The View of Central Iowa from Space (IMAGE) University of Massachusetts Amherst Caption The agricultural landscape south of Clear Lake, Iowa, where UMass Amherst geoscientist Isaac Larsen grew up. The light-colored patches in plowed fields are areas where dark-colored, organic-rich topsoil has been lost to erosion. Larsen has a new grant from NASA to use satellite images to study soils in the Midwest. Credit Google Earth Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.