Group for Earth Observation

No 80 - December 2023

Agnes, the first named storm of the season, is, pictured in this NOAA 20 image from September 27, 2023 over the
British Isles, where it brought sustained heavy rainfall and winds exceeding 100 kilometres per hour

Image: NASA Worldview SnapshotsUseful User Groups

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2

Les HamiltonT

he front cover of this issue carries the somewhat beautiful and beguiling image ofAgnes, the first named storm to hit western Europe, the start of an unprecedented spellof high winds, rain and widespread flooding. With four such events already, let’s hope thatthe weather follows a much smoother path through December and into the New Year.

If the Meteor M 2-3 satellite launched during the summer has proved to be less thanoverwhelming in its performance, it is to be hoped that its successor, Meteor M 2-4,
which is now provisionally due to launch in the early hours of February 22, 2024 from the
Vostochny, Cosmodrome, will prove to be the real deal. In the meantime, the article on
page 16 describes how to make the best of this satellite’s below par infrared channel.

Looking forward to next year, it would be great if more readers provided articles sharing
their experiences in the field of satellite imaging. In this issue, Richard continues histreatise on visualising the derived products provided on EUMETCast.

To all our readers, we wish you a pleasant Festive Season and a Happy New Year.

Contents
The Biesbosch of the Netherlands
NASA Earth Observatory
4
Spectacular Sediment in Van Diemen Gulf
MODIS Web Image of the Day
5
Western Canada Engulfed in Smoke
MODIS Web Image of the Day
6
Atmospheric Rivers Swamp Central Chile
NASA Earth Observatory
7
Amur Darya River in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
MODIS Web Image of the Day
9
Lake Urmia Shrivels Again
NASA Earth Observatory
10
Experiments with IASI Data
Richard Osborne
11
Darkened by the Moon’s Shadow
NASA Earth Observatory
14
Record setting Snow in Alaska
MODIS Web Image of the Day 15
Getting the best from Meteor M 2-3 GIS Infrared Images
Les Hamilton
16
Restless Kamchatka Volcanoes
NASA Earth Observatory
20
Bushfires in Queensland
NASA Earth Observatory
21
Remnants of Catastrophic Hurricane Otis
MODIS Web Image of the Day 23
Sediments pour into the Adriatic Sea
Copernicus Image of the Day
25
Floodwaters Fill Badwater Basin
NASA Earth Observatory
26
Retreat of the Upsala Glacier
Copernicus Image of the Day
27
Earth’s Warmest October on Record
Copernicus Image of the Day
28
Svalbard Satellite Station
Copernicus Image of the Day
29
Saharan Dust Plume Reaches Greek Coasts
Copernicus Image of the Day
30
Hurricane Nigel in the Atlantic Ocean
Copernicus Image of the Day
31
Elephant Island
European Space Agency
33
Copernicus Image of the Day
34
A Veil of Haze over northern Italy
Alps blanketed in white after the first Snowfall of the Year
Copernicus Image of the Day
36
Third Eruption of 2023 at Mount Etna
Copernicus Image of the Day
36
Arctic Sea Ice falls to 6th Lowest on Record
NASA Earth Observatory
37
Satellite Status		
38

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3

The Biesbosch of the Netherlands
NASA Earth Observatory
Story by Lindsey Doermann

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey

Within the Netherlands’ De Biesbosch National Park,
abundant wildlife—from beavers and otters to kingfishers
and egrets—thrive among reed beds and willow stands.
But the verdant appearance of this large freshwatertidal wetland belies what is really a highly engineeredlandscape. The defining event shaping it today was adevastating flood in the 15th century. Since then, it hascontinued to evolve under the forces of rivers, tides, andhuman efforts to manage the water.
This image shows the national park, which was establishedin 1994, within the lower Rhine and Meuse delta.
Agricultural land and the industrial port city of Dordrecht,
which flank the wetlands, are also visible. The image was
acquired by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat
8, on July 8, 2023.
In November 1421, an extratropical cyclone struck
the region, setting off what is known historically as St.
Elizabeth’s flood. Swollen rivers and tidal surges led
to dyke failures. The floodwaters destroyed numerous
villages and probably claimed thousands of victims in thearea that is now the Biesbosch.

That flood created a large inland sea, where, over time,
rivers and tides deposited sediments, and the landscapegradually morphed into one of islands and winding
waterways. Reeds and grass-like aquatic plants calledrushes established themselves on the sandy banks(Biesbosch roughly translates to “forest of rushes”), andsome of the land was reclaimed for agriculture.
In recent centuries, a series of major engineering projects
helped to transform the Biesbosch into a largely humandominated landscape. Prominent in the image are the
Nieuwe Merwede canal, built in the mid-19th century forflood control, and three reservoirs including De Gijster,
constructed in the 1970s to store water for domestic andindustrial uses.
But instances of flooding persisted into the 20th century,
including a deadly and damaging flood in 1953. Followingthat event, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water
Management embarked upon a massive flood control
project called the Delta Works. The initiative included
building new sluices to close off the Haringvliet estuary, aNorth Sea inlet downstream of the Biesbosch. When thiscontinued at the foot of page 5

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4

Spectacular Sediment in Van Diemen Gulf
MODIS Web Image of the Day
The colorful waters of Van Dieman Gulf sit off theNorthern Territory of Australia, partially surroundedby the Cobourg Peninsula and Melville Island. The
landscape of Northern Territory is characterizedby open, sparsely populated lands with higher
elevations in the north and a relatively flat, arid,
and red-soil-filled coastal region. As rivers flow fromhigher elevations toward Van Diemen Gulf, theypick up reddish-tan sediment which is ultimately

deposited in in the blue waters offshore. This
sediment, along with tidal motion in the shallow gulf,
creates stunning patterns that almost appear to glow
when viewed from space.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired atrue-color image of Van Diemen Gulf of September
22, 2023.

NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this 250 metre resolution image of Australia’s Van Diemen Gulf on September 23, 2023.

Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC

The Biesbosch
continued from previous page

was completed in 1970, tidal ranges in the Biesbosch
dropped from approximately 1.9 metres to around 0.4
metres.
Today, visitors to the national park explore the floraand fauna of the protected natural area via hiking
trails and waterways. The ecosystem they experienceevolves, as well. For example, a rewilding organisation

is investigating whether the waterways can again
support European sea sturgeon (Acipenser sturio).
This anadromous fish was once abundant in the
Rhine delta but has not been seen in Dutch waters for
decades due to overfishing, degraded water quality,
and obstructed channels. Dozens of young sturgeon
were recently released into the Biesbosch to determine
if a larger reintroduction might be successful.

