Stories that have recently appeared in the popular press, television, and radio. Satellites Show Overall Increases In Antarctic Sea Ice Cover August 30 NASA research indicates that since the 1970s the amount of sea ice in the Antarctic has increased. (ScienceDaily, Environment News Service, SpaceDaily) Climate and Cholera: An Increasingly Important Link August 29 Scientists from the Universities of Michigan and Barcelona and the International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research say that Cholera outbreaks seem to be accelerating in association with climate change. (Cosmiverse.com) Satellite Trio Helps Track Hurricanes August 26 Since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, NASA has launched 3 satellites to help improve forecasting of tropical cyclones: The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, QuikSCAT and Aqua satellites each look at different factors including rain, wind, temperature and humidity. (United Press International) Global Warming Might Stall the Next Ice Age August 23 Research from the University Catholique de Louvain in Belgium has shown that the input of greenhouse gases could have an impact on the climate 50,000 years in the future. (Philadelphia Inquirer) Antarctic Sea Ice Increases Over the Past 20 Years August 22 NASA research indicates the amount of ice in the Antarctic has increased from 1979 to1999 has increased as measured by satellites. (Space.com, UPI, der Wissenchaft (Germany)) Satellites Help Show Half of U.S. Gripped by Drought August 21 By the end of July, 49 percent of the contiguous United States was in moderate to extreme drought, according to the Palmer Drought Index. Satellites are being used to monitor drought conditions. (Space.com) Satellite Data Informs Wildfire Recovery August 20 The University of Maryland, NASA and the USDA Forest Service are using data from NASA's Terra satellite to provide faster, broader assessments of the severity of burn damage after wildfires. (Environment News Service, Silicon Valley.com) West Nile Virus Claims More Lives August 20 Cases of West Nile Virus are rising, as the mosquito transmitted virus continues to spread further west in the U.S. New cases or infection were reported this week in Florida, Mississippi, Maryland, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia. (Environment News Service) Soil Study May Yield Harvest of Water Cycle Data August 19 NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory took part in a 3 week field experiment using remote sensing techniques over the nation's heartland to better understand soil moisture. (Spacedaily.com) Mild Winters, Dust and Floods in New Places: China August 16 Arid areas of China unaccustomed to heavy amounts of rainfall were subject to flooding monsoon rains this year, and flooding and mudslides have killed 108 people in the past 10 days. (Associated Press) Oceans May Help Clean the Air August 15 The world?s oceans could be helping clean the atmosphere, according to a study that says the salty sea spray encourages rain that washes out dust and other pollutants. (Associated Press) Terra Satellite Refines Map of Global Land Cover August 15 New NASA land cover maps are providing scientists with the most refined global picture ever produced of the distribution of Earth?s ecosystems and land use patterns. (Cosmiverse) Scientists Cautious About Global Warming Link to Flood Disasters August 14 Scientists were cautious Wednesday about suggestions that global warming caused the freak storms and pounding monsoon rains that have devastated central and eastern Europe and swathes of Asia. (Science Daily) Global Warming Threatens Ocean Ecosystems August 14 Climate change will create increasing challenges to U.S. coastal and marine ecosystems over the next century, warns a new Pew Center on Global Climate Change report. (Environmental News Service) Cosmic Rays, Global Warming Linked August 12 Fangqun Yu of State University of New York-Albany said that cosmic rays may explain a mystery of why the lower atmosphere is cooling with the thermometers on Earth's surface show a warming trend. (Discovery Channel) Asian Haze Poses ?Widespread Threat? August 11 Pollution in southern Asia is a regional and global threat that will worsen over the next 30 years, scientists say. (BBC) El Nino Blamed for Weather Chaos August 11 The weather phenomenon El Niño is being blamed by scientists for the freak weather conditions which have caused chaos and many deaths around the world. (BBC) Plankton Loss Potential Threat to Seas, Climate August 9 Satellite surveys have detected a sharp decline in plankton in several oceans?a potential threat to the marine food chain, and one that could undercut a natural buffer to global warming. (Toronto Star, Atlanta Journal Sentinel, CNN, MSNBC) NASA: Eastern U.S. Smokeout in Early July Set Record August 8 Smoke from the Canadian forest fires in July brought a record amount of air pollutants to the U.S. mid-Atlantic area, according to the U.S. AERONET and Canadian AEROCAN networks. (Space.com, The Quebec Tribune, The Record (Quebec)) Satellite Sees Through Smoke to Help Track Wildfires August 7 The MODIS instrument aboard NASA?s Terra satellite is being used to help firefighters pinpoint fires and determine the intensity of fires. (San Jose Mercury News) Global Warming is Changing Tropical Forests August 7 Scientists at the annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology say that global warming is having far reaching effects on tropical forests. (Environment News Service) Jet Contrails Leave Their Mark on Climate August 7 Contrails left by jets have a small but significant influence on the range of daily temperatures on Earth. (United Press International) Wildfires May be a Taste of Global Warming August 5 Increasing carbon dioxide levels has spurred vegetation growth in forests and helped create thick stands of fire-vulnerable trees, but scientists are still struggling to understand all of the effects of warming. (Weather.com) West Nile Will Sweep Across Whole US August 2 West Nile is continuing to sweep across the entire U.S. with 88 confirmed cases and 5 human deaths. Experts think it will be across the entire U.S. by the end of this summer. (New Scientist, MSNBC) Satellites Reveal A Mystery Of A Large Change In Earth?s Gravity Field August 1 Satellite data since 1998 indicates the bulge in the Earth?s gravity field at the equator is growing, and scientists think that the ocean may hold the answer to the mystery of how the changes in the trend of Earth?s gravity are occurring. (CNN, BBC News, MSNBC, UPI, NPR, NY Times, Bloomberg News, Ananova, NY Post, Sydney Morning Herald, London Daily Telegraph, Knight Ridder news wire, Agence-France Presse) Back to: News |