Images

Rare spotting! Dueling volcanoes captured by Landsat 9 satellite. Mauna Loa's 11.3-mile-long lava flow illuminates the plume of ash in the atmosphere above. The small red spot in the lower right is Kilauea—it began erupting nine days ago. USGS Volcanoes says a dual eruption has not occurred in Hawaii since 1984, making this a rare event.

USGS scientist Matt Burgess checking a UAS with a mounted lidar sensor at Vicksburg National Military Park 

NUSO scientists, along with USGS landslide researchers, in December 2022 undertook a topographic analysis of slide-prone areas of the National Park Service Vicksburg National Military Park near Vicksburg, Mississippi.

UAS Research Center BisonCore Project, using onboard autopilot systems, BisonCore on Sandy the Rover instructs the Autopilot to deviate course to follow the UAS Engineer around the parking lot. Acting like a ‘duckling’. 

On September 28, Landsat 8 passed over Hurricane Ian, capturing its eye just before landfall. The storm's center measured 42 kilometers (26 miles) wide.

UASRC BisonCore Project, using onboard systems inherent to commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) Autopilots, BisonCore-Vehicle Formation Program predicts the path of the vehicle ahead. 

For the first time in Landsat history, a trio of imaging satellites (Landsat 7, Landsat 8, and Landsat 9) have been recording thousands of images of the planet weekly. The trio has been working together since October 2021.

Learn more about the Landsat Program at www.usgs.gov/landsat

In 2022, President Joe Biden pardoned two turkeys, Chocolate and Chip. The two holiday birds hail from a ranch in Monroe, North Carolina.

USGS NIC UASRC Saucer Shark equipment marker showing the Saucer flying over trees, with a ‘I WANT TO BELIEVE’ phrase below it. ​

On October 2, 2022, this gap-filled Landsat 7 image captured brownish-black sediment runoff from rivers and streams on the southwest coast of Florida. These are the first Landsat images after Hurricane Ian devastated the area on Wednesday, September 28. Water runoff can carry away debris, fertilizers, metals, and other pollutants.

A Landsat 9 natural color image (left) and the corresponding Landsat Provisional Aquatic Reflectance product (right) display the properties of a massive algal bloom across the surface waters of Lake Erie on September 9, 2022. 

Left to Right: Trond Loke (Norsk Elektro Optikk), Isaac Anderson (USGS) and Liz Hyde (USGS) standing in front of the NASA ER-2 aircraft, during deployment to NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, Palmdale, CA.

Natural color image from the first flight of the high-altitude HySpex V-1240.  Image is oriented with respect to true North, and is centered around Colombia, CA. 

By the end of December 2022, all Landsat Collection 1 data and science products will be removed from USGS data access platforms. This depreciation includes Level-1, Level-2, Level-3, and ESPA- related products. Collection 1 has not been updated with Landsat products since December 31, 2021.

High-altitude version of the HySpex Mjolnir V-1240 hyperspectral imaging sensor installed in the nose of the ER-2.  This assembly is specially focused for high-altitude imagery and has a lightweight housing design for use on High Altitude Long Endurance UAS.  

USGS National Innovation Center UAS Research Center's BisonCore Project, augments an autonomous rover to navigate around obstacles through a hallway, in a GPS Denied Environment. Augmentation done through payload directed operations on data from stereo depth sensors. White circle depicts vehicle’s desired direction.

This paper presents dynamic surface water products over Canada from the first in a series of satellite sensors that will be used to develop a multi-sensor dynamic surface water monitoring system. The dataset uses 1984 to 2019 Landsat data to create annual water masks, inundation frequency and wetting/drying trends.

Landsat Updates are prepared periodically and distributed electronically to provide information about Landsat activities and related topics of interest. Read this issue here.

Example of the Landsat Collection 2 Provisional Evapotranspiration science product for agricultural fields on the Fucino plain near San Benedetto dei Marsi, Italy. Left: Landsat 9 Collection 2 Natural Color Surface Reflectance Image. Right: Landsat 9 Collection 2 Actual Evapotranspiration Image.

Landsat 9 image over Svalbard, Norway. Acquired on July 8, 2022, Path 26 Row 240. For more information on Landsat data, visit the Landsat Mission Website.

The Landsat 8 thermal image of the Washburn fire was acquired at night to pinpoint the location (bright white) of heat from the fire as it began. Firefighters immediately focused on suppressing the wildfire to minimize any effects on the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. As of July 18, 2022, the fire covered nearly 5,000 acres.

The Washburn Fire started July 7, 2022 in the southern part of Yosemite National Park. Landsats 8 and 9 both captured imagery of it a day later. The Landsat 9 image uses shortwave infrared and near-infrared bands to show the active burning.