Landsat: Earth Observations for a Changing World

EarthzineArticles, Earth Observation, Original, Sections, Technology

Image of the Ganges River DeltaOn July 23, 1972, NASA launched the ERTS-1 – later to be named Landsat – the first of a series of satellites, which set out to offer scientists, educators, resource managers, and the general public an important ‘photo album’ of decades of Earth observations. Now, almost forty years later, Landsat continues to provide a remarkable record of observations, measuring data in wavelengths of energy ranging from the visible to the thermal portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Let Dr. Bruce Quirk of the USGS provide a glimpse of the uses, value and future of data gathered from the invaluable Landsat program.

Phytoplankton Bloom Over Chatham Rise, South Pacific

adamBiodiversity, Earth Observation, Oceans

An expansive bloom of phytoplankton traced colorful swirls across the South Pacific Ocean between New Zealand (left) and the Chatham Islands (right) on December 23, 2009. …Read more at the original article here (This article was syndicated in an earlier version of the Earthzine website, but is no longer reproduced here. Hope you enjoy the article at the original source).

Central Athens, Greece

adamEarth Observation

Acquired July 2, 2004, this true-color image shows central Athens, including famous sites from antiquity and an industrialized area to the west.

Sonoran Desert

EarthzineEarth Observation

Let the Encyclopedia of Earth take you on an ecological journey through North America’s Sonoran Desert.