  We present an extinction map of a ~1,700 deg sq region that encloses the
Ophiuchus, the Lupus, and the Pipe dark complexes using 42 million stars from
the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) point source catalog. The use of a robust
and optimal near-infrared method to map dust column density (Nicer, described
in Lombardi & Alves 2001) allow us to detect extinction as low as A_K = 0.05
mag with a 2-sigma significance, and still to have a resolution of 3 arcmin on
our map. We also present a novel, statistically sound method to characterize
the small-scale inhomogeneities in molecular clouds. Finally, we investigate
the cloud structure function, and show that significant deviations from the
results predicted by turbulent models are observed.
