Earth from Space: Amazon River

Hi I’m Kelsea Brennan-Wesselsand welcome back to Earth from Spaceon the European Space Agency Web TV. The Copernicus Sentinel-2A satellitetakes us over northern Brazil on 22 August 2017,where the Amazon River meets the Atlantic Ocean. The sediment-laden water appears brownas it flows from the lower left to the open
ocean in the upper right. ‘Popcorn’ clouds are visible in parts
of the image –a common occurrence during the Amazon’s
dry season,formed by condensed water vapour released
by plants and treesduring a sunny day. The land varies in colour from the deep green
of dense vegetationto light brown. Taking a closer look to the upper-left section
of the image,we can see large brown areaswhere the vegetation has already been cleared away. Geometric shapes indicate agricultural fields,and linear roads cut through the remaining
dense vegetation. Rainforests worldwide are being destroyed
at an alarming rate. This is of great concern because they play
an important role in global climate,and are home to a wide variety of plants,
animals and insects. More than a third of all species in the world
live in the Amazon Rainforest. Unlike other forests, rainforests have difficulty
regrowing after they are destroyed and,owing to their composition,their soils are not suitable for long-term
agricultural use. With their unique view from space,Earth observation satellites have been instrumental
in highlighting the vulnerability of the rainforestsby documenting the scale of deforestation. And that wraps up this edition of Earth from Space. Remember that to learn more about space or
about our planet,you can visit our website at www. esa. int. From the ESA Web-TV studios, have a great day.