Monday, November 12th, 2018
On Nov. 7, 2018, NASA’s Operation IceBridge flew over an iceberg three times the size of Manhattan—the first time anyone has laid eyes on the giant iceberg, dubbed B-46 by the U.S. National Ice Center, that broke off from Pine Island Glacier in late October. As NASA’s DC-8 flew its predetermined flight pattern, the new
Tuesday, November 6th, 2018
The ozone hole that forms over the Antarctic each September is primarily driven by two factors: the amount of ozone-destroying chlorine in the polar stratosphere and the availability of ice crystals in stratospheric clouds for the chlorine to bind to. This year, the super-cold stratospheric temperatures measured by NOAA and NASA meant conditions were ripe
Tuesday, October 30th, 2018
The Florida Keys coral reefs stopped growing or significantly slowed their growth at least 3,000 years ago and have been balanced between persistence and erosion ever since, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, also points to coral bleaching and disease outbreaks
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2018
Rising seas are putting coastal UNESCO World Heritage Sites at risk. For sites such as the Old City of Dubrovnik and the ruins of Carthage, the threat of harmful storm surges and coastal erosion will increase significantly as the effects of climate change progress. To better characterize the risks facing sites of historic and cultural
Tuesday, October 16th, 2018
A new report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forwarded the need to protect and restore forests just two weeks after more than 200 organizations, scientists and elected officials released the #Stand4Forests platform in the United States. The newly released platform aligned with the IPCC report in demanding the protection of
Tuesday, October 9th, 2018
On Oct. 7, 2018, a Tunisian cargo ship is reported to have struck the hull of a Cypriot container ship in waters north of the French island of Corsica. There were no casualties, but the collision caused a fuel leak that resulted in an oil slick about 20 kilometers long. Although the collision occurred in
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2018
CloudSat and CALIPSO, designed to complement each other in the 1990s, were launched together on the same rocket in 2006. Then they spent more than 10 years orbiting Earth in formation with a coterie of other satellites in what’s known as the A-Train (afternoon constellation). Flying together enables the A Train satellites to gather diverse
Tuesday, September 25th, 2018
According to a new research report by Global Market Insights Inc., the mobile mapping market is being propelled by the increasing adoption of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets across the globe. Smartphone users are extensively using mapping applications on their devices for navigation and driving assistance. Furthermore, they also are leveraging GIS and
Tuesday, September 18th, 2018
The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission team plans to switch to a backup system in the Microwave Instrument (MWI) on one of the twin spacecraft. Following the switch-over, GRACE-FO is expected to quickly resume science data collection. A month after launching in May 2018, GRACE-FO produced its first preliminary gravity field map.
Tuesday, September 11th, 2018
The Arctic is rapidly warming, with stronger effects than observed elsewhere in the world. The Arctic regions are particularly important with respect to climate change, as permafrost soils store huge amounts of the Earth’s soil carbon (C). Warming of Arctic soils and thawing of permafrost can have substantial consequences for the global climate, as the
