Results for: Land
World of Change: Green Seasons of Maine
February 8, 2013Not many places on Earth have year-round greenery and four distinct seasons. The images in this series show the four seasons of Maine, the most forest-covered state in the U.S.A. Read more
Out of the Blue and Into the Black
December 5, 2012The night is nowhere near as dark as most of us think. In fact, the Earth is never really dark; it twinkles with lights from humans and nature. Read more
Earth at Night 2012
December 5, 2012Scientists are using new images of Earth’s dark side to gain insight on human activity and poorly understood natural events. Read more
Hunting Fossils from Afar
October 16, 2012Paleontologists use Landsat images and an artificial intelligence to identify sites likely to yield fossils. Read more
The Gravity of Water
September 12, 2012Scientists are using novel measurements of gravity to gather indispensable information about Earth’s water supplies. The GRACE mission can see water flowing underground. Read more
Greatest Hits from Landsat
July 31, 2012Landsat 1 was launched in July 1972, starting the longest continuous observation of Earth's land surfaces from space. Here are some of the memorable scientific and societal contributions from the 40-year-old program. Read more
Landsat Looks and Sees
July 23, 2012The world’s longest-running Earth-observing satellite program has collected more than three million images, showing two generations of planetary evolution and of human imprints on Earth. The Landsat archives tell an unparalleled story of our land surfaces. Read more
Notes from the Field Blog: Siberia 2012 - Embenchime River Expedition
July 11, 2012A dedicated team of scientists has returned to the remote boreal forests of northern Siberia to study how the boreal ecosystem moderates Earth's climate by storing carbon and the implications of a warming climate on those forests. Read more
Looking Back on Ten Years of Aqua
May 4, 2012Launched on May 4, 2002, NASA's Aqua satellite and its six instruments have provided a decade's worth of unprecedented views of our planet. Here are a few of our favorites. Read more
Where Is the Hottest Place on Earth?
April 5, 2012Satellite research shows that the world’s hottest spot changes, though the conditions don’t. Think dry, rocky, and dark-colored lands...and cities. Read more
Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami: Looking Back from Space
March 9, 2012In 2011, the fourth largest earthquake in history rocked the coast of Japan, spawning a devastating tsunami. Satellites and scientists had an unprecedented view of both. This gallery offers a glimpse of the broad scale of the destruction, of the recovery a year later, and of some new scientific understanding that emerged. Read more
Top 11 from 2011
January 23, 2012The most-visited images published in the Earth Observatory from 2011 are featured in this gallery. Read more
Seeing Forests for the Trees and the Carbon: Mapping the World’s Forests in Three Dimensions
January 9, 2012Earth has a carbon problem, and some think trees are the answer. Would it help to plant more? To cut down fewer? Does it matter where? Scientists are working to get a better inventory of the carbon stored in trees. Read more
World of Change: Athabasca Oil Sands
November 29, 2011The Athabasca Oil Sands are at once a source of oil, of economic growth, and of environmental concern. This series of images shows the growth of surface mines around the Athabasca River from 1984 to the present. Read more
IceBridge: Building a Record of Earth’s Changing Ice, One Flight at a Time
November 2, 2011NASA is sending a fleet of airplanes to the ends of the Earth for the next several years to figure out how and why polar ice is changing. Read more
World of Change: Seasons of the Indus River
September 12, 2011Fed by glaciers in the Himalayas and Karakorams — and by monsoon rains — the Indus River experiences substantial fluctuations every year. Because the river irrigates 18 million hectares of farmland, the landscape changes along with the river. Read more
Notes from the Field Blog: Eco3D: Exploring the Third Dimension of Forest Carbon
August 25, 2011From August through September, NASA's P-3 research aircraft will be flying from Quebec to Florida to measure the three-dimensional structure and carbon storage capacity of North American forests. Read more
The Carbon Cycle
June 16, 2011Carbon flows between the atmosphere, land, and ocean in a cycle that encompasses nearly all life and sets the thermostat for Earth's climate. By burning fossil fuels, people are changing the carbon cycle with far-reaching consequences. Read more
Heavy Rains and Dry Lands Don't Mix: Reflections on the 2010 Pakistan Flood
April 6, 2011Unusual atmospheric conditions brought exceptional rain to Pakistan in the summer of 2010, causing the country's worst flooding in modern history. Read more
We Can See Clearly Now: ISS Window Observational Research Facility
March 4, 2011New optical gear on the International Space Station is giving students and earth scientists a better view of our world. Read more
World of Change: Global Temperatures
December 9, 2010The world is getting warmer, whatever the cause. According to an analysis by NASA scientists, the average global temperature has increased by about 0.8°Celsius (1.4° Fahrenheit) since 1880. Two-thirds of the warming has occurred since 1975. Read more
Earth Observing-1: Ten Years of Innovation
November 22, 2010Scheduled to fly for a year, designed to last a year and a half, EO-1 celebrated its tenth anniversary on November 21, 2010. During its decade in space, the satellite has accomplished far more than anyone dreamed. Read more
World of Change: Seasons of Lake Tahoe
October 20, 2010Perhaps the most familiar change in our changing world is the annual swing of the seasons. This series of images shows the effects of the seasons on the Lake Tahoe region between 2009 and 2010. Read more
The Water Cycle
