Poptropica Walkthrough Kn

CHANGES A searing heat on Earth's surface

Sabrina Masiero

With pictures obtained by satellites over the years in various regions on Earth, you can see the rapid change of its surface. The effect of these changes is due in part to climate change, in part to urbanization, logging, fires caused by humans or intentional flooding.

Here is an example, the case of deforestation in Bolivia, the melting of Himalayan glaciers Ama Dablam, the dust that gets in the Liaoning region of China and the considerable reduction in size of Lake Ichkeul in the north of Tunisia.

Deforestation in Bolivia

look up towards Bolivia, especially in an area of \u200b\u200btropical forest is located east of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia. Since the mid- degli anni 80' l'insediamento in nuovi territori di persone provenienti dall'Altopiano delle Ande e lo sviluppo su grande scala dell'agricoltura (il cosidetto Progetto di Tierras Baja) ha comportato la deforestazione dell'area. A sinistra, com'era la zona il 17/06/1975, in centro il 10/0/1992, a destra il 01/08/2000.
Crediti: Landsat Mission. NASA/USGS.

Sulle vette dell'Ama Dablam



In foto, il Ghiacciaio Ama Dablam della catena dell'Himalaya. L'immagine di sinistra risale all'autunno del 1956, quella di destra è stata scattata il 01/11/2007. La vetta più alta dell'Ama Dablam è di circa 7.000 metri e si trova proprio a sud del Monte Everest e del Monte Lhotse, nella regione Khumbu. Nonostante la prima foto sia in bianco e nero, è ben evidente il ritiro dei ghiacciai soprattutto ai piedi della vetta.
Crediti: Erwin Schneider (foto del 1956), Association for Comparative Alpine Research, Monaco, Archivi di Alton Byers, the Mountain Institute; Alton Byers (foto del 2007), the Mountain Institute.

Un giorno di polvere



dust is obscuring most of the Liaoning region in China and the north-west of Korea. The left image was taken on 23.3.2002, in a relatively light day, the right to 08/04/2002 with the sky covered with dust. The storms transported over long distances not only of mineral dust from deserts in China and Mongolia, but also pollution from agriculture, industry and energy sources. Asian dust has come a long way up to Colorado (USA). Dense clouds of dust blocked the sunlight considerably, which affects the production of marine plankton and leads to a lower temperature in the region.
Credits: Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) NASA GSFC / LARC / JPL / MISR Team.


A stop in Tunisia



Ichkeul Lake in northern Tunisia. The image above was made on 14/11/2001, that left the 29/07/2005. The water level is high, but a good portion of the lake is red, due to the presence of aquatic plants. Ichkeul Lake and wetlands represent the point where remain for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds that arrive to feed and nest. And 'the last remaining lake in the chain that once extended across North Africa, now greatly deteriorated due to the construction of three dams that have reduced most of the influx of fresh water. The Tunisian government is committed annually to maintain the fresh water in the lake and reduce salinity.
Credits: NASA / GSFC / METI / ERSDAC / Jaros and US / Japan ASTER Science Team.

Source: Global Climate Change - Eyes on the Earth: http://climate.nasa.gov/stateOfFlux/index.cfm .