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☆ Coral reefs are experiencing another global bleaching event. Growing corals on artificial reefs could help save them
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Michelle Cohan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Like other coral reefs, over the last few decades, this vibrant ecosystem has been suffering from the effects of climate change, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently reporting a fourth global mass bleaching event – the second in the last decade. Bleaching happens when the corals become stressed due to changes in their environment and expel the colorful algae living on them. University of MiamiIn partnership with the city of Miami Beach, two hybrid reefs were deployed in March 2023. Coral gardeningLirman’s team has been growing and testing coral colonies at the university for more than 15 years. A global problemOcean ecosystems are declining and suffering around the world, Lirman says.

Persons: ”, Diego Lirman, Lirman, ” Lirman, “, Emily Esplandiu, they’ve, “ We’re Organizations: CNN, Miami, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, University of Miami, North Miami Beach, International Maritime Organization, Miami Beach, Dade, US Department of Defense Locations: Miami Beach , Florida, North Miami, Miami Beach, Miami

☆ A sunspot 7 times the size of Earth could spark aurora as far south as Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania this Friday
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A stunning aurora may be visible farther south than usual this Friday, lighting up the northern US. That's thanks to an overactive, giant spot seven times the size of Earth that's erupting on the sun. Northern border states from Washington to Michigan are most likely to see the aurora Friday night. AdvertisementThe Northern Lights are forecast to reach farther south than usual this Friday, dazzling the northern US. We mainly owe this spectacle to a giant, hyperactive sunspot called AR3664 that's seven times the size of Earth and has been producing powerful eruptions, called coronal mass ejections, for the last several days.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Business Locations: Washington, Michigan

☆ Tornadoes Are Coming in Bunches. Scientists Are Trying to Figure Out Why.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Delger Erdenesanaa | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Tornadoes tend to travel in packs these days, often with a dozen or more forming in the same region on the same day. On the worst days, hundreds can form at once. More than a dozen tornadoes were reported on both Monday and Tuesday this week across the Great Plains and the Midwest, according to the Storm Prediction Center run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Two weeks ago, on the most active day in April, 105 tornadoes were reported. While outbreaks like these happened have always happened, they have become more common in recent decades.

Organizations: Storm, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration

Great Barrier Reef, Australia CNN —As the early-morning sun rises over the Great Barrier Reef, its light pierces the turquoise waters of a shallow lagoon, bringing more than a dozen turtles to life. CNN witnessed bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in mid-February, on five different reefs spanning the northern and southern parts of the 2,300-kilometer (1,400-mile) ecosystem. “It’s a die-off,” said Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a climate scientist at the University of Queensland in Australia and chief scientist at The Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Our destination is Lady Elliot Island, a remote coral cay perched on top of the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. — Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort Guano miners once stripped Lady Elliot Island of its topsoil.

Persons: Elliot Island, ”, Kate Quigley, “ We’re, Ove Hoegh, I’m, Guldberg, ‘, Elliot, Peter Gash, “, ” Gash, Lady Elliot, ” Peter Gash, CNN Gash, Derek Manzello, Peter Harrison, “ We’ve, ” Harrison, ” David Ritter, ” Ritter, David Wachenfeld Organizations: Australia CNN —, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, CNN, Minderoo, University of Queensland, Eco, Reef Watch, Southern Cross University, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Greenpeace, Australia CNN Scientists, AIMS Locations: Australia, El, Brisbane, Queensland, Red Sea, Indonesia, Seychelles, Caribbean, Florida, “, New South Wales, Greenpeace Australia, Briggs, Elliot Island

☆ How to make your home hurricane resistant, as scientists predict an 'extremely active' storm season
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

In this article Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTRyersonclark | E+ | Getty ImagesMaking your home hurricane resistant can be a significant financial undertaking. In 2024, the national average cost to upgrade an entire house with hurricane windows runs between $1,128 and $10,293, or $100 and $500 per window, including installation, according to This Old House. Hurricane resistance is about preventing 'pressurization'Hurricanes are different and unpredictable storms, said Jeff Ostrowski, a housing analyst at Bankrate. If installing new hurricane windows aren't in the budget, shutters are lower-cost options to protect windows and other openings, said Chapman-Henderson. Talk to your insurer about possible discounts Strengthening your home against disasters may help lower your insurance cost.

