February 6th, 2010 Category: Image of the day

Denmark - January 25th, 2010

Islands

Denmark and its islands, as well as parts of northern Germany (below) and southern Sweden (upper right corner), appear dusted with snow in this image taken during the northern hemisphere winter.

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany.

Denmark shares a border of 68 kilometres with Germany to the south and is otherwise surrounded by 7,314 kilometres of coastline. It occupies 43,094 square kilometres. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea.

The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland (upper left) and many islands, most notably Zealand (offshore of Sweden), Funen (center, offshore of Jutland), Vendsyssel-Thy, Lolland (below Zealand, closer to Germany), Falster (between Lolland and Zealand) and Bornholm, as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago. All of these islands are best observed in the close-up.

Tags: Baltic Sea Bornholm Danish Archipelago Denmark Europe Falster Funen Germany Jutland Peninsula Lolland Nordic Countries North Sea Scandinavia Sweden Vendsyssel-Thy Zealand |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

February 1st, 2010 Category: Rivers

Germany - December 31st, 2009

The Jade Estuary, Jadebusen in German, is a bay on the North Sea coast of Germany. It was formerly known simply as Jade or Jahde. The Jade is a part of the German Wadden Sea National Parks. The port of Wilhelmshaven is on the western shore of the bay.

About 180 km² (70 mi²) in area, the Jade was largely created by storm floods during the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. During this period it was connected in the East to the river Weser (running from the bottom right corner towards the image center). This connection was closed between 1721 and 1725 by dikes reconnecting Butjadingen to the mainland as a peninsula.

In the West the Jade extended far into the Frisian peninsula. From the early sixteenth century a number of dikes were built against the storm floods and to arable land. The main dike, Ellenser Damm, was built between 1596 and 1615 based on an agreement between the principalities of East Frisia and Oldenburg.

Tags: ASAR Ellenser Damm Europe Frisian Peninsula Germany Jade Estuary North Sea Wadden Sea Wadden Sea National Parks Weser River Wilhelmshaven |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

January 26th, 2010 Category: Snapshots

Denmark - December 31st, 2009

The west coast of the Jutland Peninsula, along the Wadden Sea, is marked by many inlets and nearby islands. Of particular interest is the T-shaped island of Sylt, below center. An imaginary line running from the island eastward across the peninsula would delineate the border between the countries of Denmark (above) and Germany (below).

Sylt, belonging to Germany’s North Frisian Islands, is well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. With 99.14 km², Sylt is the fourth-largest German island and the largest North Sea island. Sylt is situated at 9 to 16 km off the mainland.

The island’s shape has constantly shifted over time, a process which is still ongoing today. It is frequently covered by the media in connection with its exposed situation in the North Sea and its ongoing loss of land during storm tides.

Today, Sylt extends for 38 km in a north-south direction and on its northern peak at Königshafen is only 320 m wide. Its widest distance, from the town of Westerland in the west to the eastern Nössespitze near Morsum, measures 12.6 km. On the western and northwestern shore a 40 km sand beach is located. Much of the Wadden Sea east of Sylt belongs to the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park and mostly falls dry during low tide.

Tags: ASAR Denmark Germany Jutland Peninula North Sea Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park Sylt Wadden Sea |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

November 15th, 2009 Category: Rivers

Germany - October 22nd, 2009

Flowing upwards from the bottom right, the Weser River empties into the North Sea off the coast of Germany. To its right is another rivermouth, that of the Elbe, and to its left is the Jade Estuary, a bay known as Jadebusen in German.

About 180 km² (70 mi²) in area, the Jade was largely created by storm floods during the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. During this period it was connected in the East to the river Weser. This connection was closed between 1721 and 1725 by dikes reconnecting Butjadingen to the mainland as a peninsula.

The 452 km long Weser River passes by the historic port city of Bremen before emptying into the North Sea 50 km further north at Bremerhaven, which is also a seaport. On the opposite (west) bank is the town of Nordenham at the foot of the Butjadingen Peninsula. It is the longest German river whose course lies entirely in German territory to reach the sea.

Tags: ASAR Bremen Bremerhaven Butjadingen Peninsula Europe Germany Jade Estuary Jadebusen Nordenham North Sea River Elbe Weser River |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

November 14th, 2009 Category: Snapshots

Sweden and Denmark - September 29th, 2009

The Skagerrak (left) is a strait running between Norway (left edge), the southwest coast of Sweden (above) and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark (below), connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat Sea area (below center), which leads to the Baltic Sea (right).

