Asian Surveying & Mapping
Breaking News
China Launches Earth Observation Satellite Gaofen-13 02 for Remote Sensing
China on Friday sent a new Earth observation satellite...
ISRO to conduct young scientist programme in Bengaluru
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is organising a...
Egypt launches second remote-sensing satellite from China
The Egyptian Space Agency’s CEO, Sherif Sedky, announced the...
Israeli-developed DRONE DOME to secure Dubai from aerial attacks
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. is supplying the system...
China launches 2nd Horus remote-sensing satellite for Egypt (video)
China has launched a second remote-sensing satellite for Egypt,...
China obstructs new subsea cable to Taiwan
Southeast Asia-Japan Cable 2 connecting Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong,...
Scientific collaboration between China and US key to tackling climate change, experts say
Efforts to combat climate change bore the brunt of...
ISRO Receives India-US Jointly Built NISAR Earth Observation Satellite, Begins Preparations For Launch
US space agency NASA has handed over NISAR earth...
ISRO conducts parachute deployment tests on rail tracks for Gaganyaan Mission
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has conducted Rail Track...
OceanX helps Riyadh boost best up-and-comers in GEOINT
The Saudi Space Commission has given OceanX the difficult...

Ever since the uninhabited volcanic island Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai exploded in mid-January 2022, the people of Tonga have faced a gauntlet of hazards.

One of the most widespread is volcanic ash. Satellite images collected in the days after the eruption show the fine-grained shards of pulverized rock covering several islands, turning land surfaces from lush green to tan and gray. On Jan. 25, 2022, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured an image of ash coating much of Tongatapu, Tonga’s most-populous island. (The full scene is available for download.)

According to the United Nations, an average of 2 centimeters of ash coated surfaces in the island nation’s capital city after the eruption. While the extent of damage from the ashfall is still being assessed, preliminary reports indicate that it has contaminated drinking water, disrupted transportation networks and likely damaged crops.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey and ALOS-2 data from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency/JAXAand the Earth Observatory of Singapore Remote Sensing Lab.