ESA - Ocean link

15 February 2013  

 Central Panama and its 80 km-long ship canal that connects the Atlantic – via the Caribbean Sea – and Pacific Oceans are pictured in this Envisat image. On either end of the canal, ships that are entering, exiting and waiting to cross the waterway appear as dots of red, green and blue. We can even see them in the channel and in the large Lake Gatun. Also near either end of the canal, high radar reflections appear as clusters of white dots at Panama City on the southern shore and Colon on the northern shore. This image is a compilation of three images from Envisat’s radar acquired on 24 December 2011, 23 January 2012 and 22 February 2012.

Central Panama and its 80 km-long ship canal that connects the Atlantic – via the Caribbean Sea – and Pacific Oceans are pictured in this Envisat image.

Completed in 1914, the Panama Canal is one of the greatest engineering projects of the last century. ‘Locks’ at either end of the waterway are used to lift entering ships up to the canal’s level of 26 m, and lower them to sea level as they exit.

The canal sees 12 000–15 000 vessels pass every year. It takes an average of 8–10 hours for a ship to transit.

On either end of the canal, ships that are entering, exiting and waiting to cross the waterway appear as dots of red, green and blue. We can even see them in the channel and in the large Lake Gatun.

The artificial Lake Gatun was created between 1904 and 1914 as part of the water system for the Panama Canal. Because Panama has a winter dry season, the surplus water stored in the Lake helps keep the locks operating.

Also near either end of the canal, high radar reflections appear as clusters of white dots at Panama City on the southern shore and Colon on the northern shore.

The Central American nation is about the size of the Czech Republic. It enjoys a tropical climate, and is an attractive tourist destination for its beaches, mountains and rainforests.

In the 1940s, nearly 70% of Panama was covered by forests. Today, forests cover less than half of the country, mainly due to logging operations, infrastructure development and cattle ranching.

Forests play a crucial role in Earth’s carbon cycle by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and the reduction of forest cover can have major negative effects on our climate.

This image is a compilation of three images from Envisat’s radar acquired on 24 December 2011, 23 January 2012 and 22 February 2012.

This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme.

ESA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@gmail.com

ayabaca@hotmail.com

ayabaca@yahoo.com

ESA - Envisat - Earth from Space - Earth from Space: Snowy Siberia

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 North central Siberia is pictured in this Envisat image from 5 March 2012. In the lower-left corner we can see the Yenisei river, which flows north into the Kara Sea (not pictured). The Yenisei is considered to be the boundary between eastern and western Siberia. The majority of the area pictured lies above the Arctic Circle. This is also an area of continuous permafrost, where the soil is at or below freezing throughout the year.

Although permafrost cannot be directly measured from space, factors such as surface temperature, land cover and snow parameters, soil moisture and terrain changes can be captured by satellites. 

Credits: ESA

North central Siberia is pictured in this Envisat image from 5 March 2012. An enormous area in north Asia, Siberia spreads from the Urals in the west to the Okhotsk Sea in the east, from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the borders of Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China in the south.

In the lower-left corner we can see the Yenisei river, which flows north into the Kara Sea (not pictured). The Yenisei is considered to be the boundary between eastern and western Siberia.

The majority of the area pictured lies above the Arctic Circle. This is also an area of continuous permafrost, where the soil is at or below freezing throughout the year.

About half of the world’s underground organic carbon is found in northern permafrost regions. This is more than double the amount of carbon in the atmosphere in the form of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane.

The effects of climate change are most severe and rapid in the Arctic, causing the permafrost to thaw. When it does, it releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, exacerbating the effects of climate change.

Although permafrost cannot be directly measured from space, factors such as surface temperature, land cover and snow parameters, soil moisture and terrain changes can be captured by satellites.

This image also shows part of the Putorana Mountains and the Putoransky State Nature Reserve. In the native language of the Evenks, 'Putorana' means 'the country of lakes with steep banks.'

Listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, this area contains arctic and subarctic ecosystems, as well as a major reindeer migration route. 

ESA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@gmail.com

ayabaca@hotmail.com

ayabaca@yahoo.com

Islas caribeñas: Cuba

Hola mis amigos: AL VUELO DE UN QUINDE EL BLOG., Esta imagen tomada por el satélite Envisat de la ESA nos muestra las islas de Cuba, vistas desde el espacio.
Cuba es un archipiélago situado al norte del Mar Caribe, donde éste se encuentra con el Golfo de México y con el Océano Atlántico.

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 The Caribbean country of Cuba is pictured in this image from the Envisat satellite. In the southeast, the dark coastal area is home to the Sierra Maestra mountains, Cuba's highest mountain range. Off the southern coast is the Isle of Youth, the country’s second largest island. Northwest of Cuba, we can see the tip of the Florida Keys, a coral archipelago belonging to the US state of Florida.

