Applied Sciences

NASA satellites and sensors constantly take the pulse of our planet, measuring how Earth changes by the day, season, year, and decade. Researchers and resource managers analyze those measurements and apply them on local and regional scales to better manage things like our food and water supplies, health, safety, land use, and ecosystems. NASA data is also used by other government agencies to help with responses to natural disasters and emergencies around the country and the world.

Tulare Lake Grows
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Tulare Lake Grows

Flooding in the California lakebed continues to spread as spring brings snowmelt from the Sierras.

Published May 4, 2023

Image of the Day Water Severe Storms

Freddy Brings Lean Times to Malawi
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Freddy Brings Lean Times to Malawi

Hunger is on the rise in Malawi after the tropical cyclone devastated crops in the southern part of the country.

Published May 3, 2023

Image of the Day Land Water Severe Storms

Shrinking Reservoirs in Catalonia
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Shrinking Reservoirs in Catalonia

Heat and drought have parched reservoirs in northeastern Spain.

Published Apr 26, 2023

Image of the Day Land Water Drought Temperature Extremes

A Boom Year for Sierra Nevada Snow
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A Boom Year for Sierra Nevada Snow

Atmospheric rivers delivered a huge amount of snow to the California mountain range.

Published Apr 19, 2023

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Heavy Rains Hit Drought-Stricken Horn of Africa
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Heavy Rains Hit Drought-Stricken Horn of Africa

Water overtopped the banks of the Shabelle and Juba rivers, affecting hundreds of thousands of people in Ethiopia and Somalia.

Published Apr 14, 2023

Image of the Day Water Drought

A Massive Seaweed Bloom in the Atlantic
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A Massive Seaweed Bloom in the Atlantic

A belt of seaweed that stretches from the west coast of Africa to the Gulf of Mexico is the largest on record for March.

Published Apr 7, 2023

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Return of Tulare Lake
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Return of Tulare Lake

Heavy precipitation has flooded communities and agricultural fields in the former lakebed.

Published Apr 4, 2023

Image of the Day Water Severe Storms

Battling Boll Weevils in Texas
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Battling Boll Weevils in Texas

Satellites are helping farmers in the Rio Grande Valley take on the cotton-loving beetles.

Published Apr 3, 2023

Image of the Day Land Remote Sensing

Putting the Red in “Red Tide”
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Putting the Red in “Red Tide”

Scientists developed a way to detect the fine-scale features of harmful algae blooms that occur close to beaches and inside small bays.

Published Mar 29, 2023

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How Dust Affects the World’s Health
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How Dust Affects the World’s Health

NASA research finds that a combination of windblown dust and human-caused particle pollution was associated with nearly 3 million premature deaths in 2019.

Published Mar 17, 2023

Image of the Day Atmosphere

Nitrogen Dioxide in the Neighborhood
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Nitrogen Dioxide in the Neighborhood

A team of scientists mapped nitrogen dioxide in California’s air at the neighborhood scale and found hotspots of the air pollutant near high-rise buildings and food processing facilities.

Published Mar 7, 2023

Image of the Day Atmosphere Human Presence Remote Sensing

Landslides in São Paulo, Brazil
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Landslides in São Paulo, Brazil

After torrential rains, satellite images revealed widespread landslides in the Brazilian state’s coastal municipality of São Sebastião.

Published Mar 4, 2023

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Dark Nights in Antakya
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Dark Nights in Antakya

In the days after strong earthquakes struck Türkiye, significant destruction left many areas without electric power.

Published Feb 24, 2023

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Flooding Along the Orontes River
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Flooding Along the Orontes River

Some towns and farmland were flooded after powerful earthquakes and heavy rains struck areas of Türkiye and Syria.  

Published Feb 23, 2023

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Landslides in Türkiye
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Landslides in Türkiye

Scientists are using satellite images to locate landslides following the powerful earthquakes that struck in early February.

Published Feb 23, 2023

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Earthquake Damage in Türkiye
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Earthquake Damage in Türkiye

Scientists from NASA and other agencies are using satellites to map damage caused by the devastating earthquake.

