Earth

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Earths Dynamic Surface as Viewed From Space
Using Space Shuttle and International Space
Station photographs to observe earth system
interactions and environmental changes Joseph F.
Reese Department of Geosciences, Edinboro
University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, PA 16444
jreese_at_edinboro.edu 814-732-2814
Looking out the window of Space Shuttle Columbia,
1/03
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Space flight allows humans to view the Earth and
the large-scale systems operating on its
surface.
Houston, Apollo 11 I have the world in my
window. -- Michael Collins, NASA astronaut
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Space Shuttle and International Space Station
photographs are excellent observational data that
document large-scale earth-system processes and
interactions. They also show natural and
human-induced environmental changes and hazards
working on short time scales.
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FOCUS ON EARTH SYSTEMS, SYSTEM INTERACTIONS,
and ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES as observed from Space
Shuttle and International Space
Station photographs.
GEOSPHERE Solid Earth PEDOSPHERE Soils
HYDROSPHERE Water CRYOSPHERE Ice ATMOSPHERE
Air BIOSPHERE Life ANTHROSPHERE Humans
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(All photos used are from NASA Space Shuttle
Earth Observations Photography database)
GEOSPHERE
HYDROSPHERE
ATMOSPHERE
ANTHROSPHERE
BIOSPHERE
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• What do you see?
• Identify as many features as you can
• on this International Space Station
• photo of the San Francisco Bay area!
• Look for
• San Andreas and Hayward faults
• forests, beaches, mountains
• urban areas
• Alcatraz!
• parks, bridges, roadways
• internal waves in the Pacific Ocean
• tidal channels in the bay
• salt collection areas
• outflow from bay
• what else?

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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
PROCESSING OF PHOTOGRAPHS -- STEPS 1. Sharpen,
or Unsharp Mask 2. Despeckle (if sharpened) 3.
Alter Color Contrast and / or Brightness 4.
Alter Color Level EDITING DONE USING ADOBE
PHOTOSHOP
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PHOTOGRAPHS OBTAINED FROM EARTH SCIENCES AND
IMAGE ANALYSIS LAB The Gateway to Astronaut
Photography of Earth ? http//eol.jsc.nasa.gov
(several captions are from this source) RELATED
INTERNET SITES EARTH FROM SPACE ?
http//earth.jsc.nasa.gov EARTH OBSERVATORY ?
http//earthobservatory.nasa.gov VISIBLE EARTH ?
http//visibleearth.nasa.gov NASA HUMAN
SPACEFLIGHT ? http//spaceflight.nasa.gov
SE Alaska
Thunderstorms
New York, NY
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Yellowstone area
Klyuchevskaya volcano
INTERNAL EARTH PROCESSES Volcanism and
Deformation, primarily of plate-tectonic origin
(but not entirely!)
Mt. Fuji
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Volcanoes in eruption Rabaul volcano, New
Britain, Papua New Guinea (upper left) Mt.
Etna, Sicily, Mediterranean Sea
(left) Klyuchevskaya, Kamchatka
Peninsula, Russia (above)
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PYROCLASTIC FLOWS and LAHARS, Mt. Pinatubo,
Philippines
CALDERA, RESURGENT DOME, and RING
INTRUSIONS Jemez Mountains, NM
PRODUCTS OF EXPLOSIVE VOLCANISM
(unseen are the atmospheric-climatic impacts of
these eruptions)
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Mt. St. Helens, WA, post-1980 eruption
Mt. St. Helens
Mt. Adams
Mt. Rainier
CASCADE VOLCANIC ARC, resulting from subduction
of the Juan de Fuca Plate beneath the
western margin of the North American Plate.
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Cascade accreted terranes and volcanic arc
Cascadia subduction zone
Olympic accretionary complex
Pacific Northwest tectonic products of a long
lived, complex convergent margin.
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Shield volcanoes on Hawaii are the result of
hotspot volcanism above a mantle plume.
Mauna Loa and Kilauea, with steam plumes
Puu Oo
Mauna Loa
steam
Kilauea
BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII
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Himalaya and Tibet Plateau
INDIA
ASIA
(south) INDO-GANGETIC PLAIN
HIGH HIMALAYA
Continental collision between India and Asia has
formed one of the largest mountain ranges in the
last billion years of Earth history. (above view
to west, right view to south)
TIBETAN PLATEAU (north)
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Mt. Everest can you find it?
