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Images

Peruse our selection of remote sensing and Earth science imagery below.

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Example of the Landsat 8-9 Collection 2 Provisional Aquatic Reflectance Science Product
Example of the Landsat 8-9 Collection 2 Provisional Aquatic Reflectance Science Product
Example of the Landsat 8-9 Collection 2 Provisional Aquatic Reflectance Science Product
Example of the Landsat 8-9 Collection 2 Provisional Aquatic Reflectance Science Product

The United Kingdom’s Solway Firth is show in these images comparing a natural color Landsat 8 Collection 2 Level-1 product (Bands 4,3,2) acquired on October 2, 2019 (left), and the corresponding Collection 2 Provisional Aquatic Reflectance science product using Rayleigh-corrected Reflectance (RHORC) Bands 4,3,2 (right).

The United Kingdom’s Solway Firth is show in these images comparing a natural color Landsat 8 Collection 2 Level-1 product (Bands 4,3,2) acquired on October 2, 2019 (left), and the corresponding Collection 2 Provisional Aquatic Reflectance science product using Rayleigh-corrected Reflectance (RHORC) Bands 4,3,2 (right).

Earth As Art 6 Satellite Image - "Facing the Tide"
Facing the Tide
Facing the Tide
Facing the Tide

Rupert Bay, an arm of James Bay, extends into Quebec, Canada. Many rivers carry sediment into the bay and combine with seawater coming in from the tide. A prominent sediment stream extends past Stag Island and a vortex curls off Stag Rock in the middle of the bay.

Rupert Bay, an arm of James Bay, extends into Quebec, Canada. Many rivers carry sediment into the bay and combine with seawater coming in from the tide. A prominent sediment stream extends past Stag Island and a vortex curls off Stag Rock in the middle of the bay.

Color photograph of Falls Park, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
Falls Park - Sioux Falls, SD
Falls Park - Sioux Falls, SD
Falls Park - Sioux Falls, SD

Nature always displays vibrant colors. It is only a matter of time until you get the chance to witness its beauty. Even more difficult is capturing this beauty through the lens. Here, we see the magnificent beauty of the falls on the Big Sioux River, from which Sioux Falls, SD takes its name, showing the vibrant colors of nature just before sunset.

Nature always displays vibrant colors. It is only a matter of time until you get the chance to witness its beauty. Even more difficult is capturing this beauty through the lens. Here, we see the magnificent beauty of the falls on the Big Sioux River, from which Sioux Falls, SD takes its name, showing the vibrant colors of nature just before sunset.

Color photo of Land Change interactive display at USGS EROS
Determining Land Change Display
Determining Land Change Display
Determining Land Change Display

An interactive display at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center highlighting land change research.

An interactive display at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center highlighting land change research.

Color photo of Land Change interactive display at USGS EROS
Determining Land Change Display with Viewers
Determining Land Change Display with Viewers
Determining Land Change Display with Viewers

Viewers look through several years of change in an interactive display at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center.

Satellite image showing all the cropland not planted due to wet weather in 2019.
South Dakota's Unplanted Acres of 2019
South Dakota's Unplanted Acres of 2019
South Dakota's Unplanted Acres of 2019

Abnormally high spring rainfall and subsequent flooding in the Midwest in 2019 had a season-long impact on cropland production.

Earth As Art 6 satellite image - "Re-Entry"
Re-Entry
Re-Entry
Re-Entry

Jebel Kissu, in northwestern Sudan, emerges abruptly like an island in the vast Sahara Desert. The plateau is the eroded remnant of a granite dome. The bright linear features are truck tracks, common in the Sahara where there are no paved roads.

Jebel Kissu, in northwestern Sudan, emerges abruptly like an island in the vast Sahara Desert. The plateau is the eroded remnant of a granite dome. The bright linear features are truck tracks, common in the Sahara where there are no paved roads.

Satellite image showing differences in flooding from 1969 to 2019.
A 50-Year Flooding Flashback
A 50-Year Flooding Flashback
A 50-Year Flooding Flashback

The high-water marks set by the Big Sioux River in cities across southeastern South Dakota have threatened to overtake records set 50 years ago, when the Army Corps of Engineers led missions to document the damage through hundreds of aerial photographs.

The high-water marks set by the Big Sioux River in cities across southeastern South Dakota have threatened to overtake records set 50 years ago, when the Army Corps of Engineers led missions to document the damage through hundreds of aerial photographs.

Members of the LANDFIRE team at the Earth Resources Observation and Science Center
LANDFIRE Team - 2019
LANDFIRE Team - 2019
LANDFIRE Team - 2019

Members of the LANDFIRE team met in March of 2019 at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center near Sioux Falls, SD.

Members of the LANDFIRE team met in March of 2019 at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center near Sioux Falls, SD.

Landsat image of Kandahar, Afghanistan on March 3, 2019
Kandahar - March 3, 2019
Kandahar - March 3, 2019
Kandahar - March 3, 2019

Landsat 8 image of Kandahar, Afghanistan on March 3, 2019, rendered with bands 7, 5, and 1 of the satellite's Operational Land Imager.

Landsat 8 image of Kandahar, Afghanistan on March 3, 2019, rendered with bands 7, 5, and 1 of the satellite's Operational Land Imager.