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5

Western Canada Engulfed in Smoke
MODIS Web Image of the day

Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-3 imagery

Wildfires plagued Canada during summer
2023 in the worst wildfire season on record,
exacerbating ongoing air quality issues due todense smoke. The country had been ravaged byfires for three long months, with numerous new
blazes rapidly spreading across Alberta, British
Columbia, and the Northwest Territories.
The large number of fires generated an immense
cloud of smoke that affected air quality inadjacent areas. According to forecasts fromthe Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service(CAMS), the smoke wss travelling long distances,moving from western Canada into the North

Atlantic, and by late August had already reachedparts of Europe.
This mosaic of images, produced using datafrom Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites that were
captured on August 29, shows the distributionof smoke, primarily in the areas of British
Columbia, Northwest Territories and Alberta,
where the fires were then concentrated.
CAMS provides accurate and timely forecasts of
air quality on a global scale, assisting in decisionmaking on health issues arising from large-scale
environmental crises such as wildfires.

www.geo-web.org.uk

6

Atmospheric Rivers Swamp Central Chile
NASA Earth Observatory
Story by Adam Voiland

For more than a decade, drought has plagued central
Chile. The prolonged dry period—a megadrought—has
fuelled wildfires, strained water supplies, and parchedcrops.
In winter 2023, the region got some relief in the form of two
atmospheric rivers that brought hundreds of millimetres ofrain and snow to the region. However, too much rain fell
too quickly in some areas, prompting floods and mudslides
that damaged roads and bridges, destroyed thousands ofhomes, and displaced tens of thousands of people.
The map above shows the total precipitable water vapour
in the atmosphere on August 21, 2023. Precipitablewater vapour is the amount of water in a column of theatmosphere if all of the water vapour were condensed
into liquid. The image was derived from the Goddard
Earth Observing System (GEOS), which uses satellite
data and models of physical processes to calculate what
is happening in Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and land
surfaces.

The narrow band of moisture (green) stretching fromthe central Pacific Ocean to Chile is a signature of an
atmospheric river—a long, narrow region that transports
vast amounts of water vapour from the tropics poleward.
In subtropical Chile, atmospheric rivers contribute 45% to
60% of the annual precipitation, most of it during the winterrainy season (June to September).
El Paico in the Santiago metropolitan region saw nearly
80 millimetres of rain fall between August 19-21, whileareas farther inland in the foothills of the Andes saw asmuch as 370 millimetres of rain, according to Floodlist.
Meanwhile, some news outlets reported that 2 or moremeters (up to 8 feet) of snow fell in high mountain areas.
Some of the worst flooding occurred in the Maule,Ñuble, and Biobío regions of Chile. ‘There was astrong orographic effect,’ said atmospheric scientist
René Garreaud of Universidad de Chile. ‘We saw
five to ten times more rain in the Andean foothills
compared to Chile’s Central Valley.’www.geo-web.org.uk

7

Higher elevation areas saw boosted rainfall totals because
the Andes forced the incoming river of moisture upward,
where lower air pressure and cooler temperatures cause
water vapour to more easily condense into rain dropletson the windward side of mountains. This same effectproduces rain shadows on the lee side of mountains.
Several days after the surge of rain, rivers were stillswollen and discoloured. Floodwaters can pick upmaterial, such as sediment from riverbanks, that becomessuspended in the water and makes it appear brown. The
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured an image (below)
showing rivers carrying plumes of suspended sediment
into the Pacific Ocean on August 26, 2023.
The atmospheric river in August followed a similar event
in June. According to Garreaud, the June event delivered
more than 500 millimetres of rain over a two-day period to
the Maule foothills, roughly double what normally falls in
Santiago in a year.

The El Niño developing in the Pacific may be affecting
how these events play out. ‘We are seeing extra
moisture in the central Pacific, but the couplingwith the atmosphere is still relatively weak,’ statedGarreuad. ‘The Pacific anticyclone remains strong,
and we haven’t yet seen a blocking high to the southof the continent—the typical signature of winter storms
that are strongly influenced by El Niño.’
The concept of atmospheric rivers first emerged in the
1990s and has become a topic of growing interest to
researchers in recent years. Some research suggeststhat climate change may be causing atmospheric rivers
to produce more rain and shift poleward. One analysis ofmodel projections conducted by a team of scientists at
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory found that atmosphericrivers may decrease in frequency but grow longer andwider under a scenario in which future greenhouse gas
emissions remain high.

Rivers are seen to be carrying plumes of suspended sediment into the Pacific Ocean on August 26, 2023.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin and Wanmei Liang, using GEOS-FP data from the Global Modelling andAssimilation Office at NASA GSFC and MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview.

www.geo-web.org.uk

8

Amur Darya River in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
MODIS Web Image of the Day
On September 4, 2023, the Moderate Resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua
satellite acquired a true-colour image of a swath of green
surrounding the Amu Darya River in Uzbekistan andTurkmenistan.
The Amu Darya River flows from the high Pamir Mountains
in central Asia across searing desert and eventually into
the Aral Sea. As one of the major rivers in the region it
is literally a lifeline—turning deserts green and allowing
people, plants, and animals to flourish. In the 1960s, water
started to be diverted from the river to expand agriculture
and for other uses. While water diversion has successfully
expanded agriculture along a wider swath, it has haddevastating effects in the ‘downstream’ section of theriver. Both Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are considered‘downstream’.
A white salt pan can be seen at the upper left (northwest)
in this image. To its east is an area of cracked soil, bitsof green, and pools of water. This wasted soil marks thesouthern boundary of the once-thriving Aral Sea. Oncean expansive and robust inland sea, the Aral Sea began
to die as the water in the rivers that fed it (the Amu Darya
and the Syr Darya) began to be diverted, and waterflow dwindled. Today, most of the Aral Sea has dried up,
leaving nothing behind but parched, hypersaline soils thateasily become airborne dust.
Water diversion and cropland expansion also threatensa unique and ecologically vital forest ecosystem. Called‘tugai’ or the Central Asian Riparian Woodlands Ecoregion,
it exists only along large rivers in Central Asian Deserts.
The primary locations are along the Tarim River, the Syr
Darya, and the Amu Darya. Tugai forest is rich in the
Euphrates poplar tree, several species of shrub, along withsome grasses. It provides critical habitat for a wide varietyof species, especially migratory birds. The hardy anddrought-and-heat tolerant vegetation is critical to prevent
desertification, provide protection from sandstorms, andprotect biodiversity. The green along the Amur Darya
still holds a substantial remnant of tugai forest: however,agricultural fields—especially cotton—continue to replace
the forest at an expanding rate.

Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC

www.geo-web.org.uk

9Lake Urmia Shrivels Again
NASA Earth Observatroy
Story by Lindsey Doermann

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

After rapidly growing in volume just a few years earlier,northwest Iran’s Lake Urmia dried out almost completely inautumn 2023. The largest lake in the Middle East, and oneof the largest hypersaline lakes on Earth at its greatest
extent, Lake Urmia has for the most part transformed intoa vast, dry salt flat.
On September 7, 2023, the OLI-2 (Operational Land
Imager-2) on Landsat 9 captured the left-hand image
showing the desiccated lakebed. This stands in contrast
to the image from three years earlier (right), acquired by
the OLI on Landsat 8 on September 8, 2020, when water
filled most of the basin and salt deposits were only visiblearound the lake’s perimeter. That replenishment followed
a period of above-average precipitation that sent a surgeof freshwater into the basin, expanding its watery footprint.
Drier conditions have since brought levels back down.
The longer-term trend for Urmia has been one towarddrying. In 1995, Lake Urmia reached a high-water mark:then, in the ensuing two decades, the lake level dropped
more than seven metres and fell some 90% in area.
Consecutive droughts, agricultural water use and dam
construction on rivers feeding the lake have contributed tothe decline.

