Sentinel

A satellite image of the giant iceberg A68, soon after it broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf

Environment

Giant A-68 iceberg dumped 152 billion tonnes of freshwater into the sea

The environmental impacts of iceberg A-68 are still being assessed. A new study has calculated that the largest chunk, A-68A, released billions of tonnes of freshwater into the sea near a marine nature reserve, with untold effects on the ecosystem.

A graphical representation of a hole in the ozone layer over the Arctic

Environment

Satellite spots new ozone layer hole opening up over the Arctic

Although a hole in the ozone layer might sound like a retro environmental issue, it’s still a problem today. While it's usually over Antarctica, scientists have now spotted the biggest ozone layer hole in at least 25 years forming over the Arctic.

In this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, a distinct hotspot can be seen in orange in the crater of the volcano

Science

Earth's eighth persistent lava lake found on remote sub-Antarctic island

Many of us will know what bubbling lakes of lava within volcanoes look like. After all, we've seen them our entire lives in movies and on TV. But that doesn't mean they're common. In fact, only seven lava lakes have been found so far, until now.

Sentinel-1 is the first satellite to be launched as part of Copernicus, an earth observation initiative spearheaded by the European Commission in partnership with the European Space Agency, and the European Environment Agency (Image: ESA/ATG medialab)

Environment

Earth observation competition searching for outstanding application ideas

On April 15, just days after Copernicus' Sentinal-1 sent its first images back to earth, the Copernicus Masters opened its application process for its 4th annual competition that recognizes outstanding ideas, applications, and business concepts based on Earth observation data.