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| Lloyd Reeds Map Collection |
| Flying Camera Satellite Images 2007 |
Flying Camera Satellite Images 2007
ALASKA: STAR NUMBER 49 (Flying Camera Calendar, January 2007) N 64° 00׳, W 156° 30׳ With an area of 1.5 million km2, Alaska (Aleut for “great country”) is the largest state in the USA and four times as large as the Federal Republic of Germany. This landmass was discovered by Titus Bering for Russia in 1741 and – derided as “Seward’s Icebox” – sold to the USA in 1867.
EAST AFRICA’S “TEAR SEAM” (Flying Camera Calendar, February 2006) N 09° 30׳, E 040° 10׳ The Ethiopian Rift Valley comprises part of the Great African Rift Valley. The valley stretches from southwestern Ethiopia to the Danakil Plain to the northeast, which in turn, extends as far as Eritrea and the Red Sea. In the Afar Triangle, the depression bisects the geologically ancient Ethiopian highlands into two halves: the Abyssinian highlands to the northwest and the Somalian highlands to the southeast. This geological barrier also divides the ecologically and ethnically diverse country insofar as lifestyles and cultural traditions are concerned. The predominantly Christian northwest comprises Ethiopia’s most important agricultural region, where a wide variety of, in part even native, plants are cultivated. To the south and southwest, on the slopes of the Somalian high-lands and the plains of the Danakil Depression, nomadism (semi-nomadism) and seasonal migratory patterns which follow herd movements (transhumance) are commonly observed. Islamic cultures have predominated in this region for centuries. In stark contrast to the Abyssinian highlands, which rise to altitude of more than 4,500 m, the Danakil Plain (shown in gray) drops to elevations of as much as 116 m below sea level. It is here that the highest naturally occurring air temperatures ever recorded near the Earth’s surface have been measured (60 °C). The floor of the Rift Valley is dotted with lakes, and on the shores of these lakes intensive agricultural activity is sustained by irrigation systems. This region is predominately used for the cultivation of marketable fruits and vegetables, to a lesser extent to ensure the availability of adequate supplies of basic foodstuffs for the local population. The MERIS FR image shown here has been made available by the European Space Agency (ESA) and was created for applications within the framework of the ESA GMES “GMFS – Global Monitoring for Food Security” Service Element Programme. The goal of the project is to develop procedures and to derive additional information from remote sensing data for the purpose of ensuring that adequate food supplies can be made available to the people who live in the region. Within this project, EFTAS has, in addition to image analysis, assumed responsibility for the regional implementation and coordination of GMFS activities for the eastern African region.
THE PATH OF “DARKNESS” In contrast to the solar eclipse of the year 1999, which was able to be seen by only very few people in Germany, the solar eclipse which took place on March 29, 2006, offered significantly improved observation conditions. Only scattered clouds obstructed observers’ views of the impressive celestial spectacle. The path of the total eclipse extended from the easternmost regions of Brazil and across the Atlantic Ocean to Africa, where the countries of Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Libya and the extreme northwestern areas of Egypt were crossed by the shadow from the southwest to the northeast. Following this, the lunar shadow spread over the eastern Mediterranean between the islands of Crete and Cyprus and then reached Turkey. The popular tourist areas of Antalya and Alanya along the Turkish Riviera were located within the zone of totality as were the cities of Konya and Ordu. From there, the path of the moon’s shadow continued to travel across Georgia, the southernmost corner of Russia and Kazakhstan and into the border regions between Russia and Mongolia, where the shadow then left the Earth’s surface. At 4 minutes and 7 seconds, the total eclipse of the sun lasted the longest in southern Libya, a period long enough to make it possible for this magnificent image to be created. The shadow of the moon is clearly visible in the region around southern Libya / northern Chad. The new METEOSAT satellites not only supply images in twelve spectral bands at 15-minute intervals but also make it possible to better identify small-scale structures (such as fog in valleys) thanks to higher geometric resolution. The data provided by these satellites is used to perform automatic, objective cloud classifications as well as to gather information concerning the instability of the atmosphere or the formation of severe-weather clouds. This makes it possible to improve weather observation technologies as well as weather forecasting methods.