A shrinking Lake Urmia has implications for ecologicaland human health. The lake, its islands, and surrounding
wetlands comprise valuable habitat and are recognised
as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Ramsar site, andnational park. The area provides breeding grounds forwaterbirds such as flamingos, white pelicans, and whiteheaded ducks, as well as a stopover for migratory species.
However, with low lake levels, what water remains
becomes more saline and taxes the populations of brine
shrimp and other food sources for larger animals.
A shrinking lake also increases the likelihood of dust fromthe exposed lakebed becoming swept up by winds anddegrading air quality. Recent studies have linked the low
water levels in Lake Urmia with respiratory health impacts
among the local population.
The relative effects of climate, water usage, and dams on
Lake Urmia’s water level is a topic of debate. The lake didsee some recovery during a 10-year restoration program
beginning in 2013. However, the efficacy of that effort has
been difficult to assess since strong rains also fell duringthat period. Some research has concluded that climatic
factors were primarily responsible for the recovery.

www.geo-web.org.uk

10Experiments with IASI Data
Richard Osborne
Background
In previous issues of this newsletter, I have describedvarious methods of visualising derived products thatare available over EUMETCast. By derived products,
I am referring to those which are not direct opticalrepresentations of the view from a satellite in thevisible and near infrared regions of the spectrum but
represent properties such as surface temperature,
precipitation levels, atmospheric composition andwind properties.
In this article I am describing my experiments
in visualising products derived from the Infrared
Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) which
is described as the most advanced instrument
present on the Metop series of satellites. It candetermine trace atmospheric gases, land/sea
surface temperatures, cloud properties and canalso provide temperature, humidity and trace gas
profiles from the surface into the stratosphere witha vertical resolution of one kilometre. However, thisarticle is concentrating on methods to visualise thedata rather than an examination of the technicalcapabilities of the instrument which can be foundelsewhere. I also cover a discovery that I madeabout the inner workings of one of the most popularvisualisation applications.

Data Sources
The IASI data is available via EUMETCast over two
different channels. One channel is dedicated to thetransmission of global IASI data using the BUFR
file format. A series of files for a single granule isprovided where, for example, each trace gas andthe temperature/humidity products are provided
as separate files. The other channel is the Regional
Data Service/EARS, which is used to provide nearreal time data via a series of ground stations withminimum latency. For some reason, the latterchannel uses the HDF file format and only one fileis provided for a single granule with a subset of thedata products available on the global channel. One
curious difference between the channels relates
to the number of samples in the vertical profiles.
The BUFR files represent 101 vertical atmosphericprofiles whereas the HDF files have 138.
Because of the addition of a height element inthese profiles, the relevant data is packaged inthree dimensional (3D) data arrays which adds anextra dimension (literally) to the normal practiceof visualising 2D arrays with simple latitude andlongitude coordinates. One way of thinking about thetemperature and humidity profiles is as a series ofhorizontal 2D arrays that are stacked one on top of
another.

Figure 1 - IASI Surface Temperature Plot using Panoply from HDF file. The gap is caused by missing scan lines in the dataset

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11

From a visualisation point of view, I was looking foran easy way to select and display a given 2D arraywithin the stack and also to plot a profile in thevertical direction showing how temperature varies
with height.

As Panoply can only display the data from two
files at any given time, my goal was to merge these
individual datasets into one file so that Panoply
could display a composite image derived from allapplicable stations.

Viewing IASI HDF Files
Because a number of generic viewers already exist
that can handle HDF files (GEO Newsletter No 72,
page 38), I decided to check these first to see if they
could handle the 3D nature of the dataset, thereby
avoiding the need for additional coding. Of all theones that I tried, only Panoply was able to handle
the 3D nature of the dataset natively and allow
selection of a specific layer in the temperature andhumidity profiles. Also, Panoply could generate a
2D colour contour map from any two of the threeaxes in a 3D dataset which provided a means to plota profile in a vertical direction. Figure 1 shows a
Panoply plot of IASI surface temperature which is astandard 2D dataset. Figure 2 shows the along-track
vertical temperature profile related to the horizontal
plot in Figure 1. The axis units correspond to theco-ordinates of the underlying dataset and do not
represent physical values such as height or distance,
the determination of which is beyond the scope of
this article.

To merge the files, I concluded that the simplest
method, which also provided the greatest control,
was to use Python and the Numpy library inparticular. (The Numpy library allows the creationand manipulation of multi-dimensional data arrays).
I converted the datasets from the individual received
files into Numpy arrays, combined them and saved
the result as a single HDF file which could beingested and displayed by Panoply. Unfortunately,
the result was not satisfactory as the resultant image
contained jagged geometrical artefacts which wereclearly not relevant. After some research, I think that
I have identified the reason.

Merging IASI HDF Files
As mentioned previously, the Regional Data Service/
EARS uses multiple ground stations in succession
to receive data from the satellite as it goes past eachone. For each station, the full dataset derived from asatellite pass is then transmitted over EUMETCast asa single file.

Figure 3 shows a VISAN plot of the IASI surface
temperature using exactly the same dataset as
Figure 1. However, VISAN uses a scatter plottechnique where every data point is represented by a
dot and located exactly at the associated latitude andlongitude co-ordinates. Each data point is plotted inisolation and is not affected by the presence of any
other data point. The pattern of dots in the plot is afeature of the IASI instrument.
Panoply, on the other hand, attempts to infill the
space between data points which are adjacent in
the underlying data array with solid colour at alllevels of zoom, giving a pleasing visual effect. Close
examination of Figure 1 will reveal the infill whencompared with Figure 3.

Figure 2 – IASI Vertical Temperature Profile showing temperature variation from surface to upper atmosphere going from North to Southwww.geo-web.org.uk

12However, if there is a jump in latitude and/or
longitude co-ordinates between adjacent data points,
it seems that Panoply gets confused and infills withsolid colour between data points, even if they havea significant geographical separation. Normally, an
unmodified dataset would not have these jumps
so the problem does not appear. However, I had
combined two or more datasets with overlapping
geographical areas of coverage so there was a jumpat the boundary between them.

My first attempt to display the IASI BUFR files
used BUFRdisplay as described in my BUFR article
featured in GEO Newsletter No 79. Unfortunately,
BUFRdisplay failed with an error on two of the BUFR
file types. I eventually traced the problem to an
obscure BUFR descriptor called ‘add associated field’
which BUFRdisplay could not process properly inthis context (BUFR can be a fiendishly complicatedprotocol at times). To handle these two file types, I
required a different approach.

The obvious answer was to eliminate the overlaps
by detecting and removing duplicated information
so that there was a smooth geographical co-ordinatetransition from one dataset to another. However, thisproved not to be simple as there was a very small
numerical difference between the dataset provided
by one station when compared to another, eventhough they were receiving data at the same timefrom the same satellite. This meant that identifying
duplicate data was not a trivial task. I decided to try
and bypass this obstacle by deriving a timestampfor each scan line and checking for duplicates before
removing the duplications. This appeared to workat first but ultimately proved doomed to failure as
one station randomly dropped scan lines from theirdataset. At this point I gave up.

