Imagine looking at North Carolina’s lush coastal forests from above, only to see patches of dead, gray tree trunks spreading across the landscape, slowly replacing the vibrant green canopy. That’s exactly what NASA satellites have documented over the past two decades—an eerie expansion of “ghost forests” taking over parts of the North Carolina coast. Once-thriving woodlands are now marked by lifeless tree trunks, a transformation that has quietly but steadily advanced inland.
Capturing the Creep of Ghost Forests
NASA’s Landsat satellites, specifically Landsats 5 and 9, have been snapping images of the area for years, revealing the ghost forests’ unsettling spread. In satellite images from 2005 compared to those from 2024, the change is striking: areas that were once green are now streaked with gray and brown as ghost forests creep inward. It’s a dramatic transformation that, from above, looks like the brown edge of an avocado, slowly darkening and consuming what was once a fresh, green landscape.
According to NASA Earth Observatory, between 1985 and 2019, approximately 11% of the land in this region’s wildlife refuge shifted to ghost forest, as saltwater from rising seas seeped into the soil and gradually poisoned the trees. As the roots take up the salty water, the trees lose their vitality and eventually die, leaving behind only their skeletal remains.
Saltwater Intrusion and the Slow Death of Forests
So what’s behind this ghostly transformation? Rising sea levels are the primary culprit, with melting ice caps and warming waters causing seas to encroach further inland. Low-lying coastal areas, like those in North Carolina, are especially vulnerable. The saltwater saturates the soil, making it impossible for trees accustomed to freshwater to survive.
To make matters worse, storms and hurricanes that hit the region push even more salty water inland. Each storm accelerates the spread of ghost forests, making the transition even more visible in satellite images. These events, combined with rising sea levels, create conditions that are simply too harsh for trees to withstand.
NASA’s Birds-Eye View of a Changing Landscape
The Landsat images tell a story of slow but relentless change. Each photo in this long-term series captures the ghost forests’ steady growth, transforming the landscape over decades. Areas that were once dense with vegetation now resemble a barren wasteland, filled with dead tree trunks reaching up from the ground like twisted, skeletal fingers.
For scientists and conservationists, NASA’s images of ghost forests are a stark reminder of the impact of climate change on our landscapes. The expansion of these hauntingly beautiful but lifeless forests is a testament to the dramatic environmental shifts underway, as rising seas and extreme weather continue to reshape the world around us.
