Volcanic activity along the western edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire gave rise to a tiny island in late November 2013. Located in the Ogasawara Islands, part of the Volcano Islands arc, the new islet sits about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) south of Tokyo in waters considered part of Japanese territory.
Morning sunlight illuminates the southeast-facing slopes of the Islands of the Four Mountains in this photograph taken from the International Space Station. The islands, part of the Aleutian Island chain, are actually the upper slopes of volcanoes rising from the sea floor.
The Grand Canyon stuns visitors with breathtaking views every day. Between Nov. 29 and Dec. 2, 2013, it stunned visitors even more by not being visible. A rare meteorological event filled the canyon with an ocean of clouds. Such events are so rare that National Park Service rangers”who see the canyon every day”wait for years to see the ground-hugging fog.
Offshore from Argentina, spring is in bloom. Massive patches of phytoplankton colored the ocean in November 2013. These microscopic, plant-like organisms are the ocean’s primary producers, harnessing sunlight to nourish themselves and to become food for everything from zooplankton to whales.
When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines on Nov. 8, 2013, it pounded the island of Leyte with winds near 195 mph and a tremendous storm surge. Subtle differences in before-and-after false-color images acquired by NASA's Terra satellite reveal wide-scale disaster impacts from the storm.
Streams of molten rock that ooze from gaps or vents in the Earth's surface are called lava flows. Though generally slow moving, these rivers of rock pose a hazard to everything in their path. Lava flows can take many shapes and move at different rates, depending on the viscosity of the magma, the slope of the land and the rate of an eruption.
The deadly typhoon that swept through the Philippines was one of the strongest ever recorded, but storms nearly this powerful are common in the Pacific. Typhoon Haiyan’s devastation can be chalked up to a series of bad coincidences.
With temperatures falling and days growing shorter in the northern hemisphere, autumn colors swept across the northeastern United States. Between mid-September and late October, forests in central Pennsylvania changed from green”with no hint of fall color”to a symphony of reds, yellows and browns.
Located on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, Klyuchevskaya (also spelled Kliuchevskoi) is one of the world's most active volcanoes. Erupting since Aug. 15, 2013, the volcano’s intensity surged in October.
Long Island Sound is well outlined by city and roadway lights in this nighttime photograph taken from the International Space Station. The manmade traceries of light are accompanied by a natural phenomenon: Fog is visible stretching along several river valleys.