THE FASCINATION OF TECHNOLOGY: The MAGDEBURG WATERWAY JUNCTION N 52° 14׳, E 011° 42׳ 18 AUGUST 2005, 15:00 h The Magdeburg waterway junction forms part of the Hanover-Magdeburg-Berlin waterway system, which is referred to as the “Transport Project: German Unity No. 17”. This comprises the connection of the western German waterway network with the eastern parts of the country and makes it possible for ships to travel in any number of directions through the use of a system of locks and channels. The heart of the waterway junction is the water bridge which spans the Elbe River. With a length of 918 m, it is the longest water bridge in the world. Prior to the completion of the water bridge, the Mittelland Canal ended at approximately the point where the canal narrows (left) at the entrance to the bridge. Ships on their way to Berlin were forced to travel through the Rothensee ship lift built in 1938, the Rothensee channel (outside this image), down the Elbe River, through the Niegripp channel and then ultimately through the Elbe-Havel Canal. After more than ten years of planning and construction, this section of the waterway was opened in October of 2003, thus not only reducing the length of the waterway by approximately 13 km, but also now making it possible for larger ships, barges and boat trains to pass through. The two main elements of the water bridge are clearly visible in this image: on the one hand the foreland bridge with a length of 690 m, which plays a significant role in the drainage of the flood waters, and spanning the river, the canal bridge proper, with a length of 228 m and supported by a total of four pillars in the Elbe. The foreland, with its numerous flow channels, is in some areas continuously and in other areas periodically covered with water. A dike along the edge of a cultivated field serves to control water levels. To the right the A2 motorway between Hanover and Berlin is visible. The double locks in Hohenwarthe (top) make it possible for ships to travel onward to the Elbe-Havel Canal. Shortly after that the Niegripp channel branches off to the north. This canal also has a lock, the Niegripp lock, which – as was the Rothensee ship lift – was built in the year 1938. The tower for the northern gate is also visible at the edge of the forested area.
CALCUTTA IS ON THE GANGES …. ? N 22° 37׳, E 088° 21׳ This popular song is not entirely right, because Calcutta, or Kolkata as the city is called today, is located on the banks of a tributary to the Ganges River, the River Hooghly. This river splits off from the Ganges approximately 200 km to the north of the city and, together with numerous other tributaries, flows into the Bay of Bengal about 150 km further south. On average the entire delta region lies only 6 meters above sea level and is, for this reason, subjected to monsoon rains, flooding and cyclones throughout the entire year. Because of the direct access to the ocean available there, the banks of the river were lined with European merchant offices as early as the 17th century. But it was not until the British established the British East India Company that the foundation for the urban agglomeration the city has become was laid. It was primarily jute manufacture, but also the opium trade, which made the merchants and their companies rich. The administration buildings and other magnificent edifices erected in the Victorian style by these men have shaped the city’s urban features. The heart of the city as it is today can be found above the nearly right-angled bend in the River Hooghly toward the west. The remains of factory buildings formerly used for jute manufacture as well as warehouses for the commodities traded which have fallen into disrepair lie in the city district of Howrah – also called the poor-house of the city – on the west bank of the river (left). These form a stark contrast to the splendour of buildings from the colonial era in the large “Maidan” city park on the other side of the river, such as Fort William, the reconstructed British fortification dating from 1781, the Victoria Memorial (1921) as well as the neo-Gothic St. Paul’s Cathedral, which dates from the 19th century. Until the year 1911 Calcutta remained the capital of the colony of British India, but was superseded by Delhi and later by New Delhi in 1931. In the year of India’s independence (1947) Calcutta was made the capital of the state of West Bengal. The mass influx of refugees from the neighbouring country of Bangladesh and Calcutta’s own hinterland have caused the population of the city of Calcutta swell to approximately 4.6 million and even to 14.6 million in the greater Calcutta metropolitan area. The large international port as well as the international airport are significant factors for Calcutta as a new economic power. In addition to the industries which produce jute, cotton and silk, high-tech companies from abroad have settled in the city. In the wake of this economic surge, the newly planned Bidhan Nagar city area (right of centre), also referred to as Salt Lake City, was constructed and resembles a hipped roof in this image.
HYPERDATA PILOT PROJECT - LANGEOOG (Flying Camera Calendar, June 2007) N 53° 44׳, E 007° 33׳ Several series of aerial photographs of the East Frisian island of Langeoog in the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park were taken during the HyEurope2005 campaign. Within the framework of this joint collaboration project, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and HyVista Corp. carried out three HyMap™ “HyEurope” airborne campaigns in the summers of the years 2003 to 2005 using a “HyMap™” hyperspectral scanner, an Australian development built by Integrated Spectronics Ltd.. HyMap™ works with four spectrometers within a wavelength range of between 400 nm and 2,500 nm and produces 126 spectral bands with a bandwidth of approximately 16 nm. Increasing demand for high-quality imaging spectrometer data has led to the formation of the Airborne Reflective Emissive Spectrometer (ARES program), a joint initiative of DLR and GFZ (GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam). The ARES sensor will provide 160 channels in the solar reflective spectrum (450 nm – 2,450 nm) and in the thermal spectrum (8 µm – 13 µm) and will be made available to the scientific community by spring of 2007. Geometric resolution is between 2 m and 10 m, depending on flight altitude. ARES will be used primarily for environmental applications in terrestrial ecosystems, with particular focus on soil sciences, geology, agriculture and forestry. On the basis of the scientific results provided by hyperspectral remote sensing data, a further technological development, the German EnMAP (Environmental mapping and Analysis Program) hyperspectral satellite system, is currently in the planning and construction phases. Langeoog means “long island” in the low German Dialect, and a long, white sandy beach to the west and the north which stretches toward the open sea, dune landscapes with sand dunes which can grow to be as much as 20 m high, grazing pastures, a small forest, as well as the town of Langeoog with its approximately 2,000 inhabitants characterize the approximately 20 square kilometres which make up the island. Because of the fact that no cars are allowed on the island and that has retained its natural flair, Langeoog attracts numerous tourists. Between the island and the mainland, the gray areas of the wadden sea tidal flats are crisscrossed by a widely branching network of tidal streams and forks, in which the tides rise and fall and which are also filled with water even at low tide. These channels serve as navigable links between Langeoog and the neighboring islands of Baltrum (to the west) and Spiekeroog (to the east) and also ensure that traffic connections to the mainland can be maintained.
