Earth observations taken by the Expedition 14 crew

ISS014-E-13598 (29 Jan. 2007) --- Montevideo, Uruguay is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 14 crewmember on the International Space Station. Reflective roofing materials and dark asphalt streets outline the urban grid pattern of Uruguay's capital city of Montevideo in this image. The city may be viewed as a precursor of the predicted global population shift from dominantly rural to urban environments (by 2030, according to recent United Nations estimates) -- nearly half of Uruguay's total population now lives in the Montevideo metropolitan area. Located on the southern coastline of Uruguay along the Rio de la Plata, Montevideo Bay provides an important harbor and port facilities for transport of South American agricultural products. This view is of sufficient resolution (approximately 7 meters/pixel) to discriminate between dark green canopied tree cover and light green grass - important information for study of urban ecology and climate, as well as city water use planning - in a large golf course located at the southern edge of the city (near center right). Sediment plumes along the coastline to the southeast of the city are also visible; rough patterns in the water surface of Montevideo Bay and the Rio de la Plata are a combination of wind disturbance and sediments.