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On June 15, 1977, an unusual brightness anomaly was detected in the north arm of Great Salt Lake, Utah, on NOAA-5 Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) visible band imagery and on Landsat-2 multispectral visual band imagery. Retrospective inspection of NOAA-3, 4, and 5 satellite imagery from 1974–77 revealed 12 previous cases of the anomaly, whereas post monitoring documented nine other cases through May 1978. Comparison of lake levels in the north arm with meteorological parameters leads to the conclusion that the anomalous brightness is associated with wind induced seiches in the north arm. Apparently the wind induces a lower water depth, turbulence, and mixing throughout the water column in the western third of the north arm, thus increasing the brightness of the surface waters chiefly from sediment resuspension.

Winter season snow and ice charts of the Northern Hemisphere based on satellite data from 1966 through 1975 were examined to determine the extent and area of snow cover in Eurasia and North America Graphical analysis indicates no significant overall increase in North American winter snow cover for the 9-year period of data, whereas over the same period a large fluctuation occurred in Eurasia. Regression analysis yielded several equations with correlation coefficients significant enough to have possible applications for 30-, 60-, and 90-day forecasting of seasonal, hemispheric, and continental snow cover.

The March 28, April 3, and April 4, 1982 eruptions of El Chichon Volcano were detected and monitored using the GOES and NOAA-6 environmental satellites. The satellite data provided information about the height and dispersal of the eruption plume and subsequent ash cloud on each of these dates. Based on the satellite data it was concluded that the March 28 eruption, the second of two eruptions on April 3, and the April 4 eruption injected material into the stratosphere at heights between 17 and 31 km.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) polar-orbiting environmental satellites routinely acquire imagery over the Soviet Arctic for ice analyses. In late 1984, during a routine search for satellite ice imagery of this area, Will Gould, chief archivist of the NOAA satellite imagery archive, discovered large cold plumes emanating from Novaya Zemlya Island, U.S.S.R. (74°N, 57°E). Subsequent random searches of the archive revealed other plume cases. To date, 11 cases have been documented between 1980 and 1986 (Table 1).

Las erupciones del volcán El Chichón del 28 de marzo y del 3 y el 4 de abril de 1982 fueron percibidas y observadas mediante los satélites ambientales geoestacionarios y de órbita polar. Con base en los datos de dichos satélites se concluyó que la erupción del 28 de marzo, la segunda de las dos erupciones del 3 de abril y la del 4 de abril inyectaron materiales terrestres en la estratosfera a alturas entre 17 y 31 km. Se observó en las imágenes de satélite que la nube de polvo estratosférico resultante de la erupción del 4 de abril completó su viaje alrededor de la Tierra en un período de tres semanas. Se pudo determinar que la altitud de la nube de polvo fue aproximadamente de 24 km.