Map showing the age of sea ice in the Arctic at winter maximum in 2000 (left, week of March 18) and 2020 (right, week of March 21). Ice older than 5 years (white) is very rare today; only a small ribbon remains along the islands of the Canadian Arctic. Age is a stand-in for ice thickness and durability; young ice is thinner and more likely to melt in the summer. NOAA Climate.gov map, based on data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Graphic: NOAA

Sea ice loss and extreme wildfires mark another year of Arctic change – “The transformation of the Arctic to a warmer, less frozen, and biologically changed region is well underway”

8 December 2020 (NOAA) – NOAA’s 15th Arctic Report Card catalogs for 2020 the numerous ways that climate change continues to disrupt the polar region, with second-highest air temperatures and second-lowest summer sea ice driving a cascade of impacts, including the loss of snow and extraordinary wildfires in northern Russia. The Arctic Report Card is […]

NASA: Where to place a rainwater harvesting system as groundwater is depleted in the Middle East

By Kasha Patel 27 July 2018 (NASA) – On any given day, Zoubaida Salman instructs a classroom of 15-year-olds at the Sur Baher Girls School in East Jerusalem, where she has served as the science teacher and Environment and Health Coordinator for the past 22 years. One of the most important lessons comes from their […]

Antarctica ice-sheet melt increased sharply in 2012 – “The continent is causing sea levels to rise faster today than at any time in the past 25 years”

13 June 2018 (University of Leeds) – Ice losses from Antarctica have increased global sea levels by 7.6 mm since 1992, with two fifths of this rise (3 mm) coming in the last five years alone.The findings are from a major climate assessment known as the Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise (IMBIE), and are […]

These are the melting glaciers that might someday drown your city, according to NASA

By Chris Mooney 15 November 2017 (The Washington Post) – New York City has plenty to worry about from sea level rise. But according to a new study by NASA researchers, it should worry specifically about two major glacier systems in Greenland’s northeast and northwest — but not so much about other parts of the […]

Global sea level rise accelerates since 1990 – Greenland ice largely responsible for the accelerating pace of sea-level rise

By Alister Doyle 26 June 2017 OSLO (Reuters) – The rise in global sea levels has accelerated since the 1990s amid rising temperatures, with a thaw of Greenland’s ice sheet pouring ever more water into the oceans, scientists said on Monday.The annual rate of sea level rise increased to 3.3 millimeters (0.13 inch) in 2014 […]

Historical records may underestimate sea level rise

18 October 2016 (JPL) – A new NASA and university study using NASA satellite data finds that tide gauges — the longest and highest-quality records of historical ocean water levels — may have underestimated the amount of global average sea level rise that occurred during the 20th century. A research team led by Philip Thompson, […]

Greenland ice is melting 7 percent faster than previously thought – ‘The present destabilization may increase sea level for centuries to come’

By Pam Frost Gorder21 September 2016 COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ohio State University) – The same hotspot in Earth’s mantle that feeds Iceland’s active volcanoes has been playing a trick on the scientists who are trying to measure how much ice is melting on nearby Greenland. According to a new study in the journal Science Advances, the […]

New NASA study shows Brazil’s drought deeper than thought – Southeast losing 56 trillion liters of water in each of the past three years

By Chris Arsenault 30 October 2015 TORONTO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – New satellite data shows Brazil’s drought is worse than previously thought, with the southeast losing 56 trillion liters of water in each of the past three years – more than enough to fill Lake Tahoe, a NASA scientist said on Friday. The country’s most […]

The U.S. West dries up: Satellite view of soil moisture content, 14 September 2015

By Kathryn Hansen18 September 2015 (NASA) – At the end of summer 2015, the western United States continues to face a deep, ongoing drought. Conditions were particularly severe in California, Oregon, and Washington, where below-average precipitation has had a large, lasting effect on water supplies. The shortage is visible to satellites that detect the movement […]

A third of the world’s biggest groundwater basins are in distress – Reserves likely far smaller than previously thought

Irvine, California, 16 June 2015 (UCI) – Two new studies led by UC Irvine using data from NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites show that human consumption is rapidly draining some of its largest groundwater basins, yet there is little to no accurate data about how much water remains in them. The result is […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial