Top satellite-based observations of September 2022

Highlights of September 2022

Here’s a summary of our highlighted satellite observations from last month. On September 25th we celebrated World Rivers Day. Rivers provide us with drinking water, irrigation, transportation, and much more. We should take this opportunity to discuss and focus on possible threats and dangers, such as pollution or the long-term effects of increasingly frequent droughts. Below we can see the Mississippi River – the second longest river in the United States. It’s flowing through ten states and is the birthplace of water skiing. 

Here’s a Sentinel-2 image of the Mississippi River – view on the map.

 

The continuation of wildfires in Autumn

With the start of the fall season on September 23rd, one could expect cooler temperatures, and thus also a levelling off of occurring wildfires. And while the first part of the sentence is true, September still hit us with some great wildfires, including a huge fire in Zhetikara District in Kazahstan. Another great fire, called ‘Cedar Creek Fire’ was just 15 miles east of Oakridge in Oregon. The fire was estimated to be more than 92 thousand acres. Around mid-September, there was also a fire spotted in Tecate area in Mexico.

Fire in Zhetikara District in Kazakhstan – view on the map.
Sentinel-2 image of fire in Tecate – view on the map.

 

Cedar Creek Fire on the east of Oakridge – view on the map.
Other effects of the climate change

In previous months we talked about different effects of climate change. This time we focused mostly on what was going on near the poles. We could observe the melting glaciers, which are another indication of the change that is happening to our planet’s climate. Rapid glacial melts in Antarctica and Greenland are influencing ocean currents, as well as rising sea levels. Over here we have some examples of visible changes in a span of just a few years. First we have Freemanbreen glacier, which is one of the primary southern outlet glacier in Svalbard. In the summer of 2022, the glacier experienced likely the most extensive melt in the region in at least the last 50 years. Another detectable effect of the global warming is the melting of the Twitcher Glacier in Antarctica, in just six years. 

Changes of the Freemanbreen glacier in Svalbard – view on the map.
The melting of the Twitcher Glacier over the past 6 years – view on the map.
Open-source intelligence

Satellite imagery enables us to follow situations and events happening all over the world. On September 17 there was an opening ceremony of the Vistula Spit Canal in Poland, which allows bypassing the Russian Strait of Baltyisk. Below we can see the construction of the Canal which started in February 2019.

The construction of the Vistula Spit Canal in Poland – view on the map.