Underwater structures of the Great Bahamas Bank are pictured in this image from the Landsat-8 satellite on 5 February.
Sitting north of Cuba, the bank is made of limestone – mainly from the skeletal fragments of marine organisms – that has been accumulating for over 100 million years.
Currents sculpted these underwater sediments into the wavy pattern we see along the bottom of the image, just a few meters deep.
We can clearly see where the shallow waters drop off into the deep, dark water of an area known as the Tongue of the Ocean. With depths of up to about 4000 m, this trench surrounded by islands, reefs and shoals has an opening to the Atlantic Ocean at its northern end (not pictured).
The trench was carved during the last Ice Age when the land was still above sea level and exposed to erosion from draining rainwater. As the Ice Age ended and the massive ice sheets across the globe melted, global sea levels rose and flooded the canyon.
Over the deep Tongue we can see a few sparse clouds.
This image, featured in the Earth from Space video program, is ESA’s 500 Earth Observation Image of the Week. The first of the series, published in 2004, also featured the colorful waters of the Bahamas, as seen by the Envisat satellite.
Image credit: USGS/ESA
Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in Cameroon near the Gulf of Guinea. It is one of Africa's largest volcanoes, rising over 4,000 meters, with more than 100 small cinder cones. Mount Cameroon has the most frequent eruptions of any West African volcano, having erupted most recently in 2012. It is part of the Cameroon Volcanic Line that also includes Lake Nyos, the site of a disaster in 1986. The image was acquired January 12, 2007, covers an area of 26.5 by 32 km, and is located at 4.2 degrees north, 9.1 degrees east.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
The Faroe Islands is an archipelago and autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, comprising 18 major islands. Located 320 km north of Scotland, the islands were first settled in about the 5th century. The population of about 50,000 is almost completely economically dependent on fishing. The islands are entirely volcanic in origin, and were more recently (geologically speaking) sculpted by numerous glaciers, leaving aretes, cirques, and tarns. The image of the northern part of the Islands was acquired June 6, 2007, covers an area of 37 by 38.5 km, and is located at 62.2 degrees north, 6.7 degrees west.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
This image acquired by Japan’s ALOS satellite on 28 June 2009 shows Finland’s capital and largest city, Helsinki (upper right), on the shores of the Gulf of Finland.
The gulf is the eastern arm of the Baltic sea, stretching all the way to St. Petersburg in Russia. The waters are relatively shallow, with an average depth of about 38 m and maximum depth of about 100 m. During winter – usually in January – the waters freeze and stay frozen until about April.
Satellites play an important role during this season for shipping, providing imagery that helps icebreaker boats navigate through these frozen waters.
Situated on the tip of a peninsula and on more than 300 islands, Helsinki is sparsely populated compared to other European capitals and has many green areas. Running north to south through the center of the city is a 10 km-long forested park that offers opportunities for outdoor sports and activities to Helsinki’s residents.
This year, the park celebrates its 100-year anniversary, marked by various activities including nature walks, a photo competition and other events.
North of the city we can see the runways of the Helsinki airport, while farther west, the large, dark green area of Nuuksio National Park is evident.
This image is featured on the Earth from Space video program.
Image credit: JAXA/ESA
A sandstorm over the Sahara desert in Africa seen by ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst from the International Space Station.
Photo credit: ESA/NASA
The area pictured lies on the southeast end of the La Mancha plateau, Spain. The arid but fertile lands are farmed for wheat, barley, oats and olives, among other crops.
Image credit: European Space Imaging / DigitalGlobe
Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, has been in continuous eruption since 1983. Recently, lava flows from a vent close to the Pu'u O'o cone began cutting through dense vegetation and moving closer to inhabited areas. On September 8, 2014, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA's Earth Observing 1 spacecraft obtained this infrared image. Although there are clouds and smoke from burning vegetation, a line of red points delineate the path taken by the new lava flows. As always, the threat posed by these lava flows is being assessed and monitored by scientists at the United States Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/EO-1 Mission/GSFC/Ashley Davies
