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Christchurch,
New
Zealand
During
its tenure
aboard the
International
Space
Station,
Expedition
13 passed
a major
milestone:
as of late
August
2006, more
than one
quarter of
a million
images of
Earth had
been taken
from the
ISS. The
rate at
which
Expedition
13
photographed
the Earth
was
record-setting,
as the
crew
passed the
200,000
image mark
less than
two months
before.
The
250,000th
image is
this
oblique
view of
the city
of
Christchurch,
New
Zealand.
The
oblique
view
provides a
sense of
perspective
and
accents
topography,
in
contrast
to nadir
(directly
downwards)
views.
Snow
highlights
the peaks
of the
Banks
Peninsula
to the
southeast
of the
city. The
peninsula
has a
radically
different
landscape
compared
to the
adjoining,
flat
Canterbury
Plains,
where
Christchurch
(gray
patch to
the north)
is
located.
The Banks
Peninsula
is formed
from the
overlapping
cones of
the
extinct
Lyttelton
and Akaroa
volcanoes.
Subsequent
erosion of
the cones
formed the
heavily
dissected
terrain
visible in
the image,
and sea
level rise
led to the
creation
of several
harbors
around the
Peninsula.
Erosion
continues
unabated
today, as
evidenced
by the
apron of
greenish
blue,
sediment-laden
waters
surrounding
the Banks
Peninsula.
Other
interesting
features
in the
image
include
the
braided
Waimakariri
River to
the
north-northwest
of the
city, and
the
greenish
brown
waters of
Lake
Ellesmere
at image
left. The
coloration
of the
water is
due both
to its
shallow
depth (1.4
meters on
average,
or about
4.5 feet)
and its
high
concentrations
of
nitrogen
and
phosphorus,
which
fertilizes
the growth
of large
amounts of
green
algae. |
