These observation satellites can measure ocean temperature, look at cloud cover, measure wind speeds, record land use, monitor humankind’s destruction of forests and construction of cities. In short, they can see all, hear all, and speak to us, about the health and well being of the planet.
Just recently, the ability to measure, monitor and report, has clearly shown the world the unprecedented destruction and catastrophe that has fallen upon Pakistan. Over a quarter of the country (160,000sq.km, 61,800sq.miles), an area about the size of England, has been flooded and washed away, killing many thousands of people and drastically altering the lives of millions of people, some of whom are the poorest of the world’s poor to begin with.
Four million people are homeless; eight million need help and almost 20 million have been affected by flood damage, with 900,000 homes damaged and countless livestock killed in the floods. Now there is the risk of cholera and water borne diseases adding to an already miserable problem.
The German satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X, using radar and interferometry, show the large areas that have been flooded, the towns and cities inundated by water and the roads, bridges and agriculture washed away in the deluge. Television and newspaper images show in stark detail the human suffering, but it is the satellites that convey the immensity of the disaster.
In the images, the city Dera Ismail Khan is the large bright spot, and the dark areas are the floodwaters shown in the left image. The centre interferometric image is not yet calibrated as the TanDEM-X satellite is still being tested. The third image shows the extent of the major flooding.
Another recently launched European satellite called SMOS, has shown how saturated Pakistan is with floodwater in a series of images taken between 17 July to 4 August 2010. The images show the soils becoming more saturated (yellow/orange to blue/grey), and the large blue area near the Arabian Sea is the Indus River delta.
SMOS has only recently been launched and is still being calibrated, but it is expected that it will be able to provide advance warning of potential flooding as it detects increased soil saturation which, combined with heavy rain warnings, can help predict the likelihood of floods.
Yet, even with all the images, and now the news coverage, aid and assistance response for Pakistan has been very slow according to the media and the UN. Many have written reasons why that is, from disaster-fatigue (so many causes to support that people turn away from yet another one) to political or ideological reasons.
The recent heavy rains, large forest fires, extreme summer temperatures and melting ice coverage seen around the world, have all been predicted as likely effects of global climate change. Yet, with the future likely to bring with it more natural disasters, made worse by environmental damage caused by humankind, it is important that we continue to reach out and help people in need – even if they are living half way around the world.
Visit: http://ochaonline.un.org/
Via Space News & BBC
Trevor Williams is a University of Victoria Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate specializing in renewable energy, power grid modeling and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. He has a bachelors in Aeronautical Engineering, a Masters in Management Science and over 23 years international experience in the space industry, having worked on Earth observation and telecommunications satellites. He is the author of the Eco-Geek blog.
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