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Images of Ecuador and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
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Galapagos L-band, HH
This is an image showing par
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4/15/94
| Date |
4/15/94 |
| Description |
This is an image showing part of Isla Isabella in the western Galapagos Islands. It was taken by the L-band radar in HH polarization from the Spaceborne Imaging Radar C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar on the 40th orbit of the space shuttle Endeavour. The image is centered at about 0.5 degree south latitude and 91 degrees west longitude and covers an area of 75 by 60 kilometers (47 by 37 miles). The radar incidence angle at the center of the image is about 20 degrees. The western Galapagos Islands, which lie about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) west of Ecuador in the eastern Pacific, have six active volcanoes similar to the volcanoes found in Hawaii. Since the time of Charles Darwin's visit to the area in 1835, there have been over 60 recorded eruptions on these volcanoes. This SIR-C/X-SAR image of Alcedo and Sierra Negra volcanoes shows the rougher lava flows as bright features, while ash deposits and smooth pahoehoe lava flows appear dark. A small portion of Isla Fernandina is visible in the extreme upper left corner of the image. The Galapagos Islands are one of the SIR-C/X-SAR supersites and data of this area will be taken several times during the flight to allow scientists to conduct topographic change studies and to search for different lava flow types, ash deposits and fault lines. ----- Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). ##### |
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Isabela 1, 3-D
This is a three-dimensional
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4/15/94
| Date |
4/15/94 |
| Description |
This is a three-dimensional view of Isabela, one of the Galapagos Islands located off the western coast of Ecuador, South America. This view was constructed by overlaying a Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) image on a digital elevation map produced by TOPSAR, a prototype airborne interferometric radar which produces simultaneous image and elevation data. The vertical scale in this image is exaggerated by a factor of 1.87. The SIR-C/X-SAR image was taken on the 40th orbit of space shuttle Endeavour. The image is centered at about 0.5 degree south latitude and 91 degrees west longitude and covers an area of 75 by 60 kilometers (47 by 37 miles). The radar incidence angle at the center of the image is about 20 degrees. The western Galapagos Islands, which lie about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) west of Ecuador in the eastern Pacific, have six active volcanoes similar to the volcanoes found in Hawaii and reflect the volcanic processes that occur where the ocean floor is created. Since the time of Charles Darwin's visit to the area in 1835, there have been more than 60 recorded eruptions on these volcanoes. This SIR-C/X-SAR image of Alcedo and Sierra Negra volcanoes shows the rougher lava flows as bright features, while ash deposits and smooth pahoehoe lava flows appear dark. Vertical exaggeration of relief is a common tool scientists use to detect relationships between structure (for example, faults, and fractures) and topography. ----- Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). ##### |
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Volcano/Columbia
This is a radar image of a l
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7/28/94
| Date |
7/28/94 |
| Description |
This is a radar image of a little known volcano in northern Colombia. The image was acquired on orbit 80 of space shuttle Endeavour on April 14, 1994, by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X- SAR). The volcano near the center of the image is located at 5.6 degrees north latitude, 75.0 degrees west longitude, about 100 kilometers (65 miles) southeast of Medellin, Colombia. The conspicuous dark spot is a lake at the bottom of an approximately 3-kilometer-wide (1.9-mile) volcanic collapse depression or caldera. A cone-shaped peak on the bottom left (northeast rim) of the caldera appears to have been the source for a flow of material into the caldera. This is the northern-most known volcano in South America and because of its youthful appearance, should be considered dormant rather than extinct. The volcano's existence confirms a fracture zone proposed in 1985 as the northern boundary of volcanism in the Andes. The SIR-C/X-SAR image reveals another, older caldera further south in Colombia, along another proposed fracture zone. Although relatively conspicuous, these volcanoes have escaped widespread recognition because of frequent cloud cover that hinders remote sensing imaging in visible wavelengths. Four separate volcanoes in the Northern Andes nations of Colombia and Ecuador have been active during the last 10 years, killing more than 25,000 people, including scientists who were monitoring the volcanic activity. Detection and monitoring of volcanoes from space provides a safe way to investigate volcanism. The recognition of previously unknown volcanoes is important for hazard evaluations because a number of major eruptions this century have occurred at mountains that were not previously recognized as volcanoes. Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt e.v.(DLR), the major partner in science, operations, and data processing of X-SAR. ##### |
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Shrimp Farming in Ecuador
| Title |
Shrimp Farming in Ecuador |
| Description |
Like fields of blue, rectangular shrimp farms line the coast of Ecuador south of the city of Guayaquil in these images. Worldwide, wetlands and coastal mangrove forests have been converted to shrimp ponds in order to farm these crustaceans for food and sale. In Ecuador, the industry started in the late 1960s and rapidly grew. By 1999, 175,255 hectares of land had been converted to shrimp farms. That year, Ecuador was the fourth largest shrimp producer in the world, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. In Ecuador, as elsewhere, shrimp farms are typically built along the shore where salt water is easily accessible. Though Ecuador's mangrove forests declined as shrimp farming and other coastal development occurred, salt flats or salt marshes on slightly higher ground have also been converted, as illustrated in these images. The lower image was taken by the Landsat satellite on April 29, 1991. Shrimp farms cover much of the land shown in the image, but a broad swath of tan-gray salt flat still lines the inlet. By March 6, 2006, when the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite took the top image, the salt flat had almost entirely been converted to shrimp farms. A small canal connects the network of shrimp tanks to the inlet, providing a fresh source of water. The large images provide a broader perspective on the extent of the development. In the 1991 Landsat image, 143 square kilometers of land had been converted to shrimp ponds. In the 2006 ASTER image, shrimp farms cover 243 square kilometers. Roughly 83 percent of the region's wetlands and salt flats were eliminated by shrimp farms. NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory. ASTER data provided courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] Landsat data obtained from the University of Maryland's Global Land Cover Facility. [ http://www.landcover.org/ ] |
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Shrimp Farming in Ecuador
| Title |
Shrimp Farming in Ecuador |
| Description |
Like fields of blue, rectangular shrimp farms line the coast of Ecuador south of the city of Guayaquil in these images. Worldwide, wetlands and coastal mangrove forests have been converted to shrimp ponds in order to farm these crustaceans for food and sale. In Ecuador, the industry started in the late 1960s and rapidly grew. By 1999, 175,255 hectares of land had been converted to shrimp farms. That year, Ecuador was the fourth largest shrimp producer in the world, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. In Ecuador, as elsewhere, shrimp farms are typically built along the shore where salt water is easily accessible. Though Ecuador's mangrove forests declined as shrimp farming and other coastal development occurred, salt flats or salt marshes on slightly higher ground have also been converted, as illustrated in these images. The lower image was taken by the Landsat satellite on April 29, 1991. Shrimp farms cover much of the land shown in the image, but a broad swath of tan-gray salt flat still lines the inlet. By March 6, 2006, when the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite took the top image, the salt flat had almost entirely been converted to shrimp farms. A small canal connects the network of shrimp tanks to the inlet, providing a fresh source of water. The large images provide a broader perspective on the extent of the development. In the 1991 Landsat image, 143 square kilometers of land had been converted to shrimp ponds. In the 2006 ASTER image, shrimp farms cover 243 square kilometers. Roughly 83 percent of the region's wetlands and salt flats were eliminated by shrimp farms. NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory. ASTER data provided courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] Landsat data obtained from the University of Maryland's Global Land Cover Facility. [ http://www.landcover.org/ ] |
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Tungurahua Volcano in Ecuado
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| Title |
Tungurahua Volcano in Ecuador |
| Description |
The Tungurahua Volcano in Ecuador underwent a severe eruption in August 2006, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13791 ] followed by intermittent eruptive activity over the next couple months. On October 16, 2006, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite captured this image of the volcano as it released a plume of volcanic ash. This false-color image was created by combining shortwave infrared, near-infrared, and green wavelengths of light observed by ASTER. The image clearly shows not only current volcanic activity, but also the results of earlier eruptions. Deep purple rivulets of rock carve through the bright green vegetation. The rock results from previous lava flows that later solidified. Similar in color to the hardened lava are geometric patches of bare ground on the volcano's slopes, some of the numerous settlements in the area. The Chambo River makes a bright blue ribbon along the western edge of the volcano. Pyroclastic flows of rocks, ash, and other volcanic materials temporarily dammed the Chambo River in August 2006, and the purple remains of earlier eruptions cross this river in the west and the north. At the volcano's summit is a glowing red dot, indicating an area of intense heat. The ash cloud in this image appears bright purple, in contrast with the white clouds to the northwest. Image courtesy of Nick Smith and Matt Patrick, Michigan Tech University, and Patricia Mothes, Instituto Geofísico, Escuela Politécnica Nacional. |
