What's New with Earth Today

As cities and countries locked down during COVID-19, some changes were visible from space. NASA, ESA and JAXA have partnered to create a dashboard making those data available.Read more: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-partner-space-agencies-amass-global-view-of-covid-19-impacts ||

NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) have created a dashboard of satellite data showing impacts on the environment and socioeconomic activity caused by the global response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.The dashboard will be released on Thursday, June 25 during a tri-agency media briefing. The briefing speakers are:•Josef Aschbacher, director of ESA Earth Observation Programmes•Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate•Koji Terada, vice president and director general for the Space Technology Directorate at JAXA•Shin-ichi Sobue, project manager for JAXA’s ALOS-2 mission•Ken Jucks, program scientist for NASA’s OCO-2 and Aura missions•Anca Anghelea, open data scientist, ESA Earth observation programmes ||

On June 1, the World Health Organization noted that Central and South American countries have become “the intense zones” for COVID-19 transmission. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on board NASA’s Aura satellite provides data that indicate that restrictions on human activity have led to about a 36% decrease in NO2 levels in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, relative to previous years. Other large cities in South America show similar decreases in NO2: 36% in Santiago, Chile; 35% in São Paolo, Brazil; and 40% in Buenos Aires, Argentina. One notable exception is in Lima, Peru, showing a 69% decrease. The large decrease may partly be associated with natural variations in weather that can, for instance, disperse air pollution more quickly. Additional analysis is required to determine the amount of the decrease of NO2 in Lima that is associated with a decrease in human activity. A notable increase in NO2 occurred in northern South America, which is likely associated with increased agricultural burning in 2020 relative to previous years. ||

Over the past several weeks, the United States has seen significant reductions in air pollution over its major metropolitan areas. Similar reductions in air pollution have been observed in other regions of the world. || Tropospheric NO2 Column, Animated GIF || cropped_NO2_2019_2020.gif (848x862) [54.4 MB] || cropped_NO2_2019_2020_print.jpg (1024x1040) [318.2 KB] || cropped_NO2_2019_2020_searchweb.png (320x180) [102.2 KB] ||

TROPOMI Nitrogen Dioxide animation. || tropomi_california_20200302_20200308_print.jpg (1024x576) [179.6 KB] || tropomi_california_20200302_20200308_searchweb.png (320x180) [95.9 KB] || tropomi_california_20200302_20200308_thm.png (80x40) [6.5 KB] || tropomi_california_covid-19_1080p.mp4 (1920x1080) [2.9 MB] || tropomi_california_covid-19_720p.mp4 (1280x720) [1.7 MB] || tropomi_california_covid-19_720p.webm (1280x720) [1.6 MB] || tropomi_california_20200302_20200308.tif (3840x2160) [7.5 MB] || tropomi_california_20200309_20200315.tif (3840x2160) [7.5 MB] || tropomi_california_20200316_20200322.tif (3840x2160) [7.4 MB] || tropomi_california_20200323_20200329.tif (3840x2160) [7.3 MB] || tropomi_california_20200330_20200405.tif (3840x2160) [7.3 MB] || tropomi_california_20200406_20200412.tif (3840x2160) [7.4 MB] || tropomi_california_covid-19_2160p.mp4 (3840x2160) [8.3 MB] ||

Tropospheric NO2 Column, March 15-April 15 2015-2019 average vs. 2020, USA regions || 3-regions_1080p.00001_print.jpg (1024x576) [141.7 KB] || 3-regions_1080p.00001_searchweb.png (320x180) [62.9 KB] || 3-regions_1080p.00001_thm.png (80x40) [5.2 KB] || 3-regions_1080p.mp4 (1920x1080) [1.9 MB] || 3-regions_720p.mp4 (1280x720) [1.0 MB] || 3-regions_1080p.webm (1920x1080) [2.3 MB] || 3-regions_2160p.mp4 (3840x2160) [5.6 MB] ||