Mount Cameroon

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

Faroe Islands

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

Helsinki, Finland

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

Sandstorm Over the Sahara

A sandstorm over the Sahara desert in Africa seen by ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst from the International Space Station.

Photo credit: ESA/NASA

La Mancha Plateau, Spain

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

Lava Flows from Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

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

Lake Gairdner

Lake Gairdner in central South Australia is pictured in this image acquired by Japan’s ALOS satellite on 1 December 2009.

The Lake Gairdner National Park – which includes the nearby lakes Everard and Harris – was established in 1991 for its significant wildlife habitat and natural features.

While the area is hot and dry in summer, spring brings water and is a popular destination for birdwatchers. Red and western grey kangaroos, emus and feral camels can also be seen here.

When flooded, Gairdner is one of the largest salt lakes in Australia, more than 160 km long and 48 km wide. But when dry, the vast salt pan attracts racers attempting to set land speed records and is the site for the annual Speed Week event.

This image shows mostly the dry, salt-crusted lakebed, while the islands appear brick-red.

Image credit: JAXA/ESA

Avacha Bay, Russia

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (P-K) is the administrative, cultural, scientific and economic center of Kamchatka Krai, Russia on the Kamchatka Peninsula. P-K is located on the north side of Avacha Bay; this exceptional natural harbor is home to Russia's largest submarine base. P-K was founded by Dutch navigator Vitus Bering in 1740, naming the town after his two ships the St. Peter and the St. Paul. The image was acquired September 29, 2009, covers an area of 33 by 38 km, and is located at 53 degrees north, 158.6 degrees east.

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

Holuhraun, Iceland Volcanic Lava Flows (6 September 2014)

On the night of September 6, 2014, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA's Earth Observing 1 (EO-1) spacecraft observed the ongoing eruption at Holuhraun, Iceland, from an altitude of 438 miles (705 kilometers). Data were collected at a resolution of 98 feet (30 meters) per pixel at different visible and infrared wavelengths.

Although partially covered by clouds, this scene shows the extent of the lava flows that have been erupting from a long fissure over the last week. The front of the lava flows are to the right (east) and extend more than 6.3 miles (10 kilometers) from the vent. The intense radiant energy from the incandescent lava illuminates the clouds and plume from the vent to create this ethereal scene.

The ongoing eruption is being closely monitored by scientists at the Icelandic Meteorological Office and the University of Iceland.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/Ashley Davies

Ground Deformation from the South Napa Earthquake

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, has been monitoring active earthquake faults in California with a number of remote sensing and ground-based techniques. One such technique is the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) instrument, which has been in use since 2009. UAVSAR is an L-band Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument that flies mounted underneath a NASA C-20A Earth science research aircraft from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. UAVSAR is able to detect minute changes in Earth’s surface that occur over time between flights of the instrument.

UAVSAR has monitored much of California’s seismically active regions including the Napa area about every six months since November 2009. The temporal history is key to identifying and understanding change when an event, such as an earthquake occurs. A comparison of data collected May 29, 2014, three months before the earthquake, and data collected August 29, 2014, five days after the magnitude 6.0 South Napa earthquake on August 24, 2014, determined that the earthquake surface rupture was more complex than originally anticipated with motion on multiple strands of the fault near the earthquake’s epicenter. The colors in the image represent the amount of ground motion between the two flights in the direction from a point on the ground to the instrument, which flies at an altitude of 41,000 feet (12,497 meters). Each colored contour, or fringe, of the image represents 4.7 inches (12 centimeters) of ground displacement toward or away from the instrument. These preliminary results indicate that several inches/centimeters of horizontal slip occurred on the various strands of the fault. In addition, linear discontinuities in the colored zones indicate locations where surface rupture is highly likely and these are of profound concern. The exquisite detail of the UAVSAR imagery provides local, state and federal agencies with the exact location of the fault traces that shifted during the earthquake and how they relate to levees, buildings, roads, and other vital infrastructure, as well as to help provide a fundamental understanding of earthquakes processes.

