Videos

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.

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.

The tallest volcano on the Galapagos Islands began erupting on January 6. The eruption sent lava flows down the mountainside and ash skyward. Like the Hawaiian Islands, the Galapagos are volcanic islands formed over an active hotspot. Wolf Volcano last erupted in May and June of 2015.

Hydrography Community Call

Date: January 18, 2022

Presenter(s):

Annalisa Stasey (astasey@usgs.gov)- Hydrography Partner Support

Recent activity has altered the landscape in northwestern China. Alluvial Fan, from the second Earth As Art collection, was acquired in 2002 by the ASTER sensor on NASA’s Terra satellite. It’s truly a fan favorite, often named one of the top images of the entire collection.

Audio of American Bullfrog (Lithobates catebeianus) call recorded by USGS in 2022, trimmed in Audacity software and set to animated waveform.

An atmospheric river swept through southern British Columbia on Canada's western edge, November 14, 2021. Parts of the province recorded nearly seven inches of rain in that 24 hour period. One week later, sediment carried by the Fraser River is visible in the Strait of Georgia. East of the strait near Abbotsford, the scene is even more dramatic.

Since 1972, Landsat satellites have continually acquired data about the Earth’s land surface. On November 23, 2021, the Landsat Archive that stores this vital record added its ten millionth scene.

The history of the area on display in that milestone scene offers insight into the value of the Landsat Program’s longevity to the scientific community.

USGS Hydrography Community Call

Date: Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Presenter: Michael Tinker with U.S. Geological Survey

Topic: Hydrologic Addressing (HydroAdd) Tool: Initial Release

Chapters

00:00 Opening

00:41 Introduction to HydroAdd web-based tool

09:18 HydroAdd DEMO

This video represents a detailed view of Mount Denali as narrated by Chris Richmond.

Lake Powell on the border of Utah and Arizona supplies water to millions across the southwestern United States.

The newly launched Landsat 9 experienced a once-in-a-mission lifetime event where its orbit was directly below Landsat 8 for an “underfly.” For several days in the middle of November, the pair of Earth-observing satellites flew together, collecting data at the same time for the same sites and requiring simultaneous downlinking to global ground station antennas.

Landsat 9 launched into space on September 27th, 2021. The "first light" images arrived on October 31st. On that day the satellite captured: algal blooms in Lake Erie, the glaciers of the Himalayas, bush fires in Australia's Eucalypt Woodlands, coastal communities on the Florida panhandle, and deserts, mountains and mesas across the Navajo Nation.

The volcanic activity of Kilauea continues on the island of Hawaii. The latest eruption began within Halema'uma'u Crater on September 29. The previous eruption just ended in May 2021. Before that, major lava flows covered the eastern tip of Hawaii's Big Island in 2018. This latest eruption included vigorous fountaining up to 50-60m high.

Fissures opened on the Cumbre Vieja volcano on September 19. It's the first time it has erupted since 1971.