28 years of Earth’s surface changes on Google

function maps() { var popurl="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/themes/DTE/rainfalls/maps.htm" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=820,height=450,scrollbars=yes") } It is now possible to track how the landscape across the world has changed in the recent past. Google has released a new environment monitoring platform, Google Earth Engine, which brings satellite images of the planet’s surface over the past 28 years on to viewers’ screens, giving people the opportunity to look at land surface changes at any place on the earth.

Science and Technology - Briefs

ECOLOGY Heat is on

Curiosity's Mars odyssey

At the centre of this image from Curiosity is the hole in a rock called John Klein where the rover conducted its first sample drilling on Mars. The drilling took place on Feb. 8, 2013, or Sol 182, Curiosity's 182nd Martian day of operations. Several preparatory activities with the drill preceded this operation, including a test that produced the shallower hole on the right two days earlier, but the deeper hole resulted from the first use of the drill for rock sample collection. Courtesy: NASA

Curiosity's Mars odyssey

A shiny-looking Martian rock is visible in this image taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) during the mission's 173rd Martian day, or sol (Jan. 30, 2013). On Mars, as on Earth, sometimes things can take on an unusual appearance. A case in point is a shiny-looking rock seen in a recent image from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. Some casual observers might see a resemblance to a car door handle, hood ornament or some other type of metallic object. To Ronald Sletten of the University of Washington, Seattle, a collaborator on Curiosity's science team, the object is an interesting study in how wind and the natural elements cause erosion and other effects on various types of rocks. Courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems

Curiosity's Mars odyssey

Artist's concept. In this picture, the mast, or rover's "head," rises to about 2.1 metres (6.9 feet) above ground level. This mast supports two remote-sensing instruments: the Mast Camera, or "eyes," for stereo colour viewing of surrounding terrain and material collected by the arm; and, the ChemCam instrument, which is a laser that vaporizes material from rocks up to about 7 metres (23 feet) away and determines what elements the rocks are made of. Courtesy: NASA

Curiosity's Mars odyssey

This artist's concept features NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life. In this picture, the rover examines a rock on Mars with a set of tools at the end of the rover's arm, which extends about 7 feet (2 metres). Two instruments on the arm can study rocks up close. A drill can collect sample material from inside of rocks and a scoop can pick up samples of soil. The arm can sieve the samples and deliver fine powder to instruments inside the rover for thorough analysis. Courtesy: NASA

Curiosity's Mars odyssey

Rock sample in a scoop: NASA's Mars rover, Curiosity, has relayed images that confirm it has successfully obtained the first sample ever collected from the interior of a rock from another planet. This image was taken after the sample was transferred from the drill to the rover's scoop. In planned subsequent steps, the sample will be sieved, and portions of it delivered to the Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument and the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument. The scoop is 1.8 inches (4.5 cm) wide. The image was obtained by Curiosity's Mast Camera on Feb. 20, or Sol 193, Curiosity's 193rd Martian day of operations. Courtesy: NASA

Science and Technology - Briefs

GEOLOGY Fault finding “Stable” zones of the earth’s crust might not be so stable. These zones are more likely to cause massive earthquakes. It was thought that “stable” zones, where fault segments of the crust slip slowly, act as barriers to earthquakes and fast-slipping faults trigger them.

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