Category: Earth
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Researchers reveal that Earth’s surface water can penetrate deep into the planet, transforming core’s outer layer
Illustration of silica crystals coming out from the liquid metal of the Earth’s outer core due to a water-induced chemical reaction. Credit: Dan Shim/ASU A few decades ago, seismologists imaging the deep planet identified a thin layer, just over a few hundred kilometers thick. The origin of this layer, known as the E prime layer,…
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Climate change increasing likelihood of extreme snowfall in the French Alps, research suggests
Changes in mean annual maximum snowfall (top row) and average over 100 years (bottom row) at +4°C global warming across various French Alps massif elevations. Credit: Le Roux et al. 2023. Global warming is often cited as having a negative impact on snow and ice melt in cold regions, yet new research published in The…
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Autumn Splendor From Space: Japan’s Majestic Landscape
This satellite image frm the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission showcases autumn in Japan, highlighting the nation’s geography, including its major islands, mountainous terrain, and forest coverage. It contrasts urban areas, like Tokyo, with natural landscapes and notes the presence of iconic features like Mount Fuji and the Sakurajima volcano. Credit: Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2023),…
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New study highlights need to address risk of continued global warming after net zero
Current climate models carry high uncertainty. Credit: Palazzo Corner et al/Frontiers From scorching heat waves to torrential downpours and devastating storms, the disastrous effects of global warming are sweeping across the world. Considering the predicted outcome of burning fossil fuels, our best and only plan to limit warming is to reduce CO2 emissions from human…
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Video: Monitoring methane from space
Credit: Pixabay from Pexels Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. Curbing methane emissions could deliver immediate and long-lasting benefits for the climate, seeing as the gas only lingers in the atmosphere for a relatively short time. Satellites have a really important role to play in reducing…
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Colorful Auroras Light Up Earth’s Atmosphere
Satellite image of aurora over western Canada, captured by the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) sensor on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite at 3:23 a.m. Mountain Time on November 5, 2023m Curtains of colorful light danced across the sky after solar storms sent energized particles crashing into Earth’s upper atmosphere. In early November 2023,…
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Faster Arctic warming hastens 2-degree-Celsius rise by eight years, finds modeling study
German research ship Polarstern amid Arctic sea ice. Credit: Alfred-Wegener-Institut. multimedia.awi.de/mosaic/#1699635434973_1 Faster warming in the Arctic will be responsible for a global 2 C temperature rise being reached eight years earlier than if the region were warming at the average global rate, according to a new modeling study led by UCL researchers. The Arctic is…
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Avoiding Catastrophe, Even Beyond Critical Tipping Points
Climate researchers have found that the Greenland ice sheet’s melting might be reversible, even after exceeding critical global warming thresholds. Through simulations, scientists demonstrated that if the tipping point is briefly surpassed, extensive countermeasures can restore the ice sheet. This discovery emphasizes the importance of immediate and significant climate action to mitigate the impacts of…
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Unprecedented Daily Measurements Charting Earth’s Rotation
Researchers have made a breakthrough in measuring Earth’s rotation with unprecedented accuracy using an advanced ring laser at the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell. This enhanced technology allows for daily high-quality data capture, which is vital for determining Earth’s position in space and improving climate research and models. (Artist’s illustration dramatizing the use of lasers to measure…
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Study finds individual extreme forest fires can lead to global impacts
by Tilo Arnhold, Leibniz-Institut für Troposphärenforschung e. V. Satellite image of south-eastern Australia from 4 January 2020 – taken with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) of NASA’s Aqua satellite. The smoke has a light brown colour, while the clouds are bright white. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory (MODIS) The radiative effects of smoke from individual…