Persons: Phil Klotzbach, Jeff Ostrowski, Leslie Chapman, Henderson, Jennifer Languell, Chapman, Kin, Melissa Cohn, William Raveis, Bankrate's Ostrowski, Ostrowski, Loretta Worters, Worters, Languell Organizations: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hurricanes, National Oceanic, Fluid Dynamics, Climate, Energy Solutions, Swiss, Finance, Colorado State University, Department of Atmospheric, Federal Alliance, Safe, Safe Homes, Department of Energy, Trifecta, William Raveis Mortgage, Insurance, Institute, Homeowners Locations: windstorms, U.S, Florida, In Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, dsireusa.org

☆ Carbon Dioxide Levels Have Passed a New Milestone
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Aatish Bhatia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Global carbon dioxide levels as of … Play animation Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Monitoring Laboratory The chart shows monthly numbers of carbon dioxide molecules per million molecules of dry air. Carbon Dioxide Levels Have Passed a New MilestoneCarbon dioxide acts like Earth’s thermostat: The more of it in the air, the more the planet warms. More carbon dioxide, warmer temperatures Source: NOAA (carbon dioxide); NASA (temperature) The chart shows the change in global surface temperature relative to 1951–1980, versus global carbon dioxide levels. Currently, carbon dioxide levels are rising at near-record rates. Annual change in carbon dioxide levels Source: NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory The chart shows the increase in global carbon dioxide levels over the course of each year.

Persons: Glen Peters, Doug McNeall, Xin Lan, ”, El Niño, El, Mr, McNeall, “ Organizations: NOAA, NASA, National Oceanic, Global, Budget, CICERO Center, International Climate Research, Britain’s Met

☆ The Widest-Ever Global Coral Crisis Will Hit Within Weeks, Scientists Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The world’s coral reefs are in the throes of a global bleaching event caused by extraordinary ocean temperatures, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and international partners announced Monday. It is the fourth such global event on record and is expected to affect more reefs than any other. Bleaching occurs when corals become so stressed that they lose the symbiotic algae they need to survive. Bleached corals can recover, but if the water surrounding them is too hot for too long, they die. The economic value of the world’s coral reefs has been estimated at $2.7 trillion annually.

Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration

☆ Coral bleaching: Ocean heat is driving a mass bleaching event, and it could be the worst on record
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Rebecca Wright | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Coral reefs around the world are experiencing a mass bleaching event as the climate crisis drives record-breaking ocean heat, two scientific bodies announced Monday — with some experts warning this could become the worst bleaching period in recorded history. If ocean temperatures don’t return to normal, bleaching can lead to mass coral death, threatening the species and food chains that rely on them with collapse. Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a climate scientist specializing in coral reefs based at the University of Queensland in Australia, predicted this mass bleaching event months ago. In February, scientists at the Coral Reef Watch program at NOAA added three new alert levels to the coral bleaching alert maps, to enable scientists to assess the new scale of underwater warming. Bex Wright/CNNIn mid-February, CNN witnessed extensive coral bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef – the world’s largest coral reef system – on five different reefs spanning the northern and southern areas.

Persons: ” Derek Manzello, Ove Hoegh, “, Guldberg, ”, Lillian Suwanrumpha, Niña, El, Manzello, ” Manzello, Lady Elliot, Bex Wright, Selina Stead, ” Stead, David Ritter Organizations: CNN, Atlantic, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Reef, Reef Watch, Pacific, University of Queensland, NOAA, Getty, Niña, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Park Authority, AIMS, UN, Greenpeace Locations: Pacific, Florida, Caribbean, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Persian Gulf, Indonesia, Africa, Seychelles, Raja Ampat, Indonesia's West Papua, AFP, El, Lady, Greenpeace Australia

☆ How Spotify AI plans to know what's going on inside your head, and find the right track for it
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Over the past decade or more, Spotify has been investing in AI and, in particular, in machine learning. Its recently launched AI DJ may be its biggest bet yet that technology will allow subscribers to better personalize listening sessions and discover new music. The AI DJ combines personalization technology, generative AI, and a dynamic AI voice, and listeners can tap the DJ button when they want to hear something new, and something less-directly-derived from their established likes. Behind the dulcet tones of an AI DJ there are people, tech experts and music experts, who aim to improve the recommendation capacity of Spotify's tools. A Spotify spokesperson said the generative AI tool allows the human experts to "scale their innate knowledge in ways never before possible."