October 1, 2010Landscape sculptor. Climate driver. Life supporter. Water is the most important molecule on our planet. Read more
Russian Firestorm: Finding a Fire Cloud from Space
August 31, 2010NASA satellites help confirm that a strong firestorm fueled fires in western Russia and drew smoke high into the atmosphere in late July 2010. Read more
Notes from the Field Blog: The Western Siberia Expedition 2010
August 16, 2010An international team of scientists working in Siberia report on their expedition to collect data related to the Earth's carbon budget and to document the effects of climate change in the region. Read more
Dalia Kirschbaum Talks About Making a Global Landslide Inventory
July 6, 2010NASA scientist Dalia Kirschbaum talks about the potential for a global inventory of rain-triggered landslides to help scientists better understand when and where landslides are most likely to occur. Read more
Frozen Ground: An Interview with Permafrost Expert Larry Hinzman
June 10, 2010NASA interviews Larry Hinzman, director of the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska, about greenhouse gases trapped beneath the Arctic permafrost. Read more
Global Warming
June 3, 2010Global warming is happening now, and scientists are confident that greenhouse gases are responsible. To understand what this means for humanity, it is necessary to understand what global warming is, how scientists know it's happening, and how they predict future climate. Read more
World of Change: Devastation and Recovery at Mt. St. Helens
May 17, 2010The devastation of the May 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens and the gradual recovery of the surrounding landscape is documented in this series of satellite images from 1979—2011. Read more
World of Change: Yellow River Delta
January 26, 2010Once free to wander up and down the coast of the North China Plain, the Yellow River Delta has been shaped by levees, canals, and jetties in recent decades. Read more
Water Watchers
January 21, 2010In Idaho, NASA’s Landsat satellites are helping officials manage water resources and settle conflicts. Read more
World of Change: Drought Cycles in Australia
December 11, 2009Drought has taken a severe toll on croplands in Southeast Australia during many years this decade. Read more
NASA's Newest Map of the World
November 18, 2009Why did it take nearly three decades for scientists to create the first global portraits of Earth from NASA's Landsat missions? Read more
World of Change: Severe Storms
August 27, 2009This collection of images featuring the strongest hurricane, cyclone, or typhoon from any ocean during each year of the past decade includes storms both famous—or infamous—and obscure. Read more
Notes from the Field Blog: North Woods, Maine 2009
August 19, 2009NASA's Dr. Jon Ranson is on an expedition in the forests of central Maine to validate recent radar and lidar measurements which will help create more accurate and sensitive sensors to better understand the vegetation of the Earth and to balance the carbon budget. Read more
Planetary Motion: The History of an Idea That Launched the Scientific Revolution
July 7, 2009Attempts of Renaissance astronomers to explain the puzzling path of planets across the night sky led to modern science’s understanding of gravity and motion. Read more
World of Change: Burn Recovery in Yellowstone
June 30, 2009In 1988, wildfires raced through Yellowstone National Park, consuming hundreds of thousands of acres. This series of Landsat images tracks the landscape’s slow recovery through 2011. Read more
World of Change: Global Biosphere
June 5, 2009Earth would not be the planet that it is without its biosphere, the sum of its life. This series of images illustrates the variations in the average productivity of the global biosphere from 1999 to 2008. Read more
World of Change: Amazon Deforestation
May 27, 2009The state of Rondônia in western Brazil is one of the most deforested parts of the Amazon. This series shows deforestation on the frontier in the northwestern part of the state between 2000 and 2010. Read more
World of Change: Shrinking Aral Sea
May 19, 2009A massive irrigation project has devastated the Aral Sea over the past 50 years. These images show the decline of the Southern Aral Sea in the past decade, as well as the first steps of recovery in the Northern Aral Sea. Read more
World of Change: Water Level in Lake Powell
May 12, 2009Drought struck southern Utah in the early twenty-first century. The drought’s effects were easily seen in the fluctuating water levels of Lake Powell. Read more
World of Change: Mesopotamia Marshes
May 5, 2009In the years following the Persian Gulf War, Iraqi residents began reclaiming the country’s nearly decimated Mesopotamian marshes. This series of images documents the transformation of the fabled landscape between 2000 and 2009. Read more
World of Change: Urbanization of Dubai
April 28, 2009To expand the possibilities for beachfront tourist development, Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, undertook a massive engineering project to create hundreds of artificial islands along its Persian Gulf coastline. Read more
Earth Perspectives
November 24, 2008In 2008, as NASA celebrated its 50th anniversary, the Earth Observatory asked a number of Earth scientists what we have learned about our home planet by going into space. Read more
When the Earth Moved Kashmir
October 22, 2008Science and relief efforts come together in the aftermath of the Kashmir Earthquake. Read more
Devastating Drought Settles on the High Plains
August 11, 2008A drought to rival the Dust Bowl settled over the southern Great Plains in summer 2008. Read more
Siberia Blog 2008
July 16, 2008Scientists on a remote river in Siberia send field reports of their expedition to study the impacts of fire and climate change on northern forests and tundra. Read more
William Smith (1769-1839)
May 8, 2008William Smith discovered that he could identify rock layers by the unique fossils they held. His discovery helped later generations of scientists to understand the history of life on Earth. Read more
