Tag: Earth

Trailblazing New Earth Satellite Put to Test in Preparation for Launch

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The NISAR satellite enters the thermal vacuum chamber at an ISRO facility in Bengaluru on Oct. 19. It emerged three weeks later having met all requirements of its performance under extreme temperatures and space-like vacuum. ISRO During three weeks in a thermal vacuum chamber in Bengaluru, India, the joint NASA-ISRO satellite demonstrated its hardiness in a harsh, space-like environment. NISAR, the trailblazing Earth-observing radar satellite being developed by the United States and Indian space agencies, passed a major milestone on Nov. 13, emerging from a 21-day test aimed at evaluating…

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Icebergs are melting fast. This AI can track them 10,000 times faster than humans

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Scientists are turning to artificial intelligence to quickly spot giant icebergs in satellite images with the goal of monitoring their shrinkage over time. And unlike the conventional iceberg-tracking approach, which takes a human a few minutes to outline just one of these structures in an image, AI accomplished the same task in less than 0.01 seconds. That’s 10,000 times faster. “It is crucial to locate icebergs and monitor their extent, to quantify how much meltwater they release into the ocean,” Anne Braakmann-Folgmann, lead author of a study on the results…

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Peter Griffith: Diving Into Carbon Cycle Science

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5 min read Peter Griffith: Diving Into Carbon Cycle Science Dr. Peter Griffith is the director of NASA’s Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems Office. “As a scientist, I started off in the water and then gradually moved to on top of the water, and then ultimately went up into the air and into space, at least with the instrument eyes that we have on the world,” he said. “In some respects, I was a carbon cycle scientist since before it was cool.” NASA / Angeles Miron Name: Peter Griffith Title: Director,…

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NASA’s SWOT satellite maps nearly of all Earth’s water (video)

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NASA shared striking views of nearly all of Earth’s water in new maps of the planet’s global sea levels.  Data from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite was used to create an animation that shows the varying surface heights of the planet’s oceans and freshwater lakes and rivers. The data was collected during SWOT’s first full 21-day science orbit, which started on July 26 and ended on Aug. 16, according to a statement from NASA.  Already, scientists are thrilled with the data the satellite is providing. “The detail…

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The ‘safe’ threshold for global warming will be passed in just 6 years, scientists say

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Global carbon emissions are on track to exceed safe limits by 2030 and unleash the worst effects of climate change, new research suggests. This means we have just six years to change course and dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A new estimate of our remaining carbon budget — the amount of carbon dioxide we can produce while keeping global temperatures below a dangerous threshold — indicates that, as of January, if we emit more than 276 gigatons (250 metric gigatons) of CO2 we will hit temperatures 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7…

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NASA-ISRO Radar Mission to Provide Dynamic View of Forests, Wetlands

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6 min read NASA-ISRO Radar Mission to Provide Dynamic View of Forests, Wetlands NISAR will use radar to study changes in ecosystems around the world, such as this forest in Tikal National Park in northern Guatemala, to understand how these areas are affected by climate change and human activity, and the role they play in the global carbon cycle. Credit: USAID NISAR will help researchers explore how changes in Earth’s forest and wetland ecosystems are affecting the global carbon cycle and influencing climate change. Once it launches in early 2024,…

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NASA, Pacific Disaster Center Increase Landslide Hazard Awareness

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5 min read NASA, Pacific Disaster Center Increase Landslide Hazard Awareness Communities worldwide now have access to a powerful tool to increase their awareness of landslide hazards, thanks to NASA and the Pacific Disaster Center. A humanitarian worker from USAID observes the impacts of a landslide. USAID deployed an elite Disaster Assistance Response Team on Nov. 17, 2020, to lead the U.S. response to Hurricanes Eta and Iota. USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance After years of development and testing, NASA’s Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness model (LHASA) has been…

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The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is melting, and it’s too late to stop it

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It’s not looking good for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This body of ice is Antarctica’s largest contributor to global sea-level rise, and it’s only going to get worse from here. After running multiple simulations, researchers determined that increased melting of the sheet will be unavoidable throughout the rest of the century. Scientists previously hypothesized that a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions could mitigate the warming of the Amundsen Sea, which contributes to melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.  That hypothesis has now been put to the test. Related: Antarctic…

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Observing Storms from the International Space Station

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A storm is pictured in the Arabian Sea less than 700 miles off the coast of Oman as the International Space Station orbited 260 miles above. NASA / Jasmin Moghbeli While the International Space Station orbited 260 miles above Earth on Oct. 20, 2023, astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli snapped this image of a storm in the Arabian Sea, less than 700 miles off the coast of Oman. In addition to photographing our planet from the space station, NASA also observes Earth with satellites. These satellites collect data on storms that scientists…

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How astronaut Thomas Pesquet captured the planet in ‘The Earth in Our Hands’

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Flipping through his new book of more than 200 photographs of Earth, or, if you are determined, the more than 245,000 images he took during his second mission aboard the International Space Station, you get the sense that Thomas Pesquet thoroughly captured the planet. In “The Earth in Our Hands: Photos from the International Space Station,” Pesquet, a French astronaut with the European Space Agency (ESA), curates his favorite views of our home world, showcasing its varied landscapes of both natural and human-made features. With a familiarity that only an…

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