Satellite eye on Earth: February 2010

Far eastern Russia is covered in snow, ice, and clouds on 16 February. In the centre of the image is the Sea of Okhotsk, the boundaries of which are marked by Sakhalin Island at the centre of the image, Japan's Hokkaido Island to the south (visible near the bottom of the image), the Kuril Islands to the south-west (visible beneath the cloud cover), and the Kamchatka Peninsula to the east (visible near the right edge of the image). A small portion of the Sea of Japan is visible between Sakhalin Island and mainland Russia at the bottom left of the image. The clouds in the sea form interesting patterns, including cloud streets - parallel rows of clouds that align with the wind and form over the sea due to the mixture of heat, moisture and wind
Photograph: MODIS/Aqua/NASA

This image of Chile and the Patagonia region of Argentina was captured on 16 February. In it, you can see the dramatic impact the Andes Mountains have on rainfall and vegetation. On the left is southern Chile, which appears quite lush (if partially snow-covered), while Patagonia in Argentina appears dry and brown. Bright turquoise lakes are the result of extremely fine sediment ground up by mountain glaciers and deposited in the lakes
Photograph: MODIS/Aqua/NASA

Snow covers the ground around the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The distinctly different coloration - half green and half purple - is the result of a rock-filled causeway built in 1953 to support a permanent railroad. The causeway has resulted in decreased circulation between the two arms and higher salinity on the northern side
Photograph: MODIS/Terra/NASA

In this natural-colour satellite image, a plume of ash and steam rises from Mount Garet, the summit of Vanuatu's Gaua volcano. Gaua's most recent eruptive phase began in September 2009 and intensified during January. Dark ash coats much of the vegetation to the north-west of the volcano. Prehistoric eruptions of Gaua created the crescent-shaped Lake Letas, seen here in the centre of the island. Water from the lake flows out via the Mbe Solomul River, which cascades over the caldera rim in a 120m waterfall
Photograph: ALI/EO-1/NASA

The submarine volcano Fukutoku-Okanoba erupted in early February, releasing ash and steam plumes and altering the colour of nearby ocean water. Water colored by the underwater plume appears electric blue in this image, in contrast to the surrounding navy blue water. The summit of Fukutoku-Okanoba lies 14m below sea level, around 5km north-east of the island of Minami-Iwo-jima and about 1,000km south of the main Japanese archipelago. Japan's coast guard captured an eruption on film in early February
Photograph: ASTER/Terra/NASA

In north-eastern Egypt, roughly 30km west of the Gulf of Suez, rugged hills give way to flat terrain. In this false-colour image of the region, bare rock ranges show from pink-beige to tan. Immediately north-west of the hills are a collection of alluvial fans. When fast-moving rivers exit steep terrain, the water often fans out over flat land. Wavy lines of blue-grey and white show where rivulets once ran through mountains and spread out over flat land. Although little plant life thrives in this region, underwater springs give rise to isolated oases, and one such oasis became the site of St Anthony, one of Egypt's oldest Coptic Christian monasteries. Two dots of bright red near the base of the hills indicate vegetation associated with the monastery
Photograph: ASTER/Terra/NASA

The entire floodplain of Rio Negro, which flows south-east from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean through Argentina, is covered with curved relicts of channels. These are known as meander scars, and show the past positions of river bends. The Rio Negro is a dramatic example of how mobile a river can be; these meanders were produced as the river snaked across the plain in the very recent geological past, probably during the last few hundred years. The river's floodplain supports the biggest pear- and apple-growing region of Argentina. Rectangular farm boundaries can be seen at bottom centre of the image
Photograph: ISS/NASA

Measuring 94 by 39km, the massive B-9B iceberg collided with the Mertz Glacier in eastern Antarctica on February 12 or 13, forcing another iceberg the szie of Luxembourg to break off. These images show the iceberg and glacier tongue immediately before (top: February 7) and after the collision (middle February 20 and bottom February 26). The new iceberg is nearly as large as B-9B - 78km long by 39km wide with a mass of 700-800bn tonnes. Scientists said the location of the icebergs could affect global ocean circulation and had important implications for marine biology in the region
Photograph: MODIA/Aqua/NASA

