Landsat's Role in Responding to Disasters
In 2022, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) reported 387 natural hazards and disasters worldwide, resulting in the loss of over 30,000 lives and affecting more than 185 million individuals. Economic losses totaled around US$223.8 billion. Fires, floods, heat waves, drought, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters can be particularly tragic and costly when critical facilities such as power plants, airports, roads, and hospitals are threatened. When a disaster strikes, remote sensing is often the only way to get a big-picture view of what is happening on the ground. With its consistent, reliable, repeated observations of Earth’s changing surface, Landsat keeps a record of Earth’s land surfaces before and after disasters, serving as an essential tool for assessing risk, mapping the extent of damage, and planning post-disaster recovery. Landsat produces 185-kilometer-wide images with 30-meter resolution in visible and infrared wavelengths of light, making it possible to map impacts on the landscape in ways otherwise not visible to human sight. For example, Landsat sensors enable us to see the heat from fires both during and after the burns, and the lava flows from volcanic eruptions even when gaseous substances obscure the view to human eyes.
Beyond the Visible: Landsat Next’s New Spectral Bands
With Landsat Next’s 26 new spectral bands, we’ll be able to see our planet like never before. Landsat Next’s enhanced capabilities will provide scientists, farmers, and decision-makers with critical data to tackle global challenges.
Spotting Disruptions to Earth’s Vegetation
Using NASA data, researchers can track vegetation changes around the planet, not just in forests but also in grasslands and savannas like the Brazilian Cerrado.
Mangroves Are Losing Their Resilience
Mangroves, the iconic trees and shrubs of the Florida Everglades, are under increased stress due to more frequent, intense hurricanes.
Guardian Landsat on Firewatch
Landsat collects data that helps effectively deal with intensifying wildfires—at all stages of the fire cycle.
Landsat’s Economic Value increases to $25.6 Billion in 2023
A new report about the Landsat satellite program – a partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey and National Aeronautics and Space Administration – calculates its 2023 value at $25.6 billion—a marked increase from its 2017 estimate of $3.45 billion.
Could Land Surface Temperature Help Predict Earthquakes?
In Taiwan, earthquakes are linked to shallow stores of magma. New research explores this connection by linking land surface temperature with earthquakes.
