Centre for Law and the Environment:
Satellites and the Law

GeoEye-1 image of the Musudan-Ri missile facility in North Korea and also an "IHS Janes" annotated version (below). This image was taken from 423 miles in space just 25 minutes before the long-range missile was launched.
GeoEye Inc. Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Around the world, agricultural practices have developed as a function of topography, soil type, crop type, annual rainfall, and tradition. In this montage of six ASTER sub-images, the differences are graphically illustrated by the variation in field geometry and size. In Minnesota (upper left) the very regular grid pattern reflects early 19th century surveying; the size of the fields is a function of mechanization and that dictates a certain efficiency. In Kansas (upper middle), center pivot irrigation is responsible for the field pattern. In northwest Germany (upper right), the small size and random pattern of fields is a leftover from the Middle Ages. Near Santa Cruz, Bolivia (lower left), the pie or radial patterned fields are part of a settlement scheme; at the center of each unit is a small community. Outside of Bangkok, Thailand (lower middle), rice paddies fed by an extensive network of canals that is hundreds of years old, appear as small skinny rectangular fields. And in the Cerrado in southern Brazil (lower right), cheap cost of land and its flatness have resulted in enormous farms and large field sizes.

Each ASTER sub-image covers an area of 10.5 x 12 km.
Courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery-detail.asp?name=agmontage

Courtesy of Eurimage

The Esperanza fire started on October 26 in the dry brush near Palm Springs, CA. By the time it was contained 6 days later, the fire had consumed 40,200 acres, and destroyed 34 homes and 20 outbuildings. Racing through grass, brush, and timber, the blaze had forced hundreds to evacuate, and it killed five firefighters who were working to protect homes. Fire officials are reporting the cause of the blaze as arson. In this ASTER image composite of visible and infrared bands, burned areas are shown in shades of red, vegetation is green, brown vegetation is brown and asphalt and concrete are blue-gray. The image covers an area of 21.4 x 26.9 km, was acquired November 3, 2006, and is centered at 33.6 degrees North latitude, 116.8 degrees West longitude.

Courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery-detail.asp?name=esperanza

(Above) RGB Composite of Nighttime Lights Change, 2003 = Red, 1998 = Green, 1992 = Blue, Nighttime Lights Of India, 1km resolution.

Courtesy of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/dmsp/interest/india.html

Following a request for help from the Lebanese Ministry of Environment, the EC Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) of DG Environment triggered the International Charter 'Space and Major Disasters' in order to obtain information about the extent of the oil pollution in the coastal strip and, where possible, the size of the pollution.
The Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) of DLR took over the project management in this activation and is producing satellite analyses in the context of the European GMES Service Elements Risk-EOS and MarCoast.

Courtesy of Center for Satellite based Crises Analysis, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)

This four-meter resolution color image of Beijing, China was collected October 22, 1999 by the IKONOS satellite. The image, the first international color IKONOS image released features Tiananmen Square, shown at left, and the Temple of Heaven. The red area in the center of Tiananmen Square, upper right, is a large carpet. The Great Hall of the People, on the western edge of Tiananmen Square, is the meeting place for the National People's Congress and houses the tomb of Mao Tse-tung.

Courtesy of GeoEye Inc. Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.