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Deformation related to convergent- boundary
tectonic processes (foreland fold and
thrust belt)
Canadian Rockies
Glacier NP, MT
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Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Valley, VA
Monterrey Bend, Mexico
Valley and Ridge, PA
FOLDED SEDIMENTARY ROCKS, Thin-skinned crustal
deformation related to layer-parallel shortening
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Transform plate boundary between Pacific Plate
and North American Plate
NORTH AMERICAN PLATE
PACIFIC PLATE
SIERRA NEVADA and the BASIN AND RANGE Block
faulting related to extension Owens Valley, CA
(looking west)
SAN ANDREAS FAULT Pt. Reyes, CA
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WESTERN EDGE OF THE BASIN AND RANGE EXTENSIONAL
PROVINCE
Central Sierra
MONO LAKE
LAKE TAHOE
Northern and Central Sierra Nevada, Mono
Lake, Lake Tahoe, and Central Valley, CA-NV
Northern Sierra
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Los Angeles Basin
San Francisco Bay Area
SAN ANDREAS FAULT, CA (transform plate boundary)
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Ganges River
RIVERS and DELTAS
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Paraná River
Brahmaputra River
Mississippi River
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MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA
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Rio de la Plata, estuary of Paraná and Uruguay
Rivers Mixing of sediment and nutrient laden
freshwaters with seawater.
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GRAND CANYON and the KAIBAB PLATEAU, AZ The
Colorado Plateau has been uplifted in the last
few million years. As regional uplift occurred,
river systems such as the Colorado River were
rejuvenated, resulting in stream erosion and
highly dissected plateaus.
Argentina
EROSION
Glaciated terrains reveal modification of the
geosphere by a channelized, flowing (and
retreating!) cryosphere.
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Malaspina Glacier (piedmont glacier) and Yakutat
Bay, SE Alaska The Seward Ice Field in the St.
Elias Mountains is the main source of ice for the
glacier. The glacier moves in surges that
internally deform the ice, crumpling medial
moraines.
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EFFECTS OF PLEISTOCENE GLACIATION
Fjords along coastline, southern tip of
Greenland (drowned glacial valleys)
Raised shorelines, James Bay, Canada (isostatic
rebound)
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Iceberg, South Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the
tip of South America This iceberg, 43 mi long
and 21 mi wide, broke away from the
Antarctic ice sheet. Is it, and the break up of
this ice sheet, an indicator of global climate
change?
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Lake Poopó, Altiplano, Bolivia Lake with
naturally fluctuating water levels (linked with
El Niño)
1990
Short-term environmental changes
1995
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Kara-Bogaz Gol and Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan Refl
ooded natural evaporation basin (with salt
deposition)
1995
1985
Artificially enhanced inlet!
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Namib Desert, Namibia
Dunes!
dust blow, Mauritania (above) Hot, dry winds
blowing dust out of western Africa and into the
Atlantic Ocean. Fine dust can carry many toxins.
Atmospheric currents and geologic products
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Dust blowing from Rio Grande channelway, Bolivia
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Coastal Dunes, Brazil Interaction of
wind, water, and sand Small part of an
active dune field on Brazils north coast.
Dunes are built by persistent easterly winds off
of the equatorial Atlantic and have
interspersed freshwater ponds.
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Hurricane Claudette, along the Gulf Coast of
Texas (Category I, 7/15/03) Solar energy drives
wind and water currents on the Earths surface,
accounting for circulation patterns, climate, and
weather phenomena such as this cyclone.
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Hurricane Isabel, 9/13/03
Eye of Isabel
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SUPERCELLS Great Plains, Canada
MONSOONAL Bangladesh and India
THUNDERSTORMS convection, overshoot tops,
outflow, and anvil formation
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Hydrospheric currents and geologic products
Sediment transport and shoreline features
(barrier islands, etc.)