Further analyses of UAVSAR data will reveal how deep under Earth’s surface the faults slipped and the amount of the slip. Initial GPS analyses (yellow arrows), indicate an average slip of nearly 23.6 inches (60 centimeters) along a 9.3-mile-long (15-kilometer) fault, which is equivalent to a magnitude 6.1 earthquake, suggesting that additional quiet (non-shaking) slip occurred along the fault following the main earthquake.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/Google Earth

Note: For more information, see PIA18798: NASA Analyses of Global Positioning System Data and Italian Radar Satellite Data Reveal Napa Quake Ground Deformation and NASA Research Aids Response to California Napa Quake.

Holuhraun, Iceland Volcanic Eruption

On the night of September 1, 2014, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA's Earth Observing 1 (EO-1) spacecraft observed the ongoing eruption at Holuhraun, Iceland, from an altitude of 438 miles (705 kilometers). Data were collected at a resolution of 98 feet (30 meters) per pixel at different infrared wavelengths and were then combined to create this false-color image that emphasizes the hottest areas of the vent and resulting lava flows. The image captured the 0.6-mile (1-kilometer)-long fissure from which lava is erupting, a channeled lava flow, and a broad expanse of lava flows extending 2.2 miles( 3.5 kilometers) from the fissure.

The eruption is being closely monitored by scientists at the Icelandic Meteorological Office and University of Iceland. Because this event took place away from the icecaps of Vatnajökull and Dyngjujökull, this event did not generate a large ash plume like that of the Eyjafjallajöull eruption in Iceland in 2010.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/EO-1 Mission/GSFC/Ashley Davies

Note: For more information, see PIA18799: Iceland Volcanic Eruption Monitored by NASA EO-1 Spacecraft

Norwegian Fringes

The animation, which is based on an interferogram generated with two radar images captured by Sentinel-1A in ‘Interferometric Wide-Swath’ mode on 11 and 23 August 2014, mainly shows topography around the northern coast of Norway. Although Sentinel-1A is still being commissioned, this new result demonstrates how useful it will be to map the shape of the land and monitor ground movement. Synthetic aperture radar interferometry – or InSAR – is a technique where two or more satellite radar images acquired over the same area are combined to map topography and detect surface changes. Small changes on the ground cause changes in the radar signal phase and lead to the rainbow-colored fringes of an ‘interferogram’. In this case, the animation denotes differences in topography.

Since the area around the Lyngen Alps is particularly prone to landslides, it is closely monitored. Large landslides that suddenly shift rock into the sea could potentially create tsunami-like waves. In 1810, such a wave destroyed a village, and, history shows that this kind of natural disaster occurs a couple of times every 100 years in Norway. InSAR is an important tool used by the Norwegian authorities to map rockslide hazards nationwide. The unprecedented coverage offered by the Sentinel-1 mission will significantly increase the value of InSAR data for this purpose.

Video credit: Copernicus data (2014)/ESA/Norut–SEOM Insarap study (video animation data: Norwegian Mapping Authority and NASA)

Note: For more information, see Norway Relief. For similar images, one featuring northwestern Italy and part of Corsica and the other featuring Mount Etna on the island of Sicily, see New Views From Sentinel-1A and Etna Slopes, respectively.

Meteor Crater, Arizona

Meteor Crater, located near Winslow, Arizona, as photographed from the International Space Station. Also known as the Barringer Meteorite Crater, the 1186 km-diameter crater is approximately 180 meters deep and is surrounded by a rim of smashed and jumbled boulders, some as big as houses. The structure visible on the north side of the Crater is the Visitor's Center. ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst shared this image on Twitter.

Image credit: ESA/NASA

Bauxite Mines Near Weipa, Queensland, Australia

The world's largest bauxite mine is found near Weipa, Queensland, Australia. The rich aluminum deposits were first recognized on the end of the Cape York Peninsula in 1955, and mining began in 1960. Weipa is just south of Duyfken Point, a location thought to be the first recorded point of European contact with the Australia continent by Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon in 1606. The image was acquired August 9, 2013, covers an area of 40.5 by 48 km, and is located at 12.5 degrees south, 141.9 degrees east.

