This QuickBird-2 satellite image, from 7 August 2002, shows Surtsey Island in Iceland. Surtsey is a young island, geologically, having formed in an undersea volcanic eruption in November 1963. The eruption lasted for four years, during which time volcanic rock piled up into a growing island. Lava flows from the volcano cooled and formed a hardened shell over the debris, which by the end of the eruption had formed a 2.5 km2 island. In the years following the end of the eruption, plant life grew on the island and birds and marine life settled on and around Surtsey. The island was declared a nature reserve, and has been studied by biologists and botanists to observe its development.

The waters of the Atlantic Ocean have slowly eroded the shores of Surtsey for decades now. When QuickBird-2 acquired this view in 2002, Surtsey had shrunk to 1.4 km2, and the latest survey indicates it is now less than 1 km2. Estimates suggest that the shrinking island will endure through to the end of the 21st Century, and a small surface area may remain for much longer. In this 4 band image, we can see patches of vegetation and the ridges of the tallest peaks on the island.