Earth observations taken by the Expedition 14 crew

ISS014-E-15732 (1 March 2007) --- Salt ponds of Botswana are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 14 crewmember on the International Space Station. This recent, detailed view shows the salt ponds of one of Africa's major producers of soda ash (sodium carbonate) and salt. Soda ash is used for glass making, in metallurgy, in the detergent industry, and in chemical manufacture. The image shows a small part of the great salt flats of central Botswana known as the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. The soda ash and salt are both mainly exported (since 1989) to most countries in southern and central Africa. Brines from just beneath the pan floor are evaporated to produce the soda ash and salt -- a process for which the semiarid climate of Botswana is ideal. Red salt-loving algae in the ponds indicate that the salinity of the evaporating brines is medium to high. The salt pans of Botswana--a prominent visual photo target of interest for astronauts aboard the station--lie at the low point of a vast shallow continental basin. Rivers draining from as far away as central Angola - more than 1,000 kilometers away - supply water to the pans. According to scientists, during several wet climatic phases in the recent geological past the pans were permanently filled with water, for thousands of years, only to dry out when climates fluctuated to drier conditions. During dry phases water only reaches the pans underground. These are the brines that support the ash and salt industry. During wet phases when open water exists, beach ridges are constructed by wave action. One of these crosses the lower part of the view.