I have previously described how I used Python to
extract variables from a BUFR file in the form of
Python Numpy arrays. Having already demonstrated
that Panoply can display IASI data in the form of
an HDF file, the obvious process was to convert thewanted data from the BUFR file into an HDF5 file
via Python Numpy arrays which proved to be a fairly
simple affair.

Viewing IASI BUFR Files
The global IASI coverage datasets are transmitted as
BUFR files with nine separate files for each granule
which represents a defined area of geographicalcoverage. These include cloud parameters, tracegases and temperature/ pressure profiles.

I have also merged the datasets from multiple BUFR
files using the process described in the previous
section to display multiple granules at the sametime. Fortunately, individual BUFR file sets abut intheir geographical coverage so I had no problem withspacial overlapping.

There are other potential methods of visualising
the data such as the VISAN application or thematplotlib Python library but I have not pursued thisroute. Incidentally, SatPy has a limited number ofexperimental readers for derived products including
the IASI HDF5 format and IASI SO2 data in BUFR
format.

Figure 3 - IASI Surface Temperature Plot using VISAN from HDF file. Input data is identical to that used in Figure 1.

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13

Darkened by the Moon’s Shadow
NASA Earth Observatory
Story by Emily Cassidy

The DISCOVR image showing the darkening over the USA caused by the annular eclipse

NASA image courtesy of the DSCOVR EPIC team. NASA Scientific Visualization Studio map by Michala Garrison

On October 14, 2023, the Moon aligned with the Sun
and Earth to produce an annular solar eclipse. The
spectacle bathed millions of Americans in a lunar
shadow as the Moon blocked the Sun’s rays.
An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon passes
in front of the Sun but is too distant from Earth tocompletely obscure it. The Moon is at or near its
farthest distance from Earth—known as its apogee—during an annular eclipse, making it look smallerin the sky. This leaves the Sun’s edges exposed in a
red-orange ring, dubbed the ‘ring of fire’. A satellitecaught this earthly view of the event, as the Moon’s
shadow crossed North America.
The above image was acquired during the eclipse
by NASA’s EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging

Camera) imager aboard DSCVR (Deep Space
Climate Observatory), a joint NASA, NOAA, and U.S.
Air Force satellite. The sensor provides frequentglobal views of Earth from its position at Lagrange
Point No 1, the gravitationally stable point between
the Sun and Earth, about 1.5 million kilometresfrom Earth. In this view, acquired at 16:58 UT,
the shadow, or umbra, from the Moon can be seen
falling across the southeastern coast of Texas, near
Corpus Christi.
While the annular eclipse was partially visible acrossthe entire United States, Mexico, and countries inCentral and South America, the path of annularity—
where the largest area of the Sun was covered by theMoon from the observers’ point of view—was the bestplace to view it.

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14

The path of annularity across the United States on October 14

The map above, developed by NASA’s Scientific
Visualization Studio, shows the dark path of
the annularity stretching across the lower 48
states from Oregon to Texas. The map uses
data sets from several NASA missions. Imagery
from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer) instruments on the Terra
and Aqua satellites was the source of the Blue
Marble Next Generation composite used to
depict the terrain.
The path of annularity started in Oregon around
9:13 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, though cloudy
skies blocked the view for some sky watchers.
The shadow then moved southeast across
Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New
Mexico, before passing over Texas and the Gulf
of Mexico.
Also visible on the map within the path are
duration contours. These delineate the length oftime annularity lasted. The closer to the centreof the solar eclipse path, the longer it lasted.
For the annular path, times range from a few
seconds on the outer edge to a maximum ofaround 4.5 minutes in the centre.

Record-setting Snow in Alaska
MODIS Web Image of the Day
A thick layer of newly-fallen snow shone brightly across southcentral Alaska on November 14, 2023, when the Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s
Aqua satellite acquired this true-colour image. Sunlightreflecting off the snow appears intensely white—much whiterthan the clouds crossing the scene. Mountainous terrain
creates blue-tinted shadows on the brilliant white snow. Cloud
hangs over the Cook Inlet as well at the city of Anchorage,
which is located at the head of Cook Inlet.
By Mid month, Anchorage had received a total of 96.3 cm ofsnow, close to the city’s all-time record November snowfall of
98.6 cm. One snowstorm alone delivered a whopping 46 cm tothe city between November 8-9.

Ring of FireThe official NASA broadcast of this annular
eclipse, which followed the event throughout its
entire hour and three quarters duration, can beviewed at the following URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUg22TRWGdIThe next annular solar eclipse visible from theUnited States will not occur until June 21,2039. But a total solar eclipse will darken skiesfrom Texas to Maine on Monday, April 8, 2024.

Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC

www.geo-web.org.uk
www.geo-web.org.uk

15
15

Getting the best from Meteor M 2-3 GIS Infrared Images
Les Hamilton

By the time you read this, Northern Hemisphere
daylight will be very much reduced. Consequently,
colour composite Meteor M 2‑3 images produced by theMeteorGIS software using the two visible light channels
will be under-illuminated and disappointingly dark. Now
is the time to make the most of the satellite’s infraredtransmissions which are generally at their incisive best
during the cold of months of December and January.

The image is very dark and its histogram displays only an
extremely narrow range of tones concentrated in the ‘dark’
end of the spectrum, illustrated in figure 2. This image
can, of course, be stretched across the entire range bymeans of external software such as Photoshop or GIMP,
and figure 3 shows the result. This reveals yet anotherproblem: the image has been rendered in negative.

Previous satellites in the Meteor 2M series all transmitted
infrared LRPT imagery during the winter months via
the 10.5 ‑ 11.5 µm Thermal-infrared band transmitted
on channel 5. But Meteor M 2‑3—currently at least—is
instead transmitting its infrared data in the 3.5 ‑ 4.1 µm
Mid‑infrared band on channel 4.
This is a problem, because MeteorGIS has been hard
coded to process infrared imagery received on channel 5
only. Hopefully there may eventually be an update to caterfor channel 4. But currently, MeteorGIS simply just doesnot ‘know’ how to process this channel 4 data, and its
attempts are disappointing to say the least.
Figure 1, centred over the British Isles, was received
from an ascending Meteor M 2‑3 pass on the evening ofNovember 24, 2023, when much of England experienced
sub zero temperatures.

Figure 2
The limited range of greyscale levels present in Figure 1

Figure 1
This is how MeteorGIS processed the Channel 4 data stream during an overnight pass of Meteor M 2-3 at 20:38 UT on November 24, 2023

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16

Figure 3 - The Channel 4 image after stretching the greyscale

The cold cloud tops are displayed in shades of black
through dark grey (denoting warmth) while the warmer
seas and land areas are rendered in lighter shades ofwhite through grey (cold). You might argue that all that is
now necessary is to invert the greyscale, but the outcome
is still disappointing: the image just does not containsufficient grey levels to do the scene justice.
The Solution
Meteor M 2‑3 has the ability to transmit any three fromits six LRPT channels simultaneously: channels 1-3 carryvisible light data while channels 4-6 carry infrared data.
The image datafiles saved in the Images_M2 folder after
acquiring this transmission from the satellite are shown infigure 4. The final number of each designator string is acode denoting from which channel it originated: channels
1 to 6 are denoted by the numbers 64 through 69. The
channel 4 image therefore ends in ‘67’, illustrated in red
opposite.

