Kincade Fire, Sonoma Co. California

This is an aerial photo of the Kincade fire in California. Imagery like this play a key role in the fire-fighting process. Fire management are able to create models with technology that will predict where the fire will spread. Not only can they track the future path of the fire, but with photography like this and models, firefighters are able to communicate to the public whether or not it’s safe to return to their homes.

Deforestation in Tambopata, Peru

Deforestation is a major problem all over the globe, and these pictures depict that narrative in the Tambopata province in Peru. The images show the remains of large expanses that have been cleared for various human activities. Illegal miners are rampant in this area and are the cause of much of the destruction. Other areas are carved out for urban or agricultural uses. These images bring more awareness to the issue that is happening in far too many places. Forests are big sinks for carbon, and they also provide the oxygen we breathe and a home for biodiversity. By looking at these images, it is also possible to tell where conservation efforts are needed. A Peru-based NGO has already started reforestation programs in the Madre de Dios region of the Amazon to help restore the forest and all the benefits that come with it.

The Kincade Wildfire in Northern California Seen from Satellite

As we discussed in class, the current fires in California are massive and impact a large portion of California. These fires are so huge that you can see them from satellite, 22,300 miles away. This image of the day was taken in Northern California of the Kincade wildfire by NOAA on October 24, 2019, a day after the fire began.  This is significant because it helps show the extent of the wildfire's impacts around the state and the country. Smoke haze not only affects California, but the wind spreads smoke to other states as well, impacting air quality and visibility on a larger scale. Most importantly, people are losing their homes, their lives, and their livelihoods to these fires that spread so large and fast that you can see them from space only a day after ignition.

Aerial Image of the Paradise, California Fire

This is an image of Paradise, California, on November 8^th, 2018.  Last year, hundreds of thousands of acres of forest were burnt down just north of Sacramento.  In fact, this fire burnt down the entire town of Paradise, California to the ground, killing dozens of people.  

NASA and commercial companies such as DigitalGlobe recorded images of the fire from above in effort to provide information about where it could possibly spread next and how to combat it.  While wildfires and their destruction are very tragic, it is interesting to see how satellite imagery can assist firefighters and other officials when dealing with natural disasters. 

While this image’s spatial resolution is not very small, I do not believe it is necessary to be able to detect very small objects on the ground in the image.  Rather, I believe the purpose of this image was to show the overall form and shape of the fire. 

Flooding of the Arakawa River

On October 12 and 13, Typhoon Hagibis made landfall on several Japanese and North Pacific Islands. This typhoon was the strongest to hit Japan since 1958 when Ida struck. Rainfall exceeded 37 inches in 24 hours, causing the levees on at least 21 rivers to collapse. As of October 22, the death toll has risen to 83, with most deaths occurring in northeastern Japan. The prefecture of Fukushima was hit by flooding and mudslides. Bags of decontaminated waste from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant washed into the Furumichi River, but most have been recovered so far and “present no immediate danger”. Nearly 4,000 individuals remain in evacuation shelters and over 40,000 homes are without running water. The islands are bracing once more as Tropical Cyclone Neoguri hit Japan and the Northern Marianas, and Typhoon Bualoi is approaching.

Using Satellite Imagery to Identify Stranded Whales

The image shows a Sei Whale washed up on the shore of a remote beach in Patagonia, Chile (whale shown as pink crescent in center of image). Scientists are using high resolution satellite imagery (50 cm) to count the number of whales that were beached in 2015 during a mass stranding event. Initial surveys indicated that about 340 whales were stranded during this time, however, through analyzing the satellite imagery from the time of the mass stranding, scientists now estimate that there may have been almost double the amount of beached whales from the initial count. The whales can be picked out from the image easily because when the animal decomposes it turns a pink/orange color.

Image of the day October 17th, 2019

This image shows the affects of flooding from the recent typhoon that hit Japan.  From this image we can see the widespread and devastating flooding that hit the town of Tamagawa.  This image is important because of the information that it provides, in the image it appears that their is a natural river that has flooded over its embankments.  From the typhoon this image may be able to provide help in the future for dealing with rising floodwaters in this region.

1919 to 2019 Mer de Glace Glacier on Mont Blanc in Switzerland

These are two images of the Mer de Glace Glacier on Mont Blanc in Switzerland.    The image on the left was taken in 1919 by a swiss pilot and photographer, and the corresponding image on the right shows the glacier today.  The two images look like they were photographed from the exact same location in the air despite being taken 100 years apart.  This was achieved through a process called monoplotting and using peaks, spires and other significant landmarks on the mountain to find the geolocation of where the original photographs were taken.  The image today shows a significant reduction of size in the glacier today as opposed to 1919, and scientists believe the rate of ice melt at this glacier will continue to speed up.    This image is important as it shows how significantly climate change affects environments, and how glaciers all over the world are in the process of slowly disappearing

Energy Mapping in Southern Africa

This image shows areas that have access to electricity in mid and southern Africa. United Nations uses images like this to map areas that do and do not have access to electricity. They also are able to use this imagery to tell if areas have strong access to electricity or if areas are only using a slight amount by how strong the brightness is. This is important because it shows what areas still need power if they are to achieve their goal of global energy by 2030.

Improving Farming Practices with Drone Images, October 9, 2019

This image shows the Ferguson family orchard which has a very distinct row and column pattern. The orchards are very neatly designed in this pattern with trellises in case they need to integrate a netting system in the future to protect the crops from hailstorms that could ruin and damage their product. They use these drone images to monitor the orchards’ conditions because of the stronger and more random weather patterns in Wisconsin. Farmers are able to adjust their practices not only on a whole field/ orchard but on a specific row or tree because of the information provided by the drone images. 

"Loose Tooth" Finally Separated

The satellite image shows a table iceberg, larger than Los Angeles, recently separated from an ice shelf in Antarctica. Named D-28, the iceberg spans over 600 square miles. It weighs around 315 billion tons, and is potential conflict for overseas shipping companies. A team of researchers has kept watch of the icebergs location for almost 20 years, and named the spot loose tooth because of its semi-detached formation. Although it make seem like an issue derived from climate change, researchers say this a natural cycle for most ice shelves, and since it’s already floating, an increase in sea level is not a problem as well. The ridged texture of the water show signs of solidity, and slight deformation. This gives reason to the ice-shelves natural separation.

For more information on D-28 you can visit, https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/01/world/vast-iceberg-leaves-antarctic-shelf-scli-intl/index.html.

September 14 Saudi Oil Attack

On September 14, 2019 two major Saudi oil facilities were attacked by drone strikes, causing them to lose nearly 6 million barrels of oil. These images found in the New York Times were taken following the strikes and were used to determine the extent of the damage as well as to try and determine who attacked the plants and from where.