Earth As Art 6 Satellite Image "Fanned Out"
Fanned Out
Fanned Out
Fanned Out

Water from the Balkh River fans out into an agricultural area toward an arid region in northern Afghanistan, near the border with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Part of an ancient region called Bactria, extensive irrigation produces melons, almonds, apricots, and grains. Mazar-e Sharif is the urban area that dominates the lower right corner of the image.

Water from the Balkh River fans out into an agricultural area toward an arid region in northern Afghanistan, near the border with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Part of an ancient region called Bactria, extensive irrigation produces melons, almonds, apricots, and grains. Mazar-e Sharif is the urban area that dominates the lower right corner of the image.

Earth As Art 6 Satellite Image - "Deep Blue Cubism"
Deep Blue Cubism
Deep Blue Cubism
Deep Blue Cubism

A bit of blue cubism in southern Uzbekistan highlights the intensive irrigation that is common along rivers that flow into the Aral Sea. However, so much water is used for irrigation that very little actually reaches the Aral Sea.

A bit of blue cubism in southern Uzbekistan highlights the intensive irrigation that is common along rivers that flow into the Aral Sea. However, so much water is used for irrigation that very little actually reaches the Aral Sea.

Landsat image of Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica
Brunt Ice Shelf - Feb. 19, 2019
Brunt Ice Shelf - Feb. 19, 2019
Brunt Ice Shelf - Feb. 19, 2019

Black and white Landsat 8 image of Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf (Band 8), captured on Feb. 19, 2019. 

Black and white Landsat 8 image of Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf (Band 8), captured on Feb. 19, 2019. 

Color photo of USGS researchers in Idaho
USGS EROS Researchers in Idaho
USGS EROS Researchers in Idaho
USGS EROS Researchers in Idaho

USGS EROS contractor Minsu Kim, left, and USGS Scientist Jeffrey Danielson stand with a GPS device in northern Idaho, where they were part of a research project to conduct topobathymetric research along the Kootenai River of northern Idaho.

USGS EROS contractor Minsu Kim, left, and USGS Scientist Jeffrey Danielson stand with a GPS device in northern Idaho, where they were part of a research project to conduct topobathymetric research along the Kootenai River of northern Idaho.

Earth As Art 6 Satellite Image "Irritated"
Irritated
Irritated
Irritated

This natural landscape might appear more like a medical illustration of itchy nerve endings. In Western Sahara, Africa, an intense network of wadis drains toward the west, eventually reaching the Atlantic Ocean. These drainage courses are almost always dry in this remote part of the Sahara Desert.

This natural landscape might appear more like a medical illustration of itchy nerve endings. In Western Sahara, Africa, an intense network of wadis drains toward the west, eventually reaching the Atlantic Ocean. These drainage courses are almost always dry in this remote part of the Sahara Desert.

Earth As Art 6 Satellite Image - "Desert Ribbons"
Desert Ribbons
Desert Ribbons
Desert Ribbons

Rock folding on a tectonic scale occurred in northwestern Africa. These motley ribbons dancing across the desert in Morocco are folds caused by the prolonged collision of tectonic plates. The long continuous line is Jbel Ouarkziz, a ridge that rises 200–300 meters above the valley floors.

Rock folding on a tectonic scale occurred in northwestern Africa. These motley ribbons dancing across the desert in Morocco are folds caused by the prolonged collision of tectonic plates. The long continuous line is Jbel Ouarkziz, a ridge that rises 200–300 meters above the valley floors.

Map of AK showing probability of change occurrence
Map of AK showing probability of change occurrence
Map of AK showing probability of change occurrence
Map of AK showing probability of change occurrence

Map of Alaska showing probability (%) of change occurrence. Insets show fire boundaries from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Large Fire Database and Landsat 8 imagery (bottom right; 2016) north of Fairbanks, Alaska.

New Jersey Landsat State Mosaic
New Jersey Landsat State Mosaic
New Jersey Landsat State Mosaic
New Jersey Landsat State Mosaic

Modern paleontology began with the 1858 discovery by William Parker Foulke at Haddonfield, New Jersey of the nearly complete skeleton of a dinosaur called Hadrosaurus.

Capital Trenton

Image Source Landsat 8

Population 9,288,994

Modern paleontology began with the 1858 discovery by William Parker Foulke at Haddonfield, New Jersey of the nearly complete skeleton of a dinosaur called Hadrosaurus.

Capital Trenton

Image Source Landsat 8

Population 9,288,994

Ohio Landsat State Mosaic
Ohio Landsat State Mosaic
Ohio Landsat State Mosaic
Ohio Landsat State Mosaic

Did you know that nearly 50 percent of the United States population lives within a 500-mile radius of Columbus, Ohio? Columbus is the state capital and Ohio’s largest city. It is also home to The Ohio State University.

Capital Columbus

Image Source Landsat 8

Did you know that nearly 50 percent of the United States population lives within a 500-mile radius of Columbus, Ohio? Columbus is the state capital and Ohio’s largest city. It is also home to The Ohio State University.

Capital Columbus

Image Source Landsat 8

Animation of a solar farm
LCMAP animation - solar farm
LCMAP animation - solar farm
LCMAP animation - solar farm

An animation of the growth of a solar farm, created using Land Change Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection data.

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