Images
July 7, 2008 - Melt Season along the West Coat of Greenland
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In late June 2008, melt season had begun along the west coast of Greenland. The MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite captured these images on June 26, 2008.
The main image is false-color and uses a combination of light visible to human eyes and light our eyes cannot see. This image highlights several features of the west coast of Greenland that can be difficult to discern in a true-color image. In this image, snow and ice appear bright turquoise, clouds appear translucent pale blue, water appears navy blue or black, vegetation appears bright green, and bare rock appears pinkish-brown. Immediately west of the ice, vegetation covers much of the Greenland coast, although the vegetation is not necessarily as robust as this bright green implies. North of Jakobshavn Glacier, the land tends more toward bare ground. More conspicuous in this image than in the natural-color shot, melt ponds make numerous black marks on the ice surface.
If you move your mouse over the main image, you will see a secondary image that is true-color and similar to what a digital camera would record. In this image, snow, ice, and clouds all appear white. Upstream from Jakobshavn Glacier, crevasses, or cracks, have colored the ice pale gray. Ponds of melt water dot the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Reaching all the way to the sea is Jakobshavn Glacier. At the time MODIS acquired this image, Jakobshavn was moving at a rate of roughly 14 kilometers per year, making it the world’s fastest glacier.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 06/26/2008
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 7,2,1 and 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Tweet
In late June 2008, melt season had begun along the west coast of Greenland. The MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite captured these images on June 26, 2008.
The main image is false-color and uses a combination of light visible to human eyes and light our eyes cannot see. This image highlights several features of the west coast of Greenland that can be difficult to discern in a true-color image. In this image, snow and ice appear bright turquoise, clouds appear translucent pale blue, water appears navy blue or black, vegetation appears bright green, and bare rock appears pinkish-brown. Immediately west of the ice, vegetation covers much of the Greenland coast, although the vegetation is not necessarily as robust as this bright green implies. North of Jakobshavn Glacier, the land tends more toward bare ground. More conspicuous in this image than in the natural-color shot, melt ponds make numerous black marks on the ice surface.
If you move your mouse over the main image, you will see a secondary image that is true-color and similar to what a digital camera would record. In this image, snow, ice, and clouds all appear white. Upstream from Jakobshavn Glacier, crevasses, or cracks, have colored the ice pale gray. Ponds of melt water dot the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Reaching all the way to the sea is Jakobshavn Glacier. At the time MODIS acquired this image, Jakobshavn was moving at a rate of roughly 14 kilometers per year, making it the world’s fastest glacier.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 06/26/2008
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 7,2,1 and 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
