Issue 68: 10-Year Timelapses
March 23, 2023
In this week’s issue:
- Timelapses hint at trends in global changes
- A curious lake in Kazakhstan
- Celebrating a milestone with potash pools
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Feature Story: 10-Year Timelapses
Last week, scientists published an important discovery about Venus, Earth’s evil twin. A comparison of two radar images captured by the Magellan spacecraft in the early 90s revealed that a volcanic vent doubled in area over the course of 8 months; proof that the planet is still volcanically active. A single image is a flat point in time. Adding another image introduces an extra dimension. Images from the past do more than remind us of the clock’s steady march. They provide a reference with which to measure change and uncover groundbreaking discoveries.
Timelapses also show us that it’s about the journey and not the destination. And since we’re in the business of documenting Earth’s journey, we’re writing its story in timelapses. So this week, we brought back the RapidEye/PlanetScope tag team to create some 10 to 14 year image comparisons. Though like the Hundred Years’ War (which was really 116 years long), we’re rounding down the number for the sake of a snappy title.
Timelapses help visualize gradual change by condensing years into seconds. But it’s more than a party trick. These bite-size GIFs hint at the larger trends taking place in the whole enchilada that is planet Earth. Between 2010 and 2022, China’s population grew from 1.3 to 1.4 billion people. Pair rising populations with increased urbanization and you get cities building upwards and outwards. Here’s Hefei’s expansive sprawl as the city grew by nearly 2 million people.
Humans are attracted to energy like a moth to a flame. Demand is rising as our populations grow and our tools advance. But energy itself is having a difficult moment as short supply spikes prices and fossil fuels alter the climate. To meet the surge of demand, energy infrastructure is sprouting from the ground in the form of oil wells, pipelines, solar panel arrays, and wind farms.
Energy is a ladder to opportunity, but its rungs are only so wide. The nearly-completed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (seen in the top left) is set to produce electricity to half of Ethiopians currently without power. But Egypt and Sudan, both downstream from the project, fear that the dam will drastically limit water availability. Despite the feud, Ethiopia has begun filling the reservoir.
Grab a modern appliance at random, follow its production all the way down the supply line, and chances are you’ll end up at a hole in the Earth. If nitrogen, uranium, and oil were the defining materials of the 20th century, then the 21st will likely be defined by silicon and lithium… and also oil. Lithium is playing an increasingly vital role in batteries, from renewable energy to electric vehicles. The production race is on and the pits are getting deeper.
Deforestation is nothing new, but the rate at which we’re clearing Earth’s forests is certainly unique to modern times. About 10 soccer pitches of tropical forests are lost every minute. It’s a staggering statistic to get your head around, though satellite timelapses can help grasp the scale. Mongabay recently used satellite data to report on the rapid increase in rainforest deforestation for agricultural use since 2001 by Mennonite communities in Bacalar, Mexico.
Watching glaciers do anything besides calving is Earth’s equivalent of watching paint dry. Yet despite their even-slower-than-slothlike march, glaciers around the world are melting at alarming rates. Timelapses reveal this slow retreat and display the loss at a pace more engaging than a trickling melt.
Another feature of the 21st century has been the reclamation of oceans and lakes. These artificial islands are like Atlantis in reverse, making do with limited available land by dumping sand in water and hoping for the best. Kidding, they’re expensive engineering marvels, even if they are often fraught with problems like sinking.
Timelapses reflect the paradox that time is both impossibly slow and fast, the days drag on but the years fly by — and a decade is both an eternity and no time at all. But even though they’re constructed from images of the past, once lined up they show possible and future outcomes. Like flipping through photos of a kid growing into adulthood, watch a single spot on Earth over the years and notice how it simultaneously changes and stays the same.
What in the World: Lake Balkhash
Kazakhstan’s Lake Balkhash is a bit of a puzzle: it’s one body of water with two hydrological systems. The Sarymsek Peninsula, pictured here jutting out into the milky blue, splits the lake into two parts. The western side is wide, shallow, murky, and fresh enough to be drunk. But the eastern side is narrow, deep, a little more visible, and salty. Reeds surround the edges of the lake — which is 15th largest in the world — making it a critical wetland ecosystem in the area. In other words, Lake Balkhash is like an oyster: fresh yet salty, and hiding a pearl of natural beauty.
10k: Desert Disco
Thanks to you wonderful readers, we hit a milestone here at Snapshots: 10,000 subscribers. We couldn’t have done it without you and your support.
Our editor functions on a delicate mixture of Diet Coke and feedback. And assuming you’re not a vending machine, nothing would please him more than your thoughts on how to improve Snapshots. Don’t be shy, he’s canvassed door-to-door and heard it all, so there’s no need to sugarcoat. And if you’re enjoying Snapshots, sharing it with a friend goes a long way.
Thanks for reading, your encouragement, and learning alongside us. Ad astra.
All imagery Ⓒ 2022 Planet Labs PBC
Editor: Ryder Kimball | Images: Ryder Kimball, Robert Simmon, Max Borrmann, Julian Peschel, and Candace Chow
