Integrating animal GPS movement data with satellite imagery is a great way to visualise an animal’s interaction with its environment. This animation shows GPS points from three collared cattle moving over a farm grazing camp. The animals are herded in thin grazing strips each day using electric fencing. With an NDVI (normalised difference vegetation index) overlay from Landsat and Sentinel satellite imagery you can see the impact they have on the vegetation. Like lawn mowers they sequentially demolish the small strips of grass one day at a time.

We live on a constantly changing planet but are often unaware of how much we as humans contribute to that change. Over the past few decades satellite technology has advanced and has given us insight into our collective footprint on the planet. It is immense. This timelapse shows the impact of Cape Town citizens on Theewaterskloof dam levels exacerbated by drought.

Check out other aspects of our footprint in this video:

Fire can be a villain and a hero. It poses significant threat to human lives when it comes too close to our dwellings. Yet, it is also a key part of most ecosystems, allowing vegetation to turn over a new leaf. This animation shows fires over Africa for the past two decades. Pixels that are burned repeatedly get hotter colours through time.