Published Feb 9, 2023

Image of the Day Land Human Presence Remote Sensing Earthquakes

How Nepal Regenerated Its Forests
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How Nepal Regenerated Its Forests

After relinquishing control of forests to the villages that depend on them, forest cover in this small mountainous country nearly doubled.

Published Feb 9, 2023

Image of the Day Land Life Human Presence Remote Sensing

Landslide Creeping Below an African City
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Landslide Creeping Below an African City

A large, slow-moving landslide is accelerating in eastern Congo, putting a community at risk.

Published Feb 6, 2023

Image of the Day Land Water Human Presence Remote Sensing

Midwest Farmers Using Cover Crops Take Small Yield Hit
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Midwest Farmers Using Cover Crops Take Small Yield Hit

Although cover crops have significant environmental benefits, researchers found that they hinder yields on corn and soybean fields.

Published Jan 26, 2023

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A Tornado Scars Selma
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A Tornado Scars Selma

Thunderstorms swept across the U.S. Southeast in January 2023, spawning numerous twisters that left lengthy paths of damage.

Published Jan 19, 2023

Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Severe Storms Human Presence Remote Sensing

Sizing up Mauna Loa’s Lava Flows
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Sizing up Mauna Loa’s Lava Flows

Airborne mapping of the thickness of the lava flows helped scientists calculate that 230 million cubic meters of molten rock poured from the volcano during the two-week eruption.

Published Dec 16, 2022

Image of the Day Heat Land Volcanoes Remote Sensing

Lightning in the U.S. South
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Lightning in the U.S. South

Dangerous thunderstorms and destructive tornadoes lashed the U.S. South amid a sprawling winter storm in December 2022.

Published Dec 16, 2022

Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Human Presence Remote Sensing

Worst Drought on Record Parches Horn of Africa
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Worst Drought on Record Parches Horn of Africa

The most severe drought in 70 years of record keeping threatens the Horn of Africa with famine.

Published Dec 13, 2022

Image of the Day Land Water Drought

Larger Wheat Harvest in Ukraine Than Expected
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Larger Wheat Harvest in Ukraine Than Expected

A satellite-based analysis indicates that nearly 27 million tons of wheat were harvested from the country’s farms this year, but Ukraine won’t reap all of the benefits.

Published Dec 2, 2022

Image of the Day Land Unique Imagery Human Presence Remote Sensing

Phytoplankton May Be Abundant Under Antarctic Sea Ice
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Phytoplankton May Be Abundant Under Antarctic Sea Ice

New evidence shows that a sufficient amount of daylight penetrates the ice to sustain blooms of floating, plant-like organisms.

Published Nov 29, 2022

Image of the Day Life Water Snow and Ice Remote Sensing

Arctic Cyclones to Intensify as Climate Warms
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Arctic Cyclones to Intensify as Climate Warms

Scientists project that sea ice loss and rapidly warming temperatures will cause storms in the far north to intensify by the end of this century.

Published Nov 16, 2022

Image of the Day Atmosphere Water Snow and Ice Remote Sensing

Deforestation Follows a Road Through Ucayali
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Deforestation Follows a Road Through Ucayali

A remote oil and logging road first established in eastern Peru in the 1980s has become a hub for forest clearing.

Published Oct 25, 2022

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Drought and Barge Backups on the Mississippi
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Drought and Barge Backups on the Mississippi

Low water levels are making it difficult to ship goods down the river and allowing a wedge of saltwater to move upstream.

Published Oct 21, 2022

Image of the Day Land Water Human Presence Remote Sensing

Fuel Regulation Reduced Air Pollution from Shipping
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Fuel Regulation Reduced Air Pollution from Shipping

A global standard limiting sulfur in ship fuel reduced artificial “ship track” clouds to record-low levels in 2020. Pandemic-related disruptions played a secondary role.

Published Oct 19, 2022

Image of the Day Atmosphere Water Human Presence Remote Sensing

Flood Woes Continue in Pakistan
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Flood Woes Continue in Pakistan

Water has begun to recede, but large swaths of farmland remain waterlogged as food shortages loom and waterborne diseases spread.

Published Oct 13, 2022

Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Water Floods Human Presence Remote Sensing