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#earthobservation — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #earthobservation, aggregated by home.social.

  1. In 2025, an area equivalent to **eight Norways** burned across the planet.

    That sounds like a catastrophe.
    - It isn't quite that simple.

    Not every fire is a disaster. Some are natural. Some are deliberate. Some are tiny. Some are enormous.

    So what actually happened?

    Our latest feature digs into the satellite data behind **265 million hectares of recorded burned area** — and asks a more interesting question than simply *how many fires were there?*

    **What the hell was actually going on?**

    🔥 **EIGHT NORWAYS BURNED IN ONE YEAR**
    A new feature from RABAGAS Magazine.
    rabagas.ghost.io/eight-norways

    #Rabagasmagazine #Wildfires #ClimateScience #EarthObservation #ClimateCrisis #SatelliteData #DataJournalism #Climate

  2. In 2025, an area equivalent to **eight Norways** burned across the planet.

    That sounds like a catastrophe.
    - It isn't quite that simple.

    Not every fire is a disaster. Some are natural. Some are deliberate. Some are tiny. Some are enormous.

    So what actually happened?

    Our latest feature digs into the satellite data behind **265 million hectares of recorded burned area** — and asks a more interesting question than simply *how many fires were there?*

    **What the hell was actually going on?**

    🔥 **EIGHT NORWAYS BURNED IN ONE YEAR**
    A new feature from RABAGAS Magazine.
    rabagas.ghost.io/eight-norways

    #Rabagasmagazine #Wildfires #ClimateScience #EarthObservation #ClimateCrisis #SatelliteData #DataJournalism #Climate

  3. In 2025, an area equivalent to **eight Norways** burned across the planet.

    That sounds like a catastrophe.
    - It isn't quite that simple.

    Not every fire is a disaster. Some are natural. Some are deliberate. Some are tiny. Some are enormous.

    So what actually happened?

    Our latest feature digs into the satellite data behind **265 million hectares of recorded burned area** — and asks a more interesting question than simply *how many fires were there?*

    **What the hell was actually going on?**

    🔥 **EIGHT NORWAYS BURNED IN ONE YEAR**
    A new feature from RABAGAS Magazine.
    rabagas.ghost.io/eight-norways

    #Rabagasmagazine #Wildfires #ClimateScience #EarthObservation #ClimateCrisis #SatelliteData #DataJournalism #Climate

  4. In 2025, an area equivalent to **eight Norways** burned across the planet.

    That sounds like a catastrophe.
    - It isn't quite that simple.

    Not every fire is a disaster. Some are natural. Some are deliberate. Some are tiny. Some are enormous.

    So what actually happened?

    Our latest feature digs into the satellite data behind **265 million hectares of recorded burned area** — and asks a more interesting question than simply *how many fires were there?*

    **What the hell was actually going on?**

    🔥 **EIGHT NORWAYS BURNED IN ONE YEAR**
    A new feature from RABAGAS Magazine.
    rabagas.ghost.io/eight-norways

    #Rabagasmagazine #Wildfires #ClimateScience #EarthObservation #ClimateCrisis #SatelliteData #DataJournalism #Climate

  5. In 2025, an area equivalent to **eight Norways** burned across the planet.

    That sounds like a catastrophe.
    - It isn't quite that simple.

    Not every fire is a disaster. Some are natural. Some are deliberate. Some are tiny. Some are enormous.

    So what actually happened?

    Our latest feature digs into the satellite data behind **265 million hectares of recorded burned area** — and asks a more interesting question than simply *how many fires were there?*

    **What the hell was actually going on?**

    🔥 **EIGHT NORWAYS BURNED IN ONE YEAR**
    A new feature from RABAGAS Magazine.
    rabagas.ghost.io/eight-norways

    #Rabagasmagazine #Wildfires #ClimateScience #EarthObservation #ClimateCrisis #SatelliteData #DataJournalism #Climate

