Earth

EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation)

NASA Mission Excels at Spotting Greenhouse Gas Emission Sources

Since launching 16 months ago, the EMIT imaging spectrometer aboard the International Space Station has shown an ability to detect more than just surface minerals.

Posted November 17, 2023

Dust Storms

Earth

Natural Disasters

Satellite Data Can Help Limit the Dangers of Windblown Dust

Dust storms present a growing threat to the health and safety of U.S. populations.

Posted November 15, 2023

NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar)

Earth

Earth Science

Earth Science Division

Earth System Observatory (ESO)

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Trailblazing New Earth Satellite Put to Test in Preparation for Launch

During three weeks in a thermal vacuum chamber in Bengaluru, India, the joint NASA-ISRO satellite demonstrated its hardiness in a harsh, space-like environment. NISAR, the trailblazing Earth-observing radar satellite being developed by the United States and Indian space agencies, passed a major milestone on Nov.

Posted November 14, 2023

People of Goddard

Carbon Cycle

Earth

Earth Science

Goddard Space Flight Center

Oceans

Peter Griffith: Diving Into Carbon Cycle Science

Dr. Peter Griffith serves as the director of NASA’s Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Griffith's scientific journey began by swimming in lakes as a child, then to scuba diving with the Smithsonian Institution, and now he studies Earth’s changing climate with NASA.

Posted November 8, 2023

SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)

Earth

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Oceans

Water on Earth

NASA Analysis Finds Strong El Niño Could Bring Extra Floods This Winter

Such high-tide flooding that inundates roads and buildings along the west coast of the Americas tends to be uncommon outside of El Niño years, but that could change by the 2030s. An analysis by NASA’s sea level change science team finds that if a strong El Niño develops this winter, cities along the western coasts […]

Posted November 8, 2023

SERVIR (Regional Visualization and Monitoring System)

Earth

General

Marshall Space Flight Center

People of NASA

NASA Project Manager Helps Makes Impact in Southeast Asia with SERVIR

By Celine Smith “As the seedlings were placed in the water, I felt a moment of déjà vu,” said NASA scientist Tony Kim. “I was taken back to when I was a child playing in similar fields in South Korea. It felt like I was meant to be there bringing space to village with satellite […]

Posted November 8, 2023

Earth

International Space Station (ISS)

Jasmin Moghbeli

Nighttime on the East Coast

While aboard the International Space Station on Oct. 26, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli captured the city lights of the northeastern United States and major urban areas including Long Island, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Washington, D.C. At the time of this photograph, the orbital lab was 262 miles above Maine.

Posted November 1, 2023

Earth

Carbon Cycle

Climate Change

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Natural Disasters

Wildfires

NASA Flights Link Methane Plumes to Tundra Fires in Western Alaska

Methane ‘hot spots’ in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta are more likely to be found where recent wildfires burned into the tundra, altering carbon emissions from the land. In Alaska’s largest river delta, tundra that has been scorched by wildfire is emitting more methane than the rest of the landscape long after the flames died, scientists have […]

Posted November 1, 2023

Ozone Layer

Aura

Earth

General

Goddard Space Flight Center

Missions

NOAA-20 (JPSS-1)

Suomi NPP (Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership)

2023 Ozone Hole Ranks 16th Largest, NASA and NOAA Researchers Find

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify the ranking of the 2023 ozone hole. It is the 12th largest single-day hole on record, and the 16th largest when averaged from Sept. 7 to Oct. 13. The 2023 Antarctic ozone hole reached its maximum size on Sept. 21, according to annual satellite and balloon-based […]

Posted November 1, 2023

Earth

International Space Station (ISS)

Water on Earth

Rusty Red Waters in Madagascar

Iron-rich sediment colors the red-orange waters of the Betsiboka River Delta in Madagascar in this image taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station on Sept. 30, 2023. The sediment can clog waterways in the delta’s estuarial environment, but it can also form new islands that become colonized by mangroves. Despite its rusty color, […]

Posted October 30, 2023