In the wake of Hurricane Irene’s heavy rains, sediment filled many rivers and bays along the U.S. East Coast. New York’s Hudson River and estuary was no exception. In this true-color satellite image, pale green and tan water flows past Manhattan and mixes with the darker waters of New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.

This image was acquired on August 31, 2011, when Landsat 5 viewed the coast from the Carolinas to New York. Color generally correlates with the amount and type of sediment: lighter green and tan areas have more suspended silt and sand than dark blue waters. Brown waters likely indicate more mud or leaf tannins from inland runoff; the Passaic River in New Jersey is an example.

In addition to soil and sand, flooding rivers can carry sewage, pesticides, and excess fertilizer. After Hurricane Floyd struck in 1999, scientists used similar satellite data to map flood waters in North Carolina.

TRMM Satellite Sees Emily’s Remnants Travel Over Mid-Atlantic

The tropical storm that was, named Emily, is still generating some showers and thunderstorms over the northern mid-Atlantic Ocean, and the TRMM Satellite captured them on August 10, 2011. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite measures rainfall from space. When TRMM passed over the remnants of tropical storm Emily, it captured rainfall data and noticed that Emily was still generating a few strong thunderstorms over the central Atlantic Ocean on August 10, 2011 at 0277 UTC(August 9 at 10:27 p.m. EDT).

TRMM’s Precipitation Radar (PR) revealed that a few of the tallest thunderstorm towers in Emily’s remnants reached to heights of over 11 km (~6.8 miles) and were dropping some areas of heavy rainfall, as much as 2 inches (50 mm) per hour.

On August 10, Emily’s remnants were located about 715 miles south-southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. The showers and thunderstorms were disorganized and the atmospheric and oceanic environments were not conducive to redevelopment, because there’s wind shear and cooler water temperatures in the area where Emily’s remnants have moved. The remnants are moving into even cooler waters as they head to the northeast at about 20 mph and they interact with a frontal zone.

The National Hurricane Center noted on August 10, that the remnants have a near zero chance of regeneration.