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A NASA Weather ‘Eye in the Sky’ Marks 10 Years

By Guest PostMay 7, 2012Environment, Scienceairs, amsu a, atmosphere, atmospheric infrared sounder, bae systems, boston, carbon dioxide, climate change, climate research, earth, energy cycle, eric fetzer, eye, global water, greenhouse gases, hyperspectral sounding, instrument, jet propulsion laboratory, model, monster, moustafa chahine, NASA, sky, tom pagano, water vapor, weather forecasting, weather satellites

For 10 years, it has silently swooped through space in its orbital perch 438 miles (705 kilometers) above Earth, its nearly 2,400 spectral “eyes” peering into Earth’s atmosphere, watching. But there’s nothing alien about NASA’s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, or AIRS, instrument, a “monster” of weather and climate research that celebrates its 10th birthday in orbit May 4.

AIRS, built by BAE Systems, Boston, under the direction of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., is one of six instruments flying on NASA’s Aqua spacecraft as part of NASA’s Earth Observing System. AIRS, along with its partner microwave instrument, the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU-A), has faithfully measured our planet’s atmospheric temperature, water vapor, clouds and greenhouse gases with unprecedented accuracy and stability. Over the past decade, AIRS and AMSU-A have improved our understanding of Earth’s global water and energy cycles, climate change and trends and how Earth’s climate system is responding to increased greenhouse gases. (more…)

Increasing Speed of Greenland Glaciers Gives New Insight for Rising Sea Level

By Guest PostMay 6, 2012EnvironmentAntarctica, benjamin smith, climate change, Germany, glaciologist, greenland glaciers, ian howat, ian joughin, ice, icebergs, Japan, meltwater, ocean, rising sea level, scenario, sea-level rise, terrasar x satellite, twila moon, university of washington

Changes in the speed that ice travels in more than 200 outlet glaciers indicates that Greenland’s contribution to rising sea level in the 21^st century might be significantly less than the upper limits some scientists thought possible, a new study shows.

“So far, on average we’re seeing about a 30 percent speedup in 10 years,” said Twila Moon, a University of Washington doctoral student in Earth and space sciences and lead author of a paper documenting the observations published May 4 in Science. (more…)

From Soil Microbe to Super-Efficient Biofuel Factory?

By Guest PostMay 5, 2012Environment, Scienceadvanced biofuel, arpa e program, berkeley lab, bioelectrochemical reactor, biofuel, bioplastic, chris chang, CO2, diesel fuel, electrode, electrofuel, energy source, harry beller, hydrocarbon, hydrogen, ketones, microbe, nathan hillson, organic compound, ralstonia eutropha, soil bacterium, steve singer, swapnil chhabra, team electrofuel, Technology

Berkeley Lab-led team explores a way to create biofuels, minus the photosynthesis

Is there a new path to biofuels hiding in a handful of dirt? Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) biologist Steve Singer leads a group that wants to find out. They’re exploring whether a common soil bacterium can be engineered to produce liquid transportation fuels much more efficiently than the ways in which advanced biofuels are made today.

The scientists are working with a bacterium called Ralstonia eutropha. It naturally uses hydrogen as an energy source to convert CO₂ into various organic compounds. (more…)

Acid Rain

By Guest PostMay 4, 2012Environmentacid rain, acidity of rain, delaware rain, rainwater

UD’s long-term monitoring shows 60 percent reduction in acidity of Delaware rain

Several decades ago, precipitation in Delaware was among the most acidic in the country. Pollutants in the air reacted with rainwater to sprinkle sulfuric, nitric and carbonic acids onto the ground below, affecting crops and ecosystems statewide. (more…)

Global Warming: New Research Emphasizes The Role of Global Economic Growth

By Guest PostMay 3, 2012Environmentglobal economic growth, global warming, stable climate, world economy

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—It’s a message no one wants to hear: To slow down global warming, we’ll either have to put the brakes on economic growth or transform the way the world’s economies work. (more…)

Plastic Pollution

By Guest PostMay 2, 2012Environmentalgae, bacteria, dylan meyer, environmental group, factor, giora proskurowski, historical weather data, kara lavendar law, liver function, mathematical model, model, north atlantic expedition, ocean, pacific garbage patch, plastic marine debris, plastic particles, plastic pollution, pollutant, recipe, skye moret ferguson, teresa messmore, tobias kukulka, university of delaware, university of washington, wind

Wind pushes plastics deeper into oceans, driving trash estimates up

Decades of research into how much plastic litters the sea may have only skimmed the surface. A new study reveals that wind drives confetti-sized pieces of plastic debris deeper underwater than previously believed, more than doubling earlier estimates of the pollutant’s presence in oceans.

“In windy conditions the traditional approach to measuring plastic marine debris captures only a small fraction of plastic pieces,” said Tobias Kukulka, assistant professor of physical ocean science and engineering in the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. “Our study helps to better understand how much plastic there is and where, as well as the complexity of the ocean dynamics at work.” (more…)

Global Warming Refuge Discovered Near At-Risk Pacific Island Nation of Kiribati

By Guest PostApril 29, 2012Environmentanne cohen, chlorophyll level, climate change, climate model, climate scientist, coral, coral reef, david garrison, eastern pacific, ecosystem, equatorial pacific, equatorial undercurrent, euc, fish, galapagos islands, gilbert islands, global ocean, global warming, islands, kiribati, kristopher karnauskas, nutrient, ocean temperature, pacific islands, pacific reefs, regional model, satellite map, scylla, sea-level rise, tropical pacific, whoi

Ocean currents may mitigate warming near handful of equatorial islands

Scientists predict ocean temperatures will rise in the equatorial Pacific by the end of the century, wreaking havoc on coral reef ecosystems.

But a new study shows that climate change could cause ocean currents to operate in a way that mitigates warming near a handful of islands right on the equator.

Those islands include some of the 33 coral atolls that form the nation of Kiribati. This low-lying country is at risk from sea-level rise caused by global warming. (more…)

Compound from Wild Tomatoes is Natural, Effective Herbicide

By Guest PostApril 29, 2012Environmentchemical, compound, concentration, deet, entomologist, george kennedy, groundwater contamination, herbicidal effect, herbicide, human, insect repellent, insecticide, mike roe, nontoxic herbicide, organic farming, plant, soil, undecanone, weed, wild tomato

A naturally occurring compound derived from wild tomato plants is also a fast-acting, nontoxic herbicide, according to researchers at North Carolina State University.

NC State entomologist Dr. Mike Roe had previously worked with the compound – known as 2-undecanone – as a natural replacement for the chemical DEET in insect repellents. Both he and his NC State colleague, entomologist Dr. George Kennedy, were exploring whether 2-undecanone could be used as an insecticide on plants, when they noticed an unexpected side effect: it killed the plants. (more…)

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