Earth in 2021: Some Highlights From Another Year on Our Planet [Video]
From extreme weather to volcanic eruptions, these images highlight another year on our planet. Earth in 2021: Some Highlights From Another Year on Our Planet…
Earth Observatory
Otherworldly Earth: This NASA Photo Isn’t Really Mars, It’s the Libyan Desert
The Libyan Desert is often cited as a Mars analogue. The vast Libyan Desert stretches toward the Mediterranean Sea, which itself fades into the horizon…
Seeing Suomi: Reindeer, Indigenous People, and Modern Meteorology Converge in a Winter Scene From Scandinavia
It is the land of reindeer husbandry—one of the few places on Earth where deer have been domesticated. It is the home of Europe’s only…
Grazing With Iceland’s Reindeer – Herds of Wild Reindeer Prosper in East Iceland
While efforts to raise domesticated reindeer on the island failed, herds of wild reindeer prosper in East Iceland. While most of the world’s populations of…
Reindeer As Ecosystem Engineers? Herding Could Help Curb Arctic Greening
Herding could help curb Arctic greening and shrubification caused by climate change. On the Yamal Peninsula in West Siberia, the nomadic Nenets people have a…
Derecho Sweeps Across Midwest – Hurricane-Force Winds, Dust Storms, Tornadoes, Wildfires, Snow Squalls, Heavy Rain, and Record-Breaking Heat
December 15 – 16, 2021 Hurricane-force winds, dust storms, tornadoes, wildfires, snow squalls, heavy rain, and record-breaking heat accompanied an unusual December storm system. An…
Super Typhoon Rai – Powerful Storm Is One of the Strongest Recorded on Earth This Year
Locally named Odette, the storm is one of the strongest recorded on Earth this year and the 6th to reach category 5. Typhoon Rai crossed…
Tornado Damage: Nighttime Satellite Images Detail Kentucky Blackout
Tornadoes and severe winds knocked out power to Mayfield and surrounding towns. On the night of December 10-11, 2021, a potent storm front and dozens…
Disappearing Lake Tuz: Large Lake Is Now Just a Puddle
Once the second-largest lake in Turkey, it now rarely spans an area much larger than a puddle. Lake Tuz was once the second-largest lake in…
Soggy Autumn in the Pacific Northwest – Saturated Soil Across Western Washington and Southern British Columbia
Soils across western Washington and southern British Columbia were saturated for much of the season. As meteorological autumn came to an end in 2021, parts of western…
La Niña Returns for a Second Winter – El Niño’s Cooler Sister
This coupling of the atmosphere and ocean alters atmospheric circulation and jet streams in ways that intensify rainfall in some regions and bring drought to…
Satellites Spot Tornado Tracks Across Midwest – Severe Damage and at Least 100 People Killed
Preliminary reports suggest one tornado may have traveled nearly 200 miles, causing severe damage and human losses in Kentucky and three other states. On the…
A Deadly Day on Mount Semeru: Destructive Rivers of Debris on Indonesian Volcano
Flows of superheated ash and tephra mixed with rain to create destructive rivers of debris on the Indonesian volcano. Mount Semeru, the tallest and most…
Antarctica Eclipsed: Moon Blots Out the Sun in Stunning Space Photo of the Total Solar Eclipse
The only total solar eclipse of 2021 was visible from Antarctica, where the Moon blotted out the Sun for nearly two minutes. On December 4,…
Mount Michael, Volcano Track or Plume? 1,000-Meter-Tall Active Stratovolcano Puts On a Show
The nearly 1,000-meter-tall volcano in the South Sandwich Islands frequently finds a way to put on a show. Mount Michael, an active stratovolcano in the…
Leaf Hunting in Japan: Momijigari Can Last Into Early December in the Country’s Southern Regions
Leaves have already dropped from the trees across much of the Northern Hemisphere, and once-colorful autumnal landscapes are starting to appear stark, bare, and even…
Turkey’s Cotton Castle – World’s Largest Deposit of Travertine
The hot springs at Pamukkale, Turkey, have produced the world’s largest deposit of travertine. The hot springs and thermal pools at Pamukkale, Turkey, have been…
Paleozoic Plymouths: Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Plymouth, England, Share a Historical Connection Even Older Than the First Thanksgiving
This autumn marks the 400th anniversary of a 1621 gathering of members of the Wampanoag Nation and European colonists near Plymouth, Massachusetts. Historians still debate the exact…
