Bachu and the Tian Shan Mountains

Varied elevations of Bachu in western China in an image developed using data from the two ERS satellites. The ERS missions pioneered the technique of processing satellite radar data into digital elevation models, as shown here of Bachu and the nearby Tian Shan mountains. A digital elevation model is a 3D relief map to study changes in the terrain.

Photo credit: ESA/DLR

Update: Another ESA photo of the Tian Shan mountains can be found here.

Antarctic Ice Flows

First complete map of the speed and direction of ice flow in Antarctica, derived from radar interferometric data from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's ALOS PALSAR, the European Space Agency's Envisat ASAR and ERS-1/2, and the Canadian Space Agency's RADARSAT-2 spacecraft. The color-coded satellite data are overlaid on a mosaic of Antarctica created with data from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft. Pixel spacing is 984 feet (300 meters). The thick black lines delineate major ice divides. Subglacial lakes in Antarctica's interior are also outlined in black. Thick black lines along the coast indicate ice sheet grounding lines.

Map credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCI

Update (25 August 2011): Speaking of Antarctic ice, the Minister just came across this video of huge, city-sized chunks of ice being ripped off the Sulzberger Ice Shelf last March by waves from the Japanese tsunami. Below is a video that shows satellite images of the icebergs from NASA and ESA satellites: