ue to the potential combination of high tides, seasonal rainfall events, and river flooding. Much of this low-lying area is only 0–25 meters above sea level, and in some areas, land subsidence has also been occurring for many years. All of these factors lead to a risk of coastal flooding for local populations.
These Landsat images indicate changes in the area near Semarang City over the past 20 years. Semarang City is located at the bottom center of these images, and the differences along the coastline are particularly visible northeast of the city. In particular, the 2014 image shows coastal inundation that is encroaching on populated areas, roads, and structures.
Disaster managers and risk reduction personnel rely on satellite imagery such as Landsat to help document and mitigate flood threats as effectively as possible. The 42-year archive of Landsat imagery also provides a historical record that can be used to indicate long-term changes as they occur in coastal areas. This can help scientists and engineers understand and analyze historical trends, and assist with future planning for flood management and mitigation.
The Zapata Peninsula is located in western Cuba. Most of this sparsely populated area lies within the Ciénaga de Zapata National Park and UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserve.
The region is covered by large areas of open swamp and marshes intermixed with dense woodlands. It is also home to one of the largest coastal wetlands in the Caribbean region. The extensive and fragile ecosystem is protected for its biodiversity and high concentration of migratory birds, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs.
This Landsat 8 image shows the peninsula and neighboring region. The dense forests are dark green, while the open swamps and marshlands are shown in brighter green and yellow tones. This image also shows the surrounding deep ocean water and channels (dark blue and black), along with shallow water and coral reefs (bright blue).
Landsat images provide a valuable record of the earth’s surface and are useful for space-based mapping and classifications of vegetation, ecosystems, and coastal habitats.
Mount Tavurvur erupted on August 29, 2014, sending ash over surrounding areas on Papua New Guinea’s New Britain Island. The stratovolcano is located along the eastern edge of the Rabaul Volcanic Complex, and its last major eruption was in 1994.
These two Landsat images were acquired in April and September 2014. In both images, Mount Tavurvur can be seen to the east side of Simpson Harbor. This harbor forms part of the much larger (mostly submerged) Rabaul Caldera.
The second image was acquired a few days after the August 2014 eruption. This image shows the extent of ashfall (gray-brown), while the forested areas that were less affected by ash remain green.
Images acquired by the Landsat satellites are useful for monitoring land changes and recovery after natural disasters such as volcanoes.
Oil Production near Tioga, North Dakota August 28, 2014
These Landsat images show the area around Tioga, North Dakota, in 2002 and again in 2014. Oil was first discovered near Tioga in 1951, and the town has experienced several episodes of rapid growth due to its location over the Williston Basin, a major North American geologic source of oil, natural gas, and other energy resources. The recent development of advanced drilling techniques has led to a new surge of production, particularly within the Bakken Formation, which has become an important source of oil within the United States.
These two Landsat images show the dramatic changes to the landscape near Tioga in recent years. Many new oil wells and related facilities (small bright features) are visible in the 2014 image compared to the earlier image. The rapid expansion of the town of Tioga can also be seen, as the town has grown to support an expanding workforce. The 2014 image also shows the development of new oil processing and transportation facilities along the western and eastern edges of Tioga.
The images from the Landsat archive span four decades and provide a con