Civil remote sensing satellites have been in orbit since the launch of the Landsat 1 (ERTS) satellite in late 1972. These are very useful tools that provide us with important data over large areas. Some of the applications are vegetation mapping and change detection over time. Change detection is useful in measuring deforestation and other natural and human alterations of the environment.
This image shows the 1975 eruption of Mount Nyiragongo as imaged from the Landsat Multi Spectral Scanner (bands 3, 2, 1). The plume is coming from the main crater of the volcano Nyiragongo. The large crater to the northwest is the volcano Nyamlagira. Both of these volcanoes have erupted many times during this century, most recently in 2002. Recent lava flows are show in green in this multispectral color composite image. The city of Goma is green at bottom right, on lake Kivu. The Gorilla reserve is at right, in pink, with clouds covering the summit of Mount Karisimbi (4,500 meters).
This image illustrates the problem with clouds in the region. The Virunga region is the dark green area at the center of the image and is virtually obscured by white clouds. The winds are from the southeast, and as the moisture-laden air rises up the steep slopes the water vapor condenses and clouds and rain form. Often the entire region will be clear of clouds except the Virunga park.
Environmental Aspects of the African Great Lakes Region-U.N. Environmental Program
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Vigorously growing vegetation appears red. Protected vegetation in parks and reserves appears darker red with distinct boundaries. A volcanic plume is visible in the 1975 image. Increased population caused by natural growth and refugees appears as blue-gray patches in the 1995 image. These two Landsat images show changes in the area over a 20 year period. Click on each image to see a larger version.
We acquired the only cloud-free image available, a Landsat TM image from 1987. This is one of the very few relatively cloud free images of the region. You can see Lake Kivu in the center bottom, and the Virunga reserve at center right. The pink area at top right is the Bwindi Impenetrable forest, home to the other 300 mountian gorillas. This is a false color infrared image, where vegetation shows as shades of pink. The recent lava flows from the active volcanos in the region show as dark gray/blue.
We generated this 19 class landcover map. This shows the vegetation in and around the Gorilla reserve, as extracted from the satellite data. Our initial vegetation map, derived from aerial photography, was used to assist in this classification.
Additional satellite images, including regional images and GIS data can be viewed at the NASA Classroom of the Future website.
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