Melting Arctic ice could poison ecosystem, experts say

[cf. Polar bears ill from accumulated environmental toxins] By John Size, CTV News 18 March 2012 Arctic sea ice that’s been melting at a dramatic rate in the last few decades is releasing a chemical soup that could poison the food chain with mercury and other dangerous chemicals, a new study suggests. The NASA-led research […]

NASA maps height of Earth’s forests

Contact: Alan Buis, Alan.buis@jpl.nasa.gov, 818-354-0474      Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.17 February 2012 PASADENA, California – A NASA-led science team has created an accurate, high-resolution map of the height of Earth’s forests. The map will help scientists better understand the role forests play in climate change and how their heights influence wildlife habitats within them, while […]

Video: Global surface temperatures, 1937-2011

Global temperatures have warmed significantly since 1880, the beginning of what scientists call the “modern record.” At this time, the coverage provided by weather stations allowed for essentially global temperature data. As greenhouse gas emissions from energy production, industry and vehicles have increased, temperatures have climbed, most notably since the late 1970s. In this animation […]

NASA sees repeating La Niña hitting its peak

Contact: Alan Buis, 818-354-0474, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, alan.buis@jpl.nasa.gov 18 January 2012 La Niña, “the diva of drought,” is peaking, increasing the odds that the Pacific Northwest will have more stormy weather this winter and spring, while the southwestern and southern United States will be dry. Sea surface height data from NASA’s Jason-1 and […]

NASA finds 2011 ninth-warmest year on record

Text issued as NASA Headquarters release No. 12-020Steve Cole, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., 202-358-0918stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov Leslie McCarthy, NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, N.Y., 212-678-5507leslie.m.mccarthy@nasa.gov 19 January 2012 The global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880, according to NASA scientists. The finding continues a trend in which nine of […]

Aerosol particle increase linked to more rainfall: study

By Nina Chestney, editing by Rosalind Russell15 January 2012 LONDON (Reuters) – A rise in the atmosphere of aerosols – miniscule particles which include soot, dust and sulphates – has led to more rainfall in certain parts of the world and could provide vital clues for future climate predictions, a scientific study shows. A deeper […]

Video: NASA says Canada ‘hot spot’ of ecological change

[cf. NASA: Climate change to bring big ecosystem changes – Current warming is 100 times faster than end of last ice age. Apologies in advance for the advertisement.] By Mychaylo Prystupa, CBC News 12 January 2012 A new NASA study predicts massive ecological changes for Canada’s Prairies and boreal regions by the year 2100. Those […]

Climate change blamed for dead trees in Africa – ‘Whole groups of species are dying out’

By Sarah Yang, Media Relations 12 December 2011 BERKELEY – Trees are dying in  the Sahel, a region in Africa south of the Sahara Desert, and human-caused climate change is to blame, according to a new study led by a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. “Rainfall in the Sahel has dropped 20-30 percent […]

Graph of the Day: Height of Violent Storms Over Eastern U.S., 28 April 2011

Contact: Rob GutroRobert.j.gutro@nasa.gov443-858-1779NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center28-Apr-2011 The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite again flew over severe thunderstorms that were spawning tornadoes over the eastern United States on April 28 and detected massive thunderstorms and very heavy rainfall. TRMM, a satellite managed by both NASA and the Japanese Space Agency, captured the rainfall rates […]

Graph of the Day: Texas Heat Wave Measured from Orbit, April 2011

Caption by Holli Riebeek22 April 2011 So far in 2011, more than 1.4 million acres have burned in Texas. Some 800 fires have occurred throughout the state, burning 401 structures and costing two firefighters their lives. Why is fire activity so extreme in Texas this year? This image, made with data collected by the Moderate […]

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