Oyashio Current sea ice, showing southward flow
of cold Arctic waters meeting warmer waters to
produce spiral eddies that move the sea ice
(above)
Cape Hatteras, NC
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POTENTIAL SOURCES OF BIOGENIC SEDIMENT
(Productive waters that may support regional
fisheries)
Algal Whitings, Little Bahama Bank
(Suspensions of lime mud produced by blooms of
algae)
Plankton Bloom, Southern Atlantic Ocean
PRODUCED BY MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS
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BARRIER, PATCH and FRINGING REEFS, and ATOLLS
Bora-Bora, Society Islands, French Polynesia,
Pacific Ocean (looking north) Great Barrier
Reef, Queensland, Australia
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Atolls of the Maldives, Indian Ocean (looking
south)
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Fires, sediment plumes, Borneo
Tierras Bajas deforestation, Bolivia
LARGE-SCALE HUMAN-INDUCED ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS AND CHANGES
Photos show rapid modification of the Earths
surface by humans.
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1992
1985
TROPICAL RAIN FOREST DESTRUCTION Southern Amazon
River Basin, Rondônia, Brazil Photos provide a
visual indication of the rate of deforestation
occurring. The amount of clear-cut area now
exceeds the area of remaining rain forest timber
stands.
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2001
Betsiboka River Delta, Bombetoka
Bay, Madagascar Removal of native forest, massive
soil losses, rapid delta expansion
1983
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Etosha Pan, dry salt lake, Namibia Nation
boundary revealed because of differing
grazing practices. Soil in Namibia is much
more reflective because of de-vegetation due to
overgrazing.
Angola
Namibia
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Israel
Egypt
USA
Mexico
Other international boundaries viewed from Space
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1985
1992
Aral Sea, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (top to
north) (46 water level decrease since 1960
level continues to fall) Development of
agricultural irrigation projects impedes
recharge. With reduced fresh water quantities and
constant evaporation, the sea has become more
saline and shrunk drastically. It has also become
polluted with pesticides and fertilizers.
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Aral Sea, bisected, 2002 (top to northeast)
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Pivot irrigation, Saudi Arabia, is leading to
groundwater depletion from deep aquifers and to
further desertification. Water reserves are
finite. Center pivot irrigation systems are 0.6
mi (1 km) in diameter.
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Mono Lake, Sierra Nevada, CA Water drawn to
supply LA has resulted in lowered lake levels,
increased salinity, and an endangered ecosystem.
Las Vegas, NV Rapid urbanization in a desert
setting stresses surface and ground water
resources.
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Lake Powell and the Colorado River, Colorado
Plateau, UT-AZ The building of Glen Canyon Dam
ushered in the modern environmental movement --
David Brower, Sierra Club
The canyonlands did have a heart, a living
heart, and that heart was Glen Canyon and the
wild Colorado. -- Edward Abbey
Glen Canyon Dam
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Agricultural landscape, Uzbekistan, 2002
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LIVING AND WORKING ON FLOOD PLAINS
Transformation of steppe-desert into productive
farmlands along Yellow River, NW China (below)
Confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri and
Illinois Rivers, post-1993 flood, St Louis area,
MO-IL (above)
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Sunglint and smog layer over Upstate New York
(looking southwest) Air pollution layer is capped
by an atmospheric inversion, marked by top cloud
layer.
Po River Valley smog, northern Italy (looking
west) The Alps provide a natural barrier to smog
migration, thus trapping it in this heavily
industrialized area.
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Southern California wildfires, 10/26/03 Fires in
San Bernardino Mountains are being driven by
Santa Ana winds
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Manicouagan Reservoir Impact Site, Quebec
SUMMARY
Galapagos Islands, Pacific Ocean
PHOTOS FROM SPACE

• 1. Are excellent observational data to observe
  Earths dynamic
• surface and its systems.
• 2. Document large-scale earth-system processes
  and interactions.
• 3. Show natural and human-induced, short-term
  environmental
• changes and hazards.
• 4. Reveal the effects humans have on the Earths
  environment.
• 5. Are readily accessible and easily downloadable
  from various
• NASA websites.

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• By using Space Shuttle and International Space
  Station
• photographs in the classroom
• Increases our understanding of how remote sensing
  is used to
• document, interpret, and monitor the surface of
  the Earth.
• Incorporates a vast, impressive visual resource
  under-utilized in geoscience education.
