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President Barack Obama wants to help researchers
President Obama seems to pay attention to the environment more than ever. Last year he had a visit in Alaska and he said the White House is going to launch a new Arctic mapping project. The new Alaska maps were released on September 1st and there are more than we could ever expect. They are showing us details about mountain ranges, rivers, crevasses and are helping the researchers finding out more about Alaska.
Paul Morin, the researcher, said that is very important to understand what happens to our planet now when climate change is more dangerous than ever. They are able to see and create topographic data for the most remote places on our planet. Their luck was that when President Obama introduces a project, he will involve until the goal is achieved. The new Alaska maps were possible because seven universities and agencies contributed to it. We are talking about the National Science Foundation, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency or the Cornell University.
Our planet is in danger
Satellites collected data over the Arctic and they managed to produce images with a resolution of 7 to 16 feet. This happens when researchers share information and help others to understand what is happening on our planet. The Alaska maps are so good that people are able to see trees, airports, homes, mountain ranges and what changes are taking place in the environment.
Global warming is a major threat
Researchers can see how the glacier retreats or measure the amount of ice that was lost. This will help a lot of people who are in danger because of climate change. There were Alaskan villages that have to replace because their homes were not safe anymore. Using these new Alaska maps, humans will see coastal erosion and glaciers are changing. The maps that researchers used before were at 196-foot resolution, so think what of differences these new maps will bring.
It was very hard to have data from Alaska because it is one of the biggest states and it would be too expensive. Now things have changed as three satellites orbit the Earth and collect more information about Alaska. We will be able to find out more details about a place that could become dangerous for us in the future. When the ice will melt, many homes will be in danger and we should be prepared. Using these new Alaska maps, we will understand more about the changes that are taking place due to climate change.
Image source: Pixabay
