Sea-ice thickness measured by SMOS in the Arctic and Antarctic. Arctic sea ice is significantly thinner in February 2012 than in February 2011. This year, the Arctic experienced a record low of sea-ice extent since satellite measurements began in the 1970s.
Wasco, California advertises itself as the "Rose Capital of the World," producing 55% of the rose bushes sold in the United States. Located in the central San Joaquin Valley, Wasco attracted rose producers in the 1960s, when southern California fields were sold for housing developments. Today, over 8000 acres are devoted to cultivation of existing and new varieties of roses, shipped to every state in the US and all over the world. The image covers an area of 10.4 x 15.8 km, was acquired July 10, 2011, and is located near 35.6 degrees north latitude, 119.3 degrees west longitude.
For the first time in 35 years, the Plosky Tolbachik volcano in Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula erupted on November 27, 2012, sending clouds of ash to the height of more than 9,800 feet (3,000 meters). In this daytime image acquired February 14, 2013, by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft, the snowy winter landscape reveals the still-active lava flows.
A combination of the ASTER thermal infrared channels from the two images acquired during the day and also the previous night highlights the hot rocks in red colors. Steam and ash clouds rising to the north and northeast hide part of the flows, though the thermal infrared channels penetrate the thinner clouds. The image covers an area of 16.7 by 17.8 miles (27 by 28.6 kilometers) and is located at 55.7 degrees north latitude, 160.2 degrees east longitude.
Majorca, Mallorca and Ibiza as seen from the ISS by ESA astronaut André Kuipers during his mission to the orbital outpost, PromISSe.
The distinctive horseshoe shape of Volgograd by night, as seen by ESA astronaut André Kuipers from his position on the ISS. Andre is [was] onboard the ISS as part of ESA's long duration mission, PromISSe.
Time-series of monthly Arctic sea ice volume from CryoSat (red circles) and from PIOMAS (solid line) for two winter growth periods (October – April).
The new CryoSat data provide further evidence of the long-term decreases in Arctic sea ice volume simulated by the Pan-Arctic Ice-Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS), which estimates the volume of Arctic sea ice using data from submarine, mooring and satellite observations. However, the rate of decline in autumn ice volume measured by CryoSat is 60% higher than the decline in PIOMAS analyses, but 25% lower in winter.
Variations in total water storage from normal, in millimeters, in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins, as measured by NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, from January 2003 through December 2009. Reds represent drier conditions, while blues represent wetter conditions. The majority of the water lost was due to reductions in groundwater caused by human activities. By periodically measuring gravity regionally, GRACE tells scientists how much water storage changes over time.
The animation shows the change in vegetation in African equatorial forest from 12 months of data from Spot’s Vegetation instrument. The area includes Congo, DR of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon.
The Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) is a large layered igneous intrusion within the earth's crust, exposed at the edge of the Transvaal Basin in South Africa. The complex contains the world's largest reserves of the platinum group metals, platinum, palladium, osmium, indium, rhodium and rhenium, along with vast quantities of iron, tin, chromium, titanium and vanadium. Numerous mines, tailings piles, and leach ponds are shown in blue in the ASTER image. The image was acquired October 24, 2006, covers an area of 38 by 52 km, and is located at 25.6 degrees south latitude, 27.4 degrees east longitude.
Ozone distribution over the South Pole from July to December during the years 2011 (left) and 2012 (right).
The 2012 ozone hole duration, geographical extension and depth was much smaller than that of 2011. Ozone loss over the South Pole is displayed at the bottom (the bold dark line indicates the ozone loss for 2012 and the grey line for 2011). The ozone maps were generated by the assimilation of GOME-2 total ozone data into the model TM3DAM. GOME-2 is carried by Eumetsat’s MetOp mission.
Venice has been subject to floodings for hundreds of years and the problem is increasing due to sea level rise and a constant subsidence of the city.
Radar data - like it will be delivered from the first GMES satellite - are providing the means for a continuous monitoring of ground movement with an accuracy of a few millimeters per year.
In mid-January, 2013, a massive wildfire damaged Australia's largest optical astronomy facility, the Siding Spring Observatory, causing significant damage. All of the workers were safely evacuated, but five buildings, including a visitors' center and lodge, were badly damaged. The facility remains closed while the extent of damage is assessed. Australia has suffered both its hottest summer on record, and a devastating wildfire season. This was one of numerous large fires that have devastated the country.
This 3-D perspective view image was created from data acquired February 4, 2013, by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft. The image is located near 31.2 degrees south latitude, 149 degrees east longitude.
In this image from the Envisat satellite, clouds cover the North Sea and sweep down to the strait between Denmark (lower-right corner) and Norway (upper-center). In the upper-right corner, a thicker blanket of clouds covers south eastern Norway and spreads into Sweden. Located on the Scandinavian Peninsula, Norway is Europe’s northernmost country and is famed for its fjords. Some of these are visible in the image as dark lines between the white and snow-covered land. Near the top of the image, we can see part of Norway’s longest and deepest fjord, the Sognefjord. In the lower-right corner, we can see part of Denmark’s Jutland peninsula, with small and large bodies of water speckling the flat terrain.