Figure 4
The original image datafiles saved in the Images_M2 folder

It is clear that channels 1, 2 and 4 were being transmitted,
although, as an overnight transmission, channels 1 and 2
did not, of course, contain image data in this example.
Creating a Pseudo Channel 5 Image
Although channel 5 data from Meteor M 2‑3 werecompletely lacking in this transmission, it is possible to‘deceive’ MeteorGIS into processing the image data as
though it were from channel 5.
The secret is simple: just edit the filenames and replacethe ‘67’ designator by ‘68’ (figure 5). To achieve this, rightclick on a filename, select ‘Rename’ from the drop-down
menu, make the change, then press ‘Return’ to confirm.

Figure 5
The pseudo channel 5 files in the Images_M2 folder

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Figure 6 - The Channel 4 image after processing it as a Channel 5 image

Now process these files again as follows
1 Delete any files from the MeteorGIS FinalImages
folder, as MeteorGIS will not overwrite existing files.
2 Locate the default.bat file inside the MeteorGIS/
MeteorGIS sub folder and run it by double-clicking it.
3 MeteorGIS will spring into life and the infrared file will
now be processed as if it were from channel 5.
4 Once processing is complete, the infrared image will
be found in the FinalImages folder.
The processed file in our example is shown in figure 6.

This image, though somewhat on the light side, is a
big improvement. The greyscale has now been appliedcorrectly to render the cold cloud tops in shades of whiteand light grey, while the exposed sea and land surfaces
are displayed in darker shades of grey.
The ‘Levels’ histogram for this image (figure 7) now showsa much improved range in the greyscale tones, though
they by no means cover the entire spectrum. To complete
our task, we must stretch these across the complete
range as illustrated in figure 8.
For this final step you require a high-end image processor.
If you have Photoshop, this is ideal. If not, download anduse the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) from

Figure 7 - The greyscale levels present in Figure 6

www.geo-web.org.uk

https://www.gimp.org/

Figure 8 - Stretching the greyscale

18

Histogram Stretching with Photoshop• Load the infrared image (figure 6)• Select: Image —> Mode —> Greyscale• Select: Image —> Adjust —>  Levels
In the ‘Levels’ panel that pops up over the image, use themouse to drag the black triangular marker at left and thewhite triangular marker at right towards the edges of thehistogram This is illustrated by the red arrows in figure 8.
Press ‘OK’ to confirm, and re-save the image.
Histogram Stretching with GIMP
• Load the infrared image (figure 6)• From the menubar select: Colors —>  Levels
In the ‘Levels’ panel that appears (figure 9), adjust themarkers below the ‘Input Levels’ window towards theedges of the histogram, click ‘OK’ and re-save the image.
The above are by no means exclusive, and there areundoubtedly other software packages that can be used.
The final, stretched image is shown below in figure 10, a
vast improvement on the original one that resulted when
MeteorGIS was left to its own devices in dealing with thechannel 4 data.
And don’t forget that even daytime infrared images from
Meteor M 2-3 during the winter months can often reveal
much improved detail about advancing weather systems
than the poorly illuminated visible images. Do give it a try:
you may be surprised just how good these infrared images
can be.

Figure 9 - Stretching the greyscale histogram using GIMP

Figure 10
This is the final infrared image, processed as if it were disseminated on channel 5, and stretched.

www.geo-web.org.uk

19

Restless Kamchatka Volcanoes
NASA Earth Observatory
Story by Lindsey Doermann

NASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey

Neighbouring volcanoes on Russia’s ever-fieryKamchatka Peninsula puffed away in mid-October
2023. The OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat
8 captured this image of eruptions in action on
October 16. The peaks cast shadows on the snow as
the Sun traversed low in the autumn sky.

code to be elevated to orange, the third level on afour-colour scale. Activity ramped up in the days
before this image was acquired: increasing amountsof lava flowed down the volcano’s flanks, andincandescent materials rocketed up to 300 metresabove the crater rim.

Visible at the top of the image, the stratovolcano
Klyuchevskoy, Eurasia’s tallest active volcano, senta small plume of gas, steam, and possibly someash wafting to the northeast. The shadow of themountain’s clear conical shape and rising plumeoffers a sense of three-dimensionality to the view.

Farther south, Bezymianny also spewed a volcanic
plume, though it is more difficult to discern becauseof the cloud bank in this scene. KVERT noted anincrease in activity at this volcano on October 16,
when debris avalanches rushed down the slopesof the lava dome and ash was blown about 70
kilometres northeast of the volcano.

In June 2023, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption
Response Team (KVERT) reported the start ofStrombolian eruptions at Klyuchevskoy, and in
July, a new lava flow was detected on its southeast
flank. Explosive eruptions continued in the ensuingmonths. Varying amounts of ash were sent aloft withgas and steam, at times causing the aviation colour

Located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Kamchatka
Peninsula is a land of volcanoes, home to more than
300 of them. The frequently active Klyuchevskayarange, part of which is shown in this image, is acommon locale for geological drama visible fromspace.

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20

Bushfires in Queensland
NASA Earth Observatory
Story by Emily Cassidy

Figure 1 - A Suomi NPP satellite image showing smoke from live bush fires

NASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDISLANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership

Soaring temperatures and dry winds fanned theflames of over 20 bush fires raging in Queensland,
Australia in late October 2023. Residents were
evacuated from the town of Tara, where homes weredestroyed in the blazes.
Figure 1, acquired by the VIIRS (Visible Infrared
Imaging Radiometer Suite) sensor on the Suomi NPP
satellite, shows smoke from several fires burningin southeastern Queensland on October 24, 2023.
On the same day, temperatures reached 40 degrees
Celsius, some of the highest on record for the region
on that date.
A fire burning in northeast Tara destroyed 16 homes
and 11,000 hectares of bushland, according tonews reports. Tara has a population of about 2,000
people and is within Western Downs, a fruit-growing
region about 250 kilometres west of the state capital
Brisbane. Although the emergency evacuation orderfor the town was lifted on October 26, Queensland

Fire and Emergency Services told residents that itwas not safe to return to their homes.
Smoke also billowed from the forested Carnarvon
Gorge section of the Carnarvon National Park. The
fire, active since late September, has been burningon the plateaus above the gorge, which features
towering sandstone cliffs, diverse flora and fauna,and Aboriginal rock art.
Figure 2, acquired by the OLI-2 (Operational Land
Imager-2) on Landsat 9 on October 21, shows a burnscar from the fire, which has blazed through at least
31,000 hectares of land as of mid-October. According
to news reports, protections had been put in place toprevent damage to Indigenous rock art in the park,
which was closed until November 13, 2023.
Hot and dry conditions descended on much ofAustralia during the southern hemisphere’s spring,leaving the country at a heightened risk for bushwww.geo-web.org.uk

