EARTH FROM SPACE

ESA’s Copernicus programme controls satellites around the globe, keeping a keen eye on our planet and producing stunning bird's-eye shots in the process

1 Bering Strait

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite captured three radar scans of the Bering Strait and assigned them each a colour: blue, red and green. Combing these images shows how the sea ice varied over the four week period. This region connects the Pacific and Arctic oceans between

Alaska and Russia, and the radar images were able to pierce through the clouds, very important for observations in a cloud-heavy winter period.

2 Alaska

Alaska is an environment being heavily affected by climate change. Copernicus has been watching over the US' most northern state, and in this instance the Copernicus Sentinel-2B satellite has been watching over the Columbia Glacier.

This glacier has been hit hard by climate change over the last 30 years, and has been shown to have retreated more than 20 kilometres (12 miles). It has shockingly lost half of its volume and thickness.

3 The Netherlands Amsterdam is peppered in canals that constitute over 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the region. There are two important reasons to monitor Amsterdam using satellites: firstly, to observe urban expansion into the surrounding wildlife habitats. Secondly, Amsterdam lies two metres (seven feet) below sea level and is susceptible to flooding. With the increase in sea levels, this is a danger that must be monitored for safety of the residents.

4 Peru

Bleeding surrounds the Chachani mountain in Peru. It is one of the tallest mountains near the city Arequipa. The red ring that surrounds the mountain was created with Copernicus’ false-colour image and shows the land’s vegetation, with different tones equating to different vegetation types in its annual cycle. Also surrounding Chachani is Arequipa’s airport – at the bottom of the image – and three volcanoes.

5

Uruguay

It almost looks like an abstract painting, but it is actually the brown sediment-rich Uruguay River that divides its namesake country and Argentina. The wetland systems are a hub for exotic wildlife, including 130 species of fish, 14 species of amphibian, 104 species of bird and 15 species of mammal. A watchful eye must be kept on this rare haven to make sure the ever-changing world doesn’t damage this environment.

6 Sicily

Copernicus has also focused on Sicily, Italy, and the two main Aegadian Islands – Favignana and Levanzo – with its nearinfrared capabilities. This camera channel emphasises the vegetation, which is shown in the overwhelming red, but the bright turquoise colours represent salt marshes. These areas have shallow sea waters, windy coasts and abundant sunshine, which make for prime salt production.

7 The Alps

This mountain range stretches roughly 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) over eight different countries. France, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia all have a part of the Alps within, and approximately 20 million people reside within their confines. This true-colour image shows the snowy-white head of the Alps in all its glory, with very little cloud coverage in the south of France.

8 Kenya

Nairobi is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. The population has been growing by four per cent annually and is projected to have a population reaching five million by 2025. This makes it a better time than any to track and document the growth that is currently under steam in this eastern African city, especially with the environmental challenge of managing a growing city without damaging the surrounding parks and forest.

9 India

Grooves, elevations and a picture of white, red and brown is what makes up this Copernicus image of Gangotri – one of the largest glaciers in the Himalayas. This is also a main source of water for the famous Ganges River which runs through India. Unfortunately, it appears that Gangotri has been receding for the last 20 years, and the glacier has thinning. If it carries on, an image like this will become more and more brown.

10 New Zealand New Zealand, the sovereign island county in the Pacific Ocean and the land of The Lord of the Rings, is a land rich with Polynesian culture and history. But from space it is rich with visually magnificent islands. This particular Copernicus image focuses on the Cook Strait that separates the north and the south islands, laminated on the east coast in the bright turquoise of sediment being carried into the Pacific Ocean.