NASA: National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationEarth Observatory

Media Alerts: July 2003

  1. June 2003
  2. August 2003
  1. Narrow Wind Causes Huge Ocean Impact, Says University of Toronto Physicist July 31, 2003

    A narrow but intense wind may be the mechanism responsible for the existence of a newly discovered ocean convection site east of Greenland. (University of Toronto)

  2. Rising Ozone Levels Pose Challenge to U.S. Soybean Production, Scientists Say July 30, 2003

    Although rising ozone levels already reduce soybean yields, a study of the crop grown in projected 2030 levels has harvested more troubling results — a 20 percent yield loss. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

  3. Amphibians' Life Stages Influence Contaminant Transfer from Aquatic to Terrestrial Environments July 23, 2003

    Scientists investigated the effects of developmental stage and metamorphosis timing on the concentrations of trace elements in bullfrog tissue, aiming to understanding how variations may influence contaminant transfer from aquatic to terrestrial environments. (University of Georgia release)

  4. Helping Coral Reefs Survive Climate Change July 23, 2003

    While the high ocean surface temperatures during the 1997-98 El Nino bleached coral reefs in more than 50 tropical countries worldwide, patches of coral did survive, and a new study identifies factors likely to protect these ecosystems during climate change. (Society for Conservation Biology Release)

  5. Marine Scientists Now Cruising into Icy Arctic to Research Major Process Affecting Global Climate July 21, 2003

    Marine scientists track fresh water flowing out of the Arctic Ocean into the Atlantic, which affects the salinity and circulation of the ocean and thus has a major influence on the Earth?s climate. (University of Delaware release)

  6. Hydrogen-fueled Cars Not Best Way to Cut Pollution, Greenhouse Gases and Oil Dependency July 17, 2003

    As politicians and the public leap aboard the hydrogen fuel bandwagon, University of California, Berkeley, energy experts present various short- and long-term strategies that they say would achieve the same results as switching from gasoline-powered vehicles to hydrogen cars. (University of California-Berkeley)

  7. New Location of Deep Convection May Exist in North Atlantic July 17, 2003

    Deep convection, or mixing, of ocean waters in the North Atlantic, widely thought to occur in only the Labrador Sea and the Mediterranean, may occur in a third location. The findings, reported this week in the journal Nature, may alter thinking about the ocean?s overturning circulation that affects earth?s climate. (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

  8. Scientists with Hawaii Ocean Mixing Experiment Closing in on Puzzle of Ocean Energy July 17, 2003

    Scientists from six institutions are closing the gap in deciphering one of the most puzzling aspects of the world?s oceans called ?ocean mixing?, the complex motions of seawater that space large-scale phenomena down to tiny, centimeter-sized turbulent motion. (Scripps Institute of Oceanography)

  9. Desert Research Institute Team Predicts Early Summer Rains for Southwest July 9, 2003

    Scientists predict an early start to heavy rains similar to those that flooded Las Vegas in 1999 that occur in the Southwest each year at the beginning of the monsoon season. (Desert Research Institute Release)

  10. Leading Climate Scientists Reaffirm View that Late 20th Century Warming Was Unusual July 7, 2003

    A group of leading climate scientists has reaffirmed the "robust consensus view" that the warmth experienced in the late 20th century was an anomaly in the previous millennium and that human activity likely played an important role in causing it. (American Geophysical Union Release)

  11. Cold-Climate Creatures may be the Ultimate Survivors of Global Warming, Study Finds July 3, 2003

    A Stanford University study shows that porcelain crabs in the cool Pacific Northwest have the ability to adjust to larger increases in habitat temperature than crabs living in the warm coastal waters of Mexico. (Stanford University)

  12. New Understanding of Sea Salt to Help Climate Modeling July 3, 2003

    A new scientific study has revealed that tiny sea salt particles drifting into the atmosphere participate in a chemical reaction that may have impacts on climate and acid rain. (DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

  13. Fourth of July No Picnic for the Nation's Environment July 3, 2003

    When an estimated 60 million Americans fire up their barbecue grills this Fourth of July, they'll be burning the equivalent of 2,300 acres of forest and consuming enough energy to meet the residential demand of a town the size of Flagstaff, Ariz., for an entire year. (DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory Release)