NASA Photo ID: STS056-78-083       File Name: 10073221.jpg
  Film Type: 70mm                    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.     
  
  Subject terms:
  BARS (LANDFORMS)                        
  COASTAL CURRENTS                        
  DISCOVERY (ORBITER)                     
  EARTH OBSERVATIONS (FROM SPACE)         
  INDIAN OCEAN                            
  ISLANDS                                 
  OCEAN CURRENTS                          
  SOMALIA                                 
  STS-56                                  
  

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