Category Archives: Imagery

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!

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.

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

Ladies of Landsat – Many Pathways to becoming Remote Sensing Scientists

By iowaviewMarch 15, 2022Education, Imagery, Landsat, Observation, Outreach, Resource, USGS, Women's History Month#LadiesOfLandsat, #WomenInRemoteSensing, @LadiesOfLandsat, Africa Ixmucane Flores-Anderson, Amplifying their voices, Jill Deines, Nikki Tulley, Remote Sensing Scientists, USGS, Women's History Month

The Ladies of Landsat have shared some great USGS case study videos showcasing the paths women and girls can take to become remote sensing scientists. Three scientists stories are highlighted: Jill Deines, Africa Ixmucane Flores-Anderson, and Nikki Tulley. Read more and enjoy their stories below:

Africa Ixmucane Flores-Anderson: Using Landsat to Connect Pace to Village – Africa was inspired to help her local community in Guatemala by mapping water quality with Landsat and is now at monitoring deforestation.

Jill Deines: Using Landsat to Map Agriculture Yields and Irrigation Use – Dr. Jill Deines was was drawn to the bird’s eye view of agriculture plots growing up in the Midwest. Now she uses Landsat to monitor water resources and crop yield.

Nikki Tulley: Speaking a New Language of Landsat – Nikki grew up in the Navajo Nation without running water in her household. As PhD student at University of Arizona and Indigenous scientist, she uses Landsat to track drought conditions in her home community.

Presenting Iowa’s first Landsat 9 Image!

By iowaviewFebruary 11, 2022AmericaView, Announcement, Imagery, Landsat, USGSIowa's First Landsat 9 image, Landsat, Landsat 9 Launch, new satellite

This Image was captured with Landsat 9 on December 12, 2021. Notice the snow dusting in the north part of the image.

Yesterday the United State Geological Survey (USGS) released the first 38,000 scenes collected from the recently launch Landsat 9 (September 2021). After much calibration and quality assurance here are some of the first clear images of Iowa. For more images visit USGS Earth Explorer: https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/.