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.
![forest](https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/stockvault-yosemite-national-park104973-2000x1072.jpg)
USGS Video: Landsat in Action—Studying Phenology with Patrick Hostert
Patrick Hostert from the University of Berlin discusses the value of Landsat’s long archive to studying phenology.
Assessing the Impact of Hurricanes on Puerto Rico’s Forests
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have produced a rapid mapping of the disturbance intensity across Puerto Rico’s forests with the help of Google Earth Engine and Landsat 8.
New Study Brings Antarctic Ice Loss Into Sharper Focus
A NASA study based on an innovative technique for crunching torrents of satellite data provides the clearest picture yet of changes in Antarctic ice flow into the ocean.
Open Digital Mapping For Assessing Carbon Storage in Tropical Peatlands
Tropical peatland can be mapped accurately using freely-available remote sensing data and open source software.
Traveling Back in Time to Follow Glacier Trends with IceTrendr
Revealing the dynamic nature of glaciers.
Taking Inventory of New Zealand's Glaciers
Glaciers have been receeding rapidly in many parts of the world, including New Zealand.