  6. To Predict Tree Death, Scientists Tapped Gamma Rays To Peer Underground
    (Airborne radiation sensors could help forecast and prevent drought-driven tree mortality_
    --
    science.org/content/article/pr <-- shared technical article
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2026GL122182 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @hannah Richter
    “Over an 18-month period starting in 2023, the dense forests of Western Australia [WA] experienced a record-setting drought. Jarrah trees towering 35 metres high died off in patchy brown splotches, turning 400 square kilometres - 3% of the forest - into brittle, fire-prone stands. The event led researchers to wonder whether there was a better way to predict where such die-offs might occur both there and in other forests, a problem that has long been tricky to solve because important factors such as soil depth are hidden underground…
    Now, those same researchers have unveiled a surprising new tool for predicting tree mortality: gamma rays [link above.] Resulting from the natural decay of the potassium-40 isotope from granite-rich bedrock, the radiation acts as a proxy for soil depth, which in turn signals how much water a tree can access during drought. The new method could be applied to other highly weathered soils, which cover one-third of Earth’s ice-free land...”
    --
    "... PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: During a record-breaking drought and heat event in 2023–2024, forests in southwestern Australia experienced widespread, patchy die-off. While we know that extreme weather triggers these events, it is often a hidden factor, the thickness of soil and the depth to underlying bedrock, that determines which trees live or die. Trees growing in shallow soil over solid rock are highly vulnerable due to limited water storage. Here, [they] show how to map these hidden zones from the air using gamma rays that are naturally emitted by potassium in the ground. Like southwestern Australia, many parts of the world have highly weathered soils where potassium has been washed out of the upper layers of soil. However, [they] showed that higher potassium areas signal that potassium-rich bedrock is closer to the surface and this is sensitive for tens of meters. By comparing gamma ray maps with ground-based geophysical surveys and satellite data, [they] showed that these potassium hotspots accurately predict where forests are most likely to experience die-off during a drought. These types of soils cover about one-third of the Earth's land, so the method provides a powerful new tool for managers to identify and protect vulnerable forests from future, hotter droughts…”
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #Australia #WesternAustralia #WA #forests #vegetation #bush #jarrah #karri #drought #heat #extremedrought #extremeweather #climatechange #water #waterresources #dieoff #soil #weathering #erosion #moisture #nutrients #airborne #gammarays #GRS #granite #gneiss #bedrock #geology #potassium40 #potassium #K #remotesensing #earthobservation #groundwater #interstitial #subsurface #waterstorage #electricalresistivitytomography

  7. Based on satellite imagery from June to August 2025, my research revealed 58,673 distinct vegetative patches across Calgary, covering a total of 39,009 hectares. However, exactly 50% of the city's total green cover is concentrated in just 44 large megaclusters. The remaining half is dispersed across tens of thousands of tiny, highly fragmented patches.

    UPD:
    Previous steps of my research you can find here:
    datastory.org.ua/

    #GIS #RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #Calgary #SpatialDataScience #MachineLearning #Geoscience #OpenData #GreennessOfCalgary #UrbanResilience #fossgiss #RStats #Alberta #Canada

  8. Challenges In The Use Of Local Data For Regional Scale Mapping Of C And N Stocks In The Continuous Permafrost Zone At The Yukon Coastal Plain | Heatwave Risks To Tipping Point Of Permafrost
    --
    doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-113-20 <-- shared paper
    --
    doi.org/10.1038/s41558-026-026 <-- shared paper
    --
    theguardian.com/environment/20 <-- shared media article
    --
    cbc.ca/news/canada/north/perma <-- shared media article
    --
    [putting together two different ‘sorts’/focuses of research/reporting, but…]
    H/T @gustaf Hugelius | Professor at Stockholm University
    --
    “Permafrost soils are particularly vulnerable to climate change. To assess and improve estimations of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) budgets it is necessary to accurately map soil carbon and nitrogen in the permafrost region. In particular, soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks have been predicted and mapped by many studies from local to pan-Arctic scales. Several studies have been carried out at the Canadian Beaufort Sea coast, though no regional maps of terrestrial carbon stocks based on spatial modelling has been conducted yet. This study combines available field data from the Canadian Yukon coastal plain and uses it to map regional SOC and N stocks using the machine learning algorithm random forest and environmental variables based on remote sensing data. [The authors] developed models using the data for the entire region and separate models for the coastal mainland area and Qikiqtaruk Herschel Island. Each model was used to map SOC and N stocks for its respective area. [They] assessed the performance of the different random forest models by using crossvalidation. [They] further assessed model results using the Area of Applicability (AOA) method and the quantile regression forest approach, comparing the results and discussing their implications within the context of both methods. [They] explore[d] local differences in soil properties and how soil data distribution across the region affects the accuracy of the predictions of SOC and N stocks..."
    #permafrost #soils #geology #climatechange #temperature #thawing #melting #emissions #CO2 #methane #carbon #nitrogen #GIS #spatial #mapping #Qikiqtaruk #HerschelIsland #Yukon #Canada #soilorganiccarbon #SOC #arctic #cryosphere #BeaufortSea #coast #coastal #machinelearning #model #modeling #remotesensing #earthobservation #carbonstocks #island #mainland #spatialanalysis #scale

  9. 🔥 Calgary Urban Heat: How the Solid-to-Tree Ratio drives an 8°C gap

    My Summer 2025 ML satellite analysis reveals a direct relationship between a community's built-to-canopy footprint and surface temperature (LST):

    🌳 Cooling Refuges (~29.5–31°C): Roxboro, Rideau Park, Discovery Ridge, Eau Claire (mature canopies + river valleys).
    🔥 Northeast Heat Dome (~37–38°C): Marlborough, Rundle, Temple (dense low-rise footprint, minimal mature canopy).
    🏗️ New Suburbs: Seton, Redstone, Rangeview (canopy lag: fully built out, but young saplings need years to mature).