Cities at Night: The View from Space
April 22, 2008Astronauts onboard the International Space Station capture nighttime photographs of city lights, spectacular evidence of humanity's existence, our distribution, and our ability to change our environment. Read more
Amazon Fires on the Rise
March 7, 2008In 2006, fires and smoke in the Amazon declined significantly for the first time in nearly a decade. Is Amazon burning under control? Read more
Ancient Forest to Modern City
February 1, 2008To understand how local weather shifted when the towering forests of the eastern United States gave way to fields and cities, scientists must reconstruct the region's historical landscapes. Read more
Coal Controversy In Appalachia
December 21, 2007In Appalachia, coal operators are removing the tops of mountains and burying hundreds of miles of streams with rock waste as they mine coal seams hundreds of feet below the mountain top. Read more
Observing Volcanoes, Satellite Thinks for Itself
December 6, 2007Satellite sensor technology automates volcanic observation, providing timely information about the eruption of Nyamuragira Volcano. Read more
Can Earth's Plants Keep up with Us?
September 26, 2007Studying human appropriation of net primary productivity helps predict the planet's ability to sustain the human population. Read more
Satellite Monitors Rains that Trigger Landslides
June 8, 2007Researchers are developing a landslide early-warning system that uses space-based measurements of rainfall combined with a global risk map based on terrain, landcover, and soils. Read more
Something Under the Ice is Moving
April 23, 2007Satellites measurements of ice sheet elevation reveal a complex network of subglacial lakes in Antarctica. As water flows from lake to lake, the ice sheet above them rises and falls. Read more
Tropical Deforestation
March 30, 2007Tropical forests are home to half the Earth's species, and their trees are an immense standing reservoir of carbon. Deforestation will have increasingly serious consequences for biodiversity, humans, and climate. Read more
Fire Alarms from Orbit
February 23, 2007NASA satellites are playing a key role in an alert system that notifies the South African electric company when potential outage-causing fires come near the power lines. Read more
Remote River Reconnaissance
February 9, 2007Elevation data collected from the space shuttle help map Earth's rivers in remote regions. Read more
Defining Desertification
January 3, 2007A string of dry years shriveled vegetation in Africa's Sahel, causing some to fear that the Sahara Desert was shifting south. Satellite data spanning more than twenty years now shows that the Sahel is holding its own against the Sahara and may be recovering with the return of near-normal rainfall. Read more
Rise and Fall: Satellites Reveal Full Length of Tsunami-Generating Earthquake
September 28, 2006Ambiguous seismic data and a spotty GPS network initially frustrated geologists mapping the length of the tsunami-generating earthquake that struck Indonesia in 2004. Caltech grad student Aron Meltzner decided to improvise: he mapped the rupture using satellite images of coral reefs and coastlines that rose or sank during the quake. Read more
Beating the Heat in the World's Big Cities
August 2, 2006Green roofs can mitigate urban heat islands and heat waves. Read more
Ask-A-Scientist
July 25, 2006Questions from visitors to the Earth Observatory and answers from scientists. Read more
Defying Dry: Amazon Greener in Dry Season than Wet
July 5, 2006Satellites reveal that the Amazon rainforest is greener during the dry season than during the wet season. Read more
Paleoclimatology: Explaining the Evidence
May 9, 2006Scientists' efforts to explain the paleoclimate evidence-not just the when and where of climate change, but the how and why-have produced some of the most significant theories of how the Earth's climate system works. Read more
Forest on the Threshold
April 18, 2006NASA data reveal that Arctic forests are getting browner as temperatures rise. The downward trend in the forests' health may be a sign that global warming is impacting the forests sooner than scientists predicted. Read more
Lake Victoria's Falling Waters
March 15, 2006By early 2006, the Jason-1 satellite showed that water levels on Africa's Lake Victoria had dropped to levels not seen in decades, leaving the millions who depend on the lake high and dry. Read more
Ancient Crystals Suggest Earlier Ocean
March 1, 2006Tiny, ancient mineral crystals from the arid shrublands of Western Australia suggest Earth's oceans developed far earlier than scientists used to think. Read more
Aiding Afghanistan
February 7, 2006NASA satellite data help optimize agricultural output in Afghanistan. Read more
Paleoclimatology: Climate Close-up
December 23, 2005Both tree rings and similar rings in ocean coral can tell scientists about rainfall and temperatures during a single growing season. Read more
Mosaic of Antarctica
December 6, 2005Researchers use MODIS images to show Antarctica like you've never seen it before. Read more
Looking for Lawns
November 8, 2005Move over, corn. According to a satellite-based estimate, lawns constitute the largest area of irrigated crops in America. Read more
The Art of Science
October 18, 2005Astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) have many tasks, but a consistent favorite is taking photographs of Earth. Read more
Blue Marble Next Generation
October 13, 200512 months of high-resolution global true color satellite imagery. Read more
Fire Emergency in Acre, Brazil
October 11, 2005NASA-funded ecologists studying the Amazon Rainforest use satellite data to help fight out-of-control fires in Acre, Brazil. Read more
Operation Antarctica
September 15, 2005When Program Managers of the U.S. Antarctic Program had to figure out how to get supplies to research camps in Antarctica, they turned to NASA sensors for information. Read more
Out of the Crevasse Field
