Browse Resources by Year
Increasingly, United Nations and international nongovernmental workers dealing with humanitarian needs in war-torn countries, such as Iraq and Somalia, are relying on GPS technologies to coordinate aid remotely.
Read MoreThe Satellite Sentinel Project, a collaboration between Google, the United Nations Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT), the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and other nongovernmental organizations, is attempting to use similar technology to monitor, and hopefully deter, humanitarian abuses.
Read MoreTo protect sites around the world, the Global Heritage Fund, in cooperation with Google Earth and DigitalGlobe, has put together a program called the Global Heritage Network to provide satellite monitoring of World Heritage Sites.
Read MoreScientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham used infrared satellite images to reveal more than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements in Egypt, including 17 lost pyramids, generating excitement among archeologists, tourists, and local governments interested in uncovering these forgotten buildings.
Read MoreIn addition to monitoring the environmental changes happening around the globe, space technology is being used to advance clean energy, reducing the production of the types of greenhouse gases contributing to global warming.
Read MoreChanges in oceanic conditions are also opening up new habitats for animals, and satellites are helping to track how animals are adapting. In a 2011 study, scientists presented the first observations of the meeting of bowhead whales from two different oceans in the Northwest Passage.
Read MoreSatellites contribute not only to our understanding of the atmosphere and features on the ground, but also to our understanding of the oceans. The Aquarius/SAC-D satellite, launched in June 2011, is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina’s space agency, Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE), that is able to detect variations in the salinity of the ocean surface.
Read MoreThough some areas of the globe may experience extreme heat, ice still covers about 10% of the Earth, and satellites are greatly improving our understanding of it. In June 2011, ESA’s CryoSat mission delivered the best view yet of sea-ice thickness across the entire Arctic Ocean basin.
Read MoreSatellites are essential to understanding our environment and providing a global perspective on changes. Much of the United States experienced a record-breaking heat wave in July 2011. In addition to monitoring the temperature with sensors on the ground, satellites were also used.
Read MoreThe DeforestACTION project is using satellite imagery to combat illegal logging through its Earth Watchers software tool, currently in beta testing. The difficulty of locating and identifying illegal deforestation often prevents law enforcement from limiting this activity. DeforestACTION allocates each person involved in the project a piece of land to monitor, providing them with an updated satellite image each week so they can locate changes and disturbances.
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