MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Contact: Alan Buis (818) 354-0474 

IMAGE ADVISORY                             February 22, 2002

SANTA ANA WINDS SWIRL THROUGH THE SOUTHLAND

     Any allergy-stricken southern Californian can tell you 
when the Santa Ana winds are blowing.  Recently, Santa Anas 
blew through the southland at speeds in excess of 80 
kilometers (50 miles) per hour.    

     A new image from the Multi-angle Imaging 
SpectroRadiometer instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft shows 
the pattern of airborne dust stirred up by Santa Ana winds on 
February 9, 2002. These dry, northeasterly winds usually occur 
in late fall and winter when a high pressure system forms in 
the Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountain 
ranges. The strength of the winds enables them to pick up and 
relocate surface dust.

     The new image, taken by the instrument's 70-degree 
forward-viewing camera, provides a graphic illustration of the 
extent of this recurring phenomenon.  The image can be viewed 
at:     

     http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/earth/usa/california.html

     Southeast of the Los Angeles Basin, a swirl of dust, 
probably blown through the Banning Pass, curves toward the 
ocean near Dana Point.  The largest dust cloud occurs near 
Ensenada, in Baja California, Mexico.  Also visible in this 
image is a blue-gray smoke plume from a small fire located 
near the southern flank of Palomar Mountain in San Diego 
County.  

     The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer, built and 
managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., 
is one of several Earth-observing experiments aboard Terra, 
launched in December 1999. The instrument acquires images of 
the Earth at nine angles simultaneously, using nine separate 
cameras pointed forward, downward, and backward along its 
flight path. More information about the radiometer is 
available at http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov .

     JPL is a division of the California Institute of 
Technology in Pasadena. 
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02/22/02  CS    #2002-043