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(gentle music)

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- [Announcer] NASA's 2023
is officially in the books

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and what a year it was!

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From the successful return of samples

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from 4.5 billion-year-old
asteroid to the announcement

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of the crew of the next manned
mission to fly around the moon,

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it's safe to say that NASA stayed busy.

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And that goes double
for the Landsat program,

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as NASA's decades-long partnership

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with the USGS crosses off
its 51st year in orbit,

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continuing to map and monitor
our ever-changing planet

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in remarkable detail.

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So let's take a peek
not just into the past

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and some of the innovative
ways researchers were able

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to put Landsat data to work in 2023,

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but also at how the Landsat
program is preparing

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for its next chapter.

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(gentle music)

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Even though it might evoke the image

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of a grizzled prospector panning for gold

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in 1850's California,

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river or alluvial mining, as it's known,

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is still used to this day

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as a method of extracting
precious minerals.

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In fact, a research paper
published in 2023 shows

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a concerning trend in
river mining worldwide.

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Researchers use data from Landsats 5 and 7

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to track river mining at almost 400 sites

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across the world over a 37-year period.

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Their results showed that
over the past two decades,

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river mining activity
has been on the rise,

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particularly in tropical areas.

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And with that rise has come a whole slew

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of negative environmental impacts,

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such as increases in sediment deposits,

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and deforestation, as well as decreases

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in water quality and availability.

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With the help of
foundational data collected

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by Landsat over the last 50 years,

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researchers hope they can
bring to light with the scale

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and impact of river mining,
emphasizing the need for action

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to mitigate its
environmental consequences.

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Follow any given river all the
way to and from its source,

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and it's quite possible
you'll find yourself

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on the shore of a lake.

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Lakes account for 3% of
Earth's global land area,

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storing vast reservoirs
of freshwater essential

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to our planet's ecosystems.

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Water levels in these lakes
fluctuate from year to year

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due to factors both natural
and manmade, from droughts

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and floods to agricultural
and domestic consumption.

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So when researchers wanted

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to track water levels over
the past three decades

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in lakes worldwide,
they turned to Landsat.

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A 2023 research paper analyzed
almost 250,000 Landsat images

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to track water levels
in thousands of lakes

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and reservoirs across the
world between 1992 and 2020.

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By combining imagery with climate

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and hydrological models,

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researchers were able
to determine that 53%

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of these water bodies had
experienced a significant decline

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in water levels over the past 30 years.

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The cause of this decline?

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Researchers say one
factor is climate change.

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As warmer and drier weather around many

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of these lakes is driving higher rates

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of evapotranspiration.

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These findings stress the importance

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of more effective water
resource management

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as nearly a quarter of the
world's population live near

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and depend on lakes that
are experiencing water loss.

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While the water levels in our
world's lakes may be shrinking

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when it comes to our oceans,

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it's a different story altogether.

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As global temperatures
continue to creep higher,

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so too do our sea levels,

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which puts added pressure
on vital coastal ecosystems.

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Mangroves, tidal marshes, coral reefs,

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and reef islands all play
key roles in protecting

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coastlines, providing
natural habitats for animal

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and plant life, and capturing
and storing excess carbon.

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These ecosystems are known to
be resilient, having adapted

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to gradual changes in historic sea levels.

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But researchers wanted to find out

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what effect rising global
temperatures could possibly have

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on our world's coastal
habitats in the coming decades.

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The research team used machine
learning techniques trained

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on millions of Landsat scenes to assess

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how coastal ecosystems might react

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to a potential rise in global temperature

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from 1.5° to 3°C.

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Their results painted a dire picture,

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a 1.5° to 2°C temperature rise
could see a sea level rise

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of up to 4mm a year between 2080 and 2100,

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which would double the
amount of mapped tidal marsh.

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Putting those numbers in
perspective, by the year 2044,

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our oceans could rise between
three to four centimeters.

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A 3 °C rise in temperature,

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however, would expose almost all

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of the world's mangroves and coral reefs.

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And a large portion of tidal
marshes to sea level rises

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of at least seven millimeters per year,

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which would hit 14 centimeters by 2044.

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The researchers believe
their study underscores

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the urgent need for effective
global climate policies

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that aim at keeping
temperature rise under 2 °C.

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Any failure to do so could lead

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to a significant loss in biodiversity

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and put our vulnerable coastal communities

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even further at risk.

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These 2023 case studies
clearly demonstrate

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how important Landsat's ability
to look into the past can be

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for preparing for our future.

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The Landsat program's, free

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and open archive puts five decades worth

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of Earth observations at
researchers fingertips.

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A decades-long legacy
of observing, managing,

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and adapting to change on earth.

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In early 2023, the Landsat
program announced plans

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for continuing this legacy, Landsat Next.

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Representing a quantum leap
forward in Earth observation,

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Landsat Next will be a
triplet-configuration,

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a constellation of three
satellites orbiting in tandem,

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taking a complete picture
of the world every six days.

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With the improved six-day revisit comes

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an increased spatial resolution,
allowing Landsat satellites

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to capture smaller details

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at a finer temporal
resolution than before.

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And Landsat Next will
be going "superspectral"

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hosting 26 spectral bands,
unlocking new applications

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for monitoring water quality,
crop production, snow

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and ice dynamics, and more.

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2023 was without a doubt, an exciting year

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for the Landsat program with
data being put to use in ways

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that continue to prove
why the Landsat program is

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a cornerstone of Earth observation.

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So as we bid Landsat's
2023 a fond farewell,

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we can turn our gaze forward
to the exciting discoveries

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that lay on the horizon for
Landsat in 2024 and beyond...

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(gentle music)