Gorgeous, Stunning Satellite Images of the Human Impact on Earth

150619_EYE_DailyOverview10 — Potash evaporation ponds in Moab, Utah. A potassium-containing salt used by farmers in fertilizer, potash is mined and pumped to the surface from underground brines. It is left to dry in solar ponds whose water is dyed bright blue to reduce the amount of time it takes for the potash to crystallize, as darker water absorbs more sunlight and heat.

In 1987, writer Frank White coined the term “overview effect” in his book of the same name, describing the cognitive shift that occurs in astronauts’ perceptions when contemplating the whole of planet Earth from space.

We can’t all be astronauts, but Benjamin Grant, a New York City–based brand strategy consultant, was inspired by White’s idea and decided to capitalize on the wealth of satellite imagery available on the Web to mimic the experience. At Daily Overview, Grant curates images of the Earth to open our eyes to how man’s behavior continues to redesign the rapidly changing face of the planet.

150619_EYE_DailyOverview11 — Eixample District, Barcelona. The neighborhood is characterizedby a strict grid pattern, octagonal intersections, and apartments with communal courtyards.

150619_EYE_DailyOverview09 — Industrial buildings in Ansan, South Korea.

150619_EYE_DailyOverview08 — Bucket-wheel excavatorsat the Tagebau Hambach open-pit mine in Niederzier and Elsdorf, Germany. Machines up to 315 feet tall and 730 feet long continuously scoop materials from the surface in order to extract lignite or “brown coal,” a soft combustible sedimentary rock that is formed from naturally compressed peat and is used as a fuel for steam-electric power generation.

“From our line of sight on the earth's surface, it’s impossible to fully appreciate the beauty and intricacy of the things we’ve constructed, the sheer complexity of the systems we’ve developed, or the devastating impact that we’ve had on our planet,” reads a mission statement on the project website.

Grant starts by choosing satellite photographs from the databases of DigitalGlobe that center on areas where man’s impact have left marks. “I perform slight color corrections to increase the clarity of the images but do not manipulate any of the subject material,” Grant told me in an email. “I try to make these changes as minimal as possible,” he said, adding that he often adjusts the colors to make the images “more realistic,” for example, if the original satellite image is blurred or discolored.

150619_EYE_DailyOverview07 — Tulip fields in Lisse, Netherlands.

150619_EYE_DailyOverview03 — Dadaab Refugee Camp in Dadaab, Kenya.

150619_EYE_DailyOverview02 — Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant in Seville, Spain. The solar concentrator uses 2,650 heliostat mirrors to collect and focus the sun’s thermal energy to heat molten salt flowing through a 460-foot tall central tower. The molten salt then circulates from the tower to a storage tank, where it is used to produce steam and generate electricity. In total, the facility displaces approximately 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

150619_EYE_DailyOverview06 — King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has four passenger terminals, parking for 11,600 vehicles, a Royal Terminal (for distinguished guests and members of the Saudi royal family), and two parallel runways, which are each 4,260 meters (13,980 feet) long.

The photos have an eye-catching, abstract allure but become more thought-provoking when the mind zooms in to consider the details.

“The mesmerizing flatness seen from this vantage point, the surprising comfort of systematic organization on a massive scale, or the vibrant colors that we capture will hopefully turn your head,” the mission statement continues. “However, once we have that attention, we hope you will go beyond the aesthetics, contemplate just exactly what it is that you're seeing, and consider what that means for our planet.”

150619_EYE_DailyOverview05 — The aluminum waste pond in Darrow, Louisiana, is a red mud collection pond that generates approximately 77 million tons of red mud, also known as red sludge, every year due to the industrial production of aluminum around the world.

150619_EYE_DailyOverview04 — Port Newark in Newark, New Jersey.

150619_EYE_DailyOverview01 — Mount Whaleback Iron Ore Mine in Pilbara, Australia. Some 98 percent of the world’s mined iron ore is used to make steel, a major component in the construction of buildings, automobiles, and appliances such as refrigerators.

In addition to the Daily Overview website and Instagram account, Grant has collaborated on “Welcome to the Anthropocene: The Earth in Our Hands,” a show on now through Jan. 31 at the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

“The basic premise of the exhibition is that we've entered into a new era in the history of the planet as a result of human activity,” Grant said. In a collaboration with the museum, he has created 25 large-format Overview prints available for purchase for those who would rather ponder the globe from something other than a screen.

Listen to astronauts share their experiences of the overview effect in the short film below:

OVERVIEW from Planetary Collective on Vimeo.

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