This image is a compilation of three images from Envisat’s MERIS instrument, acquired on 15 April, 23 April and 12 May 2011. The images were stitched together to obtain a nearly cloudless view of the island. 

Credits: ESA

 Esta imagen tomada por el satélite Envisat de la ESA nos muestra las islas de Cuba, vistas desde el espacio.
Cuba es un archipiélago situado al norte del Mar Caribe, donde éste se encuentra con el Golfo de México y con el Océano Atlántico.

Al sudeste, la zona oscura próxima a la costa es la Sierra Maestra, la cadena montañosa más alta de la isla, en la que se encuentra el Pico Turquino, de casi 2000 metros de altura. Esta región es rica en minerales como el cobre o el hierro.

El círculo verde que se puede ver en el centro de la costa sur es la cadena montañosa del Escambray, en la que se encuentra el Pico San Juan, que con sus 1160 metros de altura es la segunda montaña más alta de Cuba.

Siguiendo por la costa sur de la isla principal podemos ver una península verde-amarronada, al oeste de las montañas. Es la Ciénaga de Zapata, un parque nacional ideal para la observación de aves.

Cerca de la costa se encuentra la Isla de la Juventud, la segunda isla más grande del archipiélago. La mayor parte de su superficie está cubierta por pinos, pero también cuenta con espectaculares playas y con un gran número de complejos hoteleros.

Al noroeste de Cuba se alcanza a ver el extremo sur de los Cayos de Florida, un archipiélago coralino perteneciente al estado de Florida, EEUU.

A la derecha de la imagen se pueden ver algunas islas de las Bahamas.

Esta imagen es una composición de tres fotografías tomadas por el instrumento MERIS de Envisat los días 15 de abril, 23 de abril y 12 de mayo de 2011. Esta técnica permite obtener una imagen del archipiélago prácticamente libre de nubes.  

La Imagen de la Semana se presenta cada viernes a las 10:00 CEST en la ESA Web-TV.

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@gmail.com 

ayabaca@hotmail.com

ayabaca@yahoo.com  

La Tierra: Investigation on Envisat continues

On 15 April, the French space agency CNES rotated the Pleiades Earth observation satellite to capture this image of Envisat. At a distance of about 100 km, Envisat’s main body, solar panel and radar antenna were visible. Credits: CNES

Optical, radar and laser observations of the Envisat satellite show that it is still in a stable orbit. Efforts to regain contact with the satellite have been under way since 8 April, when it unexpectedly stopped sending data to Earth.  To determine if Envisat has entered its ‘safe mode’ – which would be a starting point for revival – the recovery team is drawing on every information source available. Valuable help is coming from many European and international partners. France’s new Pleiades satellite normally provides very high-resolution images of Earth, but is now focusing on Envisat to shed more light on the situation. On 15 April, the French space agency turned Pleiades to capture images of Envisat passing within about 100 km. This remarkable feat was possible thanks to the exceptional agility of Pleiades. Flight specialists and engineers are using the images to determine the orientation of Envisat’s solar panel – the satellite’s power source. If the panel is in a suitable position for sufficient exposure to the Sun, enough power is being generated to put Envisat into safe mode, and could allow for re-establishing communications with Earth. “We are really grateful to CNES for offering to acquire images of Envisat using their Pleiades and Spot satellites,” said Volker Liebig, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes.

This radar image showing the Envisat satellite in orbit was produced by the ground-based tracking and imaging radar, TIRA, of the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques in Wachtberg, Germany, on 10 April 2012.
Credits: Fraunhofer FHR

Investigation on Envisat continues :“Additional observations being acquired across the globe show how the international space community has come together to track this veteran satellite.”

The Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques in Wachtberg, Germany, is also providing images to help determine Envisat’s orientation.

Images from the TIRA ground-based tracking and imaging radar show the satellite’s body, solar panel and radar antenna.

“These unique images will enable us to analyse Envisat’s orientation, which will indicate whether we are able to regain contact with the satellite,” said Manfred Warhaut, Head of ESA’s Mission Operations Department.

Information on Envisat’s orbit is being provided by the US Joint Space Operations Center. In addition, multiple laser ranging stations on the ground are providing information to verify the stability of the satellite’s orbit.

The sudden interruption of Envisat services has disrupted data provision to the international Earth observation user community, which relies on data continuity.

The launch of the upcoming Sentinel series being developed for Europe’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme has become even more urgent.

The Sentinels will provide the data needed for information services to improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security.
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui 
 ayabaca@gmail.com

 ayabaca@hotmail.com

ayabaca@yahoo.com