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.
Mapping Snowmelt in the Arctic
The extensive Landsat record has been analyzed to map the climatalogical normal date of snowmelt for large areas of the Arctic.
The 2015 Surge of Kelayayilake Glacier
In May 2015, a severe glacier surge struck the eastern Pamir.
A Glacierized Volcano in Peru & El Niño
How the El Niño Southern Oscillation impacts snow cover of a glacierized volcano in Peru.
Decline of the Last Glaciers in the Eastern Tropics
The glaciers of Puncak Jaya have continued their decline.
45 Years of Ecosystem Carbon Storage Change Across the U.S.
The carbon implications of 45 years of land use and land cover change in the conterminous U.S.
The Shifting Boundary Between Grounded Continental Ice and the Ocean in West Antarctica
Using Landsat to closely monitor changes in ‘grounding line’ position in West Antarctica.