Featured Stories coral reef |
| Maybe you're an avid diver or you've just watched Finding Nemo , but chances are you're a coral reef fan. They are living megastructural biodiversity hotspots in the oceans - formed by clumping together to build huge underwater cities with limestone exoskeletons . These ecosystems support 25% of marine life despite covering less than 1% of the Earth's surface |
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| PlanetS cope Kure Atoll, Hawaii, USA May 12, 2016 |
| Corals are found all over the ocean, from dark depths to bright surfaces. However, in warm tropical waters, coral reefs grow in a wide variety of varieties. Symbiotic algae flourish . Because algae require light for photosynthesis, coral reefs form in shallow waters where the light is most abundant. Fortunately, that means satellites can see them too. |
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Image via Allen Coral Atlas Mosaic |
| Viewed from space, the coral reefs appear bright pale blue, while the deeper surrounding ocean takes on a darker hue. Earth-imaging satellites are able to observe these reefs because of their shallow depth and sunlight. But what's not shown is that thousands of marine species depend on these living megastructures |
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| PlanetS cope BelizeApril 14, 2019 |
| Coral reefs are like tropical rainforests in the ocean: biodiverse, magnificent, vital to global ecosystems, and generally quite humid. But both are also increasingly threatened by humans. As our climate warms, so do our oceans, and warmer ocean temperatures killed about 14 percent of coral reefs globally between 2008 and 2019. |
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| PlanetS cope March 26, 2022, Hawaii, USA, French Frigate Shoals |
| When it's too hot the coral becomes stressed and expels the algae. This is called coral bleaching because it turns the coral white. Now it's more that a warming climate will also cause ocean acidification, which will lead to global warming. Reducing the calcium mineral available to humans is putting increasing pressure on these ecosystems, from destructive fishing practices that cause direct pollution from global warming . |
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| Sky Satellite Pointe d'Esny, Mauritius August 11-17, 2020 |
| Capitalism is keen to put a price tag on environmental "assets," so the global value of coral reefs has been calculated to be somewhere between $30-$17.2 billion per year . So, a lot. However, many consider these ecosystems invaluable (and we agree). Fortunately, a global movement is working to help save coral. Satellites equip them with a new powerful tool. |
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| PlanetS cope EritreaMay 1, 2019 |
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| It's been two hundred years since Darwin created the reef map that he discovered during his voyages and while he did a pretty good job, all things considered, we have more tools than we do today. As you can guess, satellites are a key technology here. The researchers announced the completion of the first comprehensive global map of coral reefs late last year, named Alan Coral Atlas . |
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| Image via Allen Coral Atlas Mosaic |
| This is a comprehensive atlas of over two million satellite images of all the coral reefs in the world. Coral bleaching monitor . Satellites have been observing the sea for a while , collecting data on sea surface temperature, sea level change and weather. But this map is a first and a game-changer for researchers around the world. |
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| Image via Allen Coral Atlas Mosaic |
| Bonus: everything in Australia is extra huge, so the world's largest coral reef is there too. Unlike other animals in the country, though, these corals aren't trying to kill you . The Great Barrier Reef is huge. The size of Germany, or half the size of Texas, it has about 3,000 individual reefs. It's also absolutely stunning, whether you're diving in it or admiring its hue from space. |
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| PlanetS cope Great Barrier Reef Australia July 8, 2016 |
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sandstorm |
| We're not over the dunes yet . It's a dust storm that was photographed in South Africa a few years ago. Strong winds carry dust from high places into the valleys below. Speaking of which , a series of storms last month brought Saharan dust all the way to Europe, and the sky turned a Hollywood apocalyptic orange, covering multiple areas in a layer of reddish-brown mud, although most of our satellite imagery is static. objects, we often capture dynamic events. Whether it's smoke, floods or dust storms, comparing these events to previous ones, still images show how much the Earth's surface can change on a given day. |
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| PlanetS cope Johannesburg , South Africa • July 5 - 16, 2020 |
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Instagram Highlights: Daily Overview |
| It's fitting that lithium -- a key element in some batteries -- is collected in what looks like a giant circuit board. @daily overview created this image of Chile's Atacama Salt Flats using planetary data. It is the third largest salt flat in the world and holds the world's largest lithium reserves, accounting for more than 25% of global supply. |
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| Create overview images from Planet |
| This week we're going to do a double feature, because Overview also released this stunning image of the Jing River in China. Valleys, farmlands, and towns surround this winding artery for 455 kilometers (283 miles). We also love discovering natural fractal patterns and we discussed this one last week which was too good to miss. |
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