Earth’s Surface and Interior
On May 31, 2013, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of the Powerhouse fire burning in steep terrain north of Los Angeles, California. Red outlines indicate hot spots where MODIS detected unusually warm surface temperatures associated with fires. Read more
For the third time this century, Alaska’s Pavlof Volcano is erupting. The Alaska Volcano Observatory first detected earthquakes associated with the movement of magma and heat at Pavlof’s summit on May 13, 2013. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite captured this image of a small ash plume and lava flow on the morning of May 14. Read more
When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite passed over northern Minnesota on May 12, 2013, spring had transformed winter’s snowy white landscape into shades of green and brown. But several lakes remained stubbornly white. In 2013, unseasonably cool spring weather has left ice choking many of Minnesota’s lakes weeks longer than usual. Read more
Where the borders of Egypt, Sudan, and Libya meet, a rugged mountain complex rises from the Sahara. The peaks of Jebel Uweinat reach elevations about 2,000 meters (7,000 feet) above sea level. Geologists exploring Jebel Uweinat have found rock layers that are hundreds of millions of years old, preserving traces of landscapes that were very different from the bone-dry environment that prevails here today. Read More
Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula has the highest concentration of active volcanoes on Earth. Separated by only 180 kilometers (110 miles), Shiveluch, Bezymianny, Tolbachik, and Kizimen were all erupting simultaneously on January 11, 2013.
The activity of these four volcanoes was captured during a single orbit by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite. The four false-color (near infrared, red, and green) images above show Shiveluch, Bezymianny, Plotsky-Tolbachik, and Kizimen in detail. Read more
