Mauritania’s Banc d’Arguin National Park

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A bounty of marine life thrives within the shoals and seagrass beds of the park. 

Credits


  • 2016 NASA Earth Observatory image by Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response
  • 2019 NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey
  • Image of the Day story by Adam Voiland, NASA Earth Observatory: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146600/beautiful-banc-daposarguin-national-park 
  • Adaptation to ViewSpace by Claire Blome,  Margaret W. Carruthers, and Dani Player 
  • Music from Music for Nonprofits

Transcript


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Text, Earth Watch, Exploring the Blue Planet by Satellite
 
An aerial view of Mauritania's Banc d'Arguin National Park
 
Text, in Mauritania's Banc d'Arguin National Park, the North Atlantic Ocean meets sand dunes.
 
The mostly barren dunes on the shore contrast with the maze of coastal mudflats, set off in dark brown.
 
Shallow seagrass beds, seen in green, grow beneath a few meters of water.
 
Deeper channels, observed in dark blue, meander and flow among the sea grass and sandy shoals.
 
Despite occasional damage from storm and dust, 20 years of satellite observations provide evidence that the park's seagrass beds have remained remarkably healthy and resilient.
 
The upwelling of cool, nutrient-rich water offshore causes the park's coastal areas to burst with marine life.
 
In addition to whales, dolphins, seals, finfish, and shellfish, this park also attracts upwards of 2 million shorebirds.
 
To learn more, go to: earth observatory dot nasa dot gov