Researchers Provide New Insights about Greenland’s Melting Ice Sheet
A UCLA-led team was the first to measure Greenland’s melting glaciers from the top of the ice sheet. Their discoveries could help scientists better predict…
Atmospheric Science
Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor Measures Solar Energy Input to Earth
We live on a solar-powered planet. As we wake up in the morning, the Sun peeks over the horizon to shed light on us, blanket…
Hydrocarbon Haze Keeps Pluto Cooler Than Expected
Observations from NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft show that Pluto is much colder than predicted, suggesting that atmospheric haze works as a novel cooling mechanism. The…
Van Allen Probes and FIREBIRD II Locate Whistling Space Electrons’ Origins
Using NASA’s Van Allen Probes and FIREBIRD II CubeSat, researchers reveal that a common plasma wave in space is likely responsible for the impulsive loss…
SMU Study Shows Carbon Dioxide Link to Global Warming 22 Million Years Ago
New research from Southern Methodist University reveals a link between high carbon dioxide and climate change 22 million years ago. Fossil leaves from Africa have…
NASA Scientists Track Ozone Pollution by Monitoring Key Ingredients
New NASA-funded research has devised a way to use satellite measurements to track ozone formation among three different sets of conditions. Ozone pollution near Earth’s…
2017 Ozone Hole is the Smallest Since 1988
This year’s ozone hole was similar in area to the hole in 1988, about 1 million miles smaller than in 2016. Although scientists predict the…
Initial SAGE III Atmospheric Data Released for Public Use
The initial atmospheric data from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III), a NASA instrument that launched to the International Space Station earlier…
NASA Reveals Noxious Ice Cloud on Saturn’s Moon Titan
NASA researchers have found evidence of a toxic hybrid ice in a wispy cloud high above the south pole of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. The…
NASA Study Suggests the Moon Once Had a Significant Atmosphere
New research reveals that billions of years ago the Moon actually had an atmosphere that was thicker than the atmosphere of Mars today. Looking up…
NASA Study Reveals Cause of Earth’s Recent Record Carbon Dioxide Spike
A newly published study provides space-based evidence that Earth’s tropical regions were the cause of the largest annual increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration seen…
Antarctic Ozone Layer Shows Signs of Healing
New research details the “first fingerprints of healing” of the Antarctic ozone layer. Scientists found that the September ozone hole has shrunk by more than…
MIT Study Shows Tiny Plankton Have a Big Effect on the Ocean’s Carbon Storage
New research from MIT and Bristol University reveal that microscopic, mixotrophic organisms may have a large impact on the ocean’s food web and the global…
New Research Explains Loss of Carbon in Martian Atmosphere
New research from Caltech and NASA offers an explanation for the “missing” carbon in the Martian atmosphere, showing that a transition from a moderately dense…
2015 Antarctic Ozone Hole Larger Than Recent Years
Scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reveal that the 2015 Antarctic ozone hole area was larger and formed later than in…
New NASA Study Shows That Hydrofluorocarbons Contribute to Ozone Depletion
According to new research from NASA, chemical coolants known as hydrofluorocarbons that are found in refrigerators and in home and automobile air conditioners, contribute to…
NASA Scientists Reveal the Role of Electrons in Pulsating Auroras
Using satellites, a ground-based array of all-sky cameras, and some spectacular aurora borealis, a team of scientists has uncovered evidence for an unexpected role that…
Siberian Traps Likely Triggered Mass Extinction
A new study from MIT reveals that the Siberian Traps erupted at the right time, and for the right duration, to have been a likely…