Life from Above

As the water levels drop at Poyang Lake thousands of birds arrive to feed on the roots of aquatic plants that are uncovered. Critically endangered Siberian cranes travel the furthest; a month long journey for the unique feeding opportunity brought about by the changing water levels.

Cameras in space show just how fast our planet is changing. Cities are growing, forests are disappearing and glaciers melting but in Tanzania locals have regenerated the landscape, saving a family of chimpanzees.

Cameras in space show mines sprawl and irrigation circles appear in the desert. We have found ingenious ways to use earth’s natural resources but we have also left our trash behind.

The reforestation of trees in Tanzania could save a community of Chimpanzees. Deforestation around their reserve left the community isolated but now new chimps have been seen using the newly forested corridors to move into the area. Potential mates and a sign of a brighter future.

The world’s longest beaver dam in Alberta and an island of unexplored forest on top of vertical cliffs in Mozambique are two incredible discoveries made using satellite images.

A tear in the forest canopy of the Congo has been created by the movement of elephants.

From space earth’s surface is covered in weird and wonderful shapes. Wombats design their own landscape in Australia and hundreds of forest elephants create a tear in the endless green of the Congo forest canopy.

A paninga turtle heads deep into the burning desert for an extraordinary weather event. Rain fill the dunes, creating hundreds of pools. Only from space can we appreciate the scale of the transformation.

When Joseph Sekar put out food for two parakeets struggling in the city little did he know that 15 years later he would be feeding 4,000 birds. He and his granddaughters prepare their rooftop for the arrival of the parakeets.

From space earth is not just a blue planet but a kaleidoscope of color. Swirls of turquoise phytoplankton trigger an oceanic feeding frenzy, China turns yellow as millions of flowers bloom and at night the waters off the coast of Argentina are spotted with mysterious green lights.

Thousands of rapeseed flowers bloom en masse transforming the landscape on a scale that can only truly be appreciated from above. Nomadic beekeepers arrive in time for the bloom to make honey but their window of opportunity is short. The fields will be sprayed with pesticides in just two weeks.

From space the aurora is even more spectacular. The lights are brighter and the sheer scale of this natural spectacle is revealed.