
The Mississippi River reached nearly 48 feet in Memphis, Tenn., on May 10, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. It was the highest water level for Memphis since 1937.
This month muddy water has pushed over the Mississippi's banks both east and west of the normal river channel. Flood waters span the distance between Memphis and West Memphis.
MODIS acquired the top image on May 18, 2011, and the bottom image on May 4, 2011. Both images use a combination of visible and infrared light to increase contrast between water and land. Water ranges in color from gray-blue to navy. (Lake Pontchartrain appears silvery blue on May 18 due largely to the angle of sunlight.) Vegetation is green. Bare ground is brown. Clouds are pale blue-green and cast shadows.
Both images show flooded conditions along the Mississippi River. A significant difference between the images, however, is the water visible in the Morganza Floodway on May 18. The Army Corps of Engineers reported that the discharge in the floodway was 108,000 cubic feet per second on May 18, the floodway's fifth day of operation in 2011.
On May 18, 2011, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite observed water in the Morganza Floodway along the Mississippi River. As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers explains, the floodway is designed to ease water levels in downstream communities along the Mississippi by diverting some water into the Atchafalaya Basin. MODIS acquired the top image on May 18, 2011, and the bottom image on May 4, 2011. Both images use a combination of visible and infrared light to increase contrast between water and land. Water ranges in color from gray-blue to navy. (Lake Pontchartrain appears silvery blue on May 18 due largely to the angle of sunlight.) Vegetation is green. Bare ground is brown. Clouds are pale blue-green and cast shadows. Both images show flooded conditions along the Mississippi River. A significant difference between the images, however, is the water visible in the Morganza Floodway on May 18. The Army Corps of Engineers reported that the discharge in the floodway was 108,000 cubic feet per second on May 18, the floodway’s fifth day of operation in 2011. The Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service (AHPS) of the U.S. National Weather Service reported that the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge reached 44.85 feet (13.67 meters) at 2:00 p.m. CDT on May 18. This level was below the city’s record flood level of 47.28 feet (14.41 meters) set in 1927. As of May 18, the Mississippi River was projected to remain at roughly the same level at Baton Rouge through May 23.
On May 18, 2011, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite observed water in the Morganza Floodway along the Mississippi River. As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers explains, the floodway is designed to ease water levels in downstream communities along the Mississippi by diverting some water into the Atchafalaya Basin.
MODIS acquired the top image on May 18, 2011, and the bottom image on May 4, 2011. Both images use a combination of visible and infrared light to increase contrast between water and land. Water ranges in color from gray-blue to navy. (Lake Pontchartrain appears silvery blue on May 18 due largely to the angle of sunlight.) Vegetation is green. Bare ground is brown. Clouds are pale blue-green and cast shadows. Both images show flooded conditions along the Mississippi River. A significant difference between the images, however, is the water visible in the Morganza Floodway on May 18.
The Army Corps of Engineers reported that the discharge in the floodway was 108,000 cubic feet per second on May 18, the floodway’s fifth day of operation in 2011. The Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service (AHPS) of the U.S. National Weather Service reported that the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge reached 44.85 feet (13.67 meters) at 2:00 p.m. CDT on May 18. This level was below the city’s record flood level of 47.28 feet (14.41 meters) set in 1927. As of May 18, the Mississippi River was projected to remain at roughly the same level at Baton Rouge through May 23.