August 30, 2005NASA satellite data help the Antarctic Traverse Team avoid danger and beat a path to the South Pole. Read more
Time on the Shelf
July 12, 2005Twenty-five years of NASA scientists' research in Antarctica and Greenland show that even huge ice sheets can change more quickly than scientists thought, causing sea level to rise. Read more
Paleoclimatology
July 10, 2005Like detectives reconstructing a crime scene, paleoclimatologists scour the Earth for clues to understand the climates of the past and to learn how and why climate changes. Read more
Paleoclimatology: Speleothems
June 28, 2005Like detectives reconstructing a crime scene, paleoclimatologists scour the Earth for clues to understand the climates of the past and to learn how and why climate changes. Read more
Deep Freeze and Sea Breeze: Changing Land and Weather in Florida
May 18, 2005A regional climate model and NASA satellite data say land cover change in south Florida has created both hotter, drier summers, and more severe freezes in the winter. Read more
High Water: Building a Global Flood Atlas
April 6, 2005For more than a decade, geologist Bob Brakenridge has been pioneering the use of satellite data for monitoring floods. Read more
Stealing Rain from the Rainforest
March 8, 2005In a rainforest, visible effects of drought can be subtle. An experiment that mimicked the impact of a severe El Nino in the Amazon revealed surprising signs of stress that could be seen from space. Read more
Terra Turns Five
March 1, 2005In February 2000, NASA's Terra satellite began measuring Earth's vital signs with a combination of accuracy, precision, and resolution the world had never before seen. While the mission is still in the process of fulfilling its main science objectives, Terra's portfolio of achievements to date already marks the mission a resounding success. Read more
Collapse of the Kolka Glacier
September 9, 2004Russian scientists mapped Mount Kazbek in the Caucasus Mountains, site of a massive glacial collapse, and used satellite data to assess the possibility of additional dangers. Read more
Mayan Mysteries
August 24, 2004Satellite data help scientists understand Mesoamerica's past and point the way toward a brighter future. Read more
Nicolaus Steno
July 20, 2004Although he lived at a time when people believed in witches and unicorns, Nicolaus Steno established some of the most important principles of modern geology. Read more
Sensing Remote Volcanoes
July 13, 2004More than 1,500 potentially active volcanoes dot the Earths landscape, of which approximately 500 are active at any given time. Satellite technology now makes it possible to monitor volcanic activity in even the most isolated corners of the globe. Read more
Uncovering Chameleons
June 29, 2004Using satellite data and museum specimen records, scientists predicted the location of 7 new chameleon species in Madagascar. Read more
Sizing Up the Earth's Glaciers
June 22, 2004Visit the worlds high mountain ranges and youll probably see less ice and snow today than you would have a few decades ago. More than 110 glaciers have disappeared from Montanas Glacier National Park over the past 150 years. Read more
Flood Disaster Hits Hispaniola
June 11, 2004In late May 2004, a tragic flood disaster hit the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, claiming the lives of more than 2,000 people. Much of the town of Jimani, Dominican Republic, was overrun by mud, gravel and debris swept off the Massif de la Salle by torrential rains. Across the border in Haiti, the village of Mapou now sits at the bottom of a newly formed lake. In a rapid response initiative, researchers used NASA satellite remote sensing data to assess what caused the disaster and to map the extent of the damage. Read more
From Forest to Field: How Fire is Transforming the Amazon
June 8, 2004Current estimates of Amazon deforestation may capture less than half of the area degraded by logging and accidental fire. If the current trends continue, the entire Amazon frontier could be transformed into grass or scrubland. Read more
GRACE Fact Sheet
March 30, 2004Launched in March 2002, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment is a five-year mission intended to produce maps of the Earth’s gravity field with unprecedented precision and resolution. Read more
LIDAR - In the Wake of the Storm
February 2, 2004To understand how severe storms like Hurricane Isabel shape coastal areas, NASA and USGS scientists mapped the North Carolina coastline before and after Isabel came ashore. Their maps, made with an advanced lidar system that uses light to measure elevation, will help scientists understand how a new inlet formed on Hatteras Island. Read more
Denali's Fault
November 19, 2003During the afternoon of November 3, 2002, the water in Seattle’s Lake Union suddenly began sloshing hard enough to knock houseboats off their moorings. Water in pools, ponds, and bayous as far away as Texas and Louisiana splashed for nearly half an hour. The cause? Alaska’s Denali Fault was on the move, jostling the state with a magnitude 7.9 earthquake. Read more
Watching the World Go By
October 22, 2003Space Station Science Officer Ed Lu describes what it is like to look at the Earth over the course of an orbit. His descriptions are accompanied by digital photographs of Earth he has taken and transmitted to the ground during his mission. Read more
Just Add Water: a Modern Agricultural Revolution in the Fertile Crescent
September 15, 2003Satellite observations in the Middle East's Fertile Crescent have documented a modern agricultural revolution. The dramatic changes in crop production in southern Turkey over the last decade are the result of new irrigation schemes that tap the historic Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Read more
Land Matters
September 9, 2003Storm-related losses from the 1982-83 El Nino cost the state of California an estimated $2.2 billion. Fifteen years later, damages from the 1997-98 El Nino cost California only half that amount. Differences in storm intensity and duration accounted for some of the reduced costs, but other factors were also at work. Read more