PINACATE VOLCANIC FIELD IN NORTHWESTERN MEXICO (Flying Camera Calendar, July 2007) N 31° 48׳, W 113° 30׳ The shield-shaped Pinacate Volcanic Field is located in the Sonoran Desert, near the northern end of the Gulf of California. The noterhernmost spurs of the field (upper left) lie within the US state of Arizona. The sand dunes of the “Gran Desierto” desert (lower edge) are as much as 100 meters high. The volcanic field proper measures approximately 40 km from west to east, is nearly 2,000 km2 large and reaches altitudes of as much as 1,200 m above sea level. Numerous widely scattered eruption vents with more than 400 cinder and ash cones and lava flows characterize the region. The predominantly basaltic lava is frequently visible as pâhoehoe lava. Pâhoehoe comes from the Hawaiian for “smooth, unbroken lava”. Several of the larger maar craters were created as the result of phreatomagmatic eruptions, meaning that when rising hot magma made contact with ground water, a steam-blast eruption took place as the water vaporized instantaneously. In one of these maar craters, the “Crater Elegante” with a diameter of 1.5 km, a lake was formed in the aftermath of the eruption. Sediments from the lake are at least 12,000 to 17,000 years old and have thus been dated as Late Pleistocene. At that time, a humid climate reigned here, but with the transition to the Holocene climate changes which have led to the currently prevailing arid conditions began to take place. Precipitation is rare, temperatures rise as high as 50 oC in summer and drop to -5 oC in winter. Whereas Papago Indians, or Tohono O’odham, wandered from settlement to settlement until just slightly more than 100 years ago, the region remains completely unpopulated today. In spite of the lack of significant amounts of precipitation, the climate of the area is able to support a highly varied flora and fauna with more than 600 different species, among these the imposing candelabra-shaped, branching saguaro cactus. In 1993 the entire volcanic field was designated as a biosphere reserve and national park by the Mexican President.
FULDA – BAROQUE CITY AND HEART OF EAST HESSEN (Flying Camera Calendar, August 2007) N 50° 33׳, E 009° 41׳ The central areas of the city of Fulda lie between the Fulda meadowlands to the west and the railroad lines of the ICE train station to the east. The history of Fulda begins with the founding of a Benedictine monastery and abbey by Saint Sturmius at the behest of Saint Boniface in 744. To the east, the triangular shape of the Cathedral square and the Palace Gardens adjoin the Cathedral and its former cloister district, and to the west the old city parts extend to the Fulda meadowlands.
DALMATIAN COAST, CROATIA (Flying Camera Calendar, September 2007) N 44° 18׳, E 014° 58׳ The northern Dalmatian coast is divided into two very different landscape regions. To the northeast the high karst mountain range of the Velebit rises out of the sea in the form of a steep wall, with sharp ascents of 1,500 to 1,750 m over a distance of only 12 to 15 km. At the foot of the escarpments, long, thin islands are interfingered with narrow channels along the so-called “Canali Coast”. This coastal formation is the result of a junction formed by the orogeny of the calcareous anticlines and flysch synclines. Mountains ranges were created by the erosion of harder limestones, and the easily eroded flysch downfolds became valleys. As a result of flooding in the wake of post-glacial sea-level rise, mountain crests are now islands and valleys have become sea channels. Protected by the surrounding escarpments from cooler continental air masses, the climate and vegetation of the islands are Mediterranean in nature. On the escarpments themselves, however, the notorious Bora periodically blows, stormy katabatic winds which transport cold air masses from the continent to the Adriatic coast. The Bora is also the cause of the barrenness evident on the steep mountain sides and on the sides of the island which face the mainland (white). The steep mountain slopes and the absence of transverse valleys continue to isolate the coastal region from its hinterland and prompt the people who live there to place greater emphasis on their connections with the sea. For this reason, cultural and historical influencing factors have generally come from the other side of the Adriatic Sea, first from the Romans, as, for example, shown by excavations in Zadar, the largest city in the area (right edge). Later, the region belonged to the Republic of Venice for more than 400 years, following World War II to Yugoslavia, and is now part of Croatia. The Dalmatians have been a Slavic people since the 7th century, they have been converted to Roman Catholicism and have adopted the Latin alphabet. Their houses, agricultural activities and lifestyle are Mediterranean in nature.
