Climate (Page 31)

In Brief: A lot of hard work goes into ensuring a spacecraft like the Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite delivers accurate data. In mid-June, a team of freshwater researchers spent their nights drifting down Alaska’s Yukon River in an area that straddles the Arctic Circle. The hydrologists were usingContinue Reading

June 2023 was the hottest June on record according to NASA’s global temperature analysis. GISTEMP, NASA’s global temperature analysis, is drawn from data collected by weather stations and Antarctic research stations, as well as instruments mounted on ships and ocean buoys. NASA scientists at the Goddard Institute for Space StudiesContinue Reading

In Brief: Built on opposite sides of the planet, the NISAR satellite will deepen understanding of climate change, deforestation, glacier melt, volcanoes, earthquakes, and more. Two major components of the NISAR satellite have been combined to create a single spacecraft in Bengaluru, India. Set to launch in early 2024, NISARContinue Reading

Follow a river of water vapor as it travels through Earth’s atmosphere and becomes heavy rain. Watch polar ice expand and contract as if our planet is breathing in slow motion. Discover how river channels and wind currents resemble the human nervous and circulatory systems. In an interactive new exhibitContinue Reading

In Brief: Early data shows the greatest net gain of water over the winter in nearly 22 years, but the state’s groundwater levels still suffer from the effects of years of drought. After years of intense drought and diminishing groundwater, California just saw its greatest year-over-year water gains in twoContinue Reading

Dogs trained to detect Parkinson’s disease using scent have shown remarkable accuracy in new research. In a double-blind trial, they identified skin swabs from people with Parkinson’s with up to 80% sensitivity and 98% specificity, even when other health conditions were present. The findings offer hope for a simple, non-invasiveContinue Reading

Summer of 2023 was Earth’s hottest since global records began in 1880, according to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) in New York. The months of June, July, and August combined were 0.41 degrees Fahrenheit (0.23 degrees Celsius) warmer than any other summer in NASA’s record, andContinue Reading

In Brief: The instrument will enable nonprofit organization Carbon Mapper to pinpoint and measure methane and carbon dioxide sources from space. A state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer, which will measure the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide from space, moved closer to launch this month after being delivered to a clean roomContinue Reading

In Brief: No stranger to hot weather, the region is facing more humid heat waves that test the adaptability of its residents. But different areas feel different effects. Like much of the planet, Southern California is expected to experience more heat waves in the future due to Earth’s changing climate.Continue Reading

Editor’s Note: This release has been updated to add additional graphics, captions, and to spell out the words degrees Fahrenheit and Celsius. According to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, July 2023 was hotter than any other month in the global temperature record. “SinceContinue Reading