Greenhouse gases are the main reason why the Northern Hemisphere is warming quicker during wintertime months than the rest of the world. New climate model results published by NASA scientists in the Journal of Geophysical Research show that greenhouse gases increase the strength of the polar winds that regulate northern hemisphere climate in winter.

NASA satellite data are helping people around the world design and develop new technologies for exploiting natural renewable energy sources.

Increasing water vapor in the stratosphere, which results partially from greenhouse gases, may delay ozone recovery and increase the rate of climate change. The new study by NASA scientists in Geophysical Research Letters is the first to link greenhouse gases to increased ozone depletion over populated areas.

Scientists using satellite data discovered a long-lasting, whirlpool-like ocean eddy that generated a dramatic increase in the marine food supply off the Hawaiian coast. The eddy’s churning motion brought up a great amount of nutrients from the ocean depths, enhancing the plankton population on the ocean’s surface and providing a banquet for marine life.

Desert dust may slightly diminish estimates on how warm the world will become, based on findings of how much sunlight is absorbed by dust. Scientists studying dust blowing off the Sahara Desert have found that dust particles absorb much less solar radiation than previously thought, reducing the amount of solar warming of the Earth’s surface.

Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have assembled the first long-term global data set that demonstrates the connection between changing patterns of sea surface temperature and patterns of plant growth across the Earth's landscapes.

As the 2001 hurricane season approaches, forecasters will once again rely on high-resolution rain data from a NASA satellite in its arsenal of tools. The versatility of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite has produced some unanticipated applications.