• Provides a valuable, alternative electronic data
  set that enhances
• student learning, especially in technology based
  activities.

(Digital photos from STS-107, Space Shuttle
Columbia, before it was lost on 2/1/03)
Dhaulagiri Himal, Nepal
Tokyo Bay, Japan
Laguna Superior, Mexico
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THE END
STS 109 landing, 03/12/02
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Appendix A Catalog of the Photographs
Slide Photo description (position) Photo
(mission-roll-frame) 1. Earth limb, sun,
windows (C) STS 107-E-5485 1. Klyuchevskaya,
volcano, Russia (uL) STS 068-150-045
1. Frontal system (lL) STS 41C-040-2130
1. Cape Cod, MA (uR) STS 106-710-060
1. Southern Florida (lR) STS 51C-143-0032
2. Shuttle blast off (R) STS 108-S-013
2. Earth rise (L) AS 11-44-6549
2. Astronaut (inset) STS 109-E-5247 3. Mt.
Everest, Himalaya (uR) STS 066-208-025
3. Nile River delta (uL) STS 101-717-004
3. Von Karman vortices, Canary Islands (lL) STS
101-706-022 4. Cosmonaut with camera
(uL) STS 108-371-019 4. International Space
Station (uR) STS 108-371-031 5. Florida
Peninsula STS 095-743-033 6. San Francisco
Bay area ISS 004-E-10288 7. Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia (L R) STS 059-225-044
8. Thunderstorms (lL) STS 41B-041-2347
8. New York City area, NY (lC) STS 058-081-038
8. St. Elias Mountains, AK (lR) STS
028-097-085 9. Klyuchevskaya volcano, Russia
(L) STS 068-273-033 9. Yellowstone area,
WY-ID-MT (R) STS 112-707-043 9. Mt.
Fujiyama, Japan (lL) STS 107-E-5689
10. Rabaul volcano, New Britain (uL) STS
064-116-064 10. Mt. Etna, Sicily (lL) ISS
005-E-19024 10. Klyuchevskaya volcano, Russia
(uR) STS 068-214-043 11. Mt. Pinatubo,
Philippines (L) STS 046-075-079A 11. Jemez
Mountains, NM (R) STS 062-100-195
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Slide Photo description (position) Photo
(mission-roll-frame) 12. Cascades, WA
(R) STS 085-707-055 12. Mt. St. Helens, WA,
post-1980 eruption (L) STS 064-051-025
13. Pacific Northwest ISS 004-E-10921
14. Big Island of Hawaii (L) STS 61A-050-0057
14. Mauna Loa and Kilauea, HI (R) STS
051-102-085 15. Himalaya (uL) STS
41G-120-0022 15. Himalaya and Tibet Plateau
(R) STS 076-727-080 16. Mt. Everest ISS
008-E-6150 17. Canadian Rockies STS
028-074-070 18. Blue Ridge and Shenandoah, VA
(L) STS 062-104-029 18. Sierra Madre
Oriental, Mexico (uR) STS 080-704-022
18. Susquehenna Valley, PA (lR) STS
068-173-103 19. Pt. Reyes, CA (L) STS
073-726-004 19. Owens Valley, CA (R) STS
058-073-083 20. Central Sierra, CA-NV
(L) STS 040-077-057 20. Northern Sierra,
CA-NV (R) STS 040-609-040 21. San Francisco
Bay Area, CA (L) STS 062-098-156 21. Los
Angeles Basin, CA (R) STS 060-114-080
22. Ganges River delta (uL) STS 087-707-092
22. Mississippi River delta (lL) STS
062-081-065 22. Parana and Paraguay Rivers,
Argentina (uR) STS 41B-042-2483
22. Brahmaputra River braids (lR) ISS
003-ESC-6632 23. Mississippi River delta
region STS 51C-143-0027 24. Rio de la Plata,
Argentina-Uruguay ISS 008-E-5983 25. Grand
Canyon, AZ, with snow (L) STS 060-083-005
25. Upsala Glacier, Argentina (R) ISS
004-E-7700 26. Malaspina Glacier, AK STS
028-097-081 27. Fjorded coastline, Greenland