    🌲 Urban trees are not decorative landscaping — they are critical municipal climate infrastructure.

    #GIS #RemoteSensing #YYC #EarthObservation #Calgary #SpatialDataScience #LandCover #MachineLearning #Geoscience #GreennessOfCalgary #Rstats #UrbanTrees #TreeCanopy #UrbanHealth

  10. 🔥 The Green Illusion: Why Zoning-Level Analysis Changes the Picture

    📊 Gross community statistics can be misleading. When measuring an entire neighborhood, large municipal parks and green buffers inflate the overall 'greenness' score.

    ❗ When we filter the data down exclusively to actual Residential Land Use Districts in established communities, the picture changes significant:
    🔹 Unvegetated/Impervious surfaces (Solid) explode to ~80% (79.22%) of the total zoned area.
    🔹 Vegetative classes collapse: Functional lawns and canopy cover are compressed into narrow margins (Lawn: 2.15%, Forest: 0.59%), with community-level sparsed trees (Park) accounting for only 17.87%.

    ☝️ Moving from macro-boundaries to parcel-level zoning exposes the true physical density of Calgary’s residential footprint.

    #GIS #RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #Calgary #SpatialDataScience #LandCover #MachineLearning #Geoscience #GreennessOfCalgary #Rstats #YYC #DataScience #Urban #Sentinel

  11. How does physical vegetation compare to administrative park maps?

    In a new article by LiveWire Calgary, I shared technical insights from my 10-meter machine learning land cover classification model.

    🛰️ Satellites map physical ground reality, not property boundaries. Multispectral land cover data reveals continuous fine fuel pathways (grass, brush, and canopy) extending across unmanaged ravines and private lots right up to residential property lines at Calgary's Wildland-Urban Interface.

    🔗 Read the full article: livewirecalgary.com/2026/08/06

    #GIS #RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #Calgary #SpatialDataScience #LandCover #WUI #MachineLearning #Geoscience #GreennessOfCalgary #LiveWireCalgary

  12. Flood And Landslide Susceptibility Assessment And Multi Hazard Interaction Mapping Using Machine Learning And GIS For Sustainable Settlement Planning In Nepal
    --
    doi.org/10.1007/s44288-026-006 <-- shared paper
    --
    H/T @Narayan Thapa | Earth Data Modeling
    “Nepal lies within an active seismic zone and is influenced by most dynamic climatic systems in the world. It faces compounding floods and landslide threats. Impacts are worst where multi-hazard interactions create spatially linked corridors. Despite frequent co-occurrence, national-scale assessments remain limited. This study presents machine learning and GIS-based approach to map nationwide susceptibility to floods, landslides, and identify their potential interaction zones, and delineate critical multi-hazard flow zones through spatial adjacency analysis. Using Google Earth Engine, the Random Forest model integrates topographic, climatic, environmental, and hydrological datasets to overcome subjective expert-driven methods. The model achieved strong predictive accuracy (AUC: 0.84 for floods, 0.85 for landslides). The results showed 19% of Nepal’s lowlands are medium to very highly susceptible to inundation, threatening approximately 900,000 people and over 3.4 million buildings; whilst in the hilly terrains, 40% is susceptible to slope-failure endangering 200,000 people and about 0.6 million buildings. K-means clustering followed by spatial adjacency analysis identified four spatial zonation: 81% of national area as low-hazard zone, 9% as flood-only zone, 5% as landslide-only zone, and 5% as interaction zones. Critical multi-hazard flow zone covering 7,588 km² represents spatially connected corridors linking interaction zones to downstream flood-prone populated areas, affecting 88 km² built-up land and 1,722 km² cropland. These zones represent susceptibility-based spatial connectivity rather than physically simulated cascading processes. These findings support recommendations for risk-informed land-use planning, resilient infrastructure development and climate adaptation aligned to sustainable development and investment risk screening…”
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #GoogleEarthEngine #MachineLearning #RemoteSensing #GeospatialAI #DisasterRiskReduction #MultiHazard #ClimateAdaptation #climatechange #extremeweather #LandUsePlanning #SustainableDevelopment #InfrastructurePlanning #RiskAssessment #NaturalHazards #Nepal #EarthObservation #HinduKushHimalaya #HKH #HinduKush #Himalayas #risk #hazard #assessment #national #regional #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #massmovement #landslide #assessment #mitigation #water #hydrology #flood #flooding #sustainability

