Category Archives: Remote Sensing

Timelapse Tuesday – 37 years of Urban Growth in Ames, Iowa

By #Time Lapse Tuesday, Activity, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Observation, Remote Sensing, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This week we are exploring urban growth in Ames, Iowa. The red areas are showing areas of vegetation that are primarily agricultural in the larger areas, the neon green areas are short grass and trees, the gray color is urban areas, and blue areas are water.

Timelaspse Video of Ames, Iowa 1984 to 2021 – Summer Landsat Images

As you watch the time lapse video notice several things:

  1. The expansion of Ada Hayden (the large lake in the center right of the image.)
  2. How the agricultural land in the center of the images fills in rapidly with development between 2008 to 2021
  3. The increase in permanent water retention ponds in as the city develops.
  4. Many of the red agricultural parcels along Ioway Creek (the left river) become smaller and more developed through the time series.

Compare an image of north Ames, Iowa from 1987 to 2021 – what other urban growth changes can you spot?

Ames, Iowa – 1987
Ames, Iowa – 2021

Photos from ISU GIS Day 2022

By Activity, Education, Event, IGIC, Imagery, Iowa Geographic Map Server, Landsat, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Map, Remote Sensing, , , , , , , , , , ,

Celebrating 30 years of GIS at ISU today on GIS Day! We also celebrated the 50th anniversary of Landsat and were able to hand out playing cards, refreshments, posters, and other educational materials. This was a great opportunity for our staff in the GIS facility to share the work that they are doing, and teach others about GIS.

Fall Equinox in Northeast Iowa – #Landsat50

By Earth Observation Day, Imagery, Landsat, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Phenology, Remote Sensing, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy Fall! Observe the changes across the landscape in seasonal images in Northeast Iowa. Snow, forest, farmland. Can you notice the areas of coniferous trees versus deciduous trees and where there is seasonal farmland compared to pasture areas? Also notice the changes along the Mississippi and Upper Iowa Rivers. Enjoy the changing seasons!

Winter Equinox – 12/13/2021 – Landsat 8 – Bands 5,4,3
Spring Equinox – 03/27/2022- Landsat 9 – Bands 5,4,3
Summer Solstice – 06/23/2022 – Landsat 8 – Band 5,4,3
Fall Equinox – 09/19/2022 – Landsat 9 – Bands 5,4,3

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.

Disaster at Lake Delhi – #Landsat50

By #Time Lapse Tuesday, Environmental Change, Imagery, Landsat, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Outreach, Remote Sensing, USGS, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Well, it’s Water Wednesday. Today’s Landsat highlight is a time lapse video (2007-2017) showing the effect of a 2010 dam breach on the water level of Lake Delhi located in Delaware County in eastern Iowa. Notice the dramatic decrease in water and the exposure of large sandbars and the refilling of the lake as the dam is restored.

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.

Change Over Time – Flooding on the Landscape (NW Iowa)

By Education, Environmental Change, Imagery, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Observation, Remote Sensing, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Use sliders to compare images.

Today’s image shows an area in northwest Iowa between Spencer (Clay County) and Emmetsburg (Palo Alto County). The two images on the left are showing water levels in 1990 (typical year) and 2022 (recovering from a drought) compared to 1993 (heavy flooding) and 2008 (flooding). Notice the swollen streambanks and flooding along water bodies in the right images.

7/6/1990 – Landsat 5
06/21/1993 – Landsat 5
06/29/2022 – Landsat 9
06/14/2008 – Landsat 5

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.

How are you celebrating the Landsat’s Golden Jubilee?

By #Time Lapse Tuesday, Activity, Announcement, Education, Environmental Change, Event, Imagery, Landsat, Landsat Golden Jubilee, NASA, Observation, Outreach, Remote Sensing, Resource, Story Map, USGS, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
This image is from the Camp Landsat website: https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/outreach/camp-landsat/

To celebrate the Landsat Golden Jubilee, consider taking a virtual visit to Camp Landsat! This summer Camp Landsat is celebrating this exciting anniversary with 5 weeks of programming, celebrating the 5 decades of Landsat’s continuous mission. This week the theme is People and Places.

Enjoy and explore many activities from Camp Landsat including:

Graphic from GLOBE Program Website: https://observer.globe.gov/do-globe-observer/challenges/land-cover-challenge-2022

Stay Cool and Keep Observing!

Traveling Way Back – Landsat Images From Aprils Gone By

By #Throwback Thursday, Education, Environmental Change, Imagery, Landsat, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Observation, Phenology, Remote Sensing, Resource, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.
Landsat 1 – April 5, 1976
Landsat 2 – April 3, 1975

Landsat 3 – April 21, 1980
Landsat 4 – April 15, 1983
Landsat 5 – April 12, 1985

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!

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

By #Time Lapse Tuesday, Education, Environmental Change, Imagery, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Observation, Outreach, Remote Sensing, , , , , , ,

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.