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1991 KUWAIT OIL FIRES
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These Landsat- 5 images show Kuwait before, during and after the 1991 oil fires. During the air and ground war of January-February 1991, 700 oil wells were damaged, of which more than 600 were set on fire.
The August 1990 image shows the capital city Kuwait in the upper part of the image. In the February 1991 image the Kuwaiti coastline south of the city is obscured by smoke plumes from burning oil wells. The November 1991 image was acquired after the fires had been extinguished.
Besides affecting the oceans and atmosphere, this oil had a severe impact on Kuwait's environment. The sand and gravel on the land's surface combined with oil and soot to form a layer of hardened "tarcrete" over almost 5 percent of the country's area. Over 300 oil lakes also formed; though covering only about 0.1 percent of Kuwait's area. The Kuwaiti Oil Minister estimated these lakes to hold 25 to 50 million barrels of oil. They are visible in the images as black pools within the dark gray tarcrete.
These image are courtesy of the USGS and NASA Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio.
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Kuwait Oil Fields - August 31, 1990
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Kuwait Oil Fields - February 23, 1991
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Kuwait Oil Fields - November 14, 1991
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