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One of the major rivers of Bangladesh has been growing in size, transforming in shape, and changing in location for decades. Each twist and zigzag of the river tells a different geologic story about the power of erosion.
A category 4 storm could send large and dangerous waves to the Big Island in early August 2018.
Every austral winter in the central Andes, fresh snowfall covers and fills the gaps between mountaintops that have more permanent snow and ice.
Published Aug 11, 2018
Their plan: try to understand what happens to carbon as it sinks from the well-lit surface of the ocean down to the dimmer "twilight zone."
Published Aug 10, 2018 in Earth Matters
Eastern Australia has been hit particularly hard by drought, taking a toll on the region’s soil moisture and agriculture.
Published Aug 10, 2018Image of the Day Land Water Drought Human Presence Remote Sensing
Several fires are spreading noxious gases and particles across the state—and to a lesser degree much of the country.
Published Aug 9, 2018
A layer of exceptionally warm surface water extended from Point Conception to the Baja California coast.
Published Aug 8, 2018
A strong typhoon is projected to make landfall near Tokyo in August 2018, bringing rains to a country already hit by torrential flooding this summer.
Published Aug 7, 2018
These maps depict monthly total rainfall around the world. Rainfall is the primary source of fresh water for humans, plants, and animals. Rain also moves heat between the atmosphere, oceans, and land.
Lofting dust to altitudes above the clouds, a high-pressure system carried dust from Morocco to Spain.
Published Aug 7, 2018
Warmer waters likely enabled a phytoplankton bloom to occur much later in the year than normal off the coast of Alaska and British Columbia.
Published Aug 6, 2018
Land surface temperatures rise and fall with the heat of the Sun, and they represent how hot or cold the surface would feel to touch. These maps show daytime land temperatures as measured from space.
This northern part of Australia is sparsely populated but rich in national park and conservation land.
Published Aug 5, 2018
Almost a quarter of a million acres of land and more than a thousand homes have been consumed by three wildfires in Northern California.
Published Aug 4, 2018
Fjords wind between icy, rocky islands and peninsulas, and connect inland areas to an ice-choked ocean.
Published Aug 3, 2018
Sandy beaches are growing in some parts of the world and shrinking quickly in others, including one-third of marine protected areas.
Published Aug 2, 2018
Summer brings persistent northwest winds to the Arabian Peninsula—which often means skies full of dust and sand.
Published Aug 1, 2018
California’s Carr Fire was one of 98 large, active fires delivering smoke across the United States in late July.
Published Jul 31, 2018
The fire was not the largest or most destructive in July 2018, but the position of its smoke allowed for a clear look at the progression of the burn.
Published Jul 30, 2018
When fuels such as coal, wood, and oil burn incompletely, they produce carbon monoxide. The gas is spread by winds and circulation. These maps show monthly averages of CO in the lower atmosphere.
A persistent heatwave has been lingering over parts of Europe, setting record high temperatures and turning typically green landscapes to brown.
Published Jul 30, 2018Image of the Day Heat Land Fires Human Presence Temperature Extremes
In a land with little water, the wind does the landscaping most of the time. Ephemeral water leaves a mark, though.
Published Jul 29, 2018
Tens of millions of small lakes dot frigid tundra landscapes in the Arctic—like the swampy Yana River Delta.
Published Jul 28, 2018
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.
The typhoon was expected to make landfall on Japan on July 28, 2018, bringing possible flooding and landslides.
Published Jul 27, 2018
Water shortages in the Middle East lead to sanitation issues in schools, resulting in periodic school closures. NASA is working to change that.
Published Jul 27, 2018Image of the Day Land Life Water Human Presence Remote Sensing
Sea ice can linger on Hudson Bay into the summer, but it is usually gone by mid-August.
Published Jul 26, 2018Image of the Day Water Unique Imagery Snow and Ice Sea and Lake Ice
A dip in the jet stream pulled moist, tropical air from the Caribbean to the Eastern Seaboard and triggered several days of intense rains.
Published Jul 25, 2018Image of the Day Water Floods Severe Storms Human Presence Remote Sensing
These maps show the average amount of water vapor in a column of atmosphere by month. Water vapor is the key precursor for rain and snow and one of the most important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what we are looking at and why this place is interesting.
Published Jul 24, 2018 in Earth Matters
In July 2018, an iceberg weighing at least 10 million tons parked just offshore of a small island village in northwestern Greenland.
Published Jul 24, 2018
Phytoplankton and blue-green algae blooms off of Scandinavia seem to be particularly intense this summer.
Published Jul 23, 2018
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
Lightning sparked nearly 400 new fires in Canada this week.
Published Jul 22, 2018
Record-breaking hot and dry conditions have spurred historic wildfire outbreaks in far northern Europe and within the Arctic circle.
Published Jul 21, 2018Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Land Fires Human Presence Temperature Extremes
A posthumous plea for more satellite observations of carbon arrived this week from astronaut and scientist Piers Sellers.
Published Jul 19, 2018 in Earth Matters
More data and imagery of the eruption is flowing in than Earth Observatory can cover, but here are a few striking images that we would be remiss not to share.
Published Jul 17, 2018 in Earth Matters
This summer, scientists headed to south-central Alaska to collect airborne and ground-based data on the ongoing spruce beetle outbreak.
Published Jul 16, 2018 in Notes From the Field
On July 4, United States citizens celebrate the nation’s independence. EO does the same by visiting five places with historical significance.
Published Jul 3, 2018
In early May 2018, an eruption on Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano began to unfold. Here’s what satellites saw in the first few weeks of the eruption.
Published Jun 13, 2018
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.
Astronauts regularly shoot photographs of their earthly home. In celebration of National Astronaut Day, NASA Earth Observatory presents some recent eye-catchers from the International Space Station.
Published May 4, 2018
Carbon flows between the atmosphere, land, and ocean in a cycle that encompasses nearly all life and sets the thermostat for Earth's climate. By burning fossil fuels, people are changing the carbon cycle with far-reaching consequences.
Published Jun 16, 2011
In March 2018, NASA Earth Observatory published satellite images, maps, and data visualizations as "Image of the Day." Here are five of our favorites.
Published Apr 9, 2018
The Patagonian icefields stretch for hundreds of kilometers atop the Andes mountain range in South America. Change here is rapid, as the icefields are melting away at some of the highest rates on the planet.
Published Mar 27, 2018
