Here is an example of false color imagery, can you see how the Indian pictograph stands out a little more when viewed with a false color filter? Different colors are simply being defined differently, but it is a tool remote sensing specialist use to help identify patterns or features that we may not otherwise have noticed.
Pictograph was created about 1000 AD by Fremont Indians in N Utah
The drought in California has been drying up reservoirs across the state over the last few years. This year was predicted to have a large El Nino effect this winter and spring, but it has not produced as much as hoped. Until earlier this month it had been a typical, almost average winter with snow levels averaging around 90% across the state of California. Over the last few weeks several rain and snow storms have passed through Northern California helping Lake Shasta rise to 86% capacity with over 1.8 million acre-feet of water pouring in since the middle of January. El Nino has been very kind to Northern California as of late and we hope it will continue! Check out the slider below to see the difference between water levels at Lake Shasta from last August and its current condition.
We have posted about this before, but the Japanese Meteorological Agency has a satellite in a Geostationary orbit that is parked over Japan and Australia. It takes some pretty cool images. Here is what it caught yesterday, this video may be useful to show those who have a hard time understanding why only a few people on earth get to see a solar eclipse each time it happens.
This isn't a high-res video unlike our previous post, but I hope you enjoy anyway! The US also has a NOAA weather satellite they launched last year that takes similar pictures. The DSCOVR satellite is in a sun-synchronous orbit and will probably show us a similar view, but those images are posted 3-4 days after they are taken, so we have to wait a little longer for them.
As a local to the Wasatch Front I spend a lot of time sailing, birding, and floating on the Great Salt Lake. As a Remote Sensing Specialist I also regularly use Sentinel imagery to study our earth. Sentinel is the ESA equivalent to Landsat. I am currently working on a project that highlights the health hazards of an expanding dry lake bed from the potential dust storms. As the lake gets lower the more dry lake bed is exposed and more dust is kicked up into the air. It is to the benefit of the people of the Wasatch Front to keep that lake wet. I love this video because it highlights just a few of my favorite things. Check it out for some info on the features and history of the Great Salt Lake, the Salt Lake Valley, as well as showing off Sentinel's impressive imagery.
If you are interested in learning more about the Great Salt Lake, here is a whitepaper published by Utah State University last week about the challenges posed by diverting flow to the GSL and the hazards associated with lower Great Salt Lake.
And if that isn't enough and you want to learn even more about the GSL, let me know, I have enough research to keep you busy for days.
This visualization illustrates Earth’s long-term warming trend, showing temperature changes from 1880 to 2015 as a rolling five-year average. Orange colors represent temperatures that are warmer than the 1951-80 baseline average, and blues represent temperatures cooler than the baseline. Credits: GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio
It turns out 2015 was the warmest year yet according to NASA and NOAA! It edged out 2014 (the last record holder) by 0.23° Fahrenheit (0.13° Celsius). This continues a warming trend over the last 35 years but with 15 of the warmest years happening since 2001. NASA used surface temperature measurements from 6,300 weather stations located across the globe to create a global average surface temperature.
Since consistent records started being kept in 1880, the planet's average surface temperature has risen about 1.8° Fahrenheit (1.0° Celsius). With temperatures rising due to carbon and other gas emissions it reinforces the need for change. With the recent Paris Climate Agreement hopefully the world can work work together to accomplish its aims of keeping global warming below 3.6° Fahrenheit (2.0° Celsius).
CALIPSO Backscatter Data - Click for bigger image
The red line in the image is ~ ground level and corresponds with the purple line in the top image.
Greenland's ice sheet has been melting at alarming rates over the last few years and scientists are trying to piece together the story. One part that is becoming clear is the effects of clouds on the ice sheet. Recently published research in Nature Communications by an international team has shown that surface temperatures were three degrees Fahrenheit higher due to increased cloud cover over the Greenland Ice Sheet. Clouds act as blanket and hold heat longer in the atmosphere. You can see this effect at night when skies are overcast or clear. Overcast nights are warmer due to heat being trapped in by the clouds whereas clear nights are colder because heat escapes more easily. The effect in Greenland may be compounded because as more melting occurs, more moisture enters the atmosphere, and more clouds form.
This research was accomplished using ground measurements and NASA satellite data from CALIPSO and CloudSat. The images above are from CALIPSO which uses LiDAR, infrared, and visible imagers to measure cloud structure. CloudSat uses a radar system to profile cloud structure. For more information click on the source link below.
