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https://space.blog.gov.uk/2015/11/27/sundan-image-of-the-week/

Sudan: image of the week

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Earth from space, Earth observation, Image of the week

Taken merely 5 days after it arrived in orbit (28 June 2015), Sentinel-2A took this false-colour image of Sudan’s capital and second largest city, Khartoum.

The capital of Sudan, as captured by Sentinel-2A. Credit: Copernicus Sentinel data (2015)/ESA
The capital of Sudan, as captured by Sentinel-2A. Credit: Copernicus Sentinel data (2015)/ESA

Khartoum sits between the Blue Nile River (which can be seen on the upper right corner) and the White Nile River. Dense vegetation is shown as scattered red dots bordering the river. Agricultural plots along the Blue Nile are rectangular and geometrically arranged, recalling French-style farms. The geometry of the plots allows irrigation to occur.

Main crops include:

  • Sorghum
  • Wheat
  • Cotton
  • Sunflower groundnuts
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit trees
  • Alfalfa

Sentinel-2 was initially designed for monitoring vegetation; however it has recently proved to be much more useful than planned. The mission tracks variability in land surface conditions, with its wide swath width and frequent revisits showing how vegetation changes during the growing season.

The high-resolution multispectral instrument reveals the area’s agricultural condition.

Sentinel-2A has been in orbit since 23 June. It is a high-resolution satellite for land monitoring, providing imagery of vegetation, soil and water cover, inland waterways and coastal areas.

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3 comments

  1. Comment by Eduardo Tafra posted on

    The Blue Nile, on the upper right corner of the photo.

    Reply
    • Replies to Eduardo Tafra>

      Comment by Tatiana posted on

      Hi Eduardo, you are indeed correct. We have corrected the text and passed on the information to our colleagues at ESA 🙂

      Reply
  2. Comment by David Jennings posted on

    Great stuff. Thank you. Keep up the good work.

    Reply

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