Understanding the Amazon from space

This peculiar image consists of radar observations taken with ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It combines data taken over two years, and shows the state of change within the region. While most of it is grey – representing no dramatic change – colours such as blue, green and red represent differences from the dates when they were respectively taken on 2 May 2015, 16 March 2017 and 18 March 2019. Because Mato Grosso is deep in the Amazon, this data is vital in understanding the region’s rapid deforestation, which is having a significant effect on the world’s climate.