Landsat's Role in Understanding Climate Change
Long-term weather patterns averaged over 30 years or more make up our climate. Human well-being—our infrastructure and agriculture—depend on a reliable climate. This reliability allows farmers to plant seeds in the spring with confidence that temperatures and rainfall will sustain crops in the coming months. It allows communities to build and maintain roads, buildings, and drainage systems best suited to local conditions. Earth’s climate is controlled by the amount of energy that flows through the atmosphere, oceans, and land. By adding heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere—primarily carbon dioxide—people are increasing the amount of energy in the Earth system that would otherwise escape to space. This increase in energy is changing Earth’s climate, and consequently, the weather patterns that people rely on are shifting. Changes in long-term weather patterns have wide-ranging impacts on ecosystems and peoples’ lives. Designed to observe land and coastal ecosystems, Landsat instruments provide an unparalleled space-based record of the impact of climate change on Earth’s landscapes, the growth and loss of carbon- storing.
Satellites Reveal a Greener Antarctic Peninsula
Using observations from Landsat 5 through Landsat 8, scientists determined that the area of vegetated land on the Antarctic Peninsula grew from 0.86 to 11.95 square kilometers (0.33 to 4.61 square miles) between 1986 and 2021.
Landsat Takes the Temperature of Atoll Lagoons
Monitoring the temperature of tiny atoll lagoons is important for the local economy and ecosystem. A new study shows that Landsat can help.
Tony Willardson, Water Watcher
With Landsat-based ET embedded in more and more water rights and conservation tools, Willardson and the Western States Water Council are eager to see Landsat Next with its higher spatial resolution, more frequent observations, and additional spectral bands, built and launched.
Tundra Vegetation to Grow Taller, Greener Through 2100, NASA Study Finds
Warming global climate is changing the vegetation structure of forests in the far north. It’s a trend that will continue at least through the end of this century, according to NASA researchers.
Landsat Observations Key Resource for Many Federal Agencies
In the FY23 Aeronautics and Space Report released on May 23, 2024, a multitude of Federal agencies report work informed by Landsat data.
Antarctic Ice Shelf Spawns Iceberg A-83
The Brunt Ice Shelf lost a large wedge of floating ice, the third sizeable iceberg to calve from the shelf in recent years. The TIRS instrument on Landsat 9 captured false-color images of the calving.
