Two New NASA Missions Team Up To Explore Earth’s Ionosphere
Like Earth, space has weather. Except instead of swirling winds and downpours of precipitation, space weather is defined by shifting electric and magnetic fields and…
Earth News
NASA Study Provides First Direct Proof of Ozone Hole Recovery Due to Chemicals Ban
Using measurements from NASA’s Aura satellite, scientists studied chlorine within the Antarctic ozone hole over the last several years, watching as the amount slowly decreased….
Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission Explores the Microphysics of Magnetic Reconnection
This visualization shows the motion of one electron in the magnetic reconnection region. As the spacecraft approaches the reconnection region, it detects first high-energy particles,…
NASA Solves Puzzle Involving the Recent Rise in Atmospheric Methane
A new NASA-led study has solved a puzzle involving the recent rise in atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas, with a new calculation of emissions…
NASA Image of an Iceberg from Pine Island Glacier
In September 2017, a new iceberg calved from Pine Island Glacier—one of the main outlets where the West Antarctic Ice Sheet flows into the ocean….
Study Shows Droughts and Ecosystems Determined by Two Climate Phenomena
What is causing the droughts that the Iberian Peninsula regularly endures? Why are the winters sometimes mild and rainy and other times cold and dry…
Scientists Track the Effects of Climate Change on kelp Forests
Kelp forests grow along coastlines worldwide, largely hidden from view. Like rainforests, they’re among the planet’s most important ecosystems: beautiful but fragile habitats for a…
Researchers Date the Origins of Photosynthesis to 1.25 Billion Years Ago
The world’s oldest algae fossils are a billion years old, according to a new analysis by earth scientists at McGill University. Based on this finding,…
Operation IceBridge Spots the Bluest of Ice
Acquired on November 29 by Operation IceBridge during a flight to Victoria Land, this image shows an iceberg floating in Antarctica’s McMurdo Sound. The part…
NASA Scientists Will Survey an Unexplored Stretch of Antarctic Ice
In temperatures that can drop below -20 degrees Fahrenheit, along a route occasionally blocked by wind-driven ice dunes, a hundred miles from any other people,…
Benefits Outweigh Costs of ‘Hidden’ Emissions from Wind and Solar Power
A new study co-authored by Yale’s Edgar Hertwich finds that complete de-carbonization of the global power sector using wind and solar technologies would induce only…
Scientists Monitor Positive Signs of Recovery of the Earth’s Stratospheric Ozone Layer
Each year, ozone-depleting compounds in the upper atmosphere destroy the protective ozone layer, and in particular above Antarctica. The ozone layer acts as Earth’s sunscreen…
California’s Sierra Nevada Mountain Range Grew Taller During Drought
A new NASA study shows that a loss of water from the rocks of California’s Sierra Nevada caused the mountain range to rise nearly an…
Unusual Melting May Affect Key Processes Deep Within the Earth
New research from Yale University suggests that the unusual melting behavior of the second most abundant mineral in the Earth may affect key processes deep…
The Surprising Role of Dust in Mountain Ecosystems
A new study led by University of Wyoming scientists reveals that trees growing atop granite in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains rely on nutrients from…
Impact Simulations Show How Massive Collisions Delivered Metal to Early Earth
Planetary collisions are at the core of our solar system’s formation. Scientists have long believed that after the Moon’s formation, the early Earth experienced a…
Halogen Levels in Earth-Forming Meteorites Lower Than Previously Thought
Researchers have found the halogen levels in the meteorites that formed the Earth billions of years ago are much lower than previously thought. The research…
New NASA Sea Level Simulator Lets You Take the Driver’s Seat on Sea Level Science
A new NASA sea level simulator lets you bury Alaska’s Columbia glacier in snow, and, year by year, watch how it responds. Or you can…
