earthstory reblogged
Smokey Sunset - Crater Lake - Oregon
Harry Snowden
This mesmerising visualisation displays the distribution of aerosols on August 23, 2018.
Like a cosmic galaxy, sea salt aerosols (blue), black carbon particulates (red) and dust (purple) are seen scattered across the planet, captured by NASA’s Earth-observing satellites, Terra, Aqua, Aura and Suomi NPP and modeled using Goddard Earth Observing System Forward Processing (GEOS FP). On this particular day, smoke plumes drifted over North America and Africa, three tropical cyclones tossed in the Pacific Ocean, and significant dust clouds blew over deserts in Asia and Africa, which can be clearly seen in the image.
While atmospheric aerosols of dust and sea salt are quite natural, the red plumes of black carbon are a somewhat different story. Black carbon is a sooty black material that mainly arises from petroleum and diesel engines, coal-fired power plants, and other sources that burn fossil fuels- making it a fingerprint of human activity.
Importantly, black carbon is a key constituent of fine Particulate Matter (PM 2.5) which can have serious implications on global public health. In 2018, the annual World Air Quality Report [1] stated that out of >3,000 cities monitored, 64% exceeded the World Health Organisation’s annual exposure guideline for PM 2.5, which is cause for concern. Indeed, it is estimated that air pollution contributes to 7 million premature deaths annually [2], providing plenty of motivation to (quite literally) clean up our act.
Jean
Image Credit: NASA/Joshua Stevens/Adam Voiland
_](https://www.facebook.com/TheEarthStory/photos/p.2398694760191554/2398694760191554/?type=3&theater#)
Source: facebook.com
A trip to Yosemite during an interesting time - as the valley fills with clouds from the disastrous “Camp Fire” in California, Summer 2018. Original caption:
Yosemite National Park is a mountainous area located just west of San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Northern California.
Originally, the area was inhabited by the native Miwok tribe. In 1851, the natives were pushed out by a group of western settlers and the current name Yosemite was adopted.
Over time, it grew into a very popular natural destination for people from all around the world. Attracting tourists, hikers, and climbers alike, the area offers a plethora of gorgeous view spots, natural formations, and raw and untouched nature.
Unfortunately, recently the impacts of human activity are becoming more and more apparent in the area as it suffers from ever-worsening seasons plagued with wildfires of proportions too large for the park to naturally recover from.
This video was captured during the Camp Fire in 2018 and all 'cloud-like' structures in the video are actually smoke from one of the worst man-made natural disasters on record.
It is again wildfire season in North America. This video captures footage of the fires that raged through British Columbia in 2018 - a fire season which already looks like it will be passed by the 2019 season.
onthecoastns
Sunset in Scott's Bay, Nova Scotia from Saturday night. Although beautiful to see this unique sight was caused from the smoke blowing across Canada from the current Alberta Wildfires. I wish all of my fellow Canadians safe travels from all of the city's that are currently being evacuated. ..
Source: instagram.com
Right now, Alberta, Canada is experiencing major wildfires. Here is a timelapse view of a portion of the fire growth on May 29.
shahar__melamed
IJEN INDONESIA, 2018
One image worth a thousand words, taken in the Ijen volcanic mountain in Java, Indonesia.
we arrived to the mountain top (2,799 m) in the sunrise and didn't know what awaits us. an amazing view, blue smoke and turquoise water. all, not to be touched.
the lake in the centre of the mountain is one of the most acidic lake in the world and the smoke that comes out of the volcanic rock is pure poison to the lungs.
even though the risk is high, Indonesian locals work from the first ray of sun until the last one, 7 days a week, digging and collecting lava stones. in average ( as seen above) a "carrier" picks up 70kg of yellow rocks in order to bring them back to the village and repeat it as much as they can during the day. these lava rocks are mostly intended for cosmetics around the world.
we were shocked by their hard work and very tiring lives and didn't know such works still existed in the modern world of today.
