If you can see it,
you can change it.

SkyTruth is a conservation technology nonprofit using satellite
imagery and data to inspire people to protect the environment.

Learn More

NASA Earth Observatory image modified by SkyTruth

Leveling the playing field

Exposing environmental wrongdoing by making the invisible visible to safeguard people and wild places.

Giving away high-end analysis for free

Maps, data, images, and more available to everyone with an internet connection.

Using tech for good

Satellite images, cloud computing, data science, and artificial intelligence to protect the planet.

Tracking human
activity from space

Before satellite technology, destructive environmental actions often remained hidden from view. We use the latest technology to make stunning satellite imagery and other robust remote sensing data accessible to anyone for free, to hold polluters and others accountable for harmful activities that would otherwise remain hidden from view.

Learn More

Project Spotlight: Cerulean

Cerulean uses innovative technology to automate the detection of oil pollution at sea and identify polluters. Video by AWS.

SkyTruth provides a great service to all groups looking to understand landscape-scale effects in locations around the world. Their innovative techniques to visualize environmental changes over time are truly groundbreaking.

Ann Maest, Ph.D.Chief Scientist, E-Tech International

Project Spotlight: Cerulean

Video produced by AWS (Amazon Web Services) to support Cerulean and SkyTruth.

Tracking human
activity from space

Before satellite technology, destructive environmental actions often remained hidden from view. We use the latest technology to make stunning satellite imagery and other robust remote sensing data accessible to anyone for free, to hold polluters and others accountable for harmful activities that would otherwise remain hidden from view.

Learn More

SkyTruth provides a great service to all groups looking to understand landscape-scale effects in locations around the world. Their innovative techniques to visualize environmental changes over time are truly groundbreaking.

Ann Maest, Ph.D.Chief Scientist, E-Tech International

mtm

Impact story:
SkyTruth Measures Advance of Mountaintop Destruction in Appalachia

Our data on mountaintop mining in Appalachia allowed researchers at Duke University to demonstrate water pollution downstream from mining sites. This evidence helped the Environmental Protection Agency revoke a mine permit for the first time in its history.

gfw

Impact story:
Global Fishing Watch

With our partners at Google and Oceana, we launched Global Fishing Watch to stop illegal fishing at sea by using machine learning to map and monitor the world’s commercial fleet.

taylor

Impact story:
Taylor Energy Oil Spill

We tracked a 14-year long oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico which forced the Coast Guard to finally take action to stop the leak.

mdban

Impact story:
SkyTruth data supports Maryland’s ban on fracking

Our data allowed researchers at Johns Hopkins University to determine the health impacts of fracking, leading to a ban in the state of Maryland.

bp

Impact story:
BP Spill — Using Science to Hold BP and Federal Regulators Accountable

We were the first to show that the BP oil spill was an order of magnitude larger than BP and the Coast Guard claimed.

The latest from our blog

Remote sensing for road detection Part 2: Improving the model and detecting changes

July 8, 2021

Near Infrared and Normalized Differential Vegetation Index bands improve predictions of SkyTruth’s automated road detection model.

In Part 2 of a two-part blog series, intern Sasha Bylsma explores whether adding spectral bands to SkyTruth's road detection model improves the model’s predictions, and demonstrates the model’s ability to detect newly constructed roads in the Neuquen Basin of Argentina.

Remote sensing for road detection Part 1: First steps

June 28, 2021

SkyTruth’s team of interns built a machine learning model to detect one of the holy grails of conservation: roads

Road construction often precedes harmful activities like mining, drilling, logging, and poaching. And so detecting new road construction is one of the holy grails of conservation. This blog post describes how SkyTruth interns adapted previous SkyTruth work on oil and gas drilling sites to detecting roads.

Environmental justice victory: Indonesian seaweed farmers win, 12 years after Montara oil spill

June 9, 2021

WWF-Australia relied on SkyTruth’s monitoring of a disastrous oil spill to see the damage firsthand.Their testimony helped small-scale farmers recover damages from big oil.

A court in Australia finally ordered the company responsible for one of Australia's worst oil spills to compensate Indonesian seaweed farmers harmed by that disaster, thanks in part to WWF-Australia using guidance from SkyTruth.

SkyTruth’s work has been made possible in part by our valued tech, impact, and funding partners like these:

Other partners have also provided support over the years.

Join us on our journey to protect the environment

We publish our most significant work and information about our tools on our blog.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

If you can see it, you can change it.

Leveling the playing field

Giving away high-end analysis for free

Using tech for good

Tracking human activity from space

Project Spotlight: Cerulean

Project Spotlight: Cerulean

Tracking human activity from space

mtm

Impact story: SkyTruth Measures Advance of Mountaintop Destruction in Appalachia

gfw

Impact story: Global Fishing Watch

taylor

Impact story: Taylor Energy Oil Spill

mdban

Impact story: SkyTruth data supports Maryland’s ban on fracking

bp

Impact story: BP Spill — Using Science to Hold BP and Federal Regulators Accountable

The latest from our blog

Near Infrared and Normalized Differential Vegetation Index bands improve predictions of SkyTruth’s automated road detection model.

SkyTruth’s team of interns built a machine learning model to detect one of the holy grails of conservation: roads

WWF-Australia relied on SkyTruth’s monitoring of a disastrous oil spill to see the damage firsthand.Their testimony helped small-scale farmers recover damages from big oil.

SkyTruth’s work has been made possible in part by our valued tech, impact, and funding partners like these:

Join us on our journey to protect the environment

If you can see it,
you can change it.

Tracking human
activity from space

Tracking human
activity from space

Impact story:
SkyTruth Measures Advance of Mountaintop Destruction in Appalachia

Impact story:
Global Fishing Watch

Impact story:
Taylor Energy Oil Spill

Impact story:
SkyTruth data supports Maryland’s ban on fracking

Impact story:
BP Spill — Using Science to Hold BP and Federal Regulators Accountable