Strait of Gibraltar

Orbit 35519 Frame 2885 4 February 2002 11:3:41 GM

Internal waves in the Strait imaged on 4th February 2002 by the ERS SAR.
Through the Strait, a continuous current enters the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean, and tidal currents ebb and flow along the European and African shores. A westerly flowing undercurrent carries off the surplus waters of the Mediterranean.
Upper right corner: To the left, Algeciras, a port and industrial centre in the Bay of Gibraltar. To the right: on top, La Linea de la Concepción, in the neutral zone that separates Spain from the British dependency of Gibraltar; below it, the free port of Gibraltar.
Throughout, in the ocean: intense ship traffic and plenty of oil slicks.
Bottom part of the image: Northwestern Morocco with the town of Tangier facing the Strait. Broad coastal plains can be detected along the Atlantic Ocean. To the right: the Rif mountains.

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Keywords: ESA European Space Agency - Agence spatiale europeenne, observation de la terre, earth observation, satellite remote sensing, teledetection, geophysique, altimetrie, radar, chimique atmospherique, geophysics, altimetry, radar, atmospheric chemistry