Clouds can warm or cool the planet’s surface, a radiative effect that contributes greatly to the global energy budget and can be altered by human-caused pollution. The Southern Ocean is far from human pollution but subject to abundant marine gases and aerosols. It is about 80% covered by clouds.
Tropical cyclones form from clusters of persistent thunderstorms. These thunderstorms draw a great amount of air from the lower levels and vent it high into the atmosphere, leaving less air and lower air pressure at the surface.
Satellites can now measure the thickness of Arctic sea ice all year round. Previously, satellites have had trouble determining the state of the floes in summer months due to the presence of surface meltwater.
Recent discoveries from Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall eruptions have changed what we know about how volcanoes work.
A pair of satellite images from 50 years apart reveals striking changes to the glaciers and ice caps in Northwest Greenland.
The climate crisis is melting Greenland down at an astonishing rate, which is creating an opportunity for investors and mining companies who are searching for a trove of critical minerals capable of powering the green energy economy.
Constant monitoring of faulted regions with seismographs and space geodesy measurements can indicate when land deformations are occurring close to the surface. But for subduction zones, much of the deformation occurs deep within Earth, making it difficult to detect from the surface.
It is estimated that more than 80% of Earth’s surface has been shaped by volcanoes. They’ve helped create our mountain ranges, plateaus, and plains, and have helped fertilize the land that we use to grow our crops.
