The United Nations has declared 2015 the International Year of Soils. Opportunities for expanded monitoring and appreciation of soil abound, ranging from the NASA’s SMAP mission just launched at end of January to events offered by the Soil Science Society of America.
NASA Launches New Satellite to Help Measure Soil Moisture
On Saturday, January 20 NASA successfully launched its Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite. The SMAP mission will provide data that can help to improve weather forecasts, flood planning, and more.
High Resolution Data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission to Be Made Publicly Available
Recognizing the importance of high resolution data in climate resiliency planning, President Obama has announced a release of high resolution versions of data from the collaborative Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.
Hope against the odds is mood of NY climate march
Originally Published by New Scientist – Workers, teachers and activists concerned about the climate marched alongside Al Gore, Ban Ki Moon and Jane Goodall in New York on Sunday.
CO2 rises at fastest rate since 1984
Originally Published by BBC News -Concentrations of warming gases in the atmosphere reached record levels in 2013 say the World Meteorological Organisation.
New York climate summit is a chance to push for long-term climate neutrality
Originally Published by The Guardian – A meeting of heads of state with Ban Ki-moon is an opportunity to look at how we get greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
Tracking Snow: The Cryosphere in an Era of Climate Change
A new generation of weather satellites is helping researchers gain insights into the complex relationship between the cryosphere ÛÒ the planet’s cold regions ÛÒ and the climate. With drinking water supplies dwindling around the world, understanding the cryosphere is becoming a front-burner issue.
10 reasons to be hopeful that we will overcome climate change
Originally Published by The Guardian – For the last few months, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have been at record levels unseen in over 800,000 years. The chairman of the IPCC, an international panel of the world’s top climate scientists, warned earlier this year that “nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impacts of climate change”.
8 charts that show how climate change is making the world more dangerous
Originally Published by The Guardian – Forget the future. The world already is nearly five times as dangerous and disaster prone as it was in the 1970s, because of the increasing risks brought by climate change, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organisation.
Green news roundup: dark snow, farmland birds and electric racing cars
Originally Published by The Guardian – The week’s top environment news stories and green events