  13. Optical, Radar, And Hybrid Indices To Detect Farming Practices In Europe
    --
    doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2026.115 <-- shared paper
    --
    “HIGHLIGHTS:
    • [they] compare[d] Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 time series to detect farming practices.
    • HyBRIS index is introduced, temporally weighting BSI and VH/VV into a daily index.
    • Time-series minima and maxima are used to predict sowing, harvest, and tillage.
    • Validation is performed across several years, crop types, and European locations.
    • Phenology detection is improved compared to HRL-Cropland.
    ABSTRACT: Arable farming practices dictate both crop cycles and soil dynamics, and are central to agriculture's environmental impact and its mitigation. Sowing and harvesting mark the beginning and end of the growing season, while tillage modifies soil structure during the dormant period. Although well-established methods exist for delineating the growing season using phenology and optical data, the detection of farming practices, particularly tillage, remains underexplored. This study investigates the strengths of radar and optical data to retrieve sowing, harvest, and tillage dates at the field level, and proposes a novel Hybrid Bare Soil Radar Index (HyBRIS). Based on Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2, HyBRIS merges optical and radar data into a single index using a temporally weighted mean. Local minima and maxima of the time series are used to detect farming practices across European sites. Validation is carried out against a reference dataset comprising 238 fields in 11 EU countries, including 462 sowing, 374 harvest, and 388 tillage events covering more than 40 crop types over 8 years. Compared to the Copernicus High Resolution Layer Croplands product (HRL-Cropland), the proposed method based on HyBRIS time series improved sowing and harvest dates detection (MAE 26 and 23 days, respectively). Additionally, this method enabled tillage dates estimation during dormant periods (MAE = 28 days), but tended to overestimate the number of tillage events (producer's accuracy = 97%, user's accuracy = 70%). Incorporating soil moisture data is advised for reducing false positives. The results highlight the potential of optical, radar, and hybrid indices for monitoring agricultural management and supporting environmental stewardship…”
    #Sowing #Harvest #tillage #tillagedetection #cropland #CroplandManagement #remotesensing #earthobservation #sentinel #Copernicus #cropland #satellite #optical #radar #sensor #landuse #landcover #landsurface #phenology #agricultural #monitoring #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #arable #farming #agriculture #soil #substrate #environment #sustainability #environmentalstewardship #growingseason #Europe #region #model #modeling

  14. ‘On A Whole Other Level’ - Rapid Snow Melt-Off In American West Stuns Scientists
    --
    Experts say brutal March heat has left critical snowpack at record-low levels – and key basins in uncharted territory
    --
    theguardian.com/us-news/2026/a <-- shared media/technical article
    --
    nifc.gov/nicc-files/predictive <-- shared National Significant Wildland Fire Potential @ 04/01/26 (for the next four months)
    --
    [ extreme lack of snowfall already in the ‘25/’26 US West winter to begin with, and now this… ☹ ]
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #weather #metrology #climatechange #extremeweather #snowpack #USWest #USA #winter #heat #melting #snowmelt #risk #hazard #water #hydrology #waterresources #watersecurity #agriculture #wildfire #risk #hazard #firerisk #watersupply #watershed #management #planning #Colorado #Utah #California #earthobservation
    @the Guardian | @nasa | @California Department of Water Resources

  15. Improving our Coasts with High-Resolution Land Cover Data [#NOAA]
    --
    coast.noaa.gov/states/stories/ <-- shared technical article
    --
    coast.noaa.gov/ccapatlas/ <-- on-demand, online NOAA CCAP Landcover Atlas
    --
    coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/da <-- #opendata C-CAP High-Resolution Land Cover
    --
    Use Case Examples:
    • Flood Inundation Modeling and Risk Assessment
    • Stormwater Management and Water Quality Protection
    • Heat Risk and Urban Forestry
    • Wetland Monitoring, Conservation, or Restoration Planning
    • Other – e.g., Discovering Gaps in Broadband Access
    --
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #NOAA #DigitalCoast #LandCover #CoastalManagement #GeospatialData #EnvironmentalData #ResilientCommunities #landcover #usecase #economics #remotesensing #earthobservation #opendata #floodinnundation #waterquality #water #hydrology #risk #hazard #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #stormwater #management #heatrisk #urbanforestry #wetland #monitoring #conservation #planning #resortation
    @noaa #NOAAOfficeForCoastalManagement

  16. I'm soon starting up a Nighttime Lights Remote Sensing webinar. Speakers will come from all over the world, and the talks will take place alternately in the (European) morning or late afternoon/evening, to allow international participation.

    The first talk in the series is next Monday. If you're interested in attending, sign up here: listserv.dfn.de/sympa/subscrib

    #RemoteSensing #NighttimeLights #VIIRS_DNB #SDGSat1 #EarthObservation #FutureEO #ESA #NASA #NOAA