The Great Bend of the Nile, Day and Night
July 1, 2003Photographs from the Space Shuttle reveal the densley populated communities along the banks fo the Nile River. Read more
Squeezing Water from Rock
June 24, 2003Survivors of the New Madrid earthquakes reported not only intense ground shaking and land movement, as would be expected during an earthquake, but also an unfamiliar phenomenon: water and sand spouting up through fissures, or cracks, in the Earth's surface Read more
Global Garden Gets Greener
June 5, 2003Between 1982-1999, the climate grew warmer, wetter, and sunnier in many parts of the global greenhouse. For the most part, these changes were favorable for Earth's vegetation. Satellite observations of vegetation combined with nearly 20 years of climate data reveal that productivity of Earth's land-based vegetation increased by 6 percent during the time period. The greatest increase occurred in the tropics, where decreasing cloudiness made more sunlight available. Compared to the increase in human population, however, the small increase in productivity has not changed the Earth's habitability in any significant way. Read more
Escape from the Amazon
April 23, 2003In this era of heightened concern about the relationship between the build up of atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate change, scientists are working to itemize all the ways carbon moves into and out of forest ecosystems. Perhaps nowhere on Earth do questions about the role of forests in the carbon cycle need answers more than in the Amazon Rainforest. Using satellite mapping and ground-based observations, scientists have discovered that carbon dioxide gas escaping from wetlands and flooded areas is a significant source of carbon emissions in the Amazon. Read more
How on Earth was this Image Made?
March 25, 2003Remotely sensed Earth observations can include everything from sonar measurements used to map the topography of the ocean floor to satellite-based observations of city lights. Combining observations collected by a variety of instruments at different times and places allow scientists to create an otherwise impossible view of the Earth, showing underwater mountain ranges, cloud-free skies, and city lights that are brighter than daylight. Such visualizations are invaluable for interpreting complex data and communicating scientific concepts. Read more
From Space to the Outback
March 18, 2003The 2002-03 fire season in Australia echoes the devastating 2001-02 season that climaxed in the bush on the outskirts of Sydney and drew international attention once again to the city that had hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics. In the aftermath of that season, Australian scientists and government agencies developed a new fire monitoring system that uses observations from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on the Terra and Aqua satellites to identify fires in remote locations in Australia. The system provides a big-picture perspective of fires across the country and helps fire emergency agencies allocate resources to the areas where they are needed most. Read more
Flame & Flood
March 12, 2003In the desert, fires can move fast; constant winds funnel through shallow dry creek beds to keep parched vegetation burning. A hot fire can make soil "hydrophobic," meaning that water runs off instead of soaking into the ground. Read more
The Human Footprint
February 25, 2003In North America, the black-tailed prairie dog occupies as little as 5 percent of its former habitat. In Madagascar, more than 20 lemur species are threatened with extinction, and at least 15 species are already extinct. And on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, fewer than 50 mature mandrinette hibiscus plants remain in the wild. Read more
The Road to Recovery
January 21, 2003A recent study in the Amazon rain forest shows that some types of logging may not negatively impact the carbon cycle as originally thought. Read more
ICESat Factsheet
January 9, 2003The ICESat mission will provide multi-year elevation data needed to determine ice sheet mass balance as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds common over polar areas. It will also provide topography and vegetation data around the globe, in addition to the polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Read more
Introduction to the LBA
December 31, 2002The large-scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia is an international research effort led by Brazil to investigate how the Amazon functions as a regional and global entity in atmospheric and biogeochemical cycles. Read more
From Wetland to Wasteland
December 13, 2002Due to drought and over irrigation, the once fertile Hamoun wetlands on the Iran-Afghan border have all but disappeared. Using remote sensing satellites developed by NASA, researchers with the United Nations Environmental Program are cataloguing the extent of the wetlands degradation and exploring ways to restore them. Read more
Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation
October 23, 2002The aftermath of a wildfire can be as dangerous as the blaze itself. The charred landscape is prone to flooding and erosion, and natural resource experts usually have only one week to assess the damage and propose steps to mitigate disaster. Satellite mapping of burned areas can save crews time and money by helping guide field crews to the most crucial areas. USDA Forest Service and University of Maryland scientists are partnering up in a project to collect ground-based data to check the accuracy of their satellite-based Burn Severity maps. Read more
Prospecting from Orbit
September 25, 2002With help from the ASTER instrument aboard the NASA's Terra satellite, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey have embarked on an ambitious effort to create a worldwide map of well-exposed metal ore deposits. Read more
Locust!