This image features the Kuwait islands of Warbah and Bubiyan, located at the head of the Persian Gulf. What appears to be water across the top and right side of the image (lilac, green and blue) is land. The brighter yellow, aqua and pink colours represent water. Here, the water currents in these channels can be observed thanks to the radar imagery as they flow out into the gulf
Photograph: ASAR/Envisat/ESA

A centuries-old settlement that now ranks among the world's largest, Pakistan's seaport city of Karachi mixes intense urbanisation with remnants of a natural environment. On the south-western edges of the city, mangroves and river deltas meet the built environment. Two rivers, the Lyari and Malir, pass through Karachi en route to the Arabian Sea. The Lyari River passes north of the Port of Karachi, and expansive salt works, appearing as large geometric areas of green, line the northern edge of that river's delta. East of the port, the Malir River flows southward toward the sea. Emptying through a narrower delta, the Malir River is nevertheless more conspicuous than its neighboring waterway; the river is wider, and the corridor of vegetation along its banks extends farther out into the city
Photograph: ALI/EO-1/NASA

On 20 February, flash floods hit the Portuguese island of Madeira. Water, rocks, and mud gushed down the slopes of the steep-sided island and though the streets of Funchal and other cities on the island’s populated southern coast. Environmentalists blamed greed and overbuilding for the scale of the tragedy
Photograph: EO-1/NASA

Obtaining even small quantities of gold usually requires extracting huge quantities of ore from open-pit or underground mines. One of the largest open-pit mines is the 'Super Pit' mine near the city of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. In this true-colour image, the pit that gives the mine its name appears in the centre. Some of the steep pit's walls appear in shadow while others are illuminated by the Sun. Related mining operations form a rough semi-circle on the eastern side of the pit; a cluster of buildings east-northeast of the pit is Fimiston Mill, where ore is processed. Waste dumps and gray-white tailings ponds sprawl over the arid landscape. The metropolitan area of Kalgoorlie, marked by street grids and manicured green spaces, extends almost to the mine's central pit
Photograph: ALI/EO-1/NASA

In early February 2010, organisers were putting the finishing touches on venues for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. After unusually warm conditions in January 2010, snow remained scarce on Cypress Mountain. The Los Angeles Times reported that snow was being trucked to Cypress Mountain from higher elevations, and Vancouver Now reported that organisers had placed tubes filled with dry ice on courses to keep surrounding snow from breaking down. A surprise snowstorm struck on 10 February, just two days before the games opened, boosting the snowpack
Photograph: Landsat 7/NASA

Fog cover over the Po Valley in northern Italy and snow cover over the Alps in south-central Europe on January 2010. Lake Garda, Italy's largest lake with an area of some 370 sq km, is visible at the foot of the Alps in the centre of the image. Two other substantial lakes visible west of Lake Garda are Lake Como (146 sq km), shaped liked an upside-down Y, and Lake Maggiore (212 sq km). Lakes visible on the Italian Peninsula include Trasimeno (green) and Bolsena (blue). All lakes of central Italy are of volcanic origin and are resting in former volcano craters, which accounts for their almost perfectly round shape
Photograph: MERIS/Envisat/ESA

Neighbouring volcanoes on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula became active at the same time in mid-February 2010. Klyuchevskaya Volcano in the north and Bezymianny Volcano in the south both sent plumes skyward over a snowy landscape on 13 February, 2010. Reaching a height of 4,835m, Klyuchevskaya is both the tallest and most active volcano on Kamchatka. It is a stratovolcano a steep-sloped, conical structure composed of alternating layers of solidified ash, hardened lava, and rock fragments ejected by earlier eruptions. Dwarfed by its neighbour, Bezymianny reaches 2,882m, and is also a stratovolcano. Kamchatka lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active area encircling the Pacific Ocean
Photograph: ASTER/Terra/NASA

Saharan dust skirted the Canary Islands on 6 February, 2010. A thin veil of dust blows westward past some of the islands, gradually turning toward the south-west south of El Hierro. Source points for the plume are not apparent in this image, and the dust may have originated far inland. Although the Canary Islands and the neighboring archipelago to the south, Cape Verde, often receive regular doses of dust, Saharan sands often travel to the western hemisphere, affecting islands in the Caribbean and supplying soil to the Amazon rainforest
Photograph: MODIS/Terra/NASA