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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Science Anthropocene Today

Posted by Charles Mudede on Tue, Dec 11, 2012 at 8:06 AM

NASA:

Scientists unveiled today an unprecedented new look at our planet at night. A global composite image, constructed using cloud-free night images from a new NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite, shows the glow of natural and human-built phenomena across the planet in greater detail than ever before.

NASA Earth Observatory/NOAA NGDC

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There's a surprising huge light cluster in about North Dakota there. Is that oil fields?

Posted by Fnarf

on December 11, 2012 at 8:51 AM

It never feels quite as empty and blue as the map would suggest it is. I guess that's what I get for not going out hiking more often, though.

Posted by Zebes

on December 11, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Darkest Africa really is rather dark.

Posted by You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me on December 11, 2012 at 9:10 AM

@Fnarf--The slideshow's on Flickr here.

Legend from a zoomed-in image of North Dakota:

Gas Drilling, North Dakota

Northwestern North Dakota is one of the least-densely populated parts of the United States. Cities and people are scarce, but satellite imagery shows the area has been aglow at night in recent years. The reason: the area is home to the Bakken shale formation, a site where oil production is booming.

Companies hoping to extract oil from the Bakken formation have drilled hundreds of new wells in the last few years; natural gas often bubbles up to the surface as part of the process. Lacking the infrastructure to pipe the gas away, many drillers simply burn it in a practice known as flaring.

On November 12, 2012, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime view of widespread gas flaring throughout the area. Many of the specks of light are evidence of gas flaring, though others may be the lights around drilling equipment. Some of the brighter areas correspond to towns and cities including Williston, Minot, and Dickinson...

Posted by rob!