Latest news with #Landsat9
India Today
19-06-2025
- Science
- India Today
Swiss glacier collapse that buried villages is so big it's visible from space
The tranquil Swiss village of Blatten was transformed in moments as a catastrophic avalanche of rock and ice from the Birch Glacier thundered into the valley on May 28, collapse was so big that it buried nearly 90% of the community and filled the Lonza disaster has been captured in stark detail by the OLI-2 instrument on Landsat 9. The images reveal a landscape dramatically altered by nature's The collapse was triggered after weeks of instability on the mountain slopes above the glacier. Rockfalls from the Kleiner Nesthorn peak accumulated on the glacier's surface, increasing pressure and accelerating the glacier's movement to an estimated 10 meters per day by May 27, according to ETH believe the added weight and resulting meltwater at the glacier's base reduced friction, making a catastrophic slide the glacier finally gave way, millions of tons of debris surged 2.5 kilometers down the valley, climbing as high as 240 meters up the opposite slope and forming a debris cone two kilometers long and 200 meters wide. Satellite images released in the aftermath show the vast swath of brown and grey debris cutting through the lush alpine landscape, a stark reminder of the power and unpredictability of glacial regions in a warming avalanche not only buried homes but also blocked the Lonza River, creating an artificial lake and raising fears of further early warning systems and visible signs of instability prompted authorities to evacuate all 300 residents and livestock by May 19, days before the disaster struck. Only one person remains continue to monitor the site, investigating the roles of rockfalls, glacier melt, and possibly permafrost thaw in this rare and devastating event.
Newsweek
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Newsweek
Deadly Tornado's Impact on Kentucky So Big It's Visible From Space
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The path of a recent tornado that tore across the state of Kentucky has been photographed from above, revealing the massive scar it left across the land. On May 16, a deadly tornado ravaged three counties in Kentucky, taking 20 lives, destroying hundreds of houses and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake just over 55 miles long and up to a mile wide. The image of the devastation was captured the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) instrument aboard NASA's Landsat 9 Earth-imaging satellite. The track of the twister was made particularly clear in the images as it passed through the Daniel Boone National Forest, where it ripped up trees in its path. The tornado's track, taking by the NASA Earth Observatory using Landsat data from the US Geological Survey. The tornado's track, taking by the NASA Earth Observatory using Landsat data from the US Geological Survey. Wanmei Liang/NASA Earth Observatory/ Landsat According to NASA and the National Weather Service (NWS), the tornado was one of the strongest ever recorded in the area, peaking at a four on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale. This is the second-highest ranking on the scale, with three-second gusts between 166 to 200 miles per hour. In fact, the tornado in question was estimated to have reached speeds as high as 170 miles per hour. The Kentucky tornado was part of a severe weather outbreak over several days which hit multiple states, including Alabama, Kansas, Missouri and Virginia. At least 20 people were killed in Kentucky alone, with the office of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear reporting that 17 people died in Laurel County, one in McCracken County, one in Pulaski County and one in Russell County. Read more Violent tornadoes leave at least 27 dead in multiple states: What to know Violent tornadoes leave at least 27 dead in multiple states: What to know "I promise that we will be there for our people until every home and every life is rebuilt. And I want to thank all our heroic first responders for the work they've done over the past few days," Beshear said in a statement. "This is another incredibly tough time for Kentucky. And it's another reminder that life is short and it's our duty to be kind and do good. As always—we will get through this together." A 2024 study on the National Land Cover Database (which is based on Landsat observations) has found that tornado damage to forests in the southeastern U.S. is on the rise, despite a slight decrease in tornado activity across the states as a whole. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about tornados? Let us know via science@ Reference Munro, H. L., Loehle, C., Bullock, B. P., Johnson, D. M., Vogt, J. T., & Gandhi, K. J. K. (2024). Tornado damage in forest ecosystems of the United States. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 350.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Trump's proposed satellite cuts raise questions about the fate of EROS in South Dakota
