08/23/2022
"Satellite imagery simply amazing!" 👏
The Landsat 9 satellite, the latest in the unique Landsat program that has provided an unrivaled 50-year continuous record of Earth observations, today became fully operational with the official handover of control from NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)!
Landsat satellites have collected more than 10 million images of Earth and have provided scientists with the data needed to tackle problems crucial to everyday life on our planet.
These free images are invaluable for further scientific understanding of our planet, including the study, management and conservation of Earth’s resources, and the mitigation of impacts of climate change. Learn more: https://www.usgs.gov/landsat-missions/landsat-9
Photo description: In Alaska, the Sagavanirktok River flows North to empty in Beaufort Sea near Prudhoe Bay. Landsat 9 captured this false color image on July 1, 2022, using Bands 5|4|3.
This frozen tundra climate lies above the Arctic Circle. Summer brings the midnight sun continuously for a few weeks; comparably, the frigid winters experience the opposite with weeks with twenty-four hours of darkness.
Above the thick, frozen soil, unpredictable lakes and waterways are in constant flux. Observable factors like precipitation, evaporation and snowmelt runoff are common. More erratic changes like permafrost melt are invisible to the human eye. Using Landsat satellites, scientists can study changes across the Arctic area.
