NASA: National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationEarth Observatory

Headlines: February 2001

  1. January 2001
  2. March 2001
  1. Africa's Great Shrinking Lake Chad
    February 27, 2001

    One of the world's largest freshwater lakes is shrinking because of a drier climate and irrigation demands. (USA Today, Reuters, CNN Headline News, Weather Channel)

  2. Coastlines Are Being Killed
    February 27, 2001

    Two-thirds of the surface area of U.S. estuaries and bays are at risk of becoming "dead zones," according to a report by the Pew Oceans Commission. (MSNBC.com)

  3. New Maps Measure Melting Antarctica
    February 23, 2001

    The Canadian Space Agency and NASA used Canada's RADARSAT-1 satellite to create maps of the speed of moving glaciers. (Canadian Broadcasting Company online)

  4. Sea Level Rise Linked to Global Warming
    February 22, 2001

    Scientists in Canada, the United States, and England have used computer models to determine the effect of melting ice caps and rising sea levels around the world. (Reuters, ENN.com)

  5. Glacier Loss Seen as a Clear Sign of Human Role in Global Warming
    February 19, 2001

    An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report cites the accelerating loss of mountain glaciers as an impact of global warming. An Ohio State University researcher confirms that Mt. Kilimanjaro's ice cap is 82 percent smaller than it was in 1912. (Andrew Revkin, New York Times; Associated Press)

  6. World Disasters Seen As Global Warming Outcome
    February 19, 2001

    A new United Nations report said global warming would eradicate countless species of animals, birds and plants, and melt glaciers and polar icecaps. (Andrew Revkin, New York Times; Eric Pianin, Washington Post)

  7. Satellite Mapping Finds Soil Damage
    February 15, 2001

    A study by the International Food Policy Research Institute says that only 16 percent of the world's farmland is in good condition. (Philip Brasher, Associated Press)

  8. A Runaway Iceberg
    February 14, 2001

    Scientists trying to understand the nature of future breakaway icebergs are monitoring a huge iceberg that separated from Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf last March. (CBSnews.com)

  9. NASA Tests Satellite on Argentina Landscape
    February 14, 2001

    Argentina's diverse ecology is the initial testing ground for NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite, looking at deforestation, floods, droughts, and habitats of disease-bearing bugs. (Stephen Brown, Reuters)

  10. Aerosols and Climate
    February 11, 2001

    Dr. Ralph Kahn of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains how more aerosols make for brighter clouds and less precipitation, and absorbing particles can make thinner clouds. (Earth and Sky Radio)

  11. Plant More Trees to Fight Warming
    February 10, 2001

    A working group within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change endorses protection of existing forests and planting new ones to absorb 10 to 20 percent of carbon dioxide. (Andrew Revkin, The New York Times)

  12. Ocean Atmosphere in Asia Getting Worse
    February 9, 2001

    An international research effort has shown that pollution levels from Southeast Asia and India are catching up to the high levels in Europe and North America because of biomass burning. (Associated Press)

  13. Soot is a Big Factor in Global Warming
    February 8, 2001

    New research has led scientists to conclude that soot is second to carbon dioxide as a greenhouse effect contributor. (Patricia Reaney, Reuters)

  14. Arctic Now Adding to Global Warming
    February 7, 2001

    Climate change has caused frozen soils in the Arctic to now release carbon into the atmosphere instead of storing it, exacerbating the greenhouse problem. (Reuters, BBCNews Online)

  15. Scientists Warn of Catastrophic Climate Changes
    February 6, 2001

    Scientists from 99 countries issued a dire warning last month: curtail air pollution or expect drastic climate change in the next century. (Jennifer Mapes, National Geographic.com)

  16. More Bad News on Global Warming
    February 6, 2001

    Australia's Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organization says global sea levels will continue to rise even if greenhouse gas emissions are immediately stabilized, resulting in storm surges that would threaten coastal areas. (CBSnews.com)

  17. The Weather Turns Wild
    February 5, 2001

    Global warming could cause droughts, disease, and political upheaval. (Nancy Shute, U.S. News and World Report)

  18. Other Greenhouse Factors
    February 5, 2001

    James Hansen discussed other greenhouse effect contributors such as black carbon and soot and their contributions to climate change in this radio program. (Earth and Sky Radio)

  19. Not Clear Why Florida Reefs Dying
    February 4, 2001

    Scientists are looking at a number of factors that may be contributing to the declining health of Florida's coral reefs including nitrogen runoff, global warming, overfishing, divers, coastal development, and coral bleaching. (Karin Meadows, Associated Press)

  20. Global Warming to Cost $300 Billion a Year
    February 3, 2001

    A United Nations report says that an increase in natural disasters as a result of global warming could cost the world over $300 billion annually. (Reuters)

  21. NASA Tests Infrared Cameras to Monitor Greenhouse Gases from Fires
    February 2, 2001

    Researchers at NASA are testing infrared cameras over forest fires to monitor carbon dioxide and help firefighters battle blazes in the future. (Knight-Ridder)

  22. Polar Ice Sheet Shows Shrinkage
    February 1, 2001

    Satellite studies show that about 7.5 cubic miles of ice have eroded from the Antarctic Ice Sheet in eight years. (Paul Recer, Associated Press and Maggie Fox, Reuters)

  23. Terra Cognita
    February 1, 2001

    NASA's Terra satellite is one of many new Earth-observing satellites that are returning new views of environmental change. (Air & Space Smithsonian)