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Christoph Koettl Profile picture
@ckoettl
Jun 28, 2021 • 9 tweets • 5 min read • Read on X
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Where are the graves of Louisiana’s enslaved people? Our latest story combines historical maps, aerial photos & contemporary satellite images analyzed by @ForensicArchi with compelling field reporting to uncover hidden burial sites.
nytimes.com/video/us/10000…
The maps allow us to go back in time. 19th century maps show cemeteries or other markings; aerial photos, starting in 1940, often show groves of trees in the same locations. Several of these landscape anomalies persist today, marking possible grave sites.
Today, that area is dominated by petrochemical companies, giving it the notorious nickname “cancer alley.” The continued industrialization of the former plantations is putting some of the possible burial sites at risk of destruction.
Here are examples of how some suspected burial sites look now.
Most importantly, @Alexandra_Eaton went to Louisiana to closely look at some of these concealed graves. She interviewed local residents and experts who track some of the cemeteries — and who fight to preserve them.
It’s not only the burial sites that some local residents are worried about. Sharon Lavigne, a local activist, says that a new plant could cause further harm to the predominantly Black community that lives nearby.
The new industrial site has become a flashpoint between the company and some residents.
washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…
Story, visuals and graphics by @Alexandra_Eaton, Victoria Simpson, Aaron Byrd, @sameenamin, Quincy G. Ledbetter, @therealDahliak @arielle_designs @solanapyne & more
nytimes.com/interactive/20…
More findings and research from @ForensicArchi can be found here:
forensic-architecture.org/investigation/…

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More from @ckoettl

Christoph Koettl Profile picture
Mar 21, 2023
I spy with my little (satellite) eyes a Chinese balloon from space: we worked with @Synthetaic and @planet to track the balloon from its launch in Hainan on Jan 15 to South Carolina. Via @muyixiao @ishaan_jhavs @julianbarnes
nytimes.com/interactive/20…
One of my favorite images: An Amazon Prime cargo plane passes the balloon over South Dakota on the morning of Feb 2
Having looked at satellite imagery for a while, it’s nice to see how the combination of increased imaging and artificial intelligence is yielding reporting leads and stories. Read the full story and methodology here nyti.ms/3TLZQNr
Read 5 tweets
Christoph Koettl Profile picture
Dec 22, 2022
The videos that came out of Bucha in April are impossible to forget: Dozens of bodies, some with their arms bound behind their backs, strewn along a single street. We set out to uncover who did it: Russia’s 234th Air Assault Regiment nyti.ms/3joP8y7
This Visual Investigation uses thousands of hours of exclusive videos, phone records, interviews and documents to unmask the Russian unit behind a massacre in Bucha.
My colleagues @YousurAlhlou @MashaFroliak uncovered a chilling pattern in phone records they obtained: Russian soldiers in Bucha routinely used the phones of victims to call home to Russia, often only hours after the killings.
Read 16 tweets
Christoph Koettl Profile picture
Sep 10, 2021
We obtained exclusive footage to identify the last movements of Zemari Ahmadi, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in #Kabul. Running office errands & loading canisters of water into his car, the military might have misinterpreted his actions.
​nytimes.com/video/world/as…
The strike killed the 43-year-old Ahmadi, who worked for a U.S. based organization, and 9 of his family members. The military knew little about him, incl. where he worked or lived. They followed his white Toyota because they claimed he went to an ISIS safehouse that morning.
We see that car repeatedly in security camera footage from the office where Ahmadi worked. We verified the footage and accounted for the wrong camera settings by visiting the office and matching a specific scene with a satellite image from the day of the strike. @Maxar
Read 10 tweets
Christoph Koettl Profile picture
Jul 7, 2021
New analysis published by @janesintel with @stanfordcisac powerfully shows some of the future possibilities of satellite imagery analysis: intra-minute collection by @BlackSky_Inc shows a vehicle in motion at the #Natanz Uranium Enrichment Complex. h/t @puccioni1 #Iran
The vehicle is moving back and forth over the same area, suggesting it is possibly hardening the road in preparation for heavier vehicles or the transport of sensitive equipment, according to the analysis.
An increasing number of companies are offering intra-day or intra-minute imagery collection, offering exciting opportunities for journalists, incl. ship tracking, monitoring activities at detention camps… Would love to hear other ideas!
Read 6 tweets
Christoph Koettl Profile picture
Mar 22, 2021
A mysterious tanker. Oil transfers at sea. A retired sailor & a multinational oil trader. What do these four things have in common? They are part of the same convoluted web that helps explain one way #NorthKorea evades sanctions. w/ @RUSI_org & @C4ADS nyti.ms/3vNlYdM
For our newest Visual Investigation, we spent months reviewing ship tracking data and corporate records, satellite imagery and interviewing some of the key players to find out how #NorthKorea sidesteps strict international sanctions.
We focused on a ship called the Diamond 8, the largest foreign oil tanker delivering oil to North Korea. The U.N. Panel of Experts publicly identified the ship in April 2020, and has detailed three trips to North Korea. I found a fourth one. 🛰️📷@maxar nyti.ms/3vNlYdM
Read 20 tweets
Christoph Koettl Profile picture
Dec 9, 2020
In our latest story, I break down some of the recent construction at the Natanz nuclear facility, #Iran. Using satellite images, we identify likely new tunnel entrances for an apparent new underground facility.
nytimes.com/2020/12/09/wor…
The article is a snapshot of ongoing developments in Natanz. Here are some of the things we can see as of early December. With analysis by @ArmsControlWonk & graphics by @arielle_designs
The ongoing construction is around 1km south of the main Natanz complex and takes shape five months after an explosion destroyed a centrifuge assembly hall in Natanz. Iran defiantly vowed to rebuild it “in the heart of the mountains.” 🛰️📷 @Maxar Image
Read 8 tweets

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