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

Changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet

Using 14.3 million measurements collected by ESA’s CryoSat mission between January 2011 and January 2014, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany have discovered that the Greenland ice sheet is shrinking in volume by 375 cubic kilometers a year. The study, which was published in a paper published on 20 August 2014 in the European Geosciences Union’s Cryospherejournal, also showed that Antarctica is losing about 125 cubic kilometers a year. Read full article.

Image credit: Helm et al., The Cryosphere, 2014

Note: For more information, see Greenland Ice-Sheet Height.

Wildfires in the Dominican Republic

The spread of the forest fire in Valle Nuevo National Park near Costanza, Dominican Republic that started nearly two weeks ago was considerably contained by August 5, 2014, according to the Environment Ministry. An appeal by the Dominican government to the United States for assistance was answered with funds and equipment. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft captured this thermal infrared view of the region on August 5, 2014. Active hot spots of the fire are shown in yellow, healthy vegetation is depicted in red, and the burned areas are dark gray. The image is located at 18.8 degrees north, 70.7 degrees west, and covers an area of 12.1 by 12.7 miles (19.5 by 20.4 kilometers).

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

Silver Peak, Nevada Lithium Mine

The once-abandoned mining town of Silver Peak, Nevada began to thrive again when Foote Mineral Company began extracting lithium from brine below the floor of Clayton Valley in 1966. The Chemetall Foote Lithium Operation is currently the only operating source of lithium in the United States, used primarily in the manufacture of batteries. Last year, The University of Wyoming announced discovery of untapped underground lithium brine in the Rock Springs Uplift. Reserves could be more than 150 times greater than the Silver Peak deposit. The image was acquired 29 June 2013, covers an area of 13.2 by 14.2 km, and is located at 37.7 degrees north, 117.5 degrees east.

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

Yunnan, China Earthquake Epicenter

On August 3, 2014, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck in southern China's Yunnan province, toppling thousands of homes and causing numerous casualties. Hardest hit was Zhaotang City, located 18 miles (29 kilometers) east of the epicenter. This temblor was more damaging than a similar one two years earlier in the same region. The region where the quake occurred is shown in this perspective view from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft. It depicts vegetation in shades of red. The image looks toward the northwest and was acquired March 16, 2009. The star indicates the quake's epicenter location at 27.2 degrees north, 104.4 degrees east.

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

Sahara Irrigation

Amazing colors of the Sahara desert are captured in this photograph taken from onboard the International Space Station. ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst shared this image on Twitter with the comment: "Irrigation in the Sahara Desert looks like a challenging task from up here...".

Alexander Gerst is currently a member of the resident International Space Station Expedition 40 crew. He is spending five and a half months living and working on the ISS for his Blue Dot mission.

Photo credit: ESA/NASA

Rub’ al Khali Desert

Rolling sand dunes in the expansive Rub’ al Khali desert on the southern Arabian Peninsula are pictured in this radar image from the Sentinel-1A satellite.

Rub’ al Khali – also known at the ‘Empty Quarter’ – is part of the greater Arabian Desert. Its sand dunes reach up to 250 m in height and in some areas are interspersed with hardened flat plains, evident at this bottom half of this image. These plains are what is left of shallow lakes that existed thousands of years ago, formed by monsoon-like rains and runoff.

Today, the region is considered to be ‘hyper-arid’, with precipitation rarely exceeding 35 mm a year and regular high temperatures around 50°C.

Rub’ al Khali has experienced major desertification over the past 2000 years. Until about the year 300 AD, trade caravans crossed what is today an impassable wasteland.

In the upper part of this image, we can see a road snaking through the remote desert and leading to Kharkhir (not pictured), a Saudi village near the border with Yemen.

Sentinel-1 is a two-satellite radar mission for Europe’s Copernicus program. The first satellite of the pair, Sentinel-1A, was launched in April. The satellite is still being commissioned to prepare for routine operations.

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

Image credit: ESA