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Figure 2 - The Operational Land Imager-2 on Landsat 9 on October 21, imaged a burn scar from the fireNASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

fires. Rainfall in September 2023 was 71%
below the 1961–1990 average for the country,
the driest September on record since 1900.
Forecasts by Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology
expect that November to January rainfall would
probably be below average across much ofwestern, southern, and northeastern Australia.
The Australasian Fire Authorities Council(the council for fire services in Australia and
New Zealand) predicted an increased riskof springtime bush fires, especially in thecentral and eastern parts of Australia. The
council noted that plentiful rainfall fromthree consecutive La Niña years had built up
vegetation in rangelands. Now, the return of
El Niño, on top of human-caused warming, iscontributing to warm and dry conditions thatallow plants to dry out and fuel fires. El Niño
typically leads to reduced rainfall in the springfor eastern Australia, and warmer days for thesouthern two-thirds of the country.
Some of the world’s largest and fastest spreading
fires burn in the grasslands and shrub lands ofAustralia, according to a database chronicling
the dynamics of 13.3 million fires observed by
NASA’s MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer) instruments between 2003
and 2016. The largest fire in the record followed
the 2007 La Niña and,w according to theauthors of the database, similar large fires inarid regions of South Africa and Australia havetypically followed La Niña years.

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22

Remnants of Catastrophic Hurricane Otis
MODIS Web Image of the Day

Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC

Tropical Storm Otis first became a hurricane at 2:00
p.m. EDT on October 24, 2023, as it spun over the
Pacific Ocean only 235 kilometres south-southeastof Acapulco, Mexico. At that time, its maximum
sustained winds were 130 kilometres/hour. Aftera jaw-dropping rapid intensification, Otis becamea catastrophic Category 5 storm with maximum
sustained winds of 270 kph only ten hours later—
and it was located only 70 km away from Acapulco.
Hurricane Otis maintained this strength as it
screamed ashore at 2:25 am EDT (1:25 local time)on October 25, becoming the strongest hurricane at
landfall ever to strike Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
Acapulco, a popular tourist destination and home
to almost one million people, suffered severe
damage. Social media posts—many using the terms‘destroyed’ or ‘ripped apart’— showed flooded streets,
downed trees, and houses and hotels blown apart.
CNN quoted Mexican President Andrés Manuel López
as saying at a news conference:“In all of Acapulco there is not a standing [electric]pole”. More than 500,000 homes and businesses lost
power. In addition, 27 people have been confirmed
to have died due to the hurricane and four remain
missing”.
Once ashore, the fast-moving hurricane quickly
weakened over inland mountains. At 5:00 pm EDT
on October 25, the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
issued its final bulletin on the storm as Otis haddissipated. At that time, the center of the remnantsof Hurricane Otis were located about 260 km northnorthwest of Acapulco and maximum sustained
winds were 55 kph.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired the abovetrue-colour image of the remnants of Hurricane Otis
stretched over Mexico. Although winds were by thenmild, the remnants nevertheless brought rain over awide area.

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23

Joachim Scharrer acquired this Meteor M 2-3 image of Storm Ciarán over the North Sea on November 11, 2023
after it had lashed the British Isles with winds of up to 160 kilometres per hour, and caused extensive flooding,some places recording over a month’s rainfall in just a few hours.

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24

Sediments pour into the Adriatic Sea
Copernicus Image of the Day

Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery

Torrential rain in early November 2023 caused severe flooding and widespread destruction throughout Italy.
The increased surface runoff (i.e., the flow of water over the ground surface) eroded soils and filled rivers withsediment, which eventually washed all the way to the Adriatic Sea. The massive amount of sediment pouredin the Adriatic Sea by the Angie and Po rivers shows clearly in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image of the River
Po delta, acquired on November 4.
The Copernicus Sentinel satellites provide valuable data to identify and delineate the extent of areas affectedby such floods.

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25

Floodwaters Fill Badwater Basin
NASA Eartg Observatory
Story by Lindsey Doermann

Three Landsat images of Death Valley’s Badwater Basin

NASA Earth Observatory images by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey

In August 2023, Hurricane Hilary made landfall
in northern Mexico and soaked the Baja California
peninsula, Southern California, and Nevada withrain. In California’s Death Valley, flash floods
damaged roads and other infrastructure, causing thenational park to close for nearly two months. Whenvisitors returned in mid-October, they witnessed
an infrequent sight in this notoriously hot and dryplace: a shallow ephemeral lake stretching for miles
in Badwater Basin.
This series of images reveals hydrologic changes inthe desert basin relative to August’s heavy rain. The
images are false colour to emphasize the presenceof water, which appears in shades of blue. On July
5, 2023 (left), the basin contains relatively little
moisture prior to flooding. In contrast, the August
22 image (middle) shows the aftermath of a recordsetting rainy day. Both images were acquired by the
OLI (Operational Land Imager) sensor on Landsat 8
using a band combination of 6-5-3.
On August 20, a weather station at Furnace Creek(north of this scene) recorded 56 millimetres of rain.

www.geo-web.org.uk

Hurricane Hilary imaged by the Suomi NPP
satellite on August 18, 2023
Image: NASA Worldview Snapshots
https://wvs.earthdata.nasa.gov/

26

The lake in Badwater Basin
Photo: K. Bott/NPS

This amount exceeds the area’s average annual
rainfall total of 55 millimetres, according to the
National Park Service, and it breaks Death Valley’s
previous single-day rainfall record of 1.7 inches set
in August 2022.
The image from November 2 (right), acquired by
the OLI-2 on Landsat 9, shows the extent of water
still present in the basin after more than twomonths. Around this time, national park officials
stated that the lake measured approximately threeby six kilometres, although it was only about fivecentimetres deep. Observers on the ground reported
springs flowing, bighorn sheep feeding on new
greenery, and even some wildflowers blooming—ararity outside springtime.
Under more typical conditions, Badwater Basinis a vast and mostly dry salt flat—an expanse of
approximately 520 square kilometres—surfaced withsodium chloride, calcite, gypsum, and borax. It is thelowest point in North America at 86 metres below sea
level. The basin was once submerged by the muchlarger Lake Manly, one of several Great Basin lakes
that existed during the cooler, wetter Pleistocene
Epoch.
Today, it is uncommon but not unheard of for lakes
to form in Badwater Basin. For example, storms andexceptionally rainy seasons filled in part of the basin
in 2005, 2015, and 2019. There is no outflow fromthe basin, but the evaporation rate far outpaces theprecipitation rate, rendering the lakes ephemeral.
While park officials cannot be sure, they speculatethat the current lake may dry up as soon as midNovember.

Retreat of the Upsala Glacier
Copernicus Image of the Day
The Upsala Glacier is ranked as the thirdlargest glacier in the Southern PatagonianIce Field. Unfortunately, many glaciers in thearea, including Upsala, have significantly
retreated over the last 50 years due to risingtemperatures. The Upsala Glacier has been
observed closely by Earth Observation
satellites, which have shown that the glacierhas retreated by around nine kilometres since
1986.

Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery

In this image, captured by one of Copernicus
Sentinel-2 satellites on 22 September, theterminus of the glacier as it was in 1986 ishighlighted with a yellow line. The retreat canclearly be seen as well as the fact that theUpsala and the Bertacchi Glaciers, which werestill joined in 2016, are now separated.

