Transcript Satellites fly in around the Earth, very very high up

Natural and Artificial Habitat:
Habitat From Space Slideshow
Main topics:
Reading satellite and aerial images
Artificial vs. natural habitats
Hi, kids!
As I watch
the Earth, one
of the things I notice
most is humans changing the
Earth's surface.
I think about this a lot, and
I'd like your
opinion on it!
How about this-- I'll
show you a part of the
Earth, and you tell
me if you think
it looks
• Very natural,
• Fairly natural,
• Fairly artificial, or
• Very artificial.
Then I'll tell you what I think-maybe we'll agree!
Here is one good clue for
recognizing artificial habitat:
simple geometry.
Straight lines, squares,
and circles are usually
made by people.
And remember, I have infrared vision, so I
sometimes see things differently from you!
OK, let's look at some places!
Here I was
looking very
closely. This
picture is
only about
4.25 miles
across, and
plants look
red.
How natural
or artificial
does this
look to you?
And what is that unusual shape on the left?
That was Washington D.C., a very artificial
habitat for humans. The building on the left is
the Pentagon, which is near an airport.
What else can you find in the picture?
Can you find this reflecting pool?
How about this tower?
OK, let's look at a very different area. This
picture is about about 38 miles across, and plants
look red again. What in the world is this?
There are no plants! This is the Lambert Glacier in
Antarctica. The bulge in the middle is ice flowing
downward like a slow river. This is very natural.
Antarctica is the most natural continent
we have left. It changes constantly,
but mostly not because of people.
And not from plants-- it is a giant desert!
So, we have
seen a very
artificial
place and
a very
natural one.
This picture
is in between.
It is 50 miles
across, and
plants look
red.
What is it? Do those look like natural patterns?
This is forest in Bolivia which has been cleared for
farms and ranches. The red is forest. The white is
cleared land. The pink is where some plants have
started growing back-- maybe crops or grass.
This is not as artificial as Washington, D.C., but it
is very shaped by humans. Fairly or very artificial.
An International Space Station astronaut took this
photo with a regular camera, so plants look green. It
is about 12.5 miles across. What are those patterns?
This is almost the same as the last photo!
It's Bolivian forest cleared for agriculture.
The middle of each "pie" is a village, where people live; each
"slice" belongs to a different farmer.
The villages are 5 km apart, connected by roads.
Doesn't this seem more artificial than the last one?
Here is 17 years of deforestation in nearby Brazil;
watch the roads, farms, and cities move into forest.
Here is a different scene, about 4.5 miles across.
Again, plants look red. What do you make of it?
This is western Kansas, where underground water is
pumped through huge sprinklers watering crops.
Each sprinkler circles around a "center pivot,"
making a round field.
This is one of the most artificial forms of
agriculture. There are also many roads and oilwells
here, and towns nearby. So it is very artificial.
This pretty picture is about 55 miles across.
Don't worry about the colors.
What do you think it is? How would you rate it?
This is the Dasht-e
Kevir, or the Great
Salt Desert, in Iran.
Much of it is covered
with a salty crust,
and it is almost
uninhabited.
This is almost as
natural as Antarctica,
the other desert we
saw.
OK, one last desert. This image has a scale bar you
can see, and plants are red. Can you find all three
artificial habitats we talked about?
This is Al Kharj, a city of 250,000 people near
Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Al Kharj always
had a small oasis, but now also has many center-pivot
sprinklers. Without this artificial agriculture, this
area could not support nearly so many people.
The last picture is a very different one!
You know where this is! But what does it show?
This was taken at night to look at artificial lights.
Look closer at the continental United States;
you can see cities, and even major roads.
This is just about the clearest sign of civilization.
OK, that's it!
Thanks for sharing!
See you soo-oon!
Credits >>
Photo Credits
USGS
ISS
NASA
DOE
NSF