d Sn
e a
Ic
THRAE
146
Omulyakhskaya and Khromskaya
Russia
Along the northern Siberian coast, near Omulyakhskaya and Khromskaya Bays, the landscape is dotted with lakes. Known as thermokarst lakes, these pools are made from the thawing of frozen soil, or permafrost, and the accumulation of that melt water in low spots in the terrain.
Although far too cold for a swim, the water is general y warm compared to the surrounding soil, so it can slowly thaw more permafrost and make the lake deepen and expand over time. Occasional y the basins merge or even drain into streams and the bay.
Dark brown spots in the image are probably locations of former thermokarst lakes.
Because thawing permafrost and thermokarst lakes release carbon and methane—both greenhouse gases—scientists monitor these landscapes closely because of their implications for future climate.
won
d Sn
e a
Ic
THRAE
148
Phytoplankton on Ice
Antarctica
It may look like someone dyed the water, but the green hue visible off the coast of Antarctica is entirely natural. Granite Harbor, a cove near Antarctica’s Ross Sea, got its color from phytoplankton at the water’s surface. These microscopic, plant-like organisms typical y flourish here in spring and summer, when the edge of the sea ice recedes and there is ample sunlight. But scientists have noticed that, given the right conditions, they can grow in autumn, too. In March 2017, Landsat 8 captured such an event in this image.
Sea ice, winds, sunlight, nutrient availability, and predators all factor into whether plankton can grow in large enough quantities to color the slush-ice and make it visible from space. Phytoplankton are important for the ecology of the Southern Ocean, as they are an abundant food source for zooplankton, fish, and other marine species.
won
d Sn
e a
Ic
THRAE
150
Heart-Shaped Uummannaq
Greenland
It is no mystery how Uummannaq Island got its name. In Greenlandic, the word means “heart-shaped,” an apt description for the multi-peaked mountain that towers over the island.
Located off the coast of northwestern Greenland, the mountain’s granite and gneiss peak rises sharply from sea level to about 1,170 meters (3,840 feet). The rock that makes up Uummannaq is ancient, likely forming 3.0 to 2.8 bil ion years ago.
Well north of the Arctic Circle, Uummannaq Island is home to one of the most northerly towns in Greenland. The Earth Observing-1
satel ite captured this image in May 2012. Sea ice still surrounded the island, but breaks in the ice—cal ed leads—exposed seawater beneath it.
won
d Sn
e a
Ic
THRAE
152
Puma Yumco
China
Several hundred lakes dot the expansive Tibetan Plateau. With the average elevation exceeding 4,500 meters (14,800 feet) above sea level, these lakes are among the highest in the world.
Recent research suggests that the number and surface area of lakes on the Tibetan Plateau has increased significantly since the 1990s.
Puma Yumco is one of the larger lakes in southern Tibet. Tuiwa, a small vil age along the eastern edge of the lake, is reportedly one of the highest settlements in the world. Every winter, Tuiwa vil agers herd thousands of sheep across the lake’s frozen surface to two small islands, where the soil is more fertile and the forage is better.
won
d Sn
e a
Ic
THRAE
154
Grounded in the Caspian
Kazakhstan
A wide variety of ice forms in the Caspian Sea, which stretches from Kazakhstan to Iran. Brown areas (top left) are part of the Volga River Delta. Just offshore, a wel -developed expanse of consolidated ice appears bright white. Farther offshore, a gray-white field of chunky, hummocked ice has detached and is slowly drifting around a polynya, an area of open water surrounded by sea ice.
That darker patch is actual y growing young, thin ice and nilas, a term that designates sea ice crust up to 10 centimeters (4 inches) in thickness.
The close-up shows nilas and a white, diamond-shaped piece of ice. It might look like this chunk is on the move, cutting a path through thinner ice. But it’s more likely that the “diamond” was stuck to the sea bottom and the wind pushed ice around it.
won
d Sn
e a
Ic
THRAE
156
Ice-Covered Delta
Canada
In the Mackenzie River Delta of far northern Canada, snow- and ice-covered waterways stand out amid green, pine-covered land.
Those frozen tributaries also become ice roads for trucks carrying supplies between the remote outposts of Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk.
