Videos

We wouldn't have seasons here on Earth if not for the planet's 23.5 degree axial tilt. Axial tilt is also known as obliquity. Earth's obliquity and its relationship with the sun give us two solstice points and two equinox points. As we orbit through each solstice and equinox, the amount and angle of daylight change.

While the best soccer players in the world show off their footwork skills, the best Earth observation satellite program in the world displays its skill at detecting change over time. Landsat images show the rapidly growing city of Doha in Qatar. It's the country's capital and the location of the 2022 men's World Cup.

Two decades of drought are contributing to low water levels in reservoirs along the Colorado River, including Lake Powell.

Lake Powell’s highest recorded water level was in 1983. In this 1984 Landsat 5 image, the lake’s elevation was 3,702 feet above sea level.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed a vision for the 3D National Topography Model (3DNTM), which will integrate USGS elevation and hydrography datasets to model the Nation's topography in 3D.

Lake Mead and the Mega Drought.

Image of the Week.

Drought over the past 20 years in the Colorado River Basin, and a growing demand for water, have brought Lake Mead to historically low levels.

In 1972, the year Landsat 1 captured its first images, Lake Mead’s elevation was 1,155 above sea level.

This Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (HLS) data animation shows the development of the Hermits Peak Fire which began on April 6, 2022, in the U.S. Forest Service Santa Fe National Forest. This video shows the fire as it spreads across the landscape from April 4, 2022, to August 2, 2022.

Landsat satellites have watched the Brunt Ice Shelf for nearly five decades. And now, Landsat 9 has joined in observing the changing surface.

The USGS is developing the 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP) as the surface water mapping component of the new 3D National Topography Model (3DNTM.) The 3DHP will provide critical data to support a broad range of national, regional, and local applications such as flood forecasting and response, agricultural planning, infrastructure design, stream ecology research a

Informative video portraying natural infrastructure in dryland streams (NIDS) in a watershed and descriptions of their documented climate-smart practices, graphic illustrated by Heartwood Visuals; animated by Hans J. Huth (Supplementary video 1; Norman et al. 2022).

Permafrost is ground that has been frozen for at least two years. With the warming climate, permafrost across Alaska is thawing and greenhouse gases such as methane are released as a result. Ecologist Kristen Manies of the U.S.

This webinar provides an overview of the Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 23 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) solicitation and application process.

Landsat 1 celebrated its 50th anniversary on July 23, 2022!

Landsat 1's first satellite image shared with the world was a view of Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Over the course of five decades, Landsat satellites have captured the Dallas-Fort Worth area 2033 times, compiled into individual scenes in the Landsat Archive.

In July 2022, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists and collaborators conducted an interdisciplinary field campaign at the Eastern USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center - Leetown Research Laboratory (EESC-LRL) located in Leetown, West Virginia, to support harmful algal blooms (HABs) research.

50 years of teamwork. 50 years of innovation. 50 years of resilience. In 1966, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall announced his vision to create a program aimed at gathering facts about the natural resources of the Earth from Earth orbiting satellites. It was a bold proclamation. It was also an idea that worked and continues to work 50 years on.

Mississippi leads the U.S. in catfish production. The blue tinted shapes in these Landsat images mark ponds where catfish are raised.

To build and organize a collection of scientific materials focused on the earth sciences. Preserving historical collections for future scientists.

The Landsat program conceived of in the 1960s, has been running longer than any remote sensing program. The idea was simple: position a satellite in a nearly polar orbit fixed to the solar angle so that each daytime pass would cross the equator at roughly the same local time.

Europe's Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites revealed flooding at Tweed Heads, New South Wales. Heavy rain that persisted for days in late February 2022 caused widespread flooding on Australia's east coast.

A satellite image of the mountains that will host Olympic skiing events should display a snowy landscape, right? But the National Alpine Ski Centre and Sliding Centre 45 miles northwest of Beijing, China doesn't get much snowfall. Instead, the steep slopes are lined with manmade snow.

Landsat 7 had the honor of acquiring the satellite program’s 10 millionth scene in November 2021.

The scene captures changes to the Dead Sea, located in Southwest Asia. The Dead Sea is mainly fed by the Jordan River, which enters from the north. However, the water level of the Dead Sea has been falling due to irrigation projects and water use upstream.

Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey's Aridland Water Harvesting Study are partnering with restoration practitioners and land and water resource managers to build resilience in the United States-Mexico border. Respresentatives from various backgrounds are joining together across administrative boundaries of the Madrean Archipelago Ecoregion of North America.