Invasive species data and knowledge preservation is vital for future research, and collection methods impact data quality.
Extreme Makeover: Planet Edition
The idea of making Mars habitable for humans has captured the public’s imagination, so we decided to take a look at science exploring possibilities in the not-so-distant future.
How much drought can a forest take?
Why do some trees die in a drought and others don’t? And how can we predict where trees are most likely to die in future droughts? Scientists have examined those questions in a new study.
Salt in the Storm Wounds
In the aftermath of hurricanes, salinity intrusion events cause tree damage and death in coastal forests and wetlands, but are overshadowed by wind and flooding impacts.
Truth in the Soil: Using SMAP to Monitor Drought in Southeast US
Category: Monitoring Drought Project Team: Southeast United States Agriculture Team Location: Wise County Clerk of Court’s Office – Wise, Virginia Authors: Yaping Xu Yousra Benchekroun Kimberly Berry Grant Bloomer Mentors/Advisors: Dr. Kenton Ross (NASA Langley Research Center) Dr. DeWayne Cecil (Global Science & Technology) Bob VanGundy (The University of Virginia’s College at Wise) Michael Bender (Wise County, Virginia) Past/Other Contributors: Michael … Read More
A Deeper Look into California’s Water Resources
Category: Monitoring Drought Project Team: California Water Resources Team Location: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory – Pasadena, California Authors: Justin Lawrence Lauryn Gutowski Nick Rousseau Brittany Zajic Mentors/Advisors: Dr. John T. Reager (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Past/Other Contributors: Nick Rousseau (Center Lead) Abstract: 2015 marked the arrival of the strongest El Niño ever recorded, surpassing the 1997-1998 event that brought significant rainfall … Read More
Cloudy with a Chance of Landslides
Category: Land Cover Change & Disturbances Project Team:åÊCloudy with a Chance of Landslides Team Location: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center at National Space Science Technology Center ÛÒ Huntsville, Alabama Authors: Maggi Klug Max Grossman Jordan Cissell Mentors/Advisors: Dr. Jeffrey Luvall (NASA at National Space Science Technology Center) Dr. Robert Griffin (University of Alabama in Huntsville)} Eric Anderson (University of Alabama … Read More
A New Kind of Drought: U.S. Record Low Windiness in 2015
Widespread calming of the wind sapped U.S. wind energy power output in 2015, driven by the same weather patterns responsible for California’s severe drought.
Built on the Fly with Spare Parts, a Scatterometer on the International Space Station Delivers Big Results
ISS-RapidScat delivers valuable measurements for weather models, storm tracking, and forecasting. What happens when a key instrument on a billion-dollar satellite ceases to function? When it can take decades to plan the launch for a replacement satellite, one might want to build an instrument on the fly – out of spare parts – and hitch a ride as secondary payload … Read More
Analyzing Drought Conditions in Desert and Rainforest Environments
The Levant region, comprising Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Iraq, as well as countries along the Central American “Dry Corridor,” including Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, suffer from frequent drought and heavy precipitation events. Drought induces stress on water resources and the agricultural community, which can serve as catalysts to conflict.