ABACO FROM SPACE:  NASA  /  ISS VIEWS 225 MILES ABOVE THE BLUE PLANET

I have had another look through NASA‘s stock of Bahamas images taken from the INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. They come in differing formats. Over time the Station’s orbit takes it directly over or close to Abaco. In the past I have posted images of Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Sandy taken from space; and one of the astonishing Bahama variations of the colour BLUE. Here is a further selection.

The first two images show an orbit from north to south. I have annotated the first for those unfamiliar with the geography of Abaco. I assume the next was taken only a second or two later, with the whole of the southern tip / National Park / Hole-in-the-Wall area of Abaco now shown.

This image gives an idea of the underwater connection between the island land masses. Here, a corrugated underwater sequence of ridges and troughs can be seen linking the southern end of Abaco with the south western end of Grand Bahama. Moore’s Island and, barely visible below it, Gorda (‘Castaway’) Cay rise above sea level between the two larger islands. The Berry Is. and Great Harbour Cay can be seen bottom left; Eleuthera snakes downwards bottom right. [At Rick Guest’s suggestion, I have rotated the image 90˚ from the original to make sense of a view distorted by angle (the space station’s), earth curvature and my own misinterpretation… It makes far more sense now, and I have corrected geographic errors accordingly… I’ve also added an annotated aeroplane’s-eye view below it, taken from much closer to the earth and therefore less subject to distortion. Many thanks, Rick]

Abaco seen from the southeast. Little Abaco and Grand Bahama are at the top, and all are shown inter-connected underwater. The reef chain of the Abaco Cays – the world’s third longest barrier reef – can clearly be seen on the right

This image appears to be a blow-up of the sharper ‘filmic’ second one above. The detail has become hazy and indistinct, though part of the island-long ribbon of highway remains clearly visible. Time for a photo-enhancing experiment…

I played around with the contrast and colour settings of the photo above, to see what effect it produced (below). The most marked result is that areas of low water  – the coastline, the underwater high ground, the Marls and mangrove swamps, the low water of Cherokee Sound – became vividly highlighted. I don’t know what the small russet patches are, particularly visible in the Marls. My (ill-)educated guess is that they represent mangrove / mud islands that are underwater at high tide only, and that were in tidal transition as the Space Station passed overhead. Any ideas welcomed via the comment box.