Persons: Y, we've, they're, it's, Julie Knibbe, —, Knibbe, they've, Ben Ratliff, Ratliff Organizations: Spotify, Discover, Technology

☆ Three Greenhouse Gases, Three All-Time Highs
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( David Gelles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They’re all the product of global warming, which is being driven by the release of the three most important heat-trapping gases: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. And according to a new study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, emissions of those three greenhouse gases continued to surge last year to historic highs. Global average carbon dioxide concentrations jumped last year, “extending the highest sustained rate of CO2 increases” in NOAA’s 65 years of record-keeping. All this despite a wave of global policy measures and economic incentives designed to wean the world off fossil fuels. In each case, the rising emissions continued a long-term trend.

Persons: “, ” Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA Locations: NOAA’s

☆ Vancouver Island: Rescuers work to save orphaned orca calf stranded in a remote lagoon
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Sara Smart | Zoe Sottile | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A team of rescuers are working to save an orca calf that has been stranded for nearly two weeks in a remote lagoon on Vancouver Island, off the west coast of Canada. Cottrell explained crews have tried multiple methods to get the calf to leave the lagoon on its own, including “acoustic playbacks” – playing the sounds of other orca whales. Moving the orca calf “will require a lot of patience as well as cooperation from the whale,” Bay Cetology added. This isn’t the first time officials in Canada have strategized to rescue a solitary and stranded orca calf. In 2002, an orca calf who came to be named Springer was spotted alone in Puget Sound, prompting an extensive capture and relocation effort.

Persons: CNN —, ” Paul Cottrell, Cottrell, –, Simon John said, Hunter ”, John, “, ” Cottrell, “ We’re, ”, Orcas –, Springer Organizations: CNN, Fisheries, Oceans, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Puget Sound Locations: Vancouver, Canada, Oceans Canada, Esperanza, Zeballos

☆ Ocean scientists shocked by Biden’s budget request that slashes data funding
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Its data is used in everything from hurricane forecasting and fisheries to Coast Guard search and rescue – IOOS data can help the Coast Guard narrow down a search area by two-thirds. Despite President Joe Biden’s ambitious climate goals, his recent budget proposal would slash the program’s funding from $42.5 million to $10 million. Ocean data collection is “the only way we can really understand what is happening,” said Kristen Yarincik, executive director of the IOOS Association, the nonprofit that works with NOAA collecting data. IOOS has added 97 water level stations along the coasts of the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida in the last few years. “At least half of the water level sensor network would be compromised with this funding cut.”

Persons: –, Joe Biden’s, Trump, ”, Gerhard Kuska, ” Kuska, Scott Smullen, Kristen Yarincik, ” Yarincik, “, Ellen Prager, IOOS, “ We’re, Debra Hernandez, Hernandez, ” Hernandez Organizations: CNN, Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Coast Guard, White, Office of Management, NOAA, IOOS Association Locations: megastorms, Carolinas, Georgia, Florida

☆ The home insurance market is crumbling. These owners are paying the price
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Courtesy Victoria ZangaraIn the past, acquiring or keeping homeowners’ insurance didn’t present much of a problem. There was roughly a 10% to 12% increase in homeowners’ insurance costs last year in the United States, said Mark Friedlander, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, a nonprofit industry association. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty ImagesHomeowners who have a mortgage are not able to go without homeowners insurance as their mortgage servicer will require an escrow account for insurance. Some 6 million homeowners chose to forgo homeowners insurance, according to a report from the Consumer Federation of America. They have lived in their home for 19 years and had a policy with Foremost Insurance, paying about $1,910 a year.