September 18, 2002A little bit of overcrowding can transform a population of solitary desert locusts into a marauding mob with a voracious appetite. By tracking rainfall-induced changes in vegetation in the desert locust's habitat, scientists can help predict when conditions are becoming ripe for the formation of a plague. Read more
Rain Helps Carbon Sink
September 3, 2002Forests and other vegetation in the U.S. consume about a quarter of the carbon dioxide gas the country produces each year. Over the past few decades the size of this “carbon sink” has been growing. NASA researchers now believe increased rain and snowfall are encouraging plant growth, which in turn are sequestering carbon dioxide. Read more
The Migrating Boreal Forest
August 20, 2002Using plant fossils and ice cores, scientists have put together a history of the how the boreal forest has migrated since the last ice age. That history may help scientists trying to predict how the boreal forest of today might fare in a world much warmer than the one in which we now live. Read more
Space-based Ice Sight
August 6, 2002Data from recent NASA satellite missions offer scientists new views of Antarctica, and new opportunities to understand how its enormous ice sheet might respond to future climate change. Read more
Urbanization's Aftermath
July 15, 2002Researchers have found that by reducing the amount of vegetation over large tracts of land, urbanization may affect the levels of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Read more
Fiery Temperament
May 14, 2002Sufficient human pressure can transform tropical rainforest into savanna, and savanna into desert. Desertification now threatens more than a billion people worldwide, although its impacts are most severe in Africa. Read more
Seeing Leaves in a New Light
May 6, 2002An increase in plant growth can cool surface temperatures, give rise to more rain and cloud cover and lower the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. For many years biologists and Earth scientists have known of these interactions, but they have never been able to precisely measure and assess to what degree plants influence climate. Using a measurement known as Leaf Area Index, scientists have now found a way to quantify plant growth on a global scale with satellite imagery. Read more
Scientist for a Day
April 25, 2002Elementary and secondary students and teachers in the Midwestern U.S. collect snow and cloud data at their schools to help scientists validate satellite data in a global change research study. Read more
Domes of Destruction
April 16, 2002Imagery from the ASTER satellite instrument helps scientists monitor volcanic domes. Read more
Testing the Waters
March 12, 2002Using imagery from Landsat satellites, scientists have mapped the water clarity for over 10,000 of Minnesota’s lakes. The maps have allowed them to evaluate water quality patterns across the state. Read more
Hantavirus Risk Maps
February 5, 2002Satellite and ground truth data help scientists predict the risk of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Read more
Tracking a Volcano: Satellite Observations of Piton de la Fournaise
January 31, 2002NASA satellite data from Terra and Landsat provide a unique perspective on the 2002 eruption of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano. Read more
Snow Sleuths
January 3, 2002Scientists use ground-based measurements to learn how snow looks from space. Read more
When Land Slides
December 21, 2001Data imaging techniques provide scientists with new tools to study and map landslides. Read more
A View From Above
September 24, 2001International scientists with diverse backgrounds work together to better understand movement of carbon between the Earth's forests and atmosphere. Read more
Well Grounded
September 19, 2001A team effort allows scientists to validate and make MODIS data accessible to a wide audience. Read more
Measure for Measure
September 10, 2001Governments and policy makers turn to science to better understand the impacts of global sea level rise on coastal cities. Read more
Ultraviolet Radiation: How It Affects Life on Earth
September 6, 2001Stratospheric ozone depletion due to human activities has resulted in an increase of ultraviolet radiation on the Earth's surface. The article describes some effects on human health, aquatic ecosystems, agricultural plants and other living things, and explains how much ultraviolet radiation we are currently getting and how we measure it. Read more
Location, Location, Location
August 15, 2001Scientists review geographic factors to learn why wealth concentrates predominantly in temperate zones. Read more
Astronauts Photograph Mount Pinatubo
June 14, 2001In early 1991, Mt. Pinatubo, a volcano north of Manila on the Philippine island of Luzon, had been dormant for more than 500 years. Few geologists would have guessed that it would produce one of the world's most explosive eruptions in the twentieth century. Read more
Watching Plants Dance to the Rhythms of the Ocean
June 4, 2001NASA scientists developed a new data set that enables them to observe the teleconnections between sea surface temperature anomalies and patterns of plant growth on a global scale. Read more
From the Dust Bowl to the Sahel
May 18, 2001Severe drought and poor soil conversation practices contribute to desertification. Read more
When the Dust Settles
May 18, 2001African dust can both benefit and harm Caribbean coral reefs. Read more
Biomass Burning