The exterior of the Earth Resources Observation and Science Center near Sioux Falls. (Courtesy of USGS EROS Center) A preliminary budget request from President Donald Trump takes aim at a satellite program with a 50-year history whose data is housed just northeast of Sioux Falls, at a facility employing hundreds of people. Trump's discretionary budget request for NASA would cut $1.1 billion in funding for Earth observation programs, including what the request describes as cuts to the 'gold-plated, two billion dollar Landsat Next' mission. The cut amounts to roughly half of the space agency's budget for Earth observation, which includes money for Landsat design. Landsat Next is planned as the next generation of Landsat, whose nine iterations have created the longest continuously collected Earth observation record in history. The first satellite launched in 1972. NASA builds and launches Landsat satellites. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates them and curates the data collected by them. The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center near Sioux Falls has housed Landsat data since 1973, in addition to millions of images from other satellites and modern and historical aerial imagery, all of which is accessible at no cost to users. Landsat's free data is used to calibrate data from commercial satellites, contributing to what the USGS calculated last fall as a $25.6 billion return on public investment since the agency began freely sharing data in 2008. The most recent satellite in the series, Landsat 9, entered low-earth orbit in 2021. Between that satellite and its near-identical predecessor, Landsat 8, the system gathers new imagery data of the entire Earth's surface — as well as imagery from spectral bands like infrared that are invisible to the naked eye and measurements of Earth surface temperatures — every eight days. Landsat Next was set to launch around 2030, with improvements in resolution and speedier repeat image collection. Trump's budget request would 'restructure' the Landsat Next mission 'while NASA studies more affordable ways to maintain the continuity of Landsat imagery, which is used by natural resource managers, States, and industry.' The request also calls for the elimination of $562 million in USGS funding. The change 'eliminates programs that provide grants to universities, duplicate other Federal research programs and focus on social agendas (e.g., climate change) to instead focus on achieving dominance in energy and critical minerals,' Trump's budget request says. The cut to USGS amounts to about a third of its $1.6 billion budget. The budget request is separate from the federal government's efforts under Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to pare down the federal workforce. Probationary employees across multiple federal agencies were first dismissed in February, but many returned to the federal payroll and placed on paid administrative leave after legal challenges. It's unclear how those moves to reduce the federal workforce have impacted the EROS Center. Around 600 government employees and contractors work at the center, according to the latest figures posted on the USGS website, but the site including that figure hasn't changed since March 2023. Emails from South Dakota Searchlight to USGS press contacts at EROS and in regional and national offices on the number of employees who've departed since Jan. 25 went unanswered. The biggest thing you've never heard of: How EROS changed the world from a cornfield Searchlight also asked about the potential impact of the USGS budget cut proposal to EROS science programs, and about how changes to the Landsat program could affect EROS. A NASA spokesperson told South Dakota Searchlight that the agency would be in a better position to respond 'once we receive the President's full budget request in the coming weeks.' U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, pointed out that presidential budget requests are 'aspirational' and 'rarely implemented as written.' 'Dusty will continue to be supportive of Landsat's efforts in Congress,' said a Johnson spokesperson. The NASA budget has not emerged as a discussion point in budget reconciliation talks underway in Washington, D.C., on Trump's so-called 'big, beautiful bill.' U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, sounded similar notes in his response to questions about Landsat. 'The president's discretionary budget is just that — discretionary. It outlines the president's priorities and wish lists, but it will ultimately be our job in Congress to set the budget and appropriate federal dollars,' Rounds said in an emailed statement. Representatives for Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota did not return emails requesting comment on Landsat and EROS. Republican South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden told Searchlight during a visit to Sioux Falls recently that he hadn't heard about requested cuts to the satellite program or to the USGS. Even so, Rhoden said he trusts that an open relationship with the Trump administration on South Dakota's priorities will help preserve them through budget negotiations. 'They give you some wiggle room as far as what your priorities are, and so I'm kind of optimistic that they are tempering some of those decisions with common sense,' Rhoden said. Trump's actions have had at least one public impact on EROS, though not an operational one. EROS is home to a supercomputer whose processing power is shared across multiple arms of the Department of Interior. The system came to EROS with the name Denali, named after the tallest peak in the U.S. Like the Alaska mountain after which the computer was named, the Denali system at EROS was renamed 'McKinley' after the issuance of a Trump executive order. Denali has long been the mountain's name among Alaska's Indigenous Athabascans, but the federal government embraced the name given to it by a prospector for about 100 years. The prospector called it 'Mount McKinley,' after then-presidential candidate William McKinley. President Barack Obama renamed it Denali in 2015, matching the name the surrounding national park had taken nearly 40 years earlier. The order does not mention the USGS or supercomputers, but rather instructs the Department of Interior to 'update the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) to reflect the renaming and reinstatement of Mount McKinley.' The EROS supercomputer's name was changed based on the order, however. 'Pursuant to President Trump's Executive Order No. 14172, 'Restoring Names that Honor American Greatness,' this supercomputer has been renamed to McKinley,' a poster in the EROS visitor area now reads. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Space photo of the day for April 28, 2025
