Today European Space Agency reveals GlobCover 2009, the most up to date global land map

December 21, 2010 link to ESA most up to date world land map. (link)

                                                


The European Space Agency, (ESA) on December 21, 2010 reveals to the public the most up to date of the world's land cover. 


This version has been accomplished by a lot of hard work and cooperation with scientists and public servants. 


The last complete version was released in 2005. Over 8,000 individuals downloaded the 2005 version. The completion of the latest land map project was accomplished by the gathering of one year's of data from Envisat's Medium Imaging Spectrometer. 

This data was taken then compiled into this map by the Belgium's Universite catholique de Louvain. They created the map using software by Medias France & Germany's Brockman Consult.  This was data harvested within a specific time frame. from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.

ESA - Observing the Earth - Greenland glacier gives birth to giant iceberg

(link) ESA - Observing the Earth - Greenland glacier gives birth to giant iceberg

Send out the announcements! One of the largest glaciers on our planet just recently gave birth to a Giant Iceberg!  In the Glacial Household, this is referred to as Calving. Yes similar to a buffalo giving birth to a calf. For all those who are considered "deniers" of Climate Change and/or Global Warning, this is just a cute story manufactured by Hippies and Tree Huggers, go back to Watching Fox, you may lose the momentum of brainwashing. It would be a shame if you started looking at facts, and were to think for yourself. Hurry, I think Glenn is about to rant and rave that the First Lady was in Spain for a worldwide PETA meeting...

Now, for those of you who are free to evaluate information, please use the Link at the top of the page to see a historic event in Environmental change. To be clear, the Greenland glacier, calving an iceberg, is not an increase in the polar cap. I promise.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has a satellite called Envisat. Envisat is one of many of ESA's satellites orbiting our solar system, and keeping watch over our Universe. The type of system that is used in Envisat is called Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR). ASAR image captures of July 31, 2010, August 4, 2010 and Saturday, the 7th, 2010 showed movement, and the breaking of what is called the glacial tongue.

(The photo on the Right shows cracks and breaking of the glacial tongue on August 4th, 2010.)

Until August of this year, the glacier was moving at about 1km per year. On August 3rd the ice tongue was intact...the next day it separated from the glacier. That was calving, or the Glacier giving birth to the iceberg.

(The photo on the left is a 1991 image of the Petermann Glacier of NW Greenland.)

At this time, ESA in partnership with other agencies are monitoring the Strait of Nares. It's size at 245 square km is enormous...in the U.S. measure it is about 8 square miles big. Perhaps Sara Palin can see it from her backyard.

The Nares Strait connects the Lincoln Sea and Arctic Ocean with the Baffin Bay. The strait is usually navigable by icebreakers during August/September, when sea ice extent is at its minimum after the summer melt period. Envisat ASAR images will be used in the coming days to monitor the movement of the giant iceberg in support of icebreaker navigation.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the ESA for the beautiful imagry, and for monitoring our globe. Perhaps with this warning, and quick dispersal of the Petermann Glacier human beings will wake up and quit taking our plant for granted. This rapid loss of Glacial Ice this quickly is something Earth has not seen in recorded history. What will happen? I don't know.