This is one of the world’s major river systems in size,
habitat diversity and biological productivity.
Today we take a look at one of the longest rivers in North America.
Welcome to Earth from Space.
The Mississippi River flows 3766 km from its source at Lake Itasca
through the centre of the continental United States to the Gulf of Mexico.
The area pictured here shows where the Mississippi straddles the states of Louisiana and Mississippi.
This multi-temporal image combines three radar acquisitions from
the Sentinel-1 mission taken 12 days apart to show changes in crop and land conditions over time.
Bright colours in the image come from changes on the ground that have occurred between acquisitions.
Water bodies, including the Mississippi River, visible in the far right,
and Catahoula Lake, in the far left,
appear black as water surfaces reflect the radar signal away from the satellite.
If we take a closer look, we can see cargo ships travelling along the Mississippi.
Ships from 7th of April appear in red,
those from 19 April appear in green,
and those from 1 May appear in blue.
White areas in the image indicate the various types of vegetation that surrounds the river,
including the Kisatchie National Forest
the only national forest in Louisiana.
The Mississippi is a classic example of a meandering alluvial river
with its loops and curls along its path leaving behind meander scars,
cutoffs and free-standing ‘oxbow lakes’.
The Mississippi River Basin is home to a variety of agricultural activity.
Nutrient-rich soil from sediment deposits through the floodplain
supports cropland close to the river and its tributaries.
Rectangular fields in the image are cultivated land.
The farming of cotton and soybean make up a significant portion of the area’s economic production.
Sentinel-1A was the first satellite to be launched for Copernicus
the Earth observation component of the European Union’s space programme.
Looking ahead, the upcoming Sentinel-1C satellite is scheduled to lift off
on ESA’s Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana in the first half of 2023.
The satellite is now at Thales Alenia Space’s Cannes plant on the French Riviera
after it successfully completed all integration tests this summer in Rome, Italy.
It will now undergo a final series of tests in Cannes,
including radiofrequency performance checks in the facility’s anechoic chamber.
The satellite will continue the critical task of delivering
key radar imagery for a wide range of services, applications and science.