NASA Photo ID: STS056-78-083      File Name: 10073221.jpg

Film Type: 70mm CN                Date Taken: 04/17/93

Title: STS-56 Earth observation of a sun-glinted ocean along the coast of Somalia

Description:

STS-56 Earth observation taken aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, 
is of a sun-glinted ocean along the northeastern coast of Somalia.  The
small  island of Xaafuun is connected to the mainland by a well-developed
double  tombolo-two sand bars.  Between the two toombolos a lagoon is
formed which  gradually fills with sediment and becomes a flat sand bar. 
Better known  double tombolos include those of Gibraltar, the now-partially
submerged giant  tombolos forming Adam's Bridge (Palk Strait) connecting
Sri Lanka to India,  Monte Argentario in Italy, and Long Island, New York. 
Such tombolos usually  indicate a constant sediment source and a strong
unidirectional or  bi-directional (monsoonal) long shore current.  In this
case, sediment is  provided by the plumes of the major African rivers
debauching into the  Mozambique Channel.  The sediment is carried
predominately to the northeast  along the coast by the swiftly moving
monsoonal Agulhas Current.  Visible in  this scene are internal waves,
shear lines and gyres of a variety of scales.   Sunglint photography from
the NASA Space Shuttles particularly allows  scientists to study ocean
circulation features in greater detail than is  possible from any other
data source since Seasat is no longer operational.