After many attempts, CNES’s Pléiades satellites finally captured a clear-sky view of the source area of the devastating flood in Nepal. The stereoscopic acquisition enables the generation of a high-resolution DEM and consequently a geometrically accurate orthorectified image. Although I’m not involved in the scientific analysis, I could not resist taking a closer look at […]
On 08 Sep 2026, Sentinel-2 acquired a clear-sky image near the release area of the landslide which caused the catastrophic flood in Nepal. Using this image and a pre-event digital elevation model (Berthier 2026) we can analyze the upper part of the avalanche runout profile. The block of rock and ice was released near 5120 […]
Combien de temps met le fût du canon à se refroidir ? Fernand Raynaud => Cette citation vient du fameux sketch de Fernand Raynaud, elle est soi-disant tirée d’un manuel militaire à destination des soldats: Le sketch est un peu long, je vous rappelle la réponse : un certain temps. Nous avons étudié une question […]
How long does it take for the cannon barrel to cool down after firing a shell ? Fernand Raynaud => This quote is from a famous old French funny sketch by Fernand Raynaud, which was based on a question in a French manual for soldiers: the sketch is rather long, so I’ll give you the […]
L’énergie photovoltaïque (PV) fournit plus de 20 % de l’électricité en Espagne, et cette part a atteint un nouveau sommet en juillet 2026 (28,3 % du mix électrique mensuel du pays). Certains médias se sont inquiétés de la baisse de la production d’énergie photovoltaïque lors de l’éclipse du 12 août 2026. Le Monde expliquait que […]
Photovoltaic (PV) energy supplies more 20% of Spain’s total electricity, and this share hit a new high in July 2026 (28.3% of the nation’s monthly electricity mix). Some media outlets were concerned about the drop in photovoltaic power generation during the 12-Aug-2026 eclipse. Le Monde explained that « the drop is expected to be particularly pronounced […]
The successive heat waves of the summer of 2026 remind us of the urgent need to take action to adapt to episodes of extreme heat that are set to become more frequent, intense, and occur earlier in the year. In this context, the urban heat island effect emerges as a major problem. Indeed, cities, as […]
Les canicules successives de cet été 2026 nous rappellent l’urgence d’agir pour s’adapter à des épisodes de chaleur extrême appelés à devenir plus fréquents, intenses et précoces. Dans ce contexte, la surchauffe urbaine apparaît comme un problème majeur. En effet, les villes, telles qu’elles sont construites aujourd’hui, présentent des températures plus élevées de plusieurs degrés […]
Copernicus provides near real time snow cover maps at 20 m resolution (fractional snow cover, code name: FSC OG). These products have been recently reprocessed and are now available through the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem (CDSE) API and visualization tool, the Copernicus Browser! The latter is very useful to explore the data, for example if […]