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Measuring Water Depth from the International Space Station
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Published January 12, 2004
Looking out the window of the International Space Station, astronauts often take the time to admire and photograph tropical islands and coral reefs. From an altitude of 400 kilometers and with only a digital camera as a tool, it seems impossible to make detailed measurements of the depth of underwater features. However, a new technique developed by NOAA scientists has done just that—plotted the depths of lagoon features at Pearl and Hermes Reef, northwest Hawaii, using digital astronaut photography from the International Space Station (ISS).
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Photographs of Auroras from Space
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Published January 5, 2004
If Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, had a sister she would be the goddess of Aurora. Glowing green ripples form arcs that constantly transform their shape into new glowing diaphanous forms. There is nothing static about auroras. They are always moving, always changing, and like snowflakes, each display is different from the last.
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The Many Faces of Mount Everest
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Published December 29, 2003
Over the years, astronauts have used various viewing angles and lenses to capture the many faces of Everest. Differing seasons and illumination allow for very different, but always spectacular perspectives. The astronauts on the International Space Station obtained this view of Mt. Everest in late November 2003.
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Lake Titicaca
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Published December 22, 2003
Lake Titicaca, at an elevation of 12,507 feet (3,812 meters) in the Andean Altiplano, is the highest large lake in the world. More than 120 miles long and 50 miles wide, it was the center of the Incan civilization, and today straddles the boundary between Peru and Bolivia.
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Water Boundaries
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Published December 15, 2003
The South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Argentina and Uruguay is a rich mixing bowl of different water masses. The nutrient-rich waters from the combined Paraná and Uruguay Rivers empty into the South Atlantic through the Rio de la Plata. Under the right conditions, especially in spring and early summer, the nutrients fertilize the offshore surface waters allowing for large plankton blooms. This unique image captures traces of several different water masses just southeast of Montevideo, Uruguay, and the Rio de la Plata. Close to the coast of Uruguay, the muddy fresh water plume snakes along the coast. Farther offshore, broad swirls of light blue-green and darker water mark a bloom of plankton. To the right, deep blue water covered by puffy clouds suggests another, warmer water mass just north of the bloom.
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Rio de la Plata
Published December 8, 2003
Rio de la Plata is the muddy estuary of the Paraná and Uruguay Rivers, and forms part of the border between Argentina and Uruguay. The rich estuary supports both capital cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. This image provides a snapshot of the complicated mixing in the Rio de la Plata between the fresh river waters and the water of the South Atlantic.
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Fall Colors Portland, Maine
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Published December 1, 2003
The ISS-7 crew of the International Space Station enjoyed a bird’s-eye view of New England’s fall colors on a fine October morning in 2003. The fall foliage of Baxter Woods Park in Portland, Maine, shows the reds and browns of a mix of trees, including maple, old-growth white oaks, and hemlock. Nearby Evergreen Cemetery is highlighted by the brilliant red and yellow leaves of maple trees. Surrounded by the cityscape of Portland, the wooded cemetery is known for both historic headstones and wooded trails.
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Fire Smog in the Central Valley of California
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Published November 24, 2003
The smoky remnants of October’s devastating fires still filled the southern California Central Valley on November 2, 2003. This “upside down” digital photograph was taken from the International Space Station from a position over the Pacific Northwest looking southward toward southern California. At the time this image was acquired, the fires had finally been brought under control, but ash and smoke remained trapped in the atmosphere above the valley, a bowl of land ringed by the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east (left) and the Coast Range Mountains to the west (right).
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Boston
Published November 17, 2003
This image provides a good bird’s-eye view of the center of the city, including famous colonial and independence locations extending from Boston Common to the North End.
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Salton Sea
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Published November 10, 2003
Dividing up water resources in southern California is always a controversial activity. Water allocations for the agriculture in the Imperial Valley, the Salton Sea, and the expanding urban and residential growth in San Diego County were in limbo until a recent agreement was drafted, allowing San Diego to buy conserved Colorado River water from the Imperial Valley. This astronaut photograph details an algal bloom in the Salton Sea, where such blooms continue to be a problem. They are caused by high concentrations of nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorous, that drain into the basin from the agricultural run-off. As the algae dies and decomposes, oxygen levels in the sea drop, causing fish kills and hazardous conditions for other wildlife.
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