NASA's Terra satellite observed a thick plume of aerosol pollution (greyish pixels) over eastern China, extending eastward over the Bo Hai Bay and Korea Bay. The source of the haze is not apparent in this scene. This true-color image of eastern China was acquired July 12, 2001, by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).
The city of Tianjin can be seen as the brownish pixels just west of the Bo Hai Bay. China's capital city of Beijing is located about 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Tianjin. Beijing was selected to be the site of the 2008 Olympic games.
There appears to be a phytoplankton bloom (greenish pixels) off the northern shore of Bo Hai Bay. The brownish pixels in the northeastern corner of the bay, and all along the western shore, are sediment run-off from the land.
Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team