- Arctic Ozone Loss Linked to Long-Lived Polar Clouds May 30, 2000
A significant decline in ozone over the Arctic last winter was due to an increase in the area and longevity of polar stratospheric clouds, according to a group of researchers who participated in a large, international atmospheric science campaign this year.
- Chesapeake Bay Watershed to Benefit from New Landsat Maps May 30, 2000
"Smarter" land use planning and better estimates of polluted water runoff across the 64,000 square-mile Chesapeake Bay watershed are on the horizon thanks to new land cover maps based on Landsat 7 images. These maps will provide a more precise assessment of the presence and amount of different land cover types including residential development, wetlands, forests, and crop lands.
- Arctic Ozone May Not Recover As Early As Predicted May 25, 2000
The ozone layer over the Arctic region may not be recovering from the damage it has suffered as quickly as scientists thought, according to a paper in the journal Science. More polar stratospheric clouds than anticipated are forming in the sky over the Arctic, causing additional ozone loss.
- Airborne Pollutant Raises Temperatures May 11, 2000
Airborne black soot has the capacity to raise regional temperatures far more than carbon dioxide, scientists reported in the journal Science. The intense sunlight of the tropics heats the soot in polluted air and burns off the tops of shallow cumulus clouds. With less cloud cover reflecting sunlight back to space, more solar energy reaches the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere.
- Scientists Say Adios to La Niña May 9, 2000
La Niña, the large area of cold water in the Pacific Ocean widely blamed for last summer's drought, appears to be on its last legs. According to the latest observations, the La Niña has disappeared entirely in the eastern Pacific Ocean and is rapidly disappearing over the rest of the Pacific.
- Satellites Can Help Predict Deadly Disease Outbreaks May 4, 2000
NASA is providing new insights from space that may help health officials predict outbreaks of deadly water-borne cholera. Scientists have learned how to use satellites to track blooms of tiny floating plant and animal plankton that carry cholera bacteria by using satellite data on ocean temperatures and sea height.
- NASA Spacecraft Data Improves Tropical Forecasts May 4, 2000
A microwave imager onboard a NASA spacecraft can help improve forecasts of hurricanes and severe storms and monitor long-term climate by seeing through clouds, new research shows. The new findings from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Microwave Imager were reported in the journal Science.