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27

Earth’s Warmest October on Record
Copernicus Image of the Day

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has recently released its latest monthly Climate Bulletin,
which highlights that October 2023 was the warmest October on record globally. Notably, air temperatures
exceeded those of the previous warmest October by a significant 0.85°C.
This data visualisation, based on C3S data, shows the surface air temperature anomaly for October 2023
across the European Continent. In that area, October 2023 was the fourth warmest October on record,
1.30°C higher than the 1991-2020 average, the warmest regions being Italy, the Balkans, and the central
Mediterranean Sea.

Credit: European Union, Copernicus Climate Change Service Data

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28

Svalbard Satellite Station
An important part of the Copernicus Sentinel Ground Segment
Copernicus Image of the Day

This image, acquired by one of Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites on September 26, 2023, shows
the Svalbard Satellite Ground Station (SvalSat), located on the island of Spitsbergen in the
Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.
The station is operated by Norwegian company Kongsberg Satellite Services and wasinaugurated as part of the Copernicus Sentinel satellite ground segment in 2013.
Its location was selected because of its high latitude and proximity to the North Pole, and it is the
only commercial ground station that can support polar-orbiting satellites every time they orbit the
Earth (about 14 times a day).
The image shows the receiving antennas and their shadows projected on the snow.
Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery

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2929

Saharan Dust Plume Reaches Greek Coasts
Copernicus Image of the Day

This image showing a plume of Saharan dust
reaching Greece was acquired by one of theCopernicus Sentinel-3 satellites on August 29, 2023.
The large plume stretches hundreds of kilometresfrom the coast of Libya to the shores near the townof Pyrgos in Greece. These dust plumes have an
impact on air quality.

The Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service
provides information and forecasts on the movementand distribution of these Saharan dust plumes,
informing on air quality, their distribution andassisting local authorities in taking preventive
measures to minimise their impact.

Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-3 imagery

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30

Hurricane Nigel in the Atlantic Ocean
Copernicus Image of the Day

Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-3 imagery

This image, acquired on September 19, 2023 by one of theCopernicus Sentinel-3 satellites at 13:52:02 UTC, shows
the beautifully proportioned Hurricane Nigel.
Nigel was the sixth storm of the Atlantic hurricane
season. It formed on 16 September, and was situatedapproximately 1,000 kilometres southeast of Bermuda.
Classified as a Category 1 hurricane, the US National
Hurricane Center expected it to “rapidly intensify” toCategory 3 over the following few hours. Nigel was notexpected to make landfall, and no warnings were issued.
However, its swells did lead to dangerous surf conditions
near Bermuda.
Data derived from Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites imagery
bring improvements in the scientific understanding of thecomposition of the atmosphere and extreme weather
events.

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31

This impressive view including parts of the coastlines of British Columbia and Washington State, with Vancouver
Island at centre, was acquired by John Jensen from a Meteor M 2-3 transmission on September 14, 2023

www.geo-web.org.uk

32Elephant Island
European Space Agency

Image contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2023), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

This rare, almost cloud-free view of the remote ElephantIsland in Antarctica was captured in February 2023 by
the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
Lying in the Southern Ocean about 250 kilometres
northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, ElephantIsland is one of the outermost of the South Shetland
Islands. It owes its name to both the sighting of elephantseals along its shores and its elephant-like shape: in thisimage, the ‘trunk’ is partially covered by clouds.
This mountainous island is covered by ice. The
highest peaks are Mount Pendragon, which reaches
around 970 metres, visible on the southern end, and,moving northeast, Mount Elder, which reaches around
945 metres.
North of Mount Elder, the wide Endurance Glacier can beseen in the centre of the image. It is the main discharge
glacier on the island and drains to the south and into theWeddel Sea. Thin sea ice, visible in light blue in front of
the calving front, separates the glacier terminus from theopen ocean waters.

The variations in the colour of the waters surrounding
the island are due to sediment eroded by the flow of ice
and carried by meltwater into the ocean. Small icebergs
can be spotted, particularly off the western coast, as little
white dots speckling the water. The white lines along theisland coasts are the result of big waves crashing against
the rocky steep cliffs.
Dramatic changes in Antarctica’s ice have become
synonymous with the climate crisis. The continued
observations from satellites are key to surveying the
remote polar regions. Satellites can monitor the melting
ice sheets caused by rising temperatures and thesubsequent rising of sea levels, as well as the impact on
global ocean currents caused by the increased influx offreshwater into ocean. This is paramount to improving
our understanding of the Earth system and to providing
evidence on the impact of climate change.
You can explore the original much higher definition
version of this image at:https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/
2023/10/Earth_from_Space_Elephant_Island

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33

A Veil of Haze over Northern Italy
Copernicus Image of the Day

Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-3 imagery

At the beginning of October, a high-pressure system
brought clear skies to northern Italy, but also an
increase in particulate matter concentrations in the
Po Valley. According to local authorities, in cities
like Milan and Turin, PM10 and PM2.5 levels were
exceeding World Health Organisation thresholds andlimits for key air pollutants that pose health risks.

particles can end up in the bloodstream andeventually lodge in vital organs such as the heartand brain.

Particulate matter (PM) describes constituents inthe atmosphere which are not a gaseous, generally
tiny particles of chemical compounds and othermaterials, some of which are toxic. Particles smaller
than 2.5 micrometres in diameter are classified as
PM2.5, while larger particles up to 10 micrometresin diameter are classified PM10. These tiny toxin

This image, acquired by one of Copernicus Sentinel-3
satellites on October 3, 2023, shows a veil of hazestretching from Piedmont to the Adriatic Sea.

Exposure to PM can result in serious health impacts,
particularly in the young and the aged, as well asanyone suffering respiratory problems.

Air quality monitoring and forecasting is one of
the main focuses of the Copernicus Atmosphere
Monitoring Service (CAMS).

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34

This unusual Meteor M2-3 HRPT image was acquired by Enrico Gobbetti on September 5, 2023 when the satellite briefly lost orientation

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35

The Alps blanketed in white after the first Snowfall of the Year
Copernicus Image of the Day

Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-3 imagery

Following the autumn heatwave across Europe, theweather made a swift transition to winter on November
8 as the first snowfall of the season covered the Alps,
the highest and most extensive mountain range in southcentral Europe. Its peaks extend for 200 kilometres across
Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy, Monaco,
Switzerland, and France.

The Copernicus Land Monitoring Service product portfolio
includes Snow & Ice (HR-S&I) Monitoring products, which
provide high-resolution (20 m x 20 m) information derived
from Copernicus satellites data on snow and ice conditionsin the 38 Members States and Cooperating Countries of
the European Environment Agency.

