The Alboran Sea was covered with dense sea fog on February 16, 2020, when the Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of region. The bank of low cloud (fog) stretches from the Strait of Gibraltar in the west to the city of Algiers and beyond. The distance between Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula south of Spain, to Algiers, the capital and largest city of Algeria, is roughly 460 miles (740 km).

Very heavy, lingering fog occurs frequently over the Alboran Sea (western Mediterranean), especially in winter. It is likely advection fog, a type of fog that generally forms when warm, moist air is pushed by winds over a cooler surface. In this case, a southeasterly wind sweeps across the cooler Alboran Sea surface, setting the stage for the formation of fog.

Image Facts

Satellite: Terra

Date Acquired: 2/16/2020

Resolutions: , ,

Bands Used: 1,4,3

Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC