Chile Volcano Time Series

Taken from Aqua and Terra Satellites this gif shows the Chile volcano from 4/24-4/27

Calbuco Volcano Chile Imagery

Terra image morning of 4-24-15
Trail of ash is spread out over 100 miles

Aqua image afternoon of  4-24-15

Google Earth Image of Calbuco pre-eruption

The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile has erupted twice in the space of a few hours - having lain dormant for decades.

Footage from the area shows a huge column of lava and ash being sent several kilometres into the air.

The authorities have declared a red alert and evacuated more than 4,000 people within a 20km (12 mile) radius.

The Calbuco volcano is one of the most active in Chile, but its eruption took officials in the area by surprise.

Alejandro Verges, an emergency director for the region, said Calbuco had not been under any special form of observation.

Source:http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/media/images/82521000/jpg/_82521685_026883262-1.jpg

Lake Superior Ice Jam

I was listening to a report on NPR yesterday about ice jamming up a shipping route on Lake Superior. Every year when ice forms on the lake, icebreakers are needed to create shipping lanes for the passing container ships. The lanes around Whitefish Bay (in focus below with a 6-5-4 false color composite) have become completely covered due to drifting ice from earlier storms that compacted all the ice on the eastern part of Lake Superior. Some of the ice was reported to be eight feet thick as pieces piled on top of one another forming bigger chunks.  

The shipping lanes are being navigated through and cleared by a team of US and Canadian vessels. In this image you can faintly see the shipping lane which runs about 37 miles through Whitefish Bay alone.

Source: NPR, USGS, Google Earth Engine

Louisiana can't find their boot

Terra MODIS true color imagery 2/15/15

Google Earth Imagery 4/9/13

Landsat 8 true color imagery mult images stitched from throughout Feb

USGS 2011 National Land Cover Database data, showing how much wetland is left in Louisiana.

Louisiana doesn't look like the maps I memorized growing up anymore. Loss of wetlands has caused a dramatic change in the coastline. Imagery from Landsat 8, Terra, and especially the USGS dataset show the true story, but it is interesting to me that even Google Earth shades the imagery to show an image that we are used to seeing. Aerial imagery such as this can be a powerful tool to show what the situation is really like. 

There are a lot of reasons the wetlands are receding, chemicals that are dumped in the Mississippi River have caused problems in the area, as well as poor land management. Loss of wetlands allows for stronger hurricanes to hit the mainland, not to mention the loss of habitat to hundreds of animals

Here is an article that outlines the whole story - 
https://medium.com/matter/louisiana-loses-its-boot-b55b3bd52d1e