Following are Images of Morganza, Arkansas, Tennesse, from NASA:
On May 14, 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Morganza Spillway in an attempt to ease flooding along the Mississippi River in Louisiana. The decision was made to protect the heavily populated areas and infrastructure around the ports of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The decision is not without cost, however, to the thousands of people who are likely to lose homes and farms within the flood plain downstream. On May 15, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this natural-color image (top) of the Morganza Floodway. The image was acquired at 11:20 a.m. Central Daylight Time, one day after the spillway was partially opened.
he lower photo was taken on May 14 by the Army Corps, several hours after water began streaming onto the floodway. The flood control structure, or spillway, includes 125 gates, 11 of which had been opened as of noon on May 16. In the satellite image, the white pixels near the spillway are whitewater churned up by the flow through the gates; the downloadable large image shows this in much finer detail. Square and quadrilateral shapes on the landscape show areas that were cleared for farming or perhaps shaped for flood control earthworks. I
n the natural color satellite, water ranges in colors of olive, tan, black, and gray, reflecting the different loads of muddy sediment churned up from the bottom; darker areas might also reflect deeper water. Past the spillway, water is more readily apparent along the levee on the south and east side of the floodway, suggesting that there are fewer trees and perhaps lower elevations in those areas. Potential inundation maps (PDF) from the Army Corps appear to confirm that, as water levels are projected to rise to 10–15 feet (3–4.5 meters) in the southern and eastern areas and 5–10 feet (1.5–3 meters) in the northern and western areas in the image above.
Green areas do not necessarily mean a lack of water. As the aerial photo shows, much of the floodway is covered with trees that will shield the water below from the eyes of satellite sensors. Water is somewhat easier to spot in the near-infrared and shortwave infrared image linked below the top photo. Video of the opening of the Morganza Floodway can be viewed online here. The floodway was last opened in 1973, the first and only time it was used before 2011.
The Mississippi River spilled over its banks in Arkansas and Tennessee on May 12, 2011, as the International Space Station passed overhead. This astronaut photograph shows muddy water sitting on floodplains around Tomato, Arkansas, as well as extensive flooding to the north. Flood waters around Tomato appear confined by an embankment in the west. The embankment extends southward from a bend in the Mississippi. West of the embankment lies a patchwork of agricultural fields. East of the river lies an expanse of dark green forest, the Anderson-Tully State Wildlife Management Area.
Along a northward loop of the Mississippi River, near the city of New Madrid, flood water rested on agricultural fields in early May 2011. Taken from an altitude of 220 miles (350 kilometers) above the Earth, this astronaut photo shows muddy water filling a broad swath of cropland north of the river bend. In this image, north is toward the lower right. Crops normally carpet the landscape north of New Madrid. This portion of Missouri, however, lies near the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway. On May 2, 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers breached a levee near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The move spared the residents of Cairo, Illinois, but filled the floodway.
On May 13, 2011, the Mississippi River was approaching a record level at the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and had exceeded the previous record at Natchez, Miss. The Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service (AHPS) reported that the river reached 55.45 feet (16.90 meters) at 3:00 p.m.
Central Daylight Time at Vicksburg, and 59.87 feet (18.25 meters) at 2:00 p.m. CDT at Natchez. The previous record for Natchez, set in 1937, was 58.04 feet (17.69 meters). The AHPS forecast that water levels would continue to rise in both locations. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured these false-color images of the area around Natchez on May 11, 2011 (top), and April 21, 2007 (bottom).
The images combine infrared, red, and green wavelengths to form a false-color image that distinguishes between muddy water and land. Water is blue, and sediment-laden water is a dull blue-green. Vegetation is red, and the brighter the red, the more robust the vegetation. Red and gray patches west of the river (top edge of each image) are agricultural fields. Clouds are white, and cast shadows onto the land surface below. In May 2011, the Mississippi River pushed over its banks onto floodplains. In some places, the flood waters almost reached oxbow lakes along the river.
On May 13, 2011, the Mississippi River was approaching a record level at the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and had exceeded the previous record at Natchez, Miss. The Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service (AHPS) reported that the river reached 55.45 feet (16.90 meters) at 3:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time at Vicksburg, and 59.87 feet (18.25 meters) at 2:00 p.m. CDT at Natchez.
The previous record for Natchez, set in 1937, was 58.04 feet (17.69 meters). The AHPS forecast that water levels would continue to rise in both locations.
