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Way back when before the Saylorville Dam – #Throwback Thursday

By iowaviewJune 9, 2022#Throwback Thursday, Education, Environmental Change, Imagery, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Observation, Outreach#Landsat50, #ThrowbackThursday, drinking water, flood control, Iowa, Landsat 1, Landsat 3, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Polk County, Reservoir, Saylorville Dam, US Army Corps of Engineers

It’s another Throwback Thursday. Saylorville Lake and Dam are located in Central Iowa northwest of Des Moines, Iowa. The Saylorville complex was built to help with flood control and as a drinking water source for surrounding communities. At normal levels, the Saylorville reservoir stores 21.1 billion gallons of water with capacity at flood levels to hold 204.1 billion gallons of water.

Below are several resources if you are interested to learn more about this important structure north of Des Moines:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Saylorville Lake Fact Sheet – https://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Portals/48/docs/CC/FactSheets/ODS/Saylorville%20Lake%20-%20Operations.pdf
GEOLOGY OF THE SAYLORVILLE SPILLWAY; AFTER THE FLOOD OF 2008 – https://www.iihr.uiowa.edu/igs/publications/uploads/GSI-084.pdf
A Guide to Saylorville Lake in Central Iowa – https://desmoinesoutdoors.com/a-guide-to-saylorville-lake-in-central-iowa/

This year we are celebrating 50 years of the Landsat earth observing satellite mission. Landsat data helps us observe changes in our communities and environment over time.

Traveling Way Back – Landsat Images From Aprils Gone By

By iowaviewJune 2, 2022#Throwback Thursday, Education, Environmental Change, Imagery, Landsat, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Observation, Phenology, Remote Sensing, Resource#Landsat50, #ThrowbackThursday, Across Five Aprils, Ames, Boone, Central Iowa, Des Moines River, imagery, Iowa weather, Jewell, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Landsat science, Little Wall Lake, phenology, variable weather in April

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday. Today we are going back into the archives to compare imagery from the first five Landsat satellites (all images are featured in natural color). Click on each image for a closer view.

Try to notice the differences in resolution and image quality between the different years.
Another thing to note is the wide seasonal variation between the images. All the images were from the same three week period in April. Some images are have snow while other years are very green.
Observe that the Des Moines River is swollen in the Landsat 4 -1983 image.

You can explore the raw images using this web app: https://arcg.is/0XrG4f. Happy exploring.

This year we are celebrating 50 years of the Landsat earth observing satellite mission. Landsat data helps us observe changes in our communities and environment over time.

Thanks for stopping by and keep observing the world around you!

Join in the Upcoming Summer GIS Workshop for Educators

By iowaviewJune 1, 2022Announcement, Dear Teachers, Education, Event, OutreachBringing GIS to the classroom, Dear Teachers, Engaging Students in the Classroom with Maps: Exploring Geospatial Technologies, GIS workshop, July 20 21 2022, K-12 teachers, license renewal credit, masters credit, Oskaloosa Iowa, William Penn University

Dear Teachers,

As the summer approaches, we wanted to encourage you to save the date for an upcoming GIS workshop for K-12 educators being held at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa on July 20-21, 2022. See attached poster for more details. Also please send us an email if you are interested but can’t make this event. If there is enough interest, we may hold a second workshop, in August or the fall.

Please contact Amy Logan or Debbie Stevens with any questions.

More progress made on the 2020 LiDAR release (Western Iowa)

By iowaviewMay 27, 2022Announcement, Imagery, Iowa Geographic Map Server, LiDAR, Observation, Resource2020 LiDAR, Audubon, Cherokee, Completing the state, Crawford, Ida, Iowa, Iowa Geographic Map Server, Osceola, Shelby

Six additional counties in western Iowa have been added to the 2020 LiDAR service: https://arcg.is/15eHuH0

Map of completed LiDAR services for Iowa counties.

Brushy Creek: The Birth Of A Reservoir – #Time Lapse Tuesday

By iowaviewMay 17, 2022#Time Lapse Tuesday, Education, Environmental Change, Imagery, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Observation, Outreach, Remote Sensing#Landsat50, #TimeLapseTuesday, Brushy Creek Lake, Brushy Creek State Recreation Area, Dam, Iowa, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Reservoir

Today’s time lapse video is highlighting the damming of Brushy Creek and the creation of 690-acre Brushy Creek Lake, Iowa’s deepest artificial lake.

