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This year we're taking you to the dead places on the planet Earth.
First up, the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is an enclosed basin that borders Jordan and Israel.
Water that flows into the Dead Sea slowly evaporates, leaving salt and mineral deposits behind.
Using instruments like Landsat, we've been able to observe changes in the area of the
Dead Sea through time, but with ICESat-2, we're able to measure changes in the lake
level, or the height of that water surface.
The Skeleton Coast of Namibia is so named because it's a graveyard for ships.
Due to upwelling ocean currents, there's typically
very thick fog in this part of Namibia along with a heavy surf. If you look closely at
the ICESat-2 photon cloud, you can see substantial waves approaching the coast, making it treacherous for ships.
We now turn to Death Valley in southern California. The photons show rugged
terrain surrounding the central basin of Death Valley, which lies several hundred feet below
sea level. Water that flows into Death Valley slowly evaporates over time. In spring, water
can collect into ephemeral lakes that slowly evaporate, much like the Dead Sea. From the
vantage point of space, ICESat-2 continues to measure the height of the Earth and everything
on it, both the living and the dead.
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