Monday, April 24th, 2023
Century-old sugar maples in Wisconsin. Five-hundred-year-old cedars in Oklahoma. Fifty-foot-wide oaks in Georgia. These trees grace our nation’s old-growth forests, and scientists say they hold unexplored mysteries from their roots to their rings. In an effort to steward these resources, on Earth Day 2022 the Biden Administration called upon the Department of Agriculture and the
Tuesday, April 11th, 2023
A NASA instrument to provide unprecedented resolution of monitoring major air pollutants—down to four square miles—lifted off on its way to geostationary orbit on April 7, 2023. The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument will improve life on Earth by revolutionizing the way scientists observe air quality from space. “The TEMPO mission is about
Tuesday, March 28th, 2023
Despite an extreme drought in northwestern Iowa throughout summer 2022, the overall corn condition was better than in the previous two years. EOS Data Analytics explored the causes of these phenomena and explained how Iowa farmers tackle such prolonged dry conditions. During the last few decades, climate change had been bringing positive effects on crop
Saturday, March 11th, 2023
A NASA Earth-observing satellite has helped researchers track carbon dioxide emissions for more than 100 countries around the world. The pilot project offers a powerful new look at the carbon dioxide being emitted in these countries and how much of it is removed from the atmosphere by forests and other carbon-absorbing “sinks” within their borders. The
Tuesday, February 28th, 2023
In a new study, University of Missouri researcher Jeffrey Wood introduces the “ecosystem wilting point” concept, which explains how whole forests respond to drought. Wood and his research team found that when forests reach their ecosystem wilting point, they are less able to function properly, which includes their ability to absorb carbon dioxide. To learn
Saturday, February 11th, 2023
A team of international researchers, including one from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has combined satellite and archival imagery to show how one African city’s changing water usage influences land movements near and just below the surface. The new study zeroed in on Bukavu, a hillslope city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The researchers
Monday, January 30th, 2023
As of 2022, Brazil’s Munduruku Indigenous Reserve is the second worst-affected territory occupied by illegal miners in the country. In 2021, the illegal mining there grew by 363 percent within only two years, seizing hundreds and hundreds of lands. The situation with the Munduruku people is only one possible focal point to evaluate the scale
Tuesday, January 17th, 2023
Chesapeake Conservancy’s data science team developed an artificial intelligence deep learning model for mapping wetlands, which resulted in 94% accuracy. Supported by EPRI, an independent, non-profit energy research and development institute; Lincoln Electric System; and the Grayce B. Kerr Fund, Inc., this method for wetland mapping could deliver important outcomes for protecting and conserving wetlands.
Monday, December 5th, 2022
A decade ago, scientists on a NASA-sponsored ocean expedition found massive populations of phytoplankton blooming beneath sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. Now scientists using underwater instruments and a NASA satellite have found evidence of potentially significant blooms beneath the sea ice encircling Antarctica. The findings were recently published in the scientific journal Frontiers. Phytoplankton
Monday, November 21st, 2022
By 2050, sea level along contiguous U.S. coastlines could rise as much as 12 inches (30 centimeters) above today’s waterline, according to researchers who analyzed nearly three decades of satellite observations. The results from the NASA Sea Level Change Team could help refine near-term projections for coastal communities that are bracing for increases in both
