The Nile Delta

The MERIS instrument flown onboard Envisat is particularly adapted to highlighting visible processes such as sediment input from rivers and the distribution of river sediment by marine coastal processes.









A single acquisition over the Nile Delta made using the MERIS instrument reveals the striking contrast between the pale sands of the Sahara and the bright green of the course of the Nile and its delta, in the simulated true-colour image at left.

At right, bands 15, 13, and 2 have been used to bring out the extent of the Nile plume as sediment is carried from the river into the Eastern Mediterranean. Band 2 highlights surface sediment; bands 15 and 13, in the near-infrared, highlight the difference over land.

Once a seasonal phenomenon, the Nile flood, up to 1965 when the Aswan High Dam became fully operational, provided massive amounts of silt to the delta and the Eastern mediterranean, renewing soil fertility and providing nutrients on which shrimp and phytoplankton populations, thus fisheries, thrived. Today the sediment plume, negligeable when compared with the approximately 100 million metric tonnes of sediment retained behind the Aswan High Dam, is present year-round. It issues both from the Nile and from the Suez, as is clear in the MERIS image at right above.


see the following gallery and search for Nile Delta

Nile Delta photos from satellite


Another image shows that by enhancing a particular part of the data it is possible to render visible the processes which transport Nile and Red Sea sediment along the coast. Here, data in band 7 has been further stretched to show the sedimentation processes along the coast. Representing perhaps finer sediment, a visible blue plume farther north, which can also be seen in the 15, 13, 2 image, is probably a result of sediment being carried out by the river itself.

These images of the Nile Delta were acquired on March 1st, 2003.

A full description of the capabilities of the MERIS instrument can be found in the MERIS Product Handbook. Other images from ENVISAT's first year in orbit are available in the Envisat Image Gallery.

Indus River Delta

Indus River Delta


mangrove tree in the Indus Delta

Suckers of Octopus

Octopus suckers:
Each arm of the common octopus has a double row of circular suckers. Unlike those of squid, octopus suckers have no hooks or teeth. Suckers are muscular structures, and when pressed against a surface create low pressure in the suction cup that provides grip. The suckers pictured here belong to Oto, who spent some months recovering from an injury in a display aquarium at Wellington airport. He was returned to Cook Strait in October 2005.

Giant animals

Giant Jellyfish


snails & isopods

Giant Turtles

The Giants Causeway

The Giants Causeway - 1


The Giants Causeway - 2


The Giants Causeway - 3


The Giants Causeway - 4


The Giants Causeway - 5


The Giants Causeway - 6

Collossal Squid

990 lb Collossal Squid caught live

990 lb Collossal Squid
The squid tried to eat a Toothfish caught on a Toothfish trawler line. He won't let go eevn when he was being hauled up.


A large Pantagonian Toothfish

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The Collossal Squid again






The Colossal Squid is caught by longliner Isla Santa Clara. Photo by Ramon Ferreira Gomez.




The head and tentacles of the squid. The vast mantle could not be bought on board. Photo: Ramon Ferreira Gomez



Collossal Squid tentacles: (2nd of 2)
Colossal squid have well-armoured tentacles. The photograph shows the sharp, swivelling hooks on the ends of the tentacles.





A previous catch:

girl solo in Arabia

a pictorial and written redord of a woman trying to trace ibne batuta's travels. A goldmine of the Islamic world