![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2015\/01\/corsica\/15222663-1-eng-GB\/Corsica_small.jpg\")
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\nThe Mediterranean Sea\u2019s most mountainous island, Corsica, dominates this image from the Landsat-8 satellite.\n<\/p>\n
\nAbout 40% of the island\u2019s surface area is dedicated to nature reserves, and its mountains are a popular destination for hiking. For beachgoers, the island boasts over 1000 km of coastline. \n<\/p>\n
\nNear the northeastern coast we can see the island\u2019s largest coastal lagoon, the Etang de Biguglia. This nature reserve has been noted for its support of numerous breeding and wintering waterbirds, as well as the vulnerable Hermann\u2019s tortoise and long-fingered bat.\n<\/p>\n
\nThis lagoon is one of the over 2000 sites worldwide considered to be wetlands of international importance by the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental treaty for the sustainable use of wetlands. World Wetlands Day is observed on 2 February, the anniversary of the signing of the Convention.\n<\/p>\n
\nESA has been assisting the Ramsar Convention for a decade through the GlobWetland project, which provides satellite data to be used to monitor these precious resources. The next phase of the project, called GlobWetland Africa, will collaborate closely with ESA\u2019s TIGER initiative, which trains African water authorities and researchers in exploiting satellite data and Earth observation technology for sustainable water resource management.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe Etang de Biguglia is not the island\u2019s only Ramsar site: further inland in the central-north part of the island is an active raised bog, home to a number of protected bat, reptile, bird and amphibian species.\n<\/p>\n
\nOther Ramsar sites on the island are two more coastal lagoons about halfway down the east coast, and a series of temporary pools in the south. These pools in the semi-arid granitic landscape are an uncommon geomorphological phenomenon in the region supporting a diversity of rare species.\n<\/p>\n
\nOver the water in the upper-left section of the image we can see condensation trails, or ‘contrails’, from aircraft or ships.\n<\/p>\n
\nContrails form when exhaust particles act as nuclei around which water condenses, resulting in elongated cloud-like trails that can last anywhere from minutes to hours. They can also form persistent artificial cirrus clouds that can last for days or weeks, and can affect Earth\u2019s climate by trapping heat in our atmosphere.\n<\/p>\n