This astronaut photograph from October 16, 2009, shows Arequipa—Peru' "White City"on the flanks of the towering El Misti Volcano.

This natural-color image shows glaciers and glacial lakes in the Bhutan Himalaya on October 28, 2009.

A pale brown plume of dust filled the Copper River Valley and arced over the Gulf of Alaska in this true-color image from October 29, 2009.

Severe drought choked East Africa, particularly Kenya, though much of 2009. This image shows the cumulative effect of the drought on vegetation just as the drought-breaking rains began to fall in October.

Thick black smoke billows from a fire burning at an oil depot in western India in this photo-like image taken on October 30, 2009.

A column of ash punched through the omnipresent clouds above Nevado del Huila in Colombia during recent volcanic activity.

t's difficult to tell just what darkened the skies over India's Ganges Plain in this satellite image from October 29, 2009. The thick brown gray haze was probably a combination of smoke, dust, and pollution.

The mirror-like reflection of the Sun off the surface of the Timor Sea highlights the location of an oil slick in this natural-color image from October 28, 2009.

This series of globes from June-August 2009 shows how sea ice, snow, and ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere reflect large amounts of incoming sunlight and help keep the Arctic cool in the summer.

Thick, gray-brown haze conforms to the contours of the North China Plain in this photo-like image from October 28, 2009.

Acquired October 26, 2009, this true-color image shows a dust plume spanning hundreds of kilometers in Northern Territory and western Queensland. A cluster of fires also burns in Queensland.

extending a long arm toward the east as the storm blows over the west Pacific Ocean.

A phytoplankton bloom colored the waters east of New Zealand on October 25, 2009.

A plume of dark brown smoke billows northwest from a fire at a Puerto Rico fuel storage facility in this image from October 23, 2009.

Acquired October 24, 2009, this false-color image shows volcanic ash stains on the snowy slopes of Shiveluch Volcano.

Acquired October 20, 2009, this high-resolution image of Chaitén Volcano shows a volcanic plume that appears almost white near the summit, likely due to high water content.