Tuesday, August 9th, 2016
The pioneering Aladin sensor, a spaceborne LiDAR instrument with two powerful lasers, a large telescope and very sensitive receivers, is ready to join its Aeolus satellite for launch in 2017. Designed by Airbus Defence and Space, Aladin’s laser generates ultraviolet light beamed toward Earth, which bounces off air molecules and small particles such as dust,
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016
NASA scientists and engineers are field testing the CO2 Sounder LiDAR, an instrument powerful and accurate enough to gather around-the-clock global atmospheric carbon-dioxide (CO2) measurements from space. The instrument is a strong contender for a potential next-generation carbon-monitoring mission, the Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days and Seasons (ASCENDS). The LiDAR operates by
Monday, July 25th, 2016
For the world’s coral reefs, the picture keeps getting gloomier. Although it’s widely assumed that both local and global factors are contributing to their decline, new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that isolated reefs far from human activities are in fact not healthier than those in more densely populated
Monday, July 25th, 2016
The Arctic SDI Board, which includes mapping executives from Canada, Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States, recently met in Anchorage, Alaska to further development of a robust Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure. The Arctic SDI is a cooperation based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the eight National Mapping
Thursday, July 14th, 2016
A researcher at Arizona State University has discovered how to control multiple robotic drones using the human brain. A controller wears a skull cap outfitted with 128 electrodes wired to a computer. The device records electrical brain activity. If the controller moves a hand or thinks of something, certain areas light up. “I can see
Tuesday, July 12th, 2016
The phrase “tipping point” passed its own tipping point and caught fire after author Malcolm Gladwell’s so-named 2000 book. It’s now frequently used in discussions about climate change, but what are “climate tipping points”? And what do they mean for society and the economy? Scientists at Rutgers University and Harvard University tackle the terminology and
Friday, July 8th, 2016
Members of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) must do more to follow through on critical commitments to protect tuna and shark populations in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The IATTC, the world’s oldest regional fishery management organization (RFMO) for tuna, meets June 27 to July 1 in La Jolla, California. According to a recent Pew
Wednesday, July 6th, 2016
When invasive Burmese pythons are breeding, radio-tracking one python can help find and capture more, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher says. Thus, UF/IFAS scientists say this technique can help them remove the pythons. “This is one more tool we can add to our tool box to help us combat
Tuesday, July 5th, 2016
A team of scientists from the University of Maryland and Sigma Space Corporation has shown that 3D forest structure and topography can be measured rapidly, efficiently and accurately over large areas, using an innovative laser technology called single photon lidar (SPL).
Thursday, June 30th, 2016
A team of engineers from Washington University in St. Louis is looking to capitalize on the sense of smell in locusts to create new biorobotic sensing systems that could be used in homeland security application
