• Somalia
• Sudan
• Tanzania
• Zambia

For more information, please see: http://unosat.web.cern.ch

"Field investigations and samples will determine the exact age of the lake," said Dr. El-Baz, director of the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing. "One thing is certain - much of the lake's water would have seeped through the sandstone substrate to accumulate as groundwater."

As proven by Dr. El-Baz in Egypt, just north of Darfur, former lakes in this part of the Sahara are underlain by vast amounts of groundwater. His earlier detection of the "East Uweinat" basin in southwestern Egypt - where the groundwater rises to 25 meters below the surface - resulted in the drilling of 500 wells to irrigate 100,000 acres of agricultural land.

Launched in November 1995, RADARSAT-1 provides Canada and the world with an operational radar satellite system capable of timely delivery of large amounts of data. Equipped with a powerful synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument, it acquires images of the Earth day or night, in all weather and through cloud cover, smoke and haze.

Flooding conditions in Somalia started in October 2006, but a very serious escalation of effects took place on November 11-12, 2006. Several districts in the region are affected, and particularly heavy consequences are reported in the Kutun Warrey district. On November 13-14 2006, severe flooding hit the area between Jillib and Jamane, between the middle and lower Juba Regions in the south of the country.

The map illustrates in yellow those areas likely covered with standing flood waters and exposed soils that are saturated with water over the flood-affected districts of Brava, Marka & Kurtun Warrey, Lower Shabelle Province, Somalia.

Source(s):
Satellite Data: Radarsat-1 (13 December 2001 and 17 November 2006)
Copyright: Canadian Space Agency (CSA) 2006
GIS Data: GIST, NGA, UNOSAT
Image analysis and map production: UNOSAT (19 November 2006)

This feature image commemorates the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the use of remote sensing for sustainable development between the Canadian Space Agency and Egypt's National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences.

With this agreement, new opportunities for collaboration in applying satellite technology to water management practices can be created. The signing in Cairo on October 31, 2006, was part of a series of activities related to a Canadian trade mission to Egypt to promote the use of remote sensing technologies throughout Africa.

By addressing water resource management needs and transferring analytical tools, training, and expertise to partner organizations in Egypt, the collaboration will improve the quality of life for Egyptians.

To order this or any other RADARSAT-1 image, please visit:
www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/radarsat1/order_data.asp

The RADARSAT-1 signal makes it possible to see through clouds and is particularly useful for following natural disasters like this one, where clouds are usually omnipresent. With its 2,650-km length, the Zambezi river is the fourth longest in Africa and allows draining of an area covering 1,300,000 square kilometres.

This image was acquired under the Disaster Watch program of the Canadian Space Agency. For more details on the archives of this program, please consult:
www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/radarsat1/disaster_watch.asp.

To order this image or other RADARSAT-1 images, please visit:
www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/radarsat1/order_data.asp

This image shows part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. These two countries are bordered by Lake Kivu, seen in the lower portion of the image. On the northern shoreline of the lake is the town of Goma, which was seriously affected by the eruption of Nyiragongo (about 10 km north). 

On January 17, 2002, the volcano erupted and destroyed more than 25 percent of the  city, leaving more than 100,000 people without shelter. We can readily see the 3,465-m high volcano (11,365 feet) on this image; it looks like a crater. 

The left side of the image shows the Mitumba Mountains.

To order the RADARSAT-1 image, please visit:
www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/radarsat1/order_data.asp

To order this RADARSAT-1 image, please visit:
www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/radarsat1/order_data.asp