Flowing past the city of Vancouver, the Fraser River delivers a thick plume of sediment to the Strait of Georgia.
Published Mar 14, 2012
In late February 2007, NASA satellite images revealed that even the outer portions of the Australia’s Great Barrier Reef can be bathed in land-based pollution carried far offshore by plumes of river water. Conventional thinking was that river plumes affected only the lagoon and the inner portions of the reef. But images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite verify a new theory that not even the outer reefs are spared the impact of land-based pollution, which includes excess sediment, fertilizers, and pesticides.
Published Mar 29, 2007
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef system on Earth, with more than 3,000 separate reefs and coral cays. It is also one of the most complex natural ecosystems.
Published May 31, 2016
In February 2017, the Great Barrier Reef continued to be exposed to warm ocean water—the main stressor on this coral system and the reason for its bleaching.
Published Mar 16, 2017
Acquired April 2, 2011, and February 27, 2011, these natural-color images show rising waters on the Kuiseb River, which flowed all the way to the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in decades.
Published Apr 12, 2011
An unusually cloud-free day provided this spectacular view of Cakaulevu Reef, Fiji, the world’s third largest reef system.
Published Aug 13, 2011
Studying corals from above could help scientists understand how these critical ecosystems will weather a changing climate.
Published Jan 31, 2016
The river supplies Atlanta with its drinking water and a bit of recreational fun.
Published Nov 13, 2016
An astronaut shot this photograph of a complex shoreline environment in southern Madagascar.
Published Oct 12, 2015
Sediments flowing into the bay from the Río Cauto have built up an impressive delta and even helped bury a reef.
Published Jul 6, 2020
Acquired September 30, 2010, this astronaut photograph shows part of the Syr Darya River Floodplain in Kazakhstan, where the river flows through braided channels.
Published Nov 1, 2010
A satellite image offers inky evidence of the organic-rich freshwater that the Suwannee River delivers to the Gulf of Mexico.
Published Oct 27, 2018
In September 2010, water again flowed through this riverbed after several dry years.
Published Oct 8, 2010
In the past few centuries, a river in northwestern Canada stopped wandering and assumed a more direct route to the sea.
Published Sep 4, 2012
