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This year we're taking you to the
dead places on the planet Earth.

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First up, the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is an enclosed basin that borders Jordan and Israel.

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Water that flows into the Dead Sea slowly evaporates,
leaving salt and mineral deposits behind.

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Using instruments like Landsat, we've been
able to observe changes in the area of the

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Dead Sea through time, but with ICESat-2,
we're able to measure changes in the lake

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level, or the height of that water surface.

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The Skeleton Coast of Namibia is so named because it's a graveyard for ships.

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Due to upwelling ocean currents, there's typically

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very thick fog in this part of Namibia along
with a heavy surf. If you look closely at

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the ICESat-2 photon cloud, you can see substantial
waves approaching the coast, making it treacherous for ships.

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We now turn to Death Valley in southern California. The photons show rugged

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terrain surrounding the central basin of Death
Valley, which lies several hundred feet below

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sea level. Water that flows into Death Valley
slowly evaporates over time. In spring, water

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can collect into ephemeral lakes that slowly
evaporate, much like the Dead Sea. From the

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vantage point of space, ICESat-2 continues
to measure the height of the Earth and everything

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on it, both the living and the dead.

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[Music]