March 19, 2001Biomass burning is the burning of living and dead vegetation, including both human-initiated burning for land clearing, and burning induced by lightning and other natural sources. Researchers with the Biomass Burning Project at NASA Langley Research Center are seeking to understand the impact that biomass burning has on the Earth's atmosphere and climate. Read more
Where Frogs Live
March 5, 2001Researchers use remote sensing to monitor amphibian health. Read more
Alfred Wegener
February 8, 2001Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift - the idea that the Earth's continents move over hundreds of millions of years of geologic time - long before the idea was commonly accepted. Read more
Precision Farming
January 29, 2001The U.S. Department of Agriculture, NASA, and NOAA are among key agencies contributing to precision farming revolution. The goal is to improve farmers' profits and harvest yields while reducing the negative impacts of farming on the environment that come from over-application of chemicals. Read more
Frozen Soils and the Climate System
December 11, 2000While scientists have learned to interpret receding glaciers as well as changing trends in snow cover, sea ice extent, and sea level as "indicators" of climate change, they are still working to better understand the role that frozen soils play within the Earth's climate system. Read more
Earth Observing 1 (EO-1)
November 15, 2000In 2000, NASA launched Earth Observing-1 (EO-1). While flying at an altitude of 705-kilometers, EO-1's primary focus is to test advanced instruments, spacecraft systems, and mission concepts in flight. EO-1 will also return scientific data which is used in comparison with other satellite data to ensure the continuity of land-imaging data. Read more
Reaping What We Sow: Mapping the Urbanization of Farmland Using Satellites and City Lights
November 2, 2000Tracking urbanization, the conversion of rural landscape to urban habitat, has always been difficult due to the speed at which it progresses. Recently, NASA scientists came across a solution. Using satellite images of city lights at night, they constructed a map of urbanized areas and integrated this map with a soil map prepared by the United Nations. These maps indicate that urban centers may be destroying their best soils and putting future generations at risk. Read more
Bright Lights, Big City
October 23, 2000For the past six years, researchers have been looking for ways to measure the effects of urbanization on biological productivity in countries around the world. To assist them with their research, they have created a method of mapping urbanization on a countrywide scale by using satellite images of the light cities generate at night. Read more
Mission: Biomes
October 5, 2000Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a different part of the world? What would the weather be like? What kinds of animals would you see? Which plants live there? By investigating these questions, you are learning about biomes. Read more
Dry Times in North America
September 25, 2000Recurring droughts are common in the American West, and a 2008 report from the U.S. Climate Change Science Program cautions that they may become more common (press release). This article from 2000 describes how scientists use data from satellites and rain gauges along with tree-rings and lakebed sediments to understand and predict drought in North America. Read more
Drought: The Creeping Disaster
August 28, 2000Though it is a gradual disaster, drought can have devastating effects on agriculture and water supplies, but monitoring and forecasts can allow people to take early actions that prevent harsh impacts later. Read more
The Dirt on Carbon
August 21, 2000Researchers examine the implications of melting permafrost in the northern forests. Read more
Perspective on Plants
July 31, 2000Satellite observations help landowners and land managers monitor the health of their land by providing a larger perspective. Read more
Flying High for Fine Wine
June 26, 2000NASA and Robert Mondavi Winery researchers worked together to use airborne remote sensing technology to classify grapevines and produce better wine. Read more
Human Impact on the Mojave
June 8, 2000Researchers study long-term effects of disturbances to desert ecosystems. Read more
RAMPing Up
June 2, 2000International teamwork yields a high-resolution map of Antarctica. Read more
River Seasons
May 15, 2000Remote sensing data help scientists understand large river systems and basin hydrology. Read more
Finding Fossils from Space
May 15, 2000Satellite imagery helps fossil hunters find dinosaurs in the Gobi Desert. Read more
Grasslands Initiative
May 8, 2000Researchers establish a baseline for understanding net primary productivity: the total amount of carbon plants take out of the atmosphere and use for growth. Read more
Fire and Ice
May 2, 2000The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo led to new techniques for detecting short-term climate variation. Read more
Growing Data
April 5, 2000Researchers use satellite data to characterize the seasonal dynamics of arctic vegetation. Read more
Hurricane Floyd: Fearing the Worst
March 20, 2000In the wake of Hurricane Floyd, polluted runoff threatened North Carolina’s rivers and beaches. Read more
When Rivers of Rock Flow
March 9, 2000Lahars are landslides composed of slurries of volcanic rock, ash, and water, that often occur after eruptions. Read more
Hurricane Floyd's Lasting Legacy - Introduction
