Archives for category: Blogs

AGU 2011

December 12, 2011 //

I just returned from San Francisco where I spent a week at the American Geophysical Union’s fall meeting. With more than 21,000 attendees and tens of thousands of posters and talks, there’s never a shortage of things to see, just a shortage of time to see it all. I did a bit of blogging for What on Earth this year. Links below:

How Satellites Can Fill the Gaps in Air Quality Maps
Airborne Particles a Threat to Himalayan Glaciers
Dust Storm Triggered Phytoplankton Blooms in the South China Sea
New Project Aims to Predict South Asian Floods
How Shifting Storm Tracks Are Amplifying Climate Change
What Would Pristine Air Mean for the Climate?

Categories 2011, Announcements, Blogs, NASA, What on Earth

To What Degree is Extreme Weather Linked to Climate Change?

November 21, 2011 //

As flood waters continue to inundate Thailand and drought parches Texas, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Goddard Institute for Space Studies Director James Hansen have both released new statements about the connection between extreme weather and climate change. Although linking extreme weather weather to climate change has generated controversy in the past, both of the new reports point plainly to a connection. The IPCC, an international organizational that represents the scientific consensus of hundreds of leading climatologists, put it this way in the executive summary of its new report.

What on Earth, November 2011

Categories Blogs, NASA, Uncategorized, What on Earth

When Music and Climate Change Meet; A Hair Below a Sea Ice Record, and More

October 17, 2011 //

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During a recent event that highlighted the intersection of art and science, NASA climatologist Gavin Schmidt offered an intriguing pitch (see 5:15 in the video above) for a climate change symphony that would use music to tell the story of Earth’s long and varied geologic history. “There are trends in the tides of the planet that come from the changes in the continents, the wobbles in the Earth’s orbit,” he said, emphasizing Earth’s many rhythms, crescendos, and cataclysms that lend themselves to music. Schmidt’s comment came during a panel discussion that included former New York Times reporter Andy Revkin and EPA climatologist Irene Nielson, and followed a unique Antarctica-inspired performance from a string quartet arranged by Paul Miller (aka DJ Spooky). Schmidt isn’t alone in thinking along these lines. NPR recently interviewed composer Andre Gribou about creating musical scores for films shown on spherical visualization system called Science on a Sphere. A new SOS film….

Earth Matters, NASA Earth Observatory, October 2011

Categories Blogs, Climate, Earth Matters, NASA, Roundups

News Roundup: Floods in Pakistan, a Climate Marathon, and More

September 23, 2011 //

For the second straight year, torrential monsoon-driven rains have swamped portions of Pakistan. The AFP reports that more than 200 people have been killed and thousands have fled their homes. Researchers associated with the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite recently posted an eye-opening set of images that shows the condition of the swollen Indus River in early September in comparison to more normal conditions. Meanwhile, NASA researcher William Lau has published an interesting new study that shows last year’s floods in Pakistan were closely linked to large fires that occurred in western Russia around the same time….

Earth Matters, September, 2011

Categories Blogs, Earth Matters, NASA, Roundups

Texas Burns But What’s the Global Fire Trend?

September 21, 2011 //

Wildfires that have destroyed more than a thousand homes and threaten thousands more continue to rage in central Texas. Meteorologists point out that drought and an influx of wind from Tropical Storm Lee have fanned the flames and fueled the rash of fires, the most severe Texas has experienced in recent memory. But what do we know about the broader context of the fires? Can we say with any certainty, for example, that fires have become more common in the United States – and across the globe – in the last few decades as global temperatures have increased? The answer to that question, I found after hunting through various journal articles and checking in with some of Goddard Space Flight Center’s fire specialists, is complex. Satellites offer the most comprehensive and reliable measure of the amount of land burned each year; however, satellite-based records of fire activity are still…

What on Earth, September 2011

Categories Blogs, Earth Science, Long Term Trends, NASA, Remote Sensing, Wildfires

Research Bolsters Case for Cycle Tracks While AASHTO Updates Guide

April 27, 2011 //

For decades, dueling camps of cycling advocates have feuded about how to best accommodate riders. Some have pushed for the construction of Dutch-style cycle tracks, arguing that separated lanes make bicycling safer and less intimidating, while others have insisted such infrastructure isolates riders and makes cycling more dangerous than simply remaining within the flow of traffic. Though the debate has grown bitter at times, neither group has had much in the way of rigorous peer-reviewed research to argue their case through the years. However, in the last decade a small but energetic group of academics has started to publish regularly on the topic. ..

Streetsblog Capitol Hill, April 2011

Categories Bicycling, Blogs, Streetsblog