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☆ NASA releases satellite photos of Dubai and Abu Dhabi before and after record flooding
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

NASA released photos of parts of Dubai and Abu Dhabi before and after the United Arab Emirates was hit by record rainfall last week that caused dangerous floods and paralyzed much of the country. The images, taken by NASA Earth Observatory on Friday using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey, show large patches of water all over the desert and urban landscape of the UAE where previously there was none – almost looking as if small lakes had appeared. "Some areas remained flooded on April 19, when Landsat 9 passed over the region for the first time since the storms," NASA wrote on its Earth Observatory website. Flash floods that formed on April 16 led to water engulfing cars, in some areas fully submerging them, leading hundreds of drivers to abandon their vehicles on roads to escape the rising water levels. The normally dry desert country in the Gulf was pummeled with roughly a year's worth of rain in less than a day, more than it has ever seen in a single storm since records for the UAE began in 1949.

Organizations: NASA, United Arab, NASA Earth, U.S . Geological Survey, UAE Locations: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, U.S, UAE

☆ The ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is rapidly melting. Scientists now have evidence for when it started and why
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

They have discovered it started retreating rapidly in the 1940s, according to a new study that provides an alarming insight into future melting. The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica is the world’s widest and roughly the size of Florida. “Once an ice sheet retreat is set in motion it can continue for decades, even if what started it gets no worse,” he told CNN. While similar retreats have happened much further back in the past, the ice sheet recovered and regrew, Smith said. “Further events arising more from the warming climate trend took things further, and started the widespread retreat we’re seeing today,” he told CNN.

Persons: Antarctica’s, Thwaites, Joshua Stevens, Julia Wellner, that’s, ” Wellner, you’re, James Smith, “, ”, Smith, ” Thwaites, Jeremy Harbeck, NASA Ted Scambos, Martin Truffer, Truffer, — Organizations: CNN —, National Academy of Sciences, El, West, NASA, Observatory, University of Houston, CNN, British Antarctic Survey, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Alaska Locations: West Antarctica, Florida, Pine, Antarctica, University of Alaska Fairbanks, “

☆ NASA PACE mission to study Earth’s oceans and atmosphere is ready to launch
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The NASA PACE, or Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem, mission is set to lift off at 1:33 a.m. Although designed as a three-year mission, PACE has enough fuel to continue orbiting and studying Earth for up to 10 years. “In many ways, we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about our own oceans,” St. Germain said. “PACE will be the most advanced mission we’ve ever launched to study ocean biology. While phytoplankton play a major role in drawing carbon dioxide from Earth’s atmosphere, some species can be harmful, too.

Persons: Jeremy Werdell, ”, Karen St, Germain, ” Werdell, Pam Melroy, Kate Calvin, ” Calvin, Calvin, “, Andy Sayer, Webb, Norman Kuring Organizations: CNN, NASA PACE, SpaceX, Cape Canaveral Space Force, YouTube, PACE, Science, NASA, SpaceX “ Locations: Cape, Florida, St, ” St

The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change on Monday, found no matter the degree of warming this century, the melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will speed up as warmer water in the Amundsen Sea erodes ice shelves bordering the ocean. These ice shelves buttress ice further inland, acting as a cork in a bottle that stops their flow into the ocean. The collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is one of nine global climate 'tipping points' scientists identified in 2009. If the ice sheet were to fully melt, average global sea levels would rise by more than a metre. Antarctic Sea ice saw its lowest maximum extent on record this winter.

Persons: Lauren Dauphin, Kaitlin Naughten, Tiago Segabinazzi Dotto, Gloria Dickie, Ros Russell Organizations: NASA, REUTERS, British Antarctic Survey, West, National Oceanography, Thomson Locations: Antarctica, Handout, Amundsen, London

☆ The Atlantic Ocean is getting wider every year. Researchers have finally figured out why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Aylin Woodward | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tectonic plates under the Americas, Europe, and Africa are separating as the Atlantic Ocean grows wider. The tectonic plates undergirding the Americas are separating from those beneath Europe and Africa. Fragmented into tectonic plates, the Earth's crust fits together like a puzzle. Seafloor spreading, which occurs at divergent tectonic plates that are pulling apart like the MAR, is another. AdvertisementAdvertisementSolving a geological mysteryOne of the remote seismometers deployed by University of Southampton scientists in the Atlantic Ocean.

Persons: Joshua Stevens, Matthew Aguis, Agius, Catherine Rychert, Rychert Organizations: Service, NASA, University of Southampton, Roma Tre University, Ocean . University of Southampton Locations: Americas, Europe, Africa, Wall, Silicon, Sandwell, Iceland, Hawaii, Yellowstone

☆ Watch the last billion years of Earth's tectonic plate movement in just 40 seconds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Aylin Woodward | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In 2021, geologists animated a video that shows how Earth's tectonic plates moved over the last billion years. But in 2021 a group of geologists offered up an easily digestible peek at 1 billion years of plate tectonic motion. Building a better model of Earth's platesThe Earth's plates move in a variety of ways and can cause earthquakes, mountains, and canyons. The top layer — between 5 and 50 miles thick — is the crust, which is fragmented into tectonic plates that fit together. The jigsaw puzzle of Earth's continents hasn't stopped shifting, of course.