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Microwave Limb Sounder/El Ni
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PIA01165
Sol (our sun)
Microwave Limb Sounder
| Title |
Microwave Limb Sounder/El Niño Watch - December, 1997 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image shows differences in atmospheric water vapor relative to a normal (average) year in the Earth's upper troposphere about 10 kilometers (6 miles) above the surface. The measurements were taken by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument aboard NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). These data, collected in late December 1997, show higher than normal levels of water vapor (red) over the central and eastern Pacific which indicates the presence of an El Niño condition. At the same time, the western Pacific (blue) is much drier than normal. The unusually moist air above the central and eastern Pacific is a consequence of the much warmer-than-normal ocean waters which occur during El Niño. Warmer water evaporates at a higher rate and the resulting warm moist air rises and forms tall cloud towers. In the tropics, the warm water and the resulting tall cloud towers typically produce large amounts of rain. These data show significant increases in the amount of atmospheric moisture off the coast of Peru and Ecuador since measurements were made in November 1997. The maximum water temperature in the eastern tropical Pacific, as measured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is still higher than normal and these high ocean temperatures are likely responsible for an increase in evaporation and the subsequent rise in humidity. |
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Radar Image of Galapagos Isl
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PIA00499
Sol (our sun)
L-Band Imaging Radar
| Title |
Radar Image of Galapagos Island |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This is an image showing part of Isla Isabella in the western Galapagos Islands. It was taken by the L-band radar in HH polarization from the Spaceborne Imaging Radar C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar on the 40th orbit of the space shuttle Endeavour. The image is centered at about 0.5 degree south latitude and 91 degrees west longitude and covers an area of 75 by 60 kilometers (47 by 37 miles). The radar incidence angle at the center of the image is about 20 degrees. The western Galapagos Islands, which lie about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) west of Ecuador in the eastern Pacific, have six active volcanoes similar to the volcanoes found in Hawaii. Since the time of Charles Darwin's visit to the area in 1835, there have been over 60 recorded eruptions of these volcanoes. This SIR-C/X-SAR image of Alcedo and Sierra Negra volcanoes shows the rougher lava flows as bright features, while ash deposits and smooth pahoehoe lava flows appear dark. A small portion of Isla Fernandina is visible in the extreme upper left corner of the image. The Galapagos Islands are one of the SIR-C/X-SAR supersites and data of this area will be taken several times during the flight to allow scientists to conduct topographic change studies and to search for different lava flow types, ash deposits and fault lines. Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). |
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Space Radar Image of North E
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PIA01810
Sol (our sun)
| Title |
Space Radar Image of North Ecuador |
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Shrimp Farms, Ecuador
PIA01911
Sol (our sun)
ASTER
| Title |
Shrimp Farms, Ecuador |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
In many parts of the world, wetlands are being converted to shrimp ponds in order to farm these crustaceans for food and sale. One example is on the west coast of Ecuador, south of Guayaquil. The 1991 Landsat image on top shows a coastal area where 143 square kilometers of wetlands were converted to shrimp ponds. By the time ASTER acquired the bottom image in 2001, 243 square kilometers had been converted, eliminating 83% of the wetlands. These scenes cover an area of 30 x 31 km, and are centered near 3.4 degrees south latitude and 80.2 degrees west longitude. With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats, monitoring potentially active volcanoes, identifying crop stress, determining cloud morphology and physical properties, wetlands evaluation, thermal pollution monitoring, coral reef degradation, surface temperature mapping of soils and geology, and measuring surface heat balance. The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Size: 30 by 31 kilometers (18.6 by 19.2 miles) Location: 3.4 degrees South latitude, 80.2 degrees West longitude Orientation: North at top Image Data: Landsat bands 4,3 and 2, ASTER bands 3, 2, and 1 Original Data Resolution: Landsat 30 meters (24.6 feet), ASTER 15 meters (49.2 feet) Dates Acquired: Landsat: April 29, 1991, ASTER March 31, 2001 |
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