Browsing Tag
Earth’s
21 posts
Earth’s axis tilted nearly 80 centimeters east, study
Climate model estimates show significant groundwater depletion during the 20th century, consistent with global mean sea level (GMSL) budget analysis. It has been proposed that an important anthropogenic contribution is sea level rise due to groundwater depletion resulting from irrigation. Scientists previously calculated that between 1993 and 2010, humanity pumped 2,150 gigatons of groundwater, or
NASA finds Earth’s ambipolar electric field
Understanding the complex movements and evolution of Earth’s atmosphere offers important clues about its history and insights into other planets’ mysteries. Recently, NASA’s rocket team successfully detected Earth’s ambipolar electric field. This planet-wide electric field is as important to Earth as its gravity and magnetic fields. The team used observations from NASA’s Endurance mission for
Where did Earth’s water come from? This ancient asteroid family may help us find out
An artist’s impression of an asteroid collision that subsequently forms a family of smaller asteroids. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt) A family of primitive asteroids is providing astronomers with a window into the past as they seek to unravel the history of these small space rocks believed to have once brought water to Earth. Life in the
Earth’s ice caps are in serious trouble. Three new studies reveal how bad the damage is
Like a trio of canaries in a coal mine warbling at the top of their lungs, three recent studies warn of various ways that global warming is drastically changing the planet. Each study involves the cryosphere, or those regions on the planet where water freezes into ice or snow. Both the Arctic and the Antarctic
Earth’s Atmospheric Glow
Michelle ZajacJan 30, 2024 This high exposure photograph revealed Earth’s atmospheric glow against the backdrop of a starry sky in this image taken from the International Space Station on Jan. 21, 2024. At the time, the orbital lab was 258 miles above the Pacific Ocean northeast of Papua New Guinea. The Nauka science module and
Why Was Earth’s Climate so Warm and Weird in 2023? — Part 2
This is part 2 of a detailed look at the factors that helped make 2023 the warmest year on record, and arguably one of the weirdest too. For part 1, go here.Last year offered perhaps the clearest warning we've ever received that we need to stop polluting the atmosphere with carbon dioxide and other climate-altering
By now, you probably know that 2023 was the warmest year on record. Climatically speaking, it was also arguably one of the weirdest. By early summer, it became obvious that something quite unusual was happening. In June, New York and other major cities were smothered by a toxic blanket of smoke from huge Canadian wildfires
Meet the Capybaras: One of Earth’s chillest animal
By Karan YadavEarth is home to various kinds of animals, each unique in its own way. Some are fast, some are slow, some are ferocious, and some are harmless. But within this diverse group, there lives an animal that is considered to be very chill. Its approach to life is laid-back, and it is loved all
The importance of the Earth’s upper atmosphere in developing large geomagnetic storms
The magnetotail plasma sheet is formed by solar wind and ionospheric sources; however, it is still being determined how these sources alter their contribution during a geomagnetic storm. The source is important because the fundamental basis of the geomagnetic field disturbances that characterize a geomagnetic storm is the ring current, whose enhancement and decay rate
Earth’s core is leaking a rare isotope of helium gas
Each year, about 2 kg of the rare isotope of helium gas, i.e., helium-3, escapes from Earth’s interior. Helium-3 is believed to be ancient- reated shortly after the Big Bang and acquired from the solar nebula as the Earth formed. A recent study suggests Earth’s core is leaking Helium-3, adding evidence that Earth formed inside…