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Pine Island Glacier is one of the fastest-retreating glaciers in Antarctica. Watch the glacier’s ice front as it retreats and sheds some notable icebergs over the past two decades.
Late summer cyclones Ferdinand and Esther passed over and near northern Australia.
As winds streamed past the South Sandwich Islands, the disrupted flow created an interlocking series of wave clouds.
Published Feb 27, 2020
The striking patterns in northeastern Canada’s flood basalts tell a story of continental collisions that played out almost two billion years ago.
Published Feb 26, 2020
An instrument on the International Space Station observed vegetation beginning to stir on summer mornings near Lake Superior.
Published Feb 25, 2020
Flights were grounded as visibility was severely hampered by a Calima event.
Published Feb 24, 2020Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Dust and Haze Human Presence
One of the most impressive archeological sites in Asia, Bagan is a key center for historic Buddhist culture.
Published Feb 21, 2020
Ancient geologic features and modern creations share the spotlight in this photo of southeastern Utah and northern Arizona taken from the ISS.
Published Feb 21, 2020
Ice caps and glaciers felt the heat as temperatures reached 18.3°C (64.9°F).
Published Feb 20, 2020Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Land Snow and Ice Remote Sensing
Warm air prevailed in the 2019-2020 winter season, preventing much ice from forming on the lakes.
Published Feb 19, 2020
The window of time available to make and use ice roads is closing.
Published Feb 18, 2020
The spits etched into a desert in Chad were actually formed thousands of years ago along the shores of a vast lake.
Published Feb 14, 2020
Chlorophyll is used by algae and other phytoplankton--the grass of the sea--to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into sugars. These maps show chlorophyll concentrations in the ocean, revealing where phytoplankton are thriving.
12 months of high-resolution global true color satellite imagery.
Published Oct 13, 2005
A severe drought in Thailand is affecting agriculture and drinking water in the region.
Published Feb 14, 2020
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a different part of the world? What would the weather be like? What kinds of animals would you see? Which plants live there? By investigating these questions, you are learning about biomes.
Published Oct 5, 2000
This photograph highlights several snow- and ice-capped volcanoes as they cast early morning shadows over a mountainous region of Bolivia and Chile.
Published Feb 14, 2020
Scientists say the world would be even warmer if not for a surge in plant growth.
Published Feb 14, 2020
These maps show the ‘metabolism” of Earth’s plants and trees. Net primary productivity is the difference between the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed during photosynthesis minus the amount released by respiration.
A season of extremes in eastern Australia took another dramatic turn in mid-February 2020.
Published Feb 12, 2020
Iceberg B-49 calved from the Antarctic glacier in February 2020.
Published Feb 12, 2020Image of the Day Snow and Ice Remote Sensing Sea and Lake Ice
Warming temperatures will likely cause more intense rainfall, leading to increased landslide activity.
Published Feb 11, 2020Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Water Human Presence Snow and Ice Remote Sensing
Cracks that spread across the floating ice for months have finally spawned new icebergs.
Published Feb 11, 2020
Iceland is one of the few places where people can explore the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on dry land.
Published Feb 10, 2020
When tides, currents, and gravity move water masses over seafloor features, they can create wave actions within the ocean.
Published Feb 7, 2020
Following an exceptionally wet January, an atmospheric river carried even more moisture into the region in February.
Published Feb 7, 2020
These maps depict how much hotter or cooler an ocean basin was compared to the long-term average. Temperature anomalies can indicate changes in ocean circulation or the arrival of patterns like El Niño and La Niña.
Airborne aerosols can cause or prevent cloud formation and harm human health. These maps depict aerosol concentrations in the air based on how the tiny particles reflect or absorb visible and infrared light.
Complicated tectonics elevated the high plateau from rock layers that were originally deposited millions of years ago at the bottom of the sea.
Published Feb 7, 2020
Actinoform clouds pop up off the western coast of Australia.
Published Feb 6, 2020
The amount of ice flowing from the Antarctic glacier has doubled in the span of three decades, and scientists think it could undergo even more dramatic changes in the near future.
Published Feb 5, 2020
A severe dust storm halted traffic and dropped visibility to zero.
Published Feb 5, 2020
The waxing gibbous Moon and the snow and ice on the mountains and lakes give the landscape extra visual definition.
Published Feb 5, 2020Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Unique Imagery Remote Sensing
Persistent rains and saturated soils across the watershed swelled the river to its banks and occasionally onto floodplains.
Published Feb 4, 2020
Every month we offer a puzzling satellite image. Your challenge is to tell us what we are looking at, where it is, and why it is interesting.
Published Feb 4, 2020 in Earth Matters
Monitoring mangroves in Guyana with Synthetic Aperture Radar.
Published Feb 4, 2020 in Notes From the Field
A new study shows that polar bears are spending less time on sea ice, leading them to fast longer, become thinner and have fewer cubs.
Published Feb 3, 2020
Potent wildfires sent one of the largest plumes of smoke higher into the stratosphere than certain satellites have ever observed.
Published Jan 31, 2020Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Land Drought Fires Remote Sensing
Greenness is an important indicator of health for forests, grasslands, and farms. The greenness of a landscape, or vegetation index, depends on the number and type of plants, how leafy they are, and how healthy they are.
Natural-color satellite images can capture art-like beauty when sediments trace water currents and eddies; other kinds of data can make that art intersect with scientific understanding.
Published Jan 31, 2020
SERVIR team members traveled to Bangkok, where they connected researchers with the tools to use Synthetic Aperture Radar data to monitor forests and estimate biomass.
Published Jan 31, 2020 in Notes From the Field
The average global temperature has increased by a little more than 1° Celsius (2° Fahrenheit) since 1880. Two-thirds of the warming has occurred since 1975.
Published Jan 29, 2020
In addition to making rain and snow, clouds can have a warming or cooling influence depending on their altitude, type, and when they form. These maps show what fraction of an area was cloudy each month.
Scientists create maps of forest cover to understand where the composition and structure of Pacific Northwest forests are sufficient for the threatened species to nest and roost.
Published Jan 3, 2020
2019 brought many memorable events on Planet Earth. Here are a few highlights from around the globe.
Published Dec 20, 2019
It measures about half the size of a football field and it is so small that you cannot see it on Google maps. This barren bit of rock off the coast of Canada has an unusual namesake: the Landsat 1 satellite. Hear about the discovery in the words of the woman who found it in satellite imagery.
Published Oct 23, 2019
In honor of our 20th anniversary, we offer a selection of some of the most beautiful, newsworthy, interesting, and scientifically important images from the past 20 years — one for each day of the calendar year.
Published Sep 24, 2019
Industrialization has brought incredible societal advances and difficult pollution problems. From space, we can see skies clearing in some regions and darkening in others. The thin blue line of our atmosphere is still quite vulnerable.
Published Jun 24, 2014
Satellite images of Earth at night have been a curiosity for the public and a tool of fundamental research for at least 25 years. They have provided a broad, beautiful picture, showing how humans have shaped the planet and lit up the darkness.
Published Apr 12, 2017
