In September 2014, Landsat 8 captured six clear images that were stitched into a mosaic of Kamchatka’s often cloudy east coast. Five volcanoes displayed plumes of steam, gas, or ash that day. From north to south, they are: Shiveluch, Bezymianny, Kizimen, Karymsky, and Zhupanovsky. The logistics of maintaining ground-based sensors in this rugged region make satellites a necessity for monitoring the volcanoes.
Further Reading:
+ “Volcanoes of Kamchatka,” NASA Earth Observatory
+ “Kamchatka: The Erupting Peninsula” on YouTube

Above the Earth, Below the Surface: Landsat’s Role in Monitoring Water Quality
Safeguarding freshwater resources is crucial, and while scientists use a variety of ground-based techniques to gauge water quality, the Landsat program has provided water quality data from orbit for decades.