The Mackenzie River system is Canada’s largest watershed, and the 10th largest water basin in the world. The river runs 4,200
kilometers (2,600 miles) from the Columbia Icefield in the Canadian Rockies to the Arctic Ocean.
Every so often, flooding from the Mackenzie River replenishes the surrounding lakes and ponds, some of which sit atop permafrost.
This landscape is home to caribou, waterfowl, and a number of fish species. Also, thousands of reindeer travel through this area each year on the way to their calving grounds.
won
d Sn
e a
Ic
THRAE
158
Appendix
Africa
38 Madagascar
Lofted Over Land
Landsat 8
2015
16 Mauritania
Riding the Waves
Landsat 8
2016
74 Namibia
Plankton and Sulfur
Aqua
2014
114 Namibia
Linear Dunes Caprivi Strip
EO-1
2012
124 Namibia
Tsauchab River Bed
ISS
2009
82 Tanzania
Scarlet Lake Natron
Landsat 8
2017
108 Tanzania
The Zones of Kilimanjaro
EO-1
2017
Central and East Asia
80
Burma (Myanmar)
ixd
Mergui Archipelago
Landsat 5
2004
n
94 China
ppe
Colorful Faults of Xinjiang
2013
A
120 China
Cultivating a Border
Landsat 8
2013
THR
26 China
A
Tracing the Coast
Landsat 8
2014
E
160
138 Japan
44 Canada
Sea Ice at Shikotan
EO-1
2011
Tea-Colored Rupert Bay
Landsat 8
2016
120 Kazakhstan
58 Canada
Cultivating a Border
Landsat 8
2013
Teeming Life in the Strait of Georgia
Landsat 8
2016
104 Kazakhstan
64 Canada
Fanning Out in Farmland
Landsat 8
2013
A Bay Sculpted by Ice
Landsat 7
2000
156 Kazakhstan
72 Canada
Grounded in the Caspian
Landsat 8
2017
Land of Lakes
T
erra
2001
92 Mongolia
78 Canada
Megadunes and Desert Lakes
Landsat 8
2014
Crater Lakes with Clear Water
Landsat 8
2013
50 Russia
136 Canada
Bay of Whales
Landsat 8
2014
Mackenzie Meets Beaufort
Aqua
2012
138 Russia
144 Canada
Sea Ice at Shikotan
EO-1
2011
Manning Island and Foxe Basin
EO-1
2012
148 Russia
158 Canada
Omulyakhskaya and Khromskaya
Landsat 5
2009
Ice-Covered Delta
Landsat 8
2016
154 China
134 Greenland
Puma Yumco
Landsat 8
2017
No Green in This Land
Landsat 7
2000
Europe and West Asia
152 Greenland
Heart-Shaped Uummannaq
EO-1
2012
18 Germany
Cloud Shadow
EO-1
2012
10
Pacific Ocean
A Glorious View
Terra
2012
36 Iceland
Holuhraun Lava Field
Landsat 8
2014
24
Pacific Ocean
Making Tracks
Aqua
2012
102 Iran
Folds and Curves of the Kavir
ISS
2014
12
Punching Holes in the Sky
Landsat 5
2009
76 Finland
Åland Islands
Landsat 5
2011
88
United States
A Curious Ensemble of
116
Saudi Arabia
Wonderful Features
Landsat 8
2013
Harratt Lunayyir Lava Field
Terra
2009
96
United States
100 Sweden
Bowknot Bend
ISS
2014
A Blaze of Color
Landsat 8
2016
98
United States
110
United Arab Emirates
From Rainforest to Rain Shadow
Landsat 5
2011
Liwa Oasis
Landsat 8
2015
130
United States
North America
Swimming with Ice Cubes
Landsat 8
2014
66 Bahamas
146
United States
Tidal Flats and Channels
ISS
2010
Ice Water
NASA ER-2
2014
52 Bermuda
Storms Stir Up Sediment
Landsat 8
2014
34 Canada
Valley Fog
Terra
2010
Oceania
South America
42 Australia
140 Argentina
Channel Country
ISS
2016
North Patagonia Icefield
Landsat 8
2017
48 Australia
84 Argentina
Coral Cocos
EO-1
2009
Swirling Bloom off Patagonia
Aqua
2010
60 Australia
122 Brazil
Ephemeral Lake Frome
EO-1
2010
Barrier Islands
Landsat 5
2006
118
New Zealand
54 Brazil
Taranaki and Egmont
Landsat 8
2014
