Tag: Earth

NASA Data Helps Protect US Embassy Staff from Polluted Air

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4 Min Read NASA Data Helps Protect US Embassy Staff from Polluted Air This visualization of aerosols shows dust (purple), smoke (red), and sea salt particles (blue) swirling across Earth’s atmosphere on Aug. 23, 2018, from NASA’s GEOS-FP (Goddard Earth Observing System forward processing) computer model. Credits: NASA’s Earth Observatory United States embassies and consulates, along with American citizens traveling and living abroad, now have a powerful tool to protect against polluted air, thanks to a collaboration between NASA and the U.S. State Department. Since 2020, ZephAir has provided real-time…

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Childhood Snow Days Transformed Linette Boisvert into a Sea Ice Scientist

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Linette Boisvert turned a childhood love of snow into a career as a sea ice scientist studying climate change. Name: Linette BoisvertTitle: Assistant Lab Chief, Cryospheric Sciences Branch, and Deputy Project Scientist for the Aqua SatelliteFormal Job Classification: Sea Ice ScientistOrganization: Cryospheric Science Branch, Science Directorate (Code 615) “When it snowed, school was cancelled so I loved winter weather, and I was fascinated how weather could impact our daily lives,” said Linette. “One of my undergraduate classes had a guest lecturer talk about the Arctic and that is when decided that I…

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NASA Selects Companies for Commercial SmallSat Services Award

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Credit: NASA NASA has selected eight companies for a new award to help acquire Earth observation data and provide related services for the agency. The Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition Program On-Ramp1 Multiple Award contract is a firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple-award contract with a maximum value of $476 million, cumulatively amongst all the selected contractors, and a performance period through Nov. 15, 2028. The selectees are: BlackSky Geospatial Solutions, Inc. in Herndon, Virginia ICEYE US Inc. in Irvine, California MDA Geospatial Service Inc. in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada Pixxel Space Technologies, Inc…

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NASA Earth Scientists Take Flight, Set Sail to Verify PACE Satellite Data

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5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) More than 100 scientists will participate in a field campaign involving a research vessel and two aircraft this month to verify the accuracy of data collected by NASA’s new PACE satellite: the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission. The process of data validation includes researchers comparing PACE data with data collected by similar, Earth-based instruments to ensure the measurements match up. Since the mission’s Feb. 8, 2024 launch, scientists around the world have successfully completed several data validation campaigns; the…

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Proyecto de la NASA en Puerto Rico capacita a estudiantes en biología marina

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9 Min Read Proyecto de la NASA en Puerto Rico capacita a estudiantes en biología marina Una península cubierta por un bosque verde en la isla de Culebra se adentra en las aguas azules del Caribe mientras una tormenta cae a lo lejos. El azul turquesa que rodea la isla indica la presencia de aguas poco profundas, que son el hogar de los famosos arrecifes de coral de esta isla. Credits: Centro Ames de la NASA/Milan Loiacono Read this story in English here. Tainaliz Marie Rodríguez Lugo respiró hondo, se ajustó…

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Weird mystery waves that baffle scientists may be ‘everywhere’ inside Earth’s mantle

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Mysterious zones in the deep mantle where earthquake waves slow to a crawl may actually be everywhere, new research finds. Scientists already knew that ultra-low velocity zones (ULVZs), hover near hotspots — regions of the mantle where hot rock moves upward, forming volcanic island chains such as Hawaii. But mysterious earthquake waves suggest that these features might be widespread. ULVZs, which are located in the lower mantle near the core-mantle boundary, can slow seismic waves by up to 50%. That’s remarkable, said Michael Thorne, a geologist and geophysicist at the University of Utah.…

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NASA Project in Puerto Rico Trains Students in Marine Biology

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7 Min Read NASA Project in Puerto Rico Trains Students in Marine Biology A forested green peninsula of Culebra Island juts into the blue waters of the Caribbean as a rain storm hits in the distance. The teal blue surrounding the island indicates shallow waters, home to the island's famous coral reefs. Credits: NASA Ames/Milan Loiacono Tainaliz Marie Rodríguez Lugo took a deep breath, adjusted her snorkel mask, and plunged into the ocean, fins first. Three weeks earlier, Rodríguez Lugo couldn’t swim. Now the college student was gathering data on…

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NASA-Designed Greenhouse Gas-Detection Instrument Launches

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This artist’s concept depicts one of the Carbon Mapper Coalition’s Tanager satellites, the first of which launched on Aug. 16. Tanager-1 will use imaging spectrometer technology developed at JPL to measure greenhouse gas point-source emissions. Planet Labs PBC Developed by the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the imaging spectrometer will provide actionable data to help reduce emissions that contribute to global warming. Tanager-1, the Carbon Mapper Coalition’s first satellite, which carries a state-of-the-art, NASA-designed greenhouse-gas-tracking instrument, is in Earth orbit after lifting off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space…

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São Francisco’s Colorful Palette

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NASA This Dec. 27, 2023 image of the São Francisco River in southeast Brazil showcases the range of vibrant colors in the area including blues, reds, greens, and yellows. Much of the unvegetated land, such as unplanted fields and unpaved roads, appears in bright shades of red and yellow. This coloration comes from the underlying clays and soils of Brazil’s state of Minas Gerais. The photo focuses on the Três Marias Reservoir, a human-made waterbody fed by the São Francisco River. Access to freshwater for irrigation enables agriculture around the reservoir.…

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