NASA Worldview
NASA Worldview is an online tool for visualizing and downloading near real-time satellite imagery and scientific data of Earth's atmosphere, land, and oceans.
URL
https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/
Description
Worldview, developed by NASA, is an interactive open source online tool that allows users to explore the Earth's surface as it appears in near real-time, as well as through historical satellite imagery. It provides access to satellite data and imagery collected from various NASA Earth observing missions, offering users the ability to view and analyze environmental events, changes, and phenomena on a global scale. The tool is designed to cater to both scientific and educational purposes, making it a valuable resource for researchers who are interested in observing Earth's dynamic systems. Users can customize their view by selecting different layers such as air quality, temperature, precipitation, and more, making it a versatile platform for environmental monitoring and analysis.
Worldview has many pre-made animated Stories for inspiration. These include:
Atmospheric Rivers, Assessing Floodwaters, Bushfires in Australia (September 2019 - Jan 2020), California and British Columbia Bushfires (Summer 2018), Camp Fire (November 2018), Clouds, Dust Storms, Earth at Night, Geostationary Imagery every 10 minutes, Hurricane Dorian, (September 2019), Hurricane Florence (September 2018), Hurricane Maria (September 2017), Night LIghts from NASA's Black Marble, Pine Island Glacier/B-46 (November 2018), Satellite Detections of Fire (2021 update), Sinabung Volcano Eruption (February 2018), Sun glint, Swath Gaps and Tropical Cyclone Idai (March 2019).
Map Features:
Change Coordinates format: latitude and longitude in multiple geographic coordinate systems.
Comparison Tool: compare imagery from two different dates.
Coverage: Global but can be limited in some areas.
Data: download Base Layers as data.
Events: select a date and see the following categories of event - Dust and Haze, Manmade, Sea and Lake Ice, Severe Storms, Snow, Volcanoes, Water Color, Wildfires.
Language: limited to English.
Layers (Base):
Blue Marble The MODIS Blue Marble, Next Generation layer is a cloud free, true color composite of MODIS imagery from August 2004.
Corrected Reflectance (True Color) NOAA-20/VIIRS 2018 JAN 06 - Present
Corrected Reflectance (True Color) Suomi NPP 2015 NOV 24 - Present
Corrected Reflectance (True Color) Terra/MODIS 2002 JUL 03 - Present
Additional layers include: Hazards And Disasters and Science Disciplines (including fires, floods, power plants/nuclear, snow cover, etc.)
Layers (Reference): Place Labels, Coastlines, Coastlines / Borders / Roads.
Location search: search by location name or coordinates.
Measure area: measure area in kilometres.
Measure distance: measure distance between points in kilometres.
Place markers: create placemarks with shareable coordinates.
Projection: Arctic, Antarctic or Geographic.
Screenshot: download a screenshot of a specific area with the ability to define the resolution, file format (JPEG, PNG, GeoTiff, KMZ) and Worldfile.
Settings: set the default temperature units, coordinate format, whether to show the approximate date line and a distraction free mode.
Sharing: share the selected location as a link, embed or to social media with URL shortening available.
Timeline tool: select imagery for a date and jump between dates by day, month or year.
Timelapse animation: create animated gifs of satellite imagery.
Zoom tool: zoom in and out on the map.
Format
Only available as a web application.
Example of a search results for the term Amsterdam
Platform updates and changes https://github.com/nasa-gibs/worldview/releases/
Cost
Level of difficulty
Requirements
Web: any modern web browser.
Limitations
NASA Worldview has several limitations users should be aware of:
Data Availability: Not all satellite data are available in near real-time or with a high temporal resolution. Some datasets may have a lag of several days or are updated less frequently. There are a number of imagery products available in Near Real Time. Both MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) have data sets that are available daily like the VIIRS Corrected Reflectance (True Color). Use the Base Layers menu to filter for Period: Daily to find more datasets.
Resolution: The spatial resolution of images and data can vary significantly between datasets. Some regions or types of data might not be available at the desired resolution for detailed analysis. The highest resolution Sentinel-2 imagery is 10 meters per pixel for RGB and near-infrared bands, 20 meters per pixel for shortwave infrared bands and can be added as a base layer from the Base Layers menu.
Learning Curve: New users may find the interface and array of datasets overwhelming, requiring time to learn how to effectively navigate and utilize the tool.
Analysis Capabilities: While Worldview allows for visualization, it does not offer extensive built-in tools for data analysis. Users might need to use other software for detailed analysis.
Data for download: Data will not be available on dates outside of each layer's respective coverage date range. In addition, some layers in Worldview do not have corresponding source data products available for download, including Geostationary, Reference, Orbit Tracks, Earth at Night, and MODIS Corrected Reflectance products.
Ethical Considerations
See Remote Sensing Ethical Considerations.
Guides and articles
To effectively use NASA Worldview, especially for beginners or those looking to refine their skills, the following resources are highly recommended:
Official Wiki
Tutorials and Articles
Fittarelli, A. (2020) Ghost In The Machine: From Chad, A Case Study On Why You Shouldn’t Blindly Trust Tech, bellingcat. Available at: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2020/07/17/ghost-in-the-machine-from-chad-a-case-study-on-why-you-shouldnt-blindly-trust-tech/ (Accessed: 28 April 2024).
Leveraging emerging technologies to enable environmental monitoring and accountability in conflict zones (2023) International Review of the Red Cross. Available at: http://international-review.icrc.org/articles/leveraging-emerging-technologies-to-enable-environmental-monitoring-and-accountability-in-conflict-zones-924 (Accessed: 28 April 2024).
McIntosh, T. (2018) ‘10 places to get free satellite images for investigative journalists’, Geospatial World, 22 June. Available at: https://www.geospatialworld.net/blogs/free-satellite-images-for-investigative-journalists/ (Accessed: 28 April 2024).
Resources for Finding and Using Satellite Images (no date). Available at: https://gijn.org/resource/resources-for-finding-and-using-satellite-images/ (Accessed: 28 April 2024).
Using satellite data for journalism — what I learned from the experts (2021). Available at: https://satellitejournalism.com/posts/best-practices/ (Accessed: 28 April 2024).
Use Cases:
Zwijnenburg, W. (2018) Burning Borderlands: Open-Source Monitoring of Conflict-caused Wildfires in Iraq, bellingcat. Available at: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018/09/11/burning-borderlands-open-source-monitoring-conflict-caused-wildfires-iraq/ (Accessed: 28 April 2024).
Tian, E. (2020) How To Track Desert Locust Swarms, bellingcat. Available at: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2020/06/23/how-to-track-desert-locust-swarms/ (Accessed: 28 April 2024).
Gonzales, C. (2022) Scorched Earth: Using NASA Fire Data to Monitor War Zones, bellingcat. Available at: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2022/10/04/scorched-earth-using-nasa-fire-data-to-monitor-war-zones/ (Accessed: 28 April 2024).
My Favorite Tools: Geo-Journalist Gustavo Faleiros (no date). Available at: https://gijn.org/stories/my-favorite-tools-geo-journalist-gustavo-faleiros/ (Accessed: 29 April 2024).
Video:
Getting Started with NASA Worldview (December 2021) (2022). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMkuiRJr_-E (Accessed: 29 April 2024).
Using NASA FIRMS in Open Source Investigations (2022). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcXqcq4s7JE (Accessed: 28 April 2024).
Developer Resources
Community and Support
Tool provider
United States Government as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration https://www.nasa.gov/ - United States
Advertising Trackers
Bellingcat Volunteer Team/Unassigned
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