Source: instagram.com
Aerosol Earth
Many people already know a bit about aerosols in the sense that they come from aerosol cans such as deodorants and bugs sprays. However, the true meaning of "aerosol" is any liquid or solid substance in the form of extremely fine particles so small that they may be mistaken as a gas. Few realize that these aerosols are ever present all across the globe. Each breath we take is contains millions solids and liquids ranging in size from nanometers to micrometers.
The image shown above is a result of model that uses mathematical equations to model physical processes or quantities. Inputs for the model come from various satellites and sensors placed on the globe itself. NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System Forward Processing (GEOS FP) model output for aerosols for August 23rd, 2018 is highlighted in the above image.
Upon observation, trails of smoke from forest fires and other sources can be seen along with a number of tropical cyclones and sandstorms. As one would expect, these events kick up quite a bit of particles and droplets.
-♞Ren T
Image Credit:
Sources/References:
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earthstory reblogged
- abc7la INFERNO: Time-lapse video shows flames erupting near a communications site in the Cleveland National Forest, where the Holy Fire has burned more than 18,100 acres. Click the link in our bio for the latest.
Source: instagram.com
earthstory reblogged
the smoke mixing into sunset storms is doing weird things with color. the sky is painted and alive.
this storm had, for about 10 mins, the best structure I’ve seen so far this year. then it fell apart into a hail throwing beast like everything this year has. but, we’ll always have that 10 mins.
Smoke in the Andean vales
Snapped from the International Space Station we have an image taken from the east over the 4000 metre Altiplano of Bolivia, with Lake Titicaca's (see http://bit.ly/2sMekny) southern tip poking into the image at the bottom left with the barren plateau in the foreground (a consequence of the rain shadow. This phenomenon is caused by the dominant trade winds blowing across the continent from the Atlantic coast, bringing the moisture that feeds the Amazon and other rivers. The air hits the Andes, rises and cools, precipitates into moisture and rains, and then, thoroughly dry hops over the mountains to desiccate the coastal strip of Chile and Peru beyond. The phenomenon is known as a rain shadow (see http://bit.ly/1I1OPAh). In the lowlands below the mountains there are dark green jungles part covered in cloud, feeding off the stream of nutrient laden water washing off the peaks. Here several forest fires are burning at the top edge of the photo, and their smoke is being drawn up the valleys, in one case passing through the 6000 m Cordillera Oriental (the chain of snow capped peaks in the centre of the image) up a river valley that has eroded headwards into the chain.
. Loz
Image credit: NASA
Source: facebook.com
Head to a ghost town near Death Valley with the Skyglow Project. Original caption:
SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM presents MOJAVE FORSAKEN -- a timelapse journey through ghost towns of the Mojave Desert and the magnificent night skies there.
Flanking the infamous Death Valley to the north, west and east, once-booming mining towns of Bodie, Cerro Gordo and Rhyolite now sit in decay at mercy of the elements. In the late 19th century, as gold-hungry settlers overran the West, thousands of mining towns, some as numerous as 50,000 inhabitants, each with own Chinatown, numerous brothels and casinos, sprung up across the continent. However, as the gold and silver mines were exhausted, mining boom collapsed by the early 20th century, leaving these towns abandoned virtually overnight.
Today, Bodie, managed by National Park Service, Rhyolite, managed by Bureau of Land Management, and Cerro Gordo, managed by private owners, exist in a state of "controlled decay," as the authorities protect the structures there from vandalism, but leave them exposed to scorching sun, vicious winds and freezing winter storms. At night, due to high elevation, clarity of the skies, and lack of sources of light pollution, these town give us a glimpse of the night sky as it would have been seen by inhabitants of these towns a century ago.
Note: The orange skies seen in the Bodie footage came from the August 2015 Walker Fire in Yosemite National Park.
MOJAVE FORSAKEN Photo Stills: http://bit.ly/2ySR0DU SKYGLOW Book Stills: http://bit.ly/2vXO7Ag Other Photos from SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM: http://bit.ly/2whWSaQ
earthstory reblogged
Two weeks’ difference at Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park. Second photo is due to smoke from the Sprague fire.
August/September 2017