The satellite images (color) were acquired by Landsat 4 (1989), Landsat 7 (2001), and Landsat 8 (2013). These Landsat images show the website of the Three Gorges Dam in Cabocla, which is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. The red tones indicate a strong signal from Landsat's near-infrared (NIR) band, which is used by landscape scientists to monitor the presence and condition of vegetation
As the 2016 Landsat 8 image shows, the majority of the meltwater now flows toward the east into the Kaskawulsh River, which makes its way to the Alsek River and to the Pacific Ocean. The images from the Landsat archive span four decades and provide a consistent worldwide record of land use and land cover changes as they occur across the Earth's surface.
The visible impact of large-sca
The visible impact of large-sca