On 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.
Mangroves, Dunes, and Desert on Baja California
Pale fields of sand dunes are interspersed with deep green, mangrove-lined streams on the southern Baja Peninsula.
Phytoplankton Bloom Over Chatham Rise, South Pacific
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).
Philippine Volcano Shoots Ash, Lava; Thousands Evacuated
Mount Mayon, the Philippines’ most active volcano, is shooting columns of ash more than a kilometer above the summit and red hot lava is “fountaining” to a height of 500 meters.
Central Athens, Greece
Acquired July 2, 2004, this true-color image shows central Athens, including famous sites from antiquity and an industrialized area to the west.
Deadly Cold Across Europe and Russia
Land surface temperatures across Europe and Russia were far below the 2000–2008 average in mid-December 2009.
Sonoran Desert
Let the Encyclopedia of Earth take you on an ecological journey through North America’s Sonoran Desert.
Mangroves and Coral Reefs, Viti Levu, Fiji
Deep green forest on land and the delicate turquoise coral reef in the ocean mirror each other in this true-color image of Viti Levu, Fiji, from December 18, 2009.
Book review of Jacques Cousteau: The Sea King by Brad Matsen
Longtime aquatic author Brad Matsen sets out to correct this slight to our water-covered planet with his new biography, offering us, if not total immersion, at least a fast and thrilling dive through Cousteau’s aquatic life.
Nigeria: Nation Launches Two Satellites Soon
Nigeria is now set to launch two satellites into space by the third quarter of next year, Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Alhassan Bako Zaku has announced.