These images were combined to develop the composite above and suggest the flooded locations in blue, with the darkest locations corresponding to the heaviest inundation. The image likewise handles to capture the flooding imaged by the Sentinel satellites, especially in Bellingham Bay (center-lower right) and further south in Puget Sound (lower right).
These images show the level of this current bout of severe weather condition, described as the worst case of flooding in over a century. As typical temperatures, sea levels, flooding, and extreme weather boost due to greater levels of CO2 in the environment, satellite images help to respond and comprehend to resulting disasters.
One can see the sediment pouring out into the Saanich Inlet, the large bay in the lower left-hand side of the image that sits in between the Saanich Peninsula and the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Even more north, there are also outflows around the Gulf Islands and in between the city of Nanaimo and Gabriola Island (center left). The image also manages to record the flooding imaged by the Sentinel satellites, especially in Bellingham Bay (center-lower right) and further south in Puget Sound (lower right).
These images highlight the degree of this recent bout of severe weather, described as the worst case of flooding in over a century. They also show how Earth Observation satellites are vital to recognizing and attending to the symptoms of Climate Change. As typical temperature levels, water level, flooding, and extreme weather boost due to greater levels of CO2 in the environment, satellite images assist to comprehend and respond to resulting catastrophes.
They also assist us to appreciate the degree of the issue and see it in such a way that advises us that Earth is a single system, and what takes place in one part of the world has direct repercussions for all the other parts.
Additional Reading: ESA, CTV News Vancouver
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The Sentinel mission is a constellation of two identical Earth observations satellites developed by the EU to provide a wealth of information and images main to the European Unions Copernicus environmental program. Each satellite brings a broad selection of high-resolution multispectral imagers that can picture the Earths land and vegetation in 13 different spectral bands.
Washington State imaged in the optical (left) and radar band (right) taken by the Copernicus-Sentinel satellites. Credit: ESA/Copernicus-Sentinel
The image above (above left) was taken by Sentinel-2 in the optical band and shows the flooded areas in between the towns of Linden and Ferndale (suggested in brown) and all the heavy sediment emptying into Lumni and Bellingham Bay (lower left side of the image). The Sentinel-2 images might not penetrate the clouds, however Sentinel-1 snapped additional images in the radar band (above right) on Nov. 16th and 4th (prior to and after the heavy rains).
These images were combined to develop the composite above and indicate the flooded locations in blue, with the darkest locations representing the heaviest inundation. In addition to the hundreds who were left, more than 158,000 people were impacted state-wide by the resulting power interruptions and disturbances to other services. The torrential rainfall also resulted in mudslides that forced the closure of Interstate 5, which was since re-opened.
In similar news, previous ISS Commander Col. Chris Hadfield shared a NASA image via Twitter that shows the degree of flooding from the Fraser River in interior British Columbia. As he noted in the tweet, the flooding up-river resulted in a significant quantity of topsoil being rinsed into the Salish Sea between the mainland and Vancouver Island, though out instances of outflow can be seen along the coast of Vancouver Island and Washington State.
The State of Washington and the Province of BC are in a state of emergency situation following days of extreme wind, rain, and flooding. The circumstance started when an “climatic river” (a plume of moisture) extended over the Pacific Northwest, triggering severe rainfall that triggered already-rising rivers to overflow. This led to obstructed roadways, mudslides, fallen bridges, and thousands of animals drowning in farmland areas.
This extensive damage was photographed from space by Earth observation satellites, among which was the European Space Agencys (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel objective and the International Space Station (ISS). These images caught the extent of the floods in the Nooksack and Fraser River valleys this week, which both overflowed their banks today, leading to washed-out roads and forcing the evacuation of thousands of individuals.
