November 22nd, 2024
NASA Satellites Reveal Abrupt Drop in Global Freshwater Levels 

An international team of scientists using observations from NASA-German satellites found evidence that Earth’s total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since. Reporting in Surveys in Geophysics, the researchers suggested the shift could indicate Earth’s continents have entered a persistently drier phase.  From 2015 through 2023, satellite measurements

November 8th, 2024
Record Droughts in South America: A Stark Warning from the Amazon 

As Europe grapples with unprecedented floods and Asia faces the fury of typhoons, a different crisis is unfolding in South America: record droughts. Geographers Elzė Buslavičiūtė and Dr. Laurynas Jukna from Vilnius University’s Department of Geography and Landscape Management shed light on alarming conditions in the Amazon basin, where river levels have plummeted to historic

October 28th, 2024
Thin Cool Surface Skin Boosts Ocean’s Carbon Uptake 

The global ocean absorbs roughly a quarter of carbon emissions from human activities, which is extremely important in helping to slow climate change. On the flip side, however, this benefit does come at a cost: as oceans take in more carbon, their waters become more acidic, endangering the health of marine ecosystems.  Enhancing our understanding

October 11th, 2024
NASA-Funded Study Assesses Pollution Near Los Angeles-Area Warehouses 

As goods of all shapes and sizes journey from factory to doorstep, chances are they’ve stopped at a warehouse along the way—likely several of them. The sprawling structures are waypoints in the logistics networks that make e-commerce possible. Yet the convenience comes with tradeoffs, as illustrated in a recent NASA-funded study.  Published in the journal GeoHealth,