Third Eruption of 2023 at Mount Etna
Copernicus Image of the Day

Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery

Mount Etna erupted for the third time this year on
November 12. The lava fountain activity lasted forseveral hours during the night, accompanied by adense eruptive cloud laden with pyroclastic material(ash and lapilli) which fell in a narrow sector on theeastern slope of the volcano. The thermal signatureof the cooling lava flow was still visible in this image
acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2
satellites on November at 10:00 UTC. Copernicus
Sentinel-2 satellites play an important role inmonitoring volcanic activity thanks to their high spatial
resolution and acquisition frequency.

www.geo-web.org.uk

36Arctic Sea Ice falls to 6th Lowest on Record
NASA Earth Observatory
Story by Sally Younger (NASA’s Earth Science News Team)

Arctic sea ice most likely reached
its annual minimum extent on
September 19, 2023, making it thesixth-lowest year in the satellite
record, according to researchers at
NASA and the National Snow and Ice
Data Center (NSIDC).
Scientists track the seasonal andannual fluctuations because sea ice
shapes Earth’s polar ecosystems
and plays a significant role in global
climate. Researchers at NSIDC andNASA use satellites to measure sea
ice as it melts and refreezes. They
track sea ice extent, which is definedas the total area of the ocean in which
the ice cover fraction is at least 15%.
This map shows the sea ice extent on
September 19, 2023.
Between March and September 2023,
the ice cover in the Arctic shrankfrom a peak area of 14.62 million
square kilometres to 4.23 million
square kilometres. That’s roughly 1.99
million square kilometres below the
1981‑2010 average minimum of 6.22
million square kilometres. The quantityof sea ice lost was enough to cover
the entire continental United States.
This year in the Arctic, scientists
saw notably low levels of ice in the
Northwest Passage.
“It is more open there than it used
to be,” said Walt Meier, a sea ice
scientist at NSIDC. “There also
seems to be a lot more loose,
lower concentration ice—even
toward the North Pole—and areasthat used to be pretty compact,solid sheets of ice through thesummer. That’s been happening
more frequently in recent years.”
Meier said the changes are afundamental, decades-long response
to warming temperatures. Since
the start of the satellite record forice in 1979, sea ice has not only
been declining in the Arctic, but also
getting younger. Earlier starts tospring melting and ever-later starts
to autumn freeze-up are leading tolonger melting seasons.

The yellow outline in this image shows the 1981-2010 median Arctic Ocean ice extent

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin
using data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center

Research has shown that, averaged
across the entire Arctic Ocean, freezeup is happening about a week later
per decade, or one month later thanin 1979.
Nathan Kurtz, lab chief of NASA’s
Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory at
the agency’s Goddard Space Flight
Center in Greenbelt, Maryland,said that as the Arctic warms aboutfour times faster than the rest of
the planet, the ice is also growing
thinner. Thickness at the end of thegrowth season largely determines
the survivability of sea ice. New
research is using satellites likewww.geo-web.org.uk

NASA’s ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud and land
Elevation Satellite-2) to monitor how
thick the ice is year-round.
Kurtz said that long-term
measurements of sea ice
are critical to studying what’s
happening in real time at
the poles. “At NASA we’reinterested in taking cuttingedge measurements, but we’realso trying to connect them tothe historical record to better
understand what’s driving someof these changes that we’reseeing.”37

Currently Active Satellites and Freqencies
Polar APT Satellites
Satellite

Frequency

StatusFormatImage Quality

NOAA 15

137.6200 MHz

On

APT

Intermittent sync problem

NOAA 18

137.9125 MHz

On

APT

Good

NOAA 19137.1000 MHz

On

APT

Good

Meteor M N2

137.1000 MHz

On

LRPT

FailedMeteor M N2-3

137.9000 MHz

Off

LRPT

Variable [1]Satellite

Frequency

Mode

FormatImage Quality

NOAA 151702.5 MHz

Omni

HRPT

sync problem

NOAA 18

1707.0 MHz

RHCP

HRPT

Good

NOAA 19

1698.0 MHz

RHCP

HRPT

Good

Feng Yun 3C

1701.4 MHz

RHCP

AHRPT

Inactive [2]Feng Yun 3D

7820.0 MHz

RHCP

AHRPT

Active {2}Polar HRPT/AHRPT Satellites

Feng Yun 3E

7860.0 Mz

RHCP

AHRPT

Commissioning

Metop B

1701.3 MHz

RHCP

AHRPT

Good

Metop C

1701.3 MHz

RHCP

AHRPT

Good

Meteor M N2-2

1700.0 MHz

RHCP

AHRPT

Active [8]Meteor M N2-3

1700.0 MHz

RHCP

AHRPT

ActiveGeostationary Satellites
Satellite

Transmission Mode(s)Position

Status

45.5°EIODC - On

Meteosat 9

HRIT (digital)

Meteosat 10

HRIT (digital)

LRIT (digital)

9.5 E

Off [4]

Meteosat 11

HRIT (digital)

LRIT (digital)

0°W

On [3]

GOES-13GVAR 1685.7 MHz

LRIT 1691.0 MHz

61.6°W[5]

GOES-14GVAR 1685.7 MHz

LRIT 1691.0 MHz

105°W

Standby

GOES-15 (W)GVAR 1685.7 MHz

LRIT 1691.0 MHz

128°W

On [6]

GOES-16 (E)GRB 1686.6 MHz

HRIT 1694.1 MHz

75.2°W

On [7]

GOES-17

GRB 1686.6 MHz

HRIT 1694.1 MHz

137.3°W

On [7]

GOES 18

GRB 1686.6 MHz

HRIT 1694.1 MHz

137.0°W

On [7]

Himawari-8

No direct download

140.7°E

Onw

Himawari-9

No direct download

Data is only available
via the HimawariCast
service1450.7°E

On

Feng Yun 2E

SVISSR (digital)

LRIT (digital)

86.5°EOn

Feng Yun 2F

SVISSR (digital)

LRIT (digital)

112.5°E

Standby

Feng Yun 2G

SVISSR (digital)

LRIT (digital)

99.5°EOn

Feng Yun 2H

SVISSR (digital)

LRIT (digital)

79.0°EOn

Feng Yun 4A

HRIT (digital)

LRIT (digital)

99.5°EOn

Feng Yun 4B

HRIT (digital)

LRIT (digital)

Just

Launched

Notes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Currently under commissioning, M2-3 regularly swaps both frequency between 137.1 MHz and 137.9 MHz.
There are also regular switches in Symbol Rate between 72,000 and 80,000.
These satellites employ a non-standard AHRPT format and cannot be received with conventional receiving
equipment.
Meteosat prime Full Earth Scan (FES) satellite
Meteosat prime Rapid Scanning Service (RSS) satellite.
Repurposed by US Space Force
GOES 15 also transmits EMWIN on 1692.700 MHz GOES 16 also transmits EMWIN on 1694.100 MHz GOES 17
also transmits EMWIN
GOES Rebroadcast (GRB) provides the primary relay of full resolution, calibrated, near-real-time direct broadcast
space relay of Level lb data from each instrument and Level 2 data from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM).
GRB replaces the GOES VARiable (GVAR) service.
Following a collision with a micrometeorite, the power system aboard Meteor M2-2 has been compromised. AHRPTis still being transmitted when the solar panels are sunlit, but there is insufficient battery power to enable the LRPT
stream.
Japanese satellits MTSAT-1R (Himawari-6) and MTSAT-2 (Himawari-7) are no longer active and are probably retired.
Current Japanese operational geostationary satellites are Himawari-8 and Himawari-9).

www.geo-web.org.uk

38