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Due to a lapse in appropriations, the majority of USGS websites may not be up to date and may not reflect current conditions. Websites displaying real-time data, such as Earthquake, Volcano, LANDSAT and Water information needed for public health and safety will be updated with limited support. Additionally, USGS will not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. For more information, please see www.doi.gov/shutdown.
On June 21, 2014, Landsat 8 acquired an unbroken swath of 52 individual scenes over the Arctic.
The midnight sun of the summer solstice allowed scientists to see more of the color and diversity of snow, ice, and cloud formations. Starting in Scandinavia, Landsat 8 cut across the Arctic Circle, northern Greenland, and through Canada’s Nunavut and Northwest Territories. NASA released a video of the imagery, along with close-up views of some favorite scenes, on its NASA Earth Observatory. The swath is a good demonstration of how the Earth-observing satellite can monitor change over time in remote locations on the globe.