Persons: Alfredo Herrera, Herrera, Zangara, “, ”, ” Herrera, policyholders, Mark Friedlander, Neil Fernandes, Fernandes, David Swanson, Matthew Carletti, Jim Watson, Diana Troxell, Diana Wright Troxell, Bruce, ” CNN’s Ella Nilsen Organizations: New, New York CNN, Louisiana Citizens, ”, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Louisiana State University, Insurance Information Institute, Farmers Insurance, Farmers, AAA, CNN, Firefighters, Reuters, State, Citizens Property Insurance, JMP Securities, Getty, Homeowners, Consumer Federation of America, CFA, Social Security, Foremost Insurance, California FAIR, FAIR Locations: New York, New Orleans, City, Louisiana, New Orleans , Louisiana, America, United States, Santa Clarita , California, California, Florida, Sycamore, Whittier , California, AFP, Cottonwood , California, ‘

“The tankers and cargo ships of 1950 aren’t the tankers and cargo ships of today,” said James Salmon, a spokesman for the Delaware River and Bay Authority. “It’s going to do a number on them,” he said of a modern ship and the hazard it poses to a bridge like the one in Baltimore. Image The new bridge ship collision protection system project on the Delaware Memorial Bridge will install eight stone-filled “dolphin” cylinders, each measuring 80 feet in diameter. Credit... Delaware River and Bay AuthorityThe situation with the Key Bridge is “unique,” said Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which represents state transportation departments. A protection system was subsequently built around the new pier.

Persons: ”, James Salmon, Francis Scott Key, Michael Rubino, don’t, Joseph Ahlstrom, It’s, “ It’s, Dali, hurtled, Jim Tymon, ” John Snyder, Pete Buttigieg, “, Paul, Gerald Desmond Bridge, Matt Gresham, Joong Kim, Michael Forsythe Organizations: Bay Authority, Port, SUNY Maritime College, New York State, American Association of State, Transportation, National Transportation Safety, Sunshine Skyway, Administration, Baltimore Sun, Union, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Liberty University Locations: Delaware, Bay, Baltimore, Port of Los Angeles, . Delaware, Maryland, Tampa Bay, Tampa, U.S, Minnesota, Union Pacific, St, New York, Bayonne, New Jersey, Staten Island, Long Beach, Calif, New Orleans, Mississippi, Port of New Orleans

☆ All Orcas Are Classified as a Single Species. Should They Be?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Emily Anthes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Killer whales are some of the most cosmopolitan creatures on the planet, swimming through every one of the world’s oceans. Although their habitats and habits vary widely, all killer whales are considered part of a single, global species: Orcinus orca. (Despite their common name, killer whales are actually part of a family of marine mammals known as oceanic dolphins.) In a paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science on Tuesday, the scientists proposed giving new species designations to two groups of animals, one known as resident killer whales and the other often called Bigg’s killer whales. Although both types live in the eastern North Pacific, they have different diets: the resident orcas eat fish, with a particular predilection for salmon, while the Bigg’s orcas hunt marine mammals such as seals and sea lions.

Organizations: Royal Society, Science Locations: Africa, Hawaii, Coast, United States, Canada, North Pacific

☆ Why your favorite summer fruits are increasingly at risk
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | Elisa Raffa | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Peach trees are blooming at Jaemor Farms in Alto, Georgia, this week. Owner Drew Echols, a fifth-generation farmer, said it has become harder to predict when fruits like the iconic Georgia peaches would start blooming. Blooming peach trees are seen alongside a covered field of strawberries at Jaemor Farms in Alto, Georgia, on March 19, 2024. The fruits begin to bloom as temperatures warm, but when a cold spell comes back, they become susceptible to damage. Fruits like peaches, strawberries, mangoes and plums typically reach their peak ripeness during the summer months.

Persons: Drew Echols, he’s, ” Echols, “ You’re, Meridith Edwards, Echols, ” Louise Ferguson, Davis, Ferguson, Dorothy Suput, Ben Clark, Lane Turner, Benjamin Cook, ” Cook, ” Ferguson, Doug Engle, Suput, ” Suput, “, ” Organizations: CNN, University of California, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Croatan Institute, Boston Globe, Columbia University, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, University of Florida, Science Research, Unit, Ocala Star Banner, USA Locations: Alto , Georgia, Georgia, Boston, New Hampshire, Ocala, New England

NEW YORK (AP) — Garden centers enjoyed a pandemic boom, particularly with millennials, as people looked for outdoor activities during lockdowns. To regain the sales momentum, garden centers must navigate a number of challenges as another spring season kicks in. At Flowercraft Garden Center, a San Francisco garden center that is in its 50th year of operation, houseplants, vegetable starter plants and citrus trees are selling well, said general manager Lydia Patubo. That was good for an area suffering from a yearslong drought, but bad for garden center business. Even though his sales have plateaued since the pandemic, he feels the 34-year-old garden center is in a good spot.

