Satellite imagery plays a huge role in climate science from assessing how much carbon is stored in a particular forest to monitoring the extent of Arctic ice cover.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the NASA’s LANDSAT satellite, the longest continuous record of the planet from space, a gallery in the theme of ‘Earth as Art’ has been established.
They chronicle the development of urban sprawl around the world, the virtual disappearance of the Aral Sea, and the vast clouds of phytoplankton that form the basis of the food chain in the oceans.
RTCC brings you the five images judged to be the finest – you can see them by clicking the image above. The entire gallery is available on the US Geological Survey website.
NASA also gathered collections of images over time to tell ten stories of the Earth that have unfolded during the life of LANDSAT.
VIDEO: This time lapse sequence of deforestation in Brazil appears to show a slower rate of forest removal during the final years (courtesy of NASA)
VIDEO: This video demonstrates the 3D reconstruction of Antarctica that has been enabled by LANDSAT (courtesy of NASA)
All gallery images credited to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/USGS.