(uL) STS 085-713-074 27. Raised shorelines,
James Bay, Canada (R) STS 099-706-090
28. Iceberg, South Atlantic Ocean STS
048-073-00Q
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Slide Photo description (position) Photo
(mission-roll-frame) 29. Lake Poopo, Bolivia,
1990 (L) STS 032-088-069 29. Lake Poopo,
Bolivia, 1995 (lR) STS 073-735-047
30. Kara-Bogaz Gol, Caspian Sea, 1995 (L) STS
073-701-033 30. Kara-Bogaz Gol, Caspian Sea,
1985 (lR) STS 51F-040-0064 30. Kara-Bogaz
Gol, Caspian Sea, inlet (inset) STS 111-E-5485
31. Dust blow, Mauritania (L) STS 103-734-020
31. Namib Desert, Namibia (R) STS
103-732-005 32. Rio Grande dust plumes,
Bolivia ISS 004-715-040 33. coastal dunes,
Brazil ISS 007-E-15177 34. Hurricane
Claudette, Gulf Coast, TX ISS 007-E-10244
35. Hurricane Isabel ISS 007-E-14750
35. eye of Isabel (inset) ISS 007-E-14745
36. Supercell thunderstorms, Canada (L) STS
064-205-050 36. Monsoonal thunderstorms,
Bangladesh India (R) STS 51F-031-069
37. Oyashio Current sea ice (uL) STS
045-079-00N 37. Cape Hatteras, NC (R) STS
034-083-069 38. Plankton bloom, South Atlantic
Ocean (L) STS 088-720-020 38. Algal whitings,
Little Bahama Bank (R) STS 088-719-029
39. Great Barrier Reef, Australia (L) STS
046-077-031 39. Bora-Bora, Pacific Ocean
(uR) STS 068-258-042 40. Maldives, Indian
Ocean STS 056-152-160 41. Fires, sediment
plumes, Borneo (L) STS 093-708-062
41. Radial deforestation, Tierras Bajas, Bolivia
(R) ISS 002-ESC-5654 42. Deforestation,
Rondonia Brazil, 1985 (L) STS 51G-034-060
42. Deforestation, Rondonia, Brazil, 1992
(R) STS 046-078-026 43. Betsiboka River
delta, Madagascar, 1983 (lL) STS 007-003-058
43. Betsiboka River delta, Madagscar, 2001
(uR) ISS 003-ESC-5073 44. Etosha Pan,
Namibia-Angola STS 51G-046-078
45. Egypt-Israel border (L) STS 111-712-008
45. USA (CA)-Mexico border (R) STS 111-E-5224
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Slide Photo description (position) Photo
(mission-roll-frame) 46. Aral Sea, 1985
(L) STS 051F-036-059 46. Aral Sea, 1992
(R) STS 047-079-083 47. Aral Sea, bisected,
2002 STS 112-703-157 48. Pivot irrigation,
Saudi Arabia STS 083-747-033 49. Mono Lake,
Sierra Nevada, CA (L) STS 41G-044-019
49. Las Vegas area, NV (R) STS 073-706-020
50. Lake Powell, UT-AZ ISS 003-E-7751
50. Glen Canyon Dam (inset) ISS 006-E-28359
51. agricultural landscape, Uzbekistan STS
111-340-017 52. St. Louis area, MO (L) STS
062-081-002 52. Yellow River, NW China
(R) STS 068-239-083 53. Po River Valley
smog, Italy (uL) NASA 6-703-044 53. Smog
layer, Upstate NY (lR) STS 092-713-032
54. southern California wildfires, 2003 ISS
007-E-18088 55. Galapagos Islands, Pacific
Ocean (uL) STS 099-753-032 55. Manicouagan
Reservoir, Quebec (uR) STS 099-749-063
56. Laguna Superior, Mexico (lL) STS
107-E-5180 56. Tokyo Harbor, Japan (lC) STS
107-E-5240 56. Dhaulagiri Himal, Nepal
(lR) STS 107-E-5308 57. STS 109 (Space
Shuttle) landing KSC 02PD-0264 58. Blue
Marble, whole Earth (R) AS 17-148-22721 Positi
on of Photograph on the Slide L left R
right uL upper left lL lower left uR
upper right lR lower right C center inset
within other photo lC lower center
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