Persons: Danny Summers, Summers, That’s, ”, Lydia Patubo, Patubo, San Francisco, ” Patubo, Chris Cordrey, “, ” Cordray, hasn’t, Kat McGraw, ” McGraw Organizations: Survey, The Garden Center Group, Garden, ”, East Coast Garden, National, Administration, Co, Atlanta, “ Locations: U.S, San Francisco, San, California, Millsboro , Delaware, Chattanooga , Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee

☆ Global ocean heat has been at record levels every single day for the last year
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

But he added that the records were unsurprising, given that ocean heat is being supercharged by human-caused global warming, a series of marine heatwaves and El Niño, a natural climate pattern marked by higher-than-average ocean temperatures. Global ocean warmth can add more power to hurricanes and other extreme weather events, including scorching heat waves and intense rainfall. Ocean heat sets the stage for more ferocious hurricanes. “Measuring ocean warming allows us to track the status and evolution of planetary warming,” Schuckmann told CNN. But, she added, it’s currently impossible to predict when ocean heat will drop below record levels.

Persons: ”, Joel Hirschi, El, Karina von Schuckmann, Brian McNoldy, ” Hirschi, ” Schuckmann, it’s, Derek Van Dam Organizations: CNN, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, University of Maine’s, National Oceanography, University of Miami Rosenstiel School Locations: Australia, France

☆ New map shows just how extreme last month was for the planet
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Unusually warm oceans. Low snow cover in North America and record low levels of Antarctic sea ice. The map shows the world’s most significant “climate anomalies,” or weather events that were unexpected for this time of year. The Northern Hemisphere also experienced an unusually warm winter. Correction: A previous version of this story misstated how low Antarctic sea ice was last month.

Organizations: CNN, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Northern, North Locations: North America, Antarctica, Great, Europe, Ecuador, Madagascar, Africa

☆ National Park Service set to remove nearly 160 cherry trees in DC to repair seawall
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Shania Shelton | Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The National Park Service is gearing up to remove nearly 160 cherry trees in Washington, DC, in an effort to repair the city’s deteriorating seawalls, the agency announced Wednesday. More than 450 trees, including 274 cherry trees, will be replanted in the area when the project is finished, the NPS said in a statement. “And there will be an enormous increase in the number of trees that are out there.”Rising sea levels and warming temperatures threaten the thousands of cherry trees in Washington, DC. Construction around the Tidal Basin will remove about 140 cherry trees between the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. The tree removal effort comes as the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival is set to take place from March 20 to April 14, bringing crowds to the area.

Persons: we’re, ”, Mike Litterst, ” Litterst, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, weren’t, Litterst, “, Derek Van Dam Organizations: CNN, National, Service, West Potomac, Cherry Blossom, NPS, National Mall, Memorial Parks, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Seaboard, DC, Great American, Fund Locations: Washington , DC, Potomac, West, West Potomac Park, Washington ,, —, “

☆ NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will carry a poem and millions of names to ocean moon
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —When NASA’s Europa Clipper aims to launch on its highly anticipated mission to an icy moon in October, the spacecraft will carry a unique design etched with names, poetry and artwork symbolizing humanity. This latest mission is headed to Jupiter’s moon Europa, one of several lunar ocean worlds considered to be the best places to search for life beyond Earth. NASA/JPL-CaltechA planetary legacyEarly NASA probes such as Pioneer 10 and Voyager have continued to inspire the artwork that travels aboard other planetary science missions. “The content and design of Europa Clipper’s vault plate are swimming with meaning,” said Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, in a statement. “We’ve packed a lot of thought and inspiration into this plate design, as we have into this mission itself,” said Robert Pappalardo, project scientist at JPL, in a statement.