The Meeting of the Waters
EO-1
2012
Oceans Atmosphere and Polar Regions
4 Bolivia
Curving Cloud Streets
Aqua
2014
14
Arctic Ocean
Bering Streets
Terra
2010
4 Brazil
Curving Cloud Streets
Aqua
2014
112 Antarctica
Don Juan Pond
EO-1
2014
140 Chile
North Patagonia Icefield
Landsat 8
2017
128 Antarctica
Mertz Loses Part of Its Tongue
EO-1
2010
8 Peru
Filling the Valleys
Landsat 8
2015
150 Antarctica
Phytoplankton on Ice
Landsat 8
2017
70 Trinidad
Waves Beneath the Waves
ISS
2013
132
Arctic Ocean
Franz Josef Land
Terra
2011
56
Atlantic Ocean
A Lava Lamp Look at the Atlantic
Landsat 8
2013
68
Baltic Sea
The Blooming Baltic
Landsat 8
2015
62
Barents Sea
Dueling Blooms
Aqua
2014
20
Pacific Ocean
Double Trouble
Suomi NPP
2016
32
South Atlantic Ocean
Framing an Iceberg
Suomi NPP
2016
6
South Sandwich Islands
A Trio of Plumes
Aqua
2016
28
United States
Four Mountains Stand Out
Landsat 8
2013
ixdn
ppeA
THRAE
162
Acknowledgments
Just a few names end up on the title page of a book, but it takes an entire cast of people to bring it from idea to draft to finished product. The cast for Earth begins with Maxine Aldred, Andrew Cooke, Tun Hla, and Lisa Jirousek, who shepherded the words
and images through design and layout. Thanks are also due to
Kathryn Hansen, Pola Lem, Rebecca Lindsey, Hol i Riebeek,
Michon Scott, and Adam Voiland, whose reporting and writing
contributions gave this book its depth. Joshua Stevens,
Robert Simmon, Jesse Al en, Jeff Schmaltz, and
Norman Kuring applied their strong visual sense and
processing skil s to make each image pop with color and
texture while remaining scientifical y accurate.
TSne
We owe a debt to our scientific and outreach col eagues, who
MG
keep the satel ites running, the sensors sensing, and the data
de
and imagery flowing. Every one of the images in this book is
WLO
publicly available through the Internet, truly making science
nK
accessible to every citizen. The Landsat teams at the U.S.
CA
Geological Survey and NASA, the LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS
Rapid Response Team, and the NASA Earth Observatory
TH
&nbs
p; deserve extra gratitude for making our planet visible to the
RAE
scientist and the layman every day.
164
Credits
iSS Crew earth Observations Facility: 42, 66, 70, 96, 102, 124
LAnCe/eOSdiS MOdiS Rapid Response Team: 4, 6, 10, 14, 24, 32
MABeL Science Team: 146
nASA earth Observatory image/LAAdS dAAC: 34, 136
nASA earth Observatory image/nASA eO-1 data: 18, 48, 54, 60, 108, 112, 114, 128, 138, 144, 152
nASA earth Observatory image/Suomi npp data: 20
nASA earth Observatory image/USGS Landsat data: 8, 12, 16, 26, 28, 36, 38, 44, 50, 52, 56, 58, 64, 76, 78, 80, 82, 88, 92, 94, 98, 100, 104, 110, 118, 120, 122, 130, 134, 140, 148, 150, 154, 156, 158
nASA Ocean Biology processing Group: 62, 68, 74, 84
nASA/MeTi/eRSdAC/JAROS/Japan ASTeR Science Team: 72, 116, 132
S
iT
ed
CR
THRAE
166
About the Authors
Michael Carlowicz is managing editor of the NASA Earth
Observatory. He has written about Earth science and
geophysics since 1991 for several NASA divisions, the
American Geophysical Union, the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, and in three popular science books. He is a baseball player and fan, a longtime singer and guitarist, and the proud