March 1, 2000Hurricane Floyd struck eastern North Carolina on September 15, 1999. In it's wake the storm left polluted floodwaters and sediment-choked rivers. Read more
Putting Earthquakes in Their Place
February 7, 2000Using modern global databases, hundreds of research reports, satellite photos, and computerized drafting methods, a group of researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center has pieced together what’s considered a series of objective and comprehensive maps (what’s known as a Geological Information System, or GIS) of the planet’s tectonic activity. Read more
Global Temperature Trends - Continued Global Warmth in 1999
January 28, 2000Global surface temperatures in 1999 fell back from the record setting high level of 1998, which was the warmest year in the period of instrumental data. Read more
Mapping Malaria
January 6, 2000For the past fifteen years Don Roberts and a group of scientists at the Uniformed Services University and NASA have been working on a system to pinpoint houses and areas at high risk for the malaria using medical databases of malaria, airplane photographs, and even remote sensing satellites. Read more
Introduction to BOREAS
December 6, 1999BOREAS’ primary goals were to determine how the boreal forest interacts with the atmosphere (via the transfer of gases and energy), how much carbon is stored in the forest ecosystem, how climate change will affect the forest, and how changes in the forest affects weather and climate. Read more
Silvus Borealis
November 22, 1999A multi-scale project leads to an understanding of the carbon flux between terrestrial ecosystems and the lower atmosphere. Read more
Evolving in the Presence of Fire
November 1, 1999In the Far North, fire is critical for renewing the boreal forest. But changes in fire frequency or size may convert the forest from a carbon dioxide sink to a source of greenhouse gas emissions. Read more
A Burning Question
November 1, 1999Evidence suggests that atmospheric aerosols from biomass burning may offset global warming caused by greenhouse gases. Read more
Global Fire Monitoring
October 22, 1999Forest fires, brush fires, and slash and burn agriculture—types of biomass burning—are a significant force for environmental change. Fires may play an important role in climate change, emitting both greenhouse gases and smoke particles into the atmosphere. Read more
Visions of a Cloudy Continent
September 24, 1999A combination of cloud-free satellite imagery and digital elevation data has revealed the face of Antarctica. Read more
Modeling Earth's Land Biosphere
September 10, 1999A NASA-affiliated research team constructed a computer model of the Earth’s terrestrial biosphere that will teach us a great deal about the dynamic interactions between land plants and the lower atmosphere. Read more
Land Cover Classification
July 16, 1999For years scientists across the world have been mapping changes in the landscape (forest to field, grassland to desert, ice to rock) to prevent future disasters, monitor natural resources, and collect information on the environment. While land cover can be observed on the ground or by airplane, the most efficient way to map it is from space. Read more
Floods: Using Satellites to Keep Our Heads Above Water
July 2, 1999Scientists are using satellites to spot extreme floods, using the data they collect to create maps of flood risk. Read more
Should We Talk About the Weather? Improving Global Forecasts with BOREAS Research
June 11, 1999One goal of of NASA’s Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) is to understand how changes in air temperature, moisture and carbon dioxide levels may impact the boreal ecosystem and what role the boreal forest plays in global-scale climate changes. Read more
Changing Global Land Surface
May 13, 1999Satellite remote sensing enables researchers to consistently monitor distribution and seasonal changes of the world’s vegetation and the exchanges of water and carbon between land vegetation and the atmosphere. These observations will help us understand the rate of change of atmospheric carbon dioxide and its effect on climate. Read more
Mystery of the Missing Carbon
April 28, 1999Scientists estimate that between 1 and 2 billion metric tons of carbon per year are "missing" from the global carbon budget. In a concerted effort to solve the mystery of the missing carbon, NASA led the interdisciplinary Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) from 1994-97. Read more
Polar Ice Fact Sheet
April 24, 1999Polar ice consists of sea ice, ice sheets, and glaciers. Extending over vast areas of the polar regions, this ice provides some early clues about climate change. Read more
At the Edge: Monitoring Glaciers to Watch Global Warming
April 14, 1999Alpine glaciers are a good indicator of climate change. If the climate is getting warmer or drier, they will shrink. If it is getting colder or wetter, they tend to grow. Read more
Terra Spacecraft Fact Sheet
March 1, 1999On December 18, 1999, NASA launched a new flagship, the Terra satellite, to begin collecting a new 18-year global data set on which to base future scientific investigations about our complex home planet. Read more
Fire! NASA Demonstrates New Technology for Monitoring Fires From Space
May 29, 1998The Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) enables scientists to detect active fires, estimate rates of combustion, and estimate how much smoke, greenhouse gases, and aerosol particles the fires produce Read more