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on
NASA’s Terra satellite captured these false-color images of the area around Natchez on May 11, 2011 (top), and April 21, 2007 (bottom). The images combine infrared, red, and green wavelengths to form a false-color image that distinguishes between muddy water and land. Water is blue, and sediment-laden water is a dull blue-green. Vegetation is red, and the brighter the red, the more robust the vegetation. Red and gray patches west of the river (top edge of each image) are agricultural fields. Clouds are white, and cast shadows onto the land surface below. In May 2011, the Mississippi River pushed over its banks onto floodplains. In some places, the flood waters almost reached oxbow lakes along the river.
Following are Previous Images from NASA:
(Up) Landsat 5 shows the
Mississippi River along the state borders of
Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas on May 12, 2006. (bottom) Landsat 5 image shows the Mississippi River along the state borders of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas on May 10, 2011. Credit: USGS/NASA //Remotely sensed data are not the only science endeavors occurring due to floods.
The USGS collects river data through its network of about 7,700 stream gauges around the Nation. You can receive instant, customized updates about water conditions, including flooding, by subscribing to USGS WaterAlert. The scenes captured by Landsat 5 show the Mississippi River in the Memphis, Tenn. area, and along the state borders of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas. The May 2006 images show the river before it began to flood. In the May images, the dark blue tones are water, the light green is cleared fields, and the light tones are clouds.
(Up) Landsat 5 shows the Mississippi River along the state borders of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas on May 12, 2006. (bottom) Landsat 5 image shows the Mississippi River along the state borders of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas on May 10, 2011. Credit: USGS/
NASA //Remotely sensed data are not the only science endeavors occurring due to floods. The USGS collects river data through its network of about 7,700 stream gauges around the Nation.
You can receive instant, customized updates about water conditions, including flooding, by subscribing to USGS WaterAlert. The scenes captured by Landsat 5 show the Mississippi River in the Memphis, Tenn. area, and along the state borders of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas. The May 2006 images show the river before it began to flood. In the May images, the dark blue tones are water, the light green is cleared fields, and the light tones are clouds.
(Up) Landsat 5 image of the Mississippi River in the Memphis, Tenn. area on May 12, 2006. (bottom) Landsat 5 image of the Mississippi River in the Memphis, Tenn. area on May 10, 2011. Credit: USGS/
NASA
(UP) Landsat 5 image of the Mississippi River in the Memphis, Tenn. area on May 12, 2006. (bottom) Landsat 5 image of the Mississippi River in the Memphis, Tenn. area on May 10, 2011. Credit: USGS/NASA
ISS027-E-027019 (12 May 2011) --- Parts of two states highly impacted by recent flooding of the Mississippi River, are pictured in this International Space Station image featuring an area east of Blytheville, Ark., off the right side of the image. Center point coordinates are located at 35.8 degrees north latitude and 89.7 degrees west longitude The areas of Ruckers Place, Tenn. and Tomato, Ark. are surrounded by water, while Barfield, Ark. is still dry behind the levee on the right side of the image. North is toward the bottom of the photo.
ISS027-E-027019 (12 May 2011) --- Parts of two states highly impacted by recent flooding of the Mississippi River, are pictured in this International Space Station image featuring an area east of Blytheville, Ark., off the right side of the image. Center point coordinates are located at 35.8 degrees north latitude and 89.7 degrees west longitude The areas of Ruckers Place, Tenn. and Tomato, Ark. are surrounded by water, while Barfield, Ark. is still dry behind the levee on the right side of the image. North is toward the bottom of the photo.
ISS027-E-027023 (12 May 2011) --- An Expedition 27 crew member aboard the
International Space Station, 220 miles above Earth and the Mississippi River, captured this May 12 still photo, clearly showing the outlines of some heavily flooded agricultural fields on the Missouri side of the river. The center point for this 400-mm frame is 36.27 degrees north latitude and 89.57 degrees west longitude (north of Caruthersville, Mo. and west of Ridgely, Tenn.). North is towards the lower right corner of the image.
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