Month: July 2017

  • NASA Flights Gauge Summer Sea Ice Melt in the Arctic

    Earlier this year Arctic sea ice sank to a record low wintertime extent for the third straight year. Now NASA is flying a set of instruments north of Greenland to observe the impact of the melt season on the Arctic's oldest and thickest sea ice.

  • Allowable 'carbon budget' most likely overestimated

    While most climate scientists, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, implicitly define "pre-industrial" to be in the late 1800's, a true non-industrially influenced baseline is probably further in the past, according to an international team of researchers who are concerned because it affects the available carbon budget for meeting the 2 degrees Celsius (3.6…

  • New robotic lab tracking toxicity of Lake Erie algal bloom

    A new research tool to safeguard drinking water is now keeping a watchful eye on Lake Erie. This week, a robotic lake-bottom laboratory began tracking the levels of dangerous toxins produced by cyanobacteria that bloom each summer in the lake's western basin.The goal is to provide advance warning to municipal drinking water managers and thereby…

  • Coral Reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba May Survive Global Warming, New Study Finds

    Coral reefs in the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba can resist rising water temperatures. If they survive local pollution, these corals may one day be used to re-seed parts of the world where reefs are dying. The scientists urge governments to protect the Gulf of Aqaba Reefs.Coral reefs are dying on a massive scale around…

  • Rare discovery of three new toad species in Nevada's Great Basin by College of Science

    Three new species of toads have been discovered living in Nevada's Great Basin in an expansive survey of the 190,000 square mile ancient lake bottom. Discoveries of new amphibians are extremely rare in the United States with only three new frog species discovered since 1985 – and toad species are even more rare, with the…

  • Shifting storms to bring extreme waves, damage to once placid areas

    The world’s most extensive study of a major storm front striking the coast has revealed a previously unrecognised danger from climate change: as storm patterns fluctuate, waterfront areas once thought safe are likely to be hammered and damaged as never before.The study, led by engineers at University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, was…

  • GOES Satellite Sees Tropical Depression 09E Form

    The Eastern Pacific Ocean has been recently generating a lot of tropical cyclones. Tropical Depression 09E just formed off the southern coast of Mexico and was captured in imagery from NOAA’s GOES-East satellite.Tropical Storm Fernanda has moved into the Central Pacific Ocean, while Tropical Storm Greg, which just absorbed the remnants of Tropical Depression 8E…

  • NASA Notes 9th Northwestern Pacific Tropical Cyclone

    The ninth tropical depression of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean has formed and developed into a tropical storm. Tropical Storm Kulap was spotted by NASA’s Terra satellite far to the west of Midway Island.

  • Rush Hour Pollution May Be More Dangerous Than You Think

    The first in-car measurements of exposure to pollutants that cause oxidative stress during rush hour commutes has turned up potentially alarming results. The levels of some forms of harmful particulate matter inside car cabins was found to be twice as high as previously believed.Most traffic pollution sensors are placed on the ground alongside the road…

  • Ultrathin device harvests electricity from human motion

    Imagine slipping into a jacket, shirt or skirt that powers your cell phone, fitness tracker and other personal electronic devices as you walk, wave and even when you are sitting down.A new, ultrathin energy harvesting system developed at Vanderbilt University’s Nanomaterials and Energy Devices Laboratory has the potential to do just that. Based on battery technology and…