THE CITADEL OF ARBIL (Flying Camera Calendar, October 2007) N 36° 10׳, E 044° 00׳ Arbil, currently officially Kurdish: Hewler, and located in what is now northern Iraq, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The age of the city is estimated at more than 6,000 years, as has been able to be reconstructed and documented by cuneiform writings. The Sumerians (4th century B.C.) named the city Urbillum, which means “four gods”. During the period of Assyrian rule (around the 2nd century B.C.) the city was named Arbela and was a religious centre of worship for the goddess Ishtar. The oldest parts of the city lie atop one of the largest known ancient earthen mounds (tells), where settlements and dwellings made of mud clay bricks have repeatedly been built on the ruins of previous settlements. It is even believed that the initial impetus for this imposing site, which has risen to a height of 30 m, was given by a ziggurat – a terraced temple hill or tower similar to the Tower of Babel. A mighty and 1,170 m–long wall appears to have been built of clay bricks between 1102 and 1210 (Atabeg Period) for the purpose of protecting the city and fortifications. During this “Age of the Crusades”, Saladin, one of the atabegs (regents) of Arbil, reconquered Jerusalem from the Christians. Even long sieges were unable to prove to be a threat to those living within the fortifications, since enough ground water was available and rose to the surface, in part, through a system of artesian wells. Whenever the city was threatened the three entrances to the city could be blocked by heavy iron gates. The main entrance to the city (upper left), across from the white-roofed bazaar, is connected to the second large entrance (lower right) by a street. A smaller entrance for pedestrians lies to the left of the ramparts. Within the citadel there were baths and five mosques, such as the large white mosque (centre) in the Turkish style. At the beginning of the 19th century the number of buildings in the city was estimated to be approximately 1,000, with a population of around 5,000.
CENTRAL EUROPE (Flying Camera Calendar, November 2007) N 52° 35׳, E 013° 55׳ The region of Central Europe extends from the southern Baltic Sea in the north, from the eastern Jutland Peninsula in the west over the southernmost tip of Sweden and the Island of Bornholm to the Gulf of Danzig and Kaliningrad in the east. To the west, the mouth of the Elbe River (estuary) and the Rhine River between Mainz and Koblenz (southwestern corner) are important landmarks. The lower edge of this image comprises parts of Nuremberg, the northernmost Bohemian Forest (violet, in part) and the lower course of the Morava River to the northeast of Vienna in the southeastern corner. Berlin (centre) appears to be blue in this image, as do all other cities.
BASEL AT NIGHT (Flying Camera Calendar, December 2007) N 47° 33׳, E 007° 36׳ Night images taken from a bird’s-eye view are rare, although they provide a good reflection of the manner in which mankind use the Earth. Even more unusual are large-scale views such as the image shown here, which paints a new and unusual picture of a city. The network of streets and roads splendidly highlights the hierarchic significance (from the broad main thoroughfares to the smaller local neighbourhood streets) as well as the varying ages of the individual city districts concerned. The old city (centre), with the brightly illuminated Cathedral, is crisscrossed by a system of generally narrow and irregularly patterned alleys and streets. The market square lies at the heart of the old city, where the two main shopping streets, the Freie Strasse and the Gerbergasse, meet as they come from the south, and acts as a mediator as the eye travels on to the Middle Bridge (the city’s oldest bridge across the Rhine River, built in 1225). This axis continues past the Claraplatz in the Lesser Basel district and on to the German (Badischer Bahnhof) railway station. Two ring roads which outline the locations of old city walls are easily recognizable. The inner ring dates from the 12th century and stretches from the Wettstein Bridge to the right of the Cathedral and past the Barfüsser Platz to an area below the Middle Bridge. The outer city walls from the 14th century (from the St. Alban suburb east of the Wettstein Bridge to the railway station and the Johanniter Bridge) were replaced by broad streets in the 19th century, which now acts as ring roads and direct traffic around the inner city areas. The city walls of Lesser Basel can also be traced from the Johanniter Bridge, a line which travels on to the Wettstein Bridge and delineates the rectangular old city areas of Lesser Basel. The planned quarters of the 19th and 20th centuries, with their relatively regular patterns of streets, are found in the outlying areas of the city.
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