Wetlands of Adair Bay captured in astronaut {photograph} from the Worldwide House Station on August 1, 2022.
The estuary system marks the transition between the Nice Altar Desert in northwestern Mexico and the Gulf of California.
The wetlands of Adair Bay (also referred to as Bahia Adair) mark the transition between the Nice Altar Desert in northwestern Mexico and the Gulf of California. A single freeway, paralleled by a railroad, cuts throughout dry salt flats and sand on the northern reaches of the estuary. This {photograph}, taken by an astronaut on the Worldwide House Station (ISS), additionally highlights the sediment-rich waterways that permit the blending of freshwater and saltwater very important to the perform of the estuary.
The inexperienced areas within the estuary system are salt-tolerant halophytic vegetation, comprised principally of mangrove bushes and shrubs. Salty mudflats, indicated by the mix of grey and white hues, separate the estuary from the adjoining desert sand. Pozos (Spanish for wells), a type of pure freshwater springs, are positioned all through the salty mudflats and are widespread in wetlands alongside the Gulf of California, although tough to see from area.
Coastal salt marshes just like the wetlands of Adair Bay are sustained by tides. Throughout low tides, water evaporates from uncovered soils, creating salt flats; throughout excessive tides, vitamins are washed into the estuary, supporting halophytic vegetation development and the life cycle of aquatic organisms. The wetlands of Adair Bay are a Ramsar website and supply protected nesting grounds for migratory birds, in addition to breeding grounds for endangered fish, such because the totoaba.
Astronaut {photograph} ISS067-E-213849 was acquired on August 1, 2022, with a Nikon D5 digital digital camera utilizing a focal size of 1150 millimeters. It’s supplied by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Distant Sensing Unit, Johnson House Heart. The picture was taken by a member of the Expedition 67 crew. The picture has been cropped and enhanced to enhance distinction, and lens artifacts have been eliminated. The Worldwide House Station Program helps the laboratory as a part of the ISS Nationwide Lab to assist astronauts take photos of Earth that will likely be of the best worth to scientists and the general public, and to make these photographs freely obtainable on the Web. Caption by Sara Schmidt, GeoControl Programs, JETS Contract at NASA-JSC.