Persons: Sabin Zahirovic, Pangea, Joshua Stevens, Dietmar Müller Organizations: Service, University of Sydney, U.S . Geological Survey, Geologists, NASA Locations: Antarctica, U.S, Sandwell, Africa, Europe

☆ China's capital Beijing battered by heaviest rainfall in 140 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Massive rescue and relief efforts are underway in response to typhoon-induced torrential rains in Beijing. China's capital Beijing has been pummeled by the heaviest rainfall in 140 years, leaving at least 20 dead. China has been buffeted by heavy storms as Typhoon Doksuri swept north after slamming southern Chinese provinces. Doksuri made landfall in China's Xiamen and Quanzhou on Monday morning, and caused "severe flooding in Beijing," according to a report by the NASA Earth Observatory. The typhoon was one of the worst storms to hit northern China in years, and the torrential rain in Beijing has killed at least 20 people as of Tuesday.

Persons: Doksuri Organizations: Beijing Meteorological Bureau, NASA, Observatory Locations: Beijing, China, Doksuri, China's Xiamen, Quanzhou

☆ Space photos show over 1 trillion gallons of water flooding crop fields in California, and it could mean higher food prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Rebecca Strong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Tulare Lake used to be the largest lake west of the Mississippi River. This year's rain and snowmelt have replenished the lake, flooding many of the region's farms. And here's what it looked like on April 30:This is how the area looked on April 30, after Tulare Lake flooded. As of June, the flooded parts of Tulare Lake spanned about 178 square miles, or 113,920 acres — almost the size of Lake Tahoe. Tulare Lake began to reappear this March, before the Sierra Nevada snowpack started meltin.

Persons: Lauren Dauphin, NASA EOSDIS LANCE, Brad Rippey, Rippey, Dennis Hutson, Hutson, Nicholas Pinter, University of California Davis, — Organizations: Farmers, Service, NASA, U.S . Geological Survey, United States Department of Agriculture, Atmospheric Administration, TAC Farm, for Watershed Sciences, University of California, Agriculture Assembly, Southern Sierra, Southern Sierra Nevada snowpack, San, Sierra, Sierra Nevada snowpack Locations: Tulare, Mississippi, Wall, Silicon, California, U.S, San Joaquin, Tulare Lake, Lake Tahoe, Tulare County, San Joaquin Valley, Tulare Lake ., Southern Sierra Nevada, Joaquin Valley, Sierra Nevada, Central

☆ Stunning photos of the night sky in one of the darkest places on Earth will make you want to visit New Zealand ASAP
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Rebecca Strong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve is especially great for star gazing. But in one of the darkest places on Earth — the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve in New Zealand — that's not an issue. Aoraki is the second-largest dark sky reserve in the world, ranking at a level 2 on the nine-level Bortle Dark-Sky Scale for light pollution. The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve is located in southern New Zealand. Igor HoogerwerfAccording to Jason Menard, an executive at Mackenzie Tourism, The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve is one of the best places to view the Milky Way — and that's pretty evident in this photo.

☆ Wildfires burn millions of acres in Canada, send oil prices higher
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Wildfires burning across western Canada have forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes and have prompted some oil and gas companies to curb production as blazes approach pipelines. There were nearly 90 fires burning in the western province of Alberta, a quarter of which are expected to grow larger, according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System. The fires have had a notable impact on the region's oil industry, as some drillers were forced to halt a small percentage of production as a precautionary measure due to shifting fire conditions. This week, Benchmark Canadian heavy crude prices tightened to multi-month highs over concerns about the blazes. Nearly 2.7 million barrels of daily oil sands production in Alberta is in "very high" or "extreme" wildfire danger zones, according to Rystad Energy, an energy consulting firm.

☆ A 'Da Vinci glow' casts a ghostly shine on the moon this week. Here's when to catch it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Chris Panella | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The "Da Vinci glow" phenomenon will be visible on the moon this week. Here are the best days and times to see the "Da Vinci glow," according to Live Science. The phenomenon is known as the "Da Vinci glow," or "Earthshine." Thanks to the "Da Vinci glow," however, you can see the entire moon as a faint glimmer. When to see the Da Vinci glow on the moonThe new moon on Friday will be practically invisible, lost in the sun's glare, so plan to catch the Da Vinci glow before or after that.

☆ Map shows the ice sheets and glaciers melting that scientists most fear will be the source of catastrophic rising sea levels
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Annie Fu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Melting ice that could tip sea level rise into catastrophic levelsSource: NASA Ice ViewerChart: Annie Fu/InsiderWhile it's easier to plan for a steady sea level rise, scientists are very concerned about what would happen if huge chunks of ice collapse and abruptly change sea levels. The Antarctic ice sheet is much bigger than the ice sheet on Greenland. If they were to melt totally, the Greenland ice sheet would contribute about 23 ft to the sea levels, while the Antarctic ice sheet holds enough ice to raise sea levels by 58 feet. Local sea level variationGlobal mean sea level rise is only a snapshot of the whole picture. Because sea levels are influenced by the local environment, the sea level rise can be much higher locally than it is on a global scale.

☆ Astronauts' stunning photos from the International Space Station show Earth's triumphs and tragedies in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

"At the beginning of the war, the whole country went dark at night," German astronaut Matthias Maurer said in May, adding, "People actually only recognized Kyiv." Kyiv, Ukraine, as seen by satellite in January 2022, left, and March 2022, right. NASA Earth Observatory/Joshua Stevens/Black Marble data courtesy of Ranjay Shrestha/NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterThat's what he told German broadcaster ARD's "Morgenmagazin" program, according to a translation in Newsweek. "Then you could also see the impacts in the first days of the war. In Kyiv, you could see lightning at night," as well as the "rockets that hit," he added, according to Newsweek.

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