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. On April 22, 2025, a fire began in a wildlife management area near the town of Waretown in New Jersey. Within two days, the blaze had spread into one of the largest fires the state has seen in decades. Images captured by NASA's Landsat 9 satellite have help reveal the scope of the devastation left behind. The Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) instrument on the Landsat 9 satellite sent back these images of the Jones Road fire on April 23, 2025. In this natural-color scene, thick smoke obscures the fire's mark on the land below. The burned area is revealed when viewed in shortwave infrared, near infrared and visible light. In the false-color image of the same area, unburned vegetated areas (green) and the recently burned landscape (brown) are more easily identified. The Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands, is located in southeastern New Jersey. It's a sprawling ecosystem covering about 1.1 million to 1.4 million acres (445,000 to 567,000 hectares). The fire has led to evacuations of people from Lacey and Ocean townships and sent smoke wafting toward New York City. Conditions have resulted in the closure of the Garden State Parkway at times. NASA is generally associated with looking outward into space, but by pointing its satellites back at our planet, the agency has been able to help reveal warning signs for large wildfires like this one in New Jersey. Earlier observations from NASA's GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) and GRACE-FO (GRACE Follow On) satellites showed anomalously dry conditions in the area, pointing to the Pine Barrens being particularly susceptible to a fire in the spring of 2025. At the time of the fire, the U.S. Drought Monitor had classified drought in the region as "severe." You can read more about Landsat 9, NASA's most powerful Landsat satellite ever, and see more of its imagery. You can also read more about the role of satellites monitoring wildfires.
Newsweek
25-04-2025
- Climate
- Newsweek
NASA Images Reveal Extent of Major New Jersey Fire
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. NASA has released striking satellite images that capture the devastating scale of the damage caused by the Jones Road fire, one of the largest wildfires to hit the state of New Jersey in the last two decades. The images, taken by the Operational Land Imager-2 on Landsat 9, show thick clouds of smoke and burnt landscapes across the Pine Barrens, a coastal forest known for being prone to wildfires. The fire, which started in the Greenwood Wildlife Management Area near Waretown on April 22, rapidly escalated into an emergency, affecting air quality as far as New York City. At the time, officials closed off some major roads, including the Garden State Parkway and Route 532 and ordered the evacuation of over 5,000 people in the area. They also cut power for over 25,000 as a precaution. As of April 24, more than 15,000 acres of land had been burned. Drag slider compare photos Wildland fires have long been integral to New Jersey's Pinelands, says the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, helping to rejuvenate its ecosystem by adding nutrients to the soil and creating a habitat that is essential for many species. However, combined with the recent drought and critically low levels of soil moisture and groundwater in the federally protected reserve, the fire quickly spiraled. Using NASA observations from the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) and GRACE-FO (GRACE Follow On) satellites, the National Drought Mitigation Center detected anomalously dry conditions in the Pinelands, classifying the drought in the region as "severe." Abnormally warm temperatures across New Jersey contributed to the drought, exacerbating the wildfire threat. Thankfully, rain is forecast for Friday and into Saturday, which could assist firefighting efforts. In the meantime, residents have been advised to monitor real-time updates from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service in case any new evacuation orders are put into place. Those with respiratory conditions have also been advised to stay indoors due to the current air pollution levels. An air quality official for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection previously told Newsweek in a statement: "Due to this being an active fire, we are monitoring the conditions and will update if necessary. The next chance of rain is this weekend, which may help improve air quality." No injuries have been reported so far, although at least one commercial building and several other smaller structures were lost in the fire. As of Thursday, about 50 percent of the fire was contained, and all evacuation orders were lifted. Authorities have arrested 19-year-old Joseph Kling of Waretown in connection with starting the Jones Road wildfire. He is currently being held in Ocean County Jail, charged with aggravated arson and arson, pending a detention hearing. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about wildfires? Let us know via science@
