The heart of climate change: a new image of the ESA shows that "the love of the islands" is threatened

Think of this photo as a love letter – from the planet Earth. Just in time for Valentine's Day, this lovely new space image "love island" represents the heart-shaped island of Moorea in French Polynesia. But the image also represents a blatant symbol of climate change, according to the European Space Agency.

"Moorea is part of a chain of islands formed by hot-spot volcanism, which means that volcanoes are created by" fixed "hot zones in the Earth's mantle," officials said. 39 ESA in a statement accompanying the image taken by the satellite Copernicus. Sentinel-2. ESA then explained that tectonic plates – the movement of the Earth's surface over time – forces the plate to move away from the hot spot. This process gradually brings the volcanoes to a hot spot at a new location, while new volcanoes form at this location.

"These types of islands are changing, eroding and falling back into the ocean over the course of millions of years," added ESA. "However, the changes occur at a much faster pace because of the marks left by human activity on the natural landscape and climate change."

(Image: © ESA)

While you may think that the image was dyed red just for Valentine's Day, ESA explained that the image processing makes the vegetation red, revealing that Moorea is home to a lush ecosystem. Humans have inhabited this island for 1,200 years and continue to modify its vegetation.

Another tricky part of Moorea is just around the island. For now, the coral reef in this region looks pristine, but like all coral reefs, it is exposed to the dangers of ocean plastics, fishing, and pesticide runoff from agriculture. In general, coral reefs around the world are largely dying because of rising temperatures, which is linked to Ocean acidification and hurt or kill the corals themselves.

ESA officials said that with such images, satellites such as Sentinel-2 are reminding scientists and the public of the fragility of the Earth. The satellite is also part of a network of sentinels that send information about the planet about climate change and the response of local ecosystems to this change, helping us to learn to love the Earth better.

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