It might seem unlikely that vegetation can survive in a sandy coastal environment that receives little rain, but plant communities along Peru’s southern coast have found a way. In December 2016, we published the top image showing a unique perspective of fog. From space, you can see the vast expanse of marine stratocumulus sweeping inland to fill some of Peru’s deep valleys. It is […]
Have Your Satellite Imagery and Eat It, Too!
Three thick layers of cake and frosting sat atop Jeff Schmaltz’s kitchen counter. The programmer had completed a 3-D model of a GIBS tile pyramid; it was his entry into a collegial science bake-off at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. But there was more to this cake than flour and eggs and sugar. If you have ever browsed […]
Study: Major Middle East Dust Storm in 2015 Was Due to the Weather, Not Human Conflict
A new analysis of satellite suggests the key causes of a major dust storm in 2015 were climate and weather conditions — not the war in Syria.
Something Swirling in the Sea
Milky blue swirls in the Bering Sea stem from Alaska's Bogoslof Island, which has been erupting since mid-December 2016.
Waiter, There’s Salt in My Lake
In some parts of the world, saline lakes are common features. Take, for instance, the image below, from our January 2017 article about fires in Argentina. But saline lakes are an environment unto themselves. Lakes cover about 4 percent of the Earth’s land surface. Many of the largest ones (by area) are salty: Utah’s Great Salt […]
An Astronaut and a Gentleman
I came to know Piers Sellers mostly through his words and in the ways he inspired people. The more I read, the more I wish I had been able to spend more time with him.
January Puzzler
Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The January 2017 puzzler is above. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what part of the world we are looking at, when the image was acquired, what the image shows, and why the scene is interesting. How to answer. Your answer can be […]