Watch the dam development begin around 1994 and then the lake begin to fill around 1998. The Brushy Creek State Recreation Area is a 6500-acre park located in north central Iowa. To read more about the park at the Iowa Department of the Natural Resources Brushy Creek page: https://www.iowadnr.gov/portals/idnr/uploads/parks/parkmaps/brushycreekmap.pdf

This year we are celebrating 50 years of the Landsat earth observing satellite mission. Landsat data helps us observe changes in our communities and environment over time.

#TimeLapse Tuesday – Spot the Change – Urban Growth of Ankeny, Iowa

By iowaviewMay 3, 2022#Time Lapse Tuesday, Education, Environmental Change, Imagery, Landsat, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Observation, Remote Sensing#Landsat50, Ankeny, farm land, golf course, growing city, imagery, Iowa, Remote sensing, retention ponds, urbanization

What changes do you notice in this Landsat time lapse video?

1) The areas of purple and white in the image are urban areas. Throughout the video they fill in the area from the bottom to the center. The pink areas are farm land.

2) Did you notice the increase in the number of retention ponds (dark blue specks in the urban areas) over time? Retention ponds are used to prevent flooding and provide for water storage in urban areas. As areas become urbanized there is often more surface covered in concrete, parking lots and buildings. There are fewer places for the water to flow directly into the ground.

3) Did you spot the golf course on the northern edge of the city?

This year we are celebrating 50 years of the Landsat earth observing satellite mission. Landsat data helps us observe changes in our communities and environment over time.

This video was created using Google Earth Engine. You can create your own time lapse videos by visiting: https://emaprlab.users.earthengine.app/view/lt-gee-time-series-animator.

More 2020 LiDAR released on the Iowa Geographic Map Server

By iowaviewMay 2, 2022Announcement, Imagery, Iowa Geographic Map Server, LiDAR, Observation, Resource2020 LiDAR, Adams, Cass, Completing the state, Fremont, Iowa, Iowa Geographic Map Server, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, Taylor

Eight more counties in southwest Iowa have been added to the 2020 LiDAR services: https://arcg.is/1PfriS

#Landsat Throwback Thursday – 50 years of Growth in Dubai

By iowaviewApril 28, 2022#Throwback Thursday, Education, Imagery, Landsat, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Remote Sensing#Landsat50, #ThrowbackThursday, 1972 to 2022, 50years, Dubai, Landsat, Landsat Golden Jubilee, United Arab Emirates, village to metropolis

Over the last 50 years, the city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, has transformed from a small fishing and pearl diving village into a luxurious, modern metropolis. The population has grown from just over 100,000 residents in 1972 to an estimated 2.9 million residents in 2022. While the beauty and distinction of this city is undeniable, some question the sustainability of this fast-growing city located in a land of desert and salt water. The images are shown in false color infrared. Areas appearing red show healthy vegetation. Notice the dramatic change from first image in 1973 (very little vegetation and urbanization) to 2022 with many areas of red far from the water.

To create these images, individual bands were downloaded from the United States Geological Survey’s Earth Explorer Website (https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/) in April 2022. The composite false color infrared images were created in ArcGIS Pro using the composite imagery processing tool.

This year we are celebrating 50 years of the Landsat earth observing satellite mission. Landsat data helps us observe changes in our communities and environment over time.

Happy Earth Day 2022: Enjoy NASA’s Pathways to New Discoveries

By iowaviewApril 22, 2022Activity, Earth Day, Education, Landsat, NASA, Outreach2022 NASA Earth Day Poster, Artemis, Benefits from Space, Benefits on Earth, Climate Quizzes, Climate Time Machine, Earth from Afar, Earth Science, Eyes on Earth, GLOBE Observer, Images of Change, Landsat 9, Live Views from Space, NASA Aeronautics, NASA Earth Day, Pathways to New Discoveries, QR Codes, Rising Tides, Snack time with NASA

This year NASA’s Earth Day poster is features a series of QR codes which provide an array of information on a number of their missions, programs, and activities. We have provided a key below explaining each of the numbered QR codes along with the link to each code (click on the name to follow the link.)

Announcing the Golden Jubilee of the Landsat Mission

By iowaviewApril 20, 2022Announcement, Education, Environmental Change, Imagery, Landsat, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Outreach#ThrowbackThursday, #TimeLapseTuesday, 50 years of Landsat, celebrating earth observation, Landsat Golden Jubilee

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first Landsat satellite (July 23, 1972). To celebrate fifty years of earth observation, IowaView will be posting various images and gif documenting Landsat in Iowa and around the world. Check back regularly for new images and articles. #TimeLapseTuesday #ThrowbackThursday