Tag Archives: urbanization

Timelapse Tuesday – 37 years of Urban Growth in Ames, Iowa

By #Time Lapse Tuesday, Activity, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Observation, Remote Sensing, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This week we are exploring urban growth in Ames, Iowa. The red areas are showing areas of vegetation that are primarily agricultural in the larger areas, the neon green areas are short grass and trees, the gray color is urban areas, and blue areas are water.

Timelaspse Video of Ames, Iowa 1984 to 2021 – Summer Landsat Images

As you watch the time lapse video notice several things:

  1. The expansion of Ada Hayden (the large lake in the center right of the image.)
  2. How the agricultural land in the center of the images fills in rapidly with development between 2008 to 2021
  3. The increase in permanent water retention ponds in as the city develops.
  4. Many of the red agricultural parcels along Ioway Creek (the left river) become smaller and more developed through the time series.

Compare an image of north Ames, Iowa from 1987 to 2021 – what other urban growth changes can you spot?

Ames, Iowa – 1987
Ames, Iowa – 2021

#TimeLapse Tuesday – Spot the Change – Urban Growth of Ankeny, Iowa

By #Time Lapse Tuesday, Education, Environmental Change, Imagery, Landsat, Landsat Golden Jubilee, Observation, Remote Sensing, , , , , , , , ,

What changes do you notice in this Landsat time lapse video?

1) The areas of purple and white in the image are urban areas. Throughout the video they fill in the area from the bottom to the center. The pink areas are farm land.

2) Did you notice the increase in the number of retention ponds (dark blue specks in the urban areas) over time? Retention ponds are used to prevent flooding and provide for water storage in urban areas. As areas become urbanized there is often more surface covered in concrete, parking lots and buildings. There are fewer places for the water to flow directly into the ground.

3) Did you spot the golf course on the northern edge of the city?

This year we are celebrating 50 years of the Landsat earth observing satellite mission. Landsat data helps us observe changes in our communities and environment over time.

This video was created using Google Earth Engine. You can create your own time lapse videos by visiting: https://emaprlab.users.earthengine.app/view/lt-gee-time-series-animator.

Greetings from Camp Landsat: Cities and Suburbs

By Activity, Education, Environmental Change, Landsat, NASA, Observation, Outreach, Remote Sensing, , , , , , , , , , ,

Greetings from Camp Landsat!

Postcards From Camp: Cities & Suburbs
Are you exploring any cities this summer? Rain or shine, urban planners use Landsat to take stock of city growth and its environmental impact. The front of this postcard features a natural-color Landsat 8 image of Ocean Flower Island in Hainan, China acquired May 6, 2020.

This week’s camp theme is Cities and Suburbs and focuses on the growth of cities and urban areas as seen over time through Landsat images. Urban growth has impacts on the surrounding environment. Visit Camp Landsat to learn more and experience a time-laspse video of urban growth in Qatar, a storymap about urbanization of vacation towns, and learn about urban heat islands in Minnesota. This week’s camp crafts include Color by Number Image Classification and creating a bird house with a “green roof.” Thank you to our friends at NASA for making this fun summer camp possible!