The Skagerrak is roughly triangular in shape, measuring 240 kilometers (149 mi) in length, and between 80 km (50 mi) and 140 km (87 mi) in width. It deepens toward the Norwegian coast, reaching over 700 metres at the Norwegian Trench.

The Skagerrak has a salinity of 30 practical salinity units. The volume available to biomass is about 3,600 square kilometers (1,390.0 sq mi), including a wide variety of habitats from the sandbanks to Sweden and Denmark to the deeps of the Norwegian trench.

Here, other than some sediments hugging the northwest coast of Denmark, the shores of the Skagerrak are mostly clear.

Tags: Baltic Sea Denmark Europe Jutland Peninsula Kattegat Sea North Sea Norway Norwegian Trench Skagerrak Sweden |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

November 2nd, 2009 Category: Snapshots

Germany and Denmark - October 22nd, 2009

Numerous islands and inlets can be seen in the Wadden Sea along the west coast of the Jutland Peninsula. The border between the countries of Denmark (above) and Germany (below) runs horizontally approximately through the center of the image.

The two largest islands visible here are Sylt and Föhr. Sylt, belonging to the German state of Schleswig-Holstein and the northernmost island in Germany, is well known for the distinctive elongated shape of its shoreline and its 40 km long sandy beach.

It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and, with a surface area of 99.14 km², is the largest North Sea island. Sylt is situated at 9 to 16 km off the mainland. Southeast of Sylt the islands Föhr and Amrum are located, to the north lies the Danish island Rømø.

Föhr is also one of the North Frisian Islands and also belongs to the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Föhr is the second-largest North Sea island of Germany. It is 6.8 kilometres wide and 12 km long, the surface measures 82.82 km².

Tags: ASAR Denmark Europe Föhr Germany Jutland Peninsula North Frisian Islands North Sea Rømø Schleswig-Holstein Sylt |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

October 22nd, 2009 Category: Lakes, Rivers

Denmark - September 29th, 2009

In the northernmost part of Denmark, on the Jutland Peninsula, lies the Limfjord (bottom left quadrant), a shallow sound in Denmark that extends from Thyborøn Channel on the North Sea to Hals on the Kattegat (center).

Offshore and northeast of Hals is Læsø, the largest island in the North Sea bay of Kattegat. It is located 19 kilometers (12 mi) off the Danish mainland.

Together with the island of Anholt (central right edge), Læsø belongs to the Danish “desert belt”; during the summer months there is so little rain that streams and ponds partly dry up.

The landmass visible in the upper right corner is part of Sweden. Gothenburg, the second largest Swedish city and the biggest sea port of the Nordic countries, can be seen here at the mouth of Göta Älv River.

Tags: Anholt Danish Desert Belt Denmark Europe Göta Älv Gothenburg Hals Jutland Peninsula Kattegat Limfjord Læsø North Sea Sweden Thyborøn Channel |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

October 8th, 2009 Category: Rivers

Netherlands - August 31st, 2009

This image focuses on the Dutch province of Zeeland, with the terrain of southwestern Netherlands and northwestern Belgium visible inland. Zeeland consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium.

The entire province of Zeeland is a large river delta situated at the mouth of several major rivers. Here, large quantities of sediments are being spilled into the North Sea from the Scheldt, a 350 km long river that runs from northern France, through western Belgium and across southwestern part of the Netherlands.

Following the Scheldt inland just beyond the beginning of the estuary, the city of Antwerp, Belgium, can be seen. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1,449 km2 (559 sq mi) with a total of 1,190,769 inhabitants as of 2008. The port area of the city appears as a series of dark blue lines surrounded by the tan and grey of urban constructions.

Tags: Antwerp Belgium Europe Holland Netherlands North Sea Scheldt Estuary Scheldt River Zeeland |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

October 3rd, 2009 Category: Image of the day, Lakes, Rivers

Denmark - August 29th, 2009

Hamburg, Germany

Danish coast

The main image here is an orthorectified wide-swath ASAR (radar) image of Denmark and northern Germany. The width of the swath is five times greater than that of a normal IMM image, making it possible to observe bigger areas.

One close-up focuses on the city of Hamburg, Germany, and the Elbe River flowing past it into the North Sea.

The other shows the Limfjord, a shallow sound in Denmark that separates the island of Vendsyssel-Thy from the rest of Jutland Peninsula. Approximately 180 kilometres long and of an irregular shape with several bays, narrowings, and islands, it extends from Thyborøn Channel on the North Sea to Hals on the Kattegat.

Tags: Denmark Elbe River Germany Hals Hamburg Jutland Peninsula Kattegat Sea Limfjord North Sea Orthorectification Thyborøn Channel Vendsyssel-Thy Wide-swath |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment