Shark Bay, Australia

Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve is located in the Shark Bay World Heritage Site in Western Australia. It is one of the very few places in the world where living stromatolites can be found. These are the first living examples of structures built by cyanobacteria. These bacteria are direct descendants of the oldest form of photosynthetic life on earth, dating back 3,500 million years (Wikipedia). The image was acquired December 30, 2010, covers an area of 34 x 46 km, and is located at 26.4 degrees south latitude, 114.1 degrees east longitude.

Photo credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Japan Earthquake Sensed by GOCE

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New studies have revealed that the massive earthquake that hit Japan on 11 March 2011 was also felt in space by ESA’s GOCE satellite. The massive earthquake sent ripples of sound – called infrasound – upwards through the atmosphere. These sound waves caused changes in air density that were detected by ESA’s GOCE gravity satellite as it crossed the wavefront.

Read full article: GOCE the First Seismometer in Orbit.

Video credit: ESA/IRAP/CNES/TU Delft/HTG/Planetary Visions

Japanese Earthquake Sensed from Space

The animation shows how the massive earthquake that hit Japan in 2011 caused ripples in the atmosphere. As sound waves from the earthquake traveled upwards, they caused changes in air density that were detected by ESA’s GOCE gravity satellite as it crossed the wavefront.

Video credit: ESA/IRAP/CNES/TU Delft/HTG/Planetary Visions

SMOS Reveals Thin Sea Ice

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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.

Video credit: Planetary Visions

Wasco, California

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.

Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Plosky Tolbachik Volcano Eruption

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.

Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Balearic Islands

Majorca, Mallorca and Ibiza as seen from the ISS by ESA astronaut André Kuipers during his mission to the orbital outpost, PromISSe.

Photo credit: ESA/NASA

Volgograd at Night

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.

Photo credit: ESA/NASA

Monthly Sea Ice Volume

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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.

Video credit: CPOM/UCL/ESA/UW-APL/NSIDC/Planetary Visions

Note: For more information, see Study Sheds New Light on Arctic Sea Ice Volume Losses.

Freshwater Losses in the Middle East

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.

Image credit: NASA/UC Irvine/NCAR

Note: For more information, see NASA Satellites Find Freshwater Losses in Middle East.

African Equatorial Forest

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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.

Video credit: CNES/VITO

Note: For some reason, the Venice Land Subsidence video sometimes appears in place of the proper video. Click on the title to see the individual post, and the appropriate video should then appear.

The Bushveld Igneous Complex

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.

Photo credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Antarctic Ozone Holes: 2011 and 2012

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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.

Video credit: KNMI

Venice Land Subsidence

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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.

Video credit: ESA/DLR

3D View of Siding Spring Observatory Wildfire

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.

Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Scandinavian Snows

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.

Text credit: ESA;Video credit: ESA

Note: The image shown in this video can be found here; unfortunately, at 13.42 MB, it is too large for Blogger to upload.

Jakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. The population of the Jakarta conurbation is over 28 million, making it perhaps the largest metropolitan area in the world in terms of inhabitants. Established in the 4th century, it became an important trading port for the Kingdom of Sunda, and was the capital of the Dutch East Indies under the name of Batavia. The rapid growth of the city is illustrated in the three satellite images. In 1972, Landsat MSS captured an image of the city with about 11 million inhabitants. By 1994, the Landsat Thematic Mapper saw a city of 19 million. And in 2006, ASTER imaged a city of 25 million inhabitants. Each image covers an area of 40 by 50 km, and is located at 6.1 degrees south latitude, 106.8 degrees east longitude.

Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Note: A rare error on the part of NASA here: They claim that the Jakarta conurbation is "perhaps the largest metropolitan area in the world in terms of inhabitants," with 28 million persons. However, the Tokyo metro area is far larger, with over 35.6 million inhabitants.

NASA to Launch Ocean Wind Monitor to Space Station

Artist's rendering of NASA's ISS-RapidScat instrument (inset), which will launch to the International Space Station in 2014 to measure ocean surface wind speed and direction and help improve weather forecasts, including hurricane monitoring. It will be installed on the end of the station's Columbus laboratory.

Illustration credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JSC

Note: For more information, see NASA to Launch Ocean Wind Monitor to Space Station; also, QuikScat's Eye on Ocean Winds Lives On with RapidScat and NASA's RapidScat to Unveil Hidden Cycles of Sea Winds.

Arctic Sea Ice: 1978-2010

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Time series of Arctic sea ice concentration in September from 1978 to 2010.

Video credit: ESA/DLR

Cloudless British Isles

The lush landscapes of Ireland, Great Britain and northern France are pictured in this rare cloud-free view, acquired by Envisat on 28 March 2012.

To the west, thousands of lakes speckle the island of Ireland. Brown rugged cliffs along the coast frame its plush green interior. In the lower-right corner, the river Seine flows through Paris (seen here as a gray area) and snakes toward the English Channel. Following mainland Europe’s coastline north, we can see the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta followed by part of the intertidal Wadden Sea in the extreme top-right corner. The green and tan-tinted swirls in the seas and channels are due to sediments being transported in the water. Sediment is particularly concentrated around Britain’s southeastern coast, carried by the River Thames through London and into the North Sea.

This image is featured on the Earth from Space video program.

Photo credit: ESA