Geology News
Satellite Images Current Events

NASA’s Earth Observatory has interesting satellite images of lava flows on Tolbachik, a volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The images use visible light and shortwave infrared and near-infrared to enhance the visibility of volcanic features.

“Using an innovative satellite technique, NASA scientists have determined that a previously unmapped type of wildfire in the Amazon rainforest is responsible for destroying several times more forest than has been lost through deforestation in recent years.”

“Ash covers the western slopes of Karymsky Volcano in this natural-color satellite image. The image was collected on May 20, 2013. [...] Late-season snow remained on the surrounding Kamchatkan landscape.” Quoted from the NASA image release.

Research at the University of Southampton determined that the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull supplied dissolved iron to a large area of the North Atlantic. This stimulated photoplankton growth but the abundance of iron caused the rapid removal of biological nitrate which applied a throttle on the phytoplankton.

Strong winds carry plumes of dust from parts of Namibia where dry soil and a lack of vegetation allow the wind to pick up dust from the gravel-covered plains.

NASA’s Earth Observatory has a satellite image showing how strong winds in Argentina are removing dust from inland lake beds and streaming it out over the Atlantic.

Google now has a website that uses satellite images to document landscape changes over time. With it you can see lakes shrinking, cities expanding, glaciers retreating and mining activities advancing.

NASA’s Earth Observatory has satellite images that display flooding in the area around Fargo, North Dakota from early and late April 2013. They show waters of the Red River covering farmland around the city.

BBC.com has an article about the first satellite maps of the Arctic and Antarctic, produced in the 1960s and now providing useful information about polar ice change.

“A dust storm blew through Egypt on March 22, 2013, obscuring parts of the Nile River and the Gulf of Suez.” Quoted from the NASA Earth Observatory image release.

“On March 18, 2013, the newly launched Landsat Data Continuity Mission began to send back images of Earth from both of its instruments — the Operational Land Imager and the Thermal Infrared Sensor. This view of Fort Collins, Colorado, is among the satellite’s first images.” Quoted from the NASA image release.

A collection of some of the most interesting photos of volcanic eruptions that we have seen from USGS, NASA and NOAA.

“Mexico’s Popocatépetl Volcano released a plume in early March 2013. On March 8, Volcano Discovery reported an ash plume reaching roughly 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) above the volcano crater, or about 7 kilometers (4 miles) above sea level.” Quoted from the NASA image release.

“Nearly three months after Tolbachik began erupting, lava continues to flow from the Kamchatkan volcano. Over time, the lava flows change location and shift across the landscape. In this image, infrared data is superimposed on a natural-color image to highlight active flows.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.

“A new study using data from a pair of gravity-measuring NASA satellites finds that large parts of the arid Middle East region lost freshwater reserves rapidly during the past decade.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

“Landsat images from space are not just pictures. They contain many layers of data collected at different points along the visible and invisible light spectrum. Consequently, Landsat images can show where vegetation is thriving and where it is stressed, where droughts are occurring, where wildland fire is a danger, and where erosion has altered coastlines or river courses.” Quoted from the USGS press release.

“In a clever reuse of hardware originally built to test parts of NASA’s QuikScat satellite, the agency will launch the ISS-RapidScat instrument to the International Space Station in 2014 to measure ocean surface wind speed and direction.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

North Korea is a very closed country. This Business Week video explains how Google has been able to use crowd-sourcing to construct maps of North Korea beyond what can be obtained from satellite images.

“Just after midnight on January 3, 1983, a small fissure opened within Napau Crater on Kilauea Volcano, spewing red-hot lava. Within hours, additional fissures stretched 6 kilometers down the volcano’s East Rift Zone. Thirty years later, the Pu’u ’O’o-Kupaianaha eruption continues, making it the longest eruption at Kilauea in recorded history. Since the eruption began in 1983, lava has poured almost continuously from a cluster of vents on the eastern flank.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.

NASA has a satellite image showing a rare snow-covering of the Taklimakan Desert of western China – normally one of Earth’s hottest deserts.

NASA’s Earth Observatory has a small collection of satellite images that document lava flows from a flank eruption on Tolbachik Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.

The UniverseToday.com website has a collection titled: “Most Awesome Space Images of 2012″. Check them out.

Today the U.S. Geological Survey announced that Landsat 5 will be decommissioned over the coming months, bringing to a close the longest-operating Earth observing satellite mission in history. [...] Now in its 29th year of orbiting the planet, Landsat 5 has long outlived its original three-year design life.

“The primary goal of U.S. Geological Survey Natural Hazards Response is to ensure that the disaster response community has access to timely, accurate, and relevant geospatial products, imagery, and services during and after an emergency event. [...] Post-event imagery and analysis can provide important and timely information about the extent and severity of an event. USGS Natural Hazards Response will also support the coordination of remotely sensed data acquisitions, image distribution, and authoritative geospatial information production as required for use in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery operations.” Quoted from the USGS Fact Sheet.

Princeton researchers have developed a method of measuring changes in Earth’s surface from satellite data. One of their applications was a cumulative map of Greenland’s ice loss between 2003 and 2012.

A new Google map presents NASA’s new version of “Earth at Night”. Drill down to see oil drilling on Alaska’s North Slope, the distribution of lights on the Hawaiian Islands, illumination along the Nile River, interstate corridors in the eastern USA, natural gas flaring in Nigeria, the lack of night light in North Korea and many other features.

At right…. Lebanon, Israel and the Nile River system.

NASA’s Earth Observatory has a recent satellite image that shows plumes of dust blown over the Arabian Sea by strong storms sweeping across parts of Iran and Pakistan.

NASA’s Earth Observatory has a great satellite image of fog in the valleys of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Unfortunately this dense fog occurred on the day before Thanksgiving when many people were doing holiday travel.

Karymsky is the most active of Kamchatka’s eastern volcanoes, with almost constant (on a geologic time scale) volcanism occurring since at least the late 18th century, when the historical record for the region began.

A study of Indonesian volcanoes demonstrates how a satellite monitoring changes in the shape of Earth’s surface could be a valuable tool in forecasting eruptions.