Persons: Ada Limón, Ron Greeley, Drake, Frank Drake, ”, Lori Glaze, Robert Pappalardo, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, Clipper, Parker, Probe, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ”, US, Arizona State University, University of California, NASA, JPL, Caltech, Planetary Science, Europa Clipper Locations: Pasadena , California, Europa, University of California Santa Cruz

☆ 'Holes' in Earth's magnetic field could cause extra northern lights this month. Here's how to spot them.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

March 2024 may be the best month in the best year to see the Northern Lights, aka aurora borealis. Here's everything you need to know to spot the northern lights. AdvertisementThis could be the best month, of the best year for two decades, to see the Northern Lights, in part, thanks to openings in Earth's magnetic field. The northern lights dance in the skies above Riverton, Wyoming. If you're lucky and you plan right, you might be able to see the Northern Lights this month.

Persons: —, Matt Owens, SANKA VIDANAGAMA, Rune Stoltz Bertinussen, we've, It's Organizations: Service, NASA, International Space Station, University of Reading, Getty, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Reuters, Weather, NWS, Royal Photographic Society Locations: Riverton , Wyoming, Riverton, Arizona, Florida, Australia, New Zealand, Phoenix , Arizona, Christchurch , New Zealand, AFP, Alaska, Norway, Tromso, Gaylor , Missouri

Across much of America and especially in the normally chilly north, the country went through the winter months without, well, winter. The Lower 48 states averaged 37.6 degrees (3.1 degrees Celsius), which is 5.4 degrees (3 degrees Celsius) above average. But Iowa blew past its warmest February by 2 degrees, while parts of Minnesota were 20 degrees warmer than average for all of February, Gleason said. A strong ridge of high pressure kept the eastern United States warm and dry, while California kept getting hit with atmospheric rivers, she said. Winter weather expert Cohen, who is based outside of Boston, joked that the U.S. no longer has four seasons: "We have two seasons.

Persons: “, El Nino, ”, Jeff Masters, Masters, Karin Gleason, Gleason, Copernicus, Judah Cohen, Cohen, ” Cohen, Theresa Crimmins, weren’t, Crimmins, ” Crimmins, Patrick Whittle, ___ Read, Seth Borenstein Organizations: National Phenology Network, El, Climate, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental, Iowa, El Nino, Associated Press, Atmospheric Environmental Research, National Weather Service, Rutgers Snow Lab Locations: America, Colorado, New Jersey, Texas, Carolinas, U.S, Michigan, United States, Minnesota, Great, California, El, That's, Boston, Europe, Asia, Fort Kent, Maine, Portland , Maine, AP.org

☆ Australia: Mass coral bleaching event underway at Great Barrier Reef
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

This is the seventh mass bleaching event to hit the vast, ecologically important but fragile site and the fifth in only eight years. Covering nearly 133,000 square miles (345,000 square kilometers), the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef, home to more than 1,500 species of fish and 411 species of hard corals. Severe mass bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef had previously been observed in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2022. Sunrise over the Great Barrier Reef at Lady Elliot island on October 10, 2019. Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket/Getty Images/FileBy continuing on the current pathway, “we risk losing the Great Barrier Reef and the $6 billion sustainable tourism industry,” said Schindler.

Persons: CNN —, El Niño, ”, Tanya Plibersek, Anthony Albanese, Dr, Lissa Schindler, Lady Elliot, Jonas Gratzer, Schindler, “, David Ritter, Derek Manzello Organizations: CNN, Park Authority, Australian Institute of Marine Science, El, Australian Marine Conservation Society, Australian, Australia, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Labor, Oceanic, NOAA, Reuters, Reef Watch Locations: Australia, Lady, Southern, Pacific

☆ Satellites burning up in our atmosphere may not be as harmless as first thought
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Satellites and spacecraft burning up in our atmosphere are leaving metal particles in the stratosphere — and scientists are worried it could harm our planet. Stratospheric particles can shape the ozone layerRemember the ozone layer? AdvertisementThat, in turn, can spark a chain reaction that creates rainbow-colored polar stratospheric clouds. Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are seen in the sky over Jukkasjarvi, northern Sweden, on December 17, 2023 in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden. "There's an increasing number of rocket launches for small satellites and tourism, which burn kerosene or other fuels that emissions in the atmosphere.

Persons: Daniel Murphy, that's, Roy Rochlin, Murphy, Thomas Parent, Chelsea Thompson, Martin Chipperfield, Chipperfield, It's Organizations: Service, Business, National Oceanic, Administration Chemical Science, NASA, WB, NOAA, University of Leeds Locations: Montreal, Tonga, Sweden, Jukkasjarvi, Alaska, UK

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