The Copernicus Sentinel-1B satellite takes us over Semera in northeast Ethiopia. Semera is a new town with a population of just over 2600 and serves as the capital of the Afar region. The region spans an estimated 270 000 sq km, from close to the border with Eritrea towards the capital of Addis Ababa.
We can see the regional capital in the top right of this false-colour image, with the larger urban centre of Dubti just south of the town. Both are found in the Great Rift Valley, which lies between the Ethiopian Plateau and the Somalia Plateau.
The landscape of the Afar region is characterised by desert shrubland and volcanoes, particularly in the north. In this image we can see differences in altitude represented in the variations in colour. The left part of the image is dominated by yellow, signifying changes in vegetation found at higher altitudes. Two lakes, Hayk Lake and Hardibo Lake, are shown in the bottom left.
South of Dubti we can see the Awash River, which flows into the northern salt lakes rather than into the sea. Salt trade is typical of the area, whilst cotton is grown in the Awash River valley. Maize, beans, papaya and bananas are also cultivated in the Afar region. It is thought that 90% of the region’s population lead a pastoral life, rearing animals such as camels, sheep and donkeys.
Dallol, to the north of Semera in Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression, is frequently cited as one of the hottest inhabited places on Earth. Lying 125 m below sea level, with temperatures in the spectacular hydrothermal fields averaging 34.4 °C year-round, and the area receiving just 100–200 mm rainfall a year, conditions are thought to be amongst the most inhospitable in the world.
Sentinel-1B was launched in April 2016, carrying an advanced radar instrument to provide an all-weather, day-and-night supply of imagery of Earth’s surface. Along with Sentinel-1A, which was launched in April 2014, the mission benefits numerous services, including monitoring land-surface for motion risks and mapping to support crisis situations.
This image, which was captured on 5 April 2018, is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2018), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Tags: ESA European Space Agency Space Universe Cosmos Space Science Science Space Technology Tech Technology Earth from Space Observing the Earth Earth Observation Earth Explorer Satellite image Copernicus Sentinel Sentinel-1 Radar Radar Image Northeast Ethiopia Ethiopia Semera Dubti Awash River Sentinel-1B
The Copernicus Sentinel-3A satellite takes us over the North Sea, revealing a significant algae bloom covering most of the southern part. One of Europe's most productive fisheries, the North Sea covers an area of 570 000 sq km and is linked to the Atlantic by one of the world’s busiest shipping regions – the English Channel.
The image covers a large section of Scandinavia, including Norway, the south of Sweden, and Denmark, stretching down to Germany and the Netherlands in the bottom right. On the left of the image we can see the east coast of Scotland and the Northern Isles, comprising two archipelagos – Orkney and Shetland.
This true-colour image taken using Sentinel-3’s Ocean and Land Colour Instrument shows a significant algae bloom.
Harmful algal blooms caused by excessive growth of marine algae have occurred in the North Sea and the English Channel area in recent years, with satellite data being used to track their growth and spread. These data can then be used to help develop alert systems to mitigate against damaging impacts for tourism and fishing industries.
Harmful blooms, which pose a threat to various forms of water life, are thought to carry an annual cost of over 900 million euros to these industries in the EU.
Helping to map algal blooms and providing critical information for marine operations are just some of the ways that the two-satellite Sentinel-3 is used for Europe’s Copernicus environmental monitoring programme. Since 2016, Sentinel-3A has been measuring our oceans, land, ice and atmosphere to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics. In April 2018, it was joined by its twin satellite Sentinel-3B.
This image, which was captured on 27 May 2017, is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2017), processed by ESA,CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Tags: ESA European Space Agency Space Universe Cosmos Space Science Science Space Technology Tech Technology Earth from Space Observing the Earth Earth Observation Earth Explorer Satellite image Copernicus Sentinel Sentinel-3A Sentinel-3 Alga Bloom North Sea Bloom English Channel Northern Isles Orkney Shetland Norway
With Europe in the grip of a heatwave and little rain, the scorched ground and dry vegetation is succumbing to fire. Fires have now broken out as far as the Arctic Circle, in Sweden. This wide view, which stretches from the west coast of Norway to central Sweden, was captured by Sentinel-3 on 17 July 2018. Here, smoke can be seen billowing from several fires. The fires have led to the authorities evacuating some villages and appealing for help from other countries, and concerns that the current record temperatures and drought are linked to climate change. There are said to be around 50 fires now burning in the country. Through July there have been three times as many fires as there were last year.
See also: Sweden in flames and Zooming in on fires in Sweden.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2018), processed by ESA
Tags: ESA European Space Agency Space Universe Cosmos Space Science Science Space Technology Tech Technology Earth from Space Observing the Earth Earth Observation Satellite image Copernicus Sentinel Sweden Fire Wildfires Smoke Sentinel-3
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