Milkweed plants from the chambers were fed to hundreds of monarch caterpillars this summer. Milkweed is a monarch caterpillar’s only food, satisfying its nutritional needs while providing an invaluable medicinal boost. The plant’s leaves contain a bitter toxin that helps the insects ward off predators and parasites. But previous work at U-M’s northern Michigan biological…
Tropical storms and hurricanes are driven by energy and momentum derived from warm ocean waters of at least 26.5°C. The warmer the ocean, the more energy is available to the storm, and the more intense it is likely to become. Ordinarily, these storms lose energy after making landfall, as they move beyond the ocean as…
How deep is that icy blue water on Greenland’s ice sheet? Dr. Allen Pope, of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, is using data from the NASA/USGS Landsat 8 satellite to find out. In this video, Dr. Pope shares what he sees when he looks at a Landsat image of the Greenland ice sheet…
GRACE consists of twin co-orbiting satellites that fly in a near polar orbit separated by a distance of 220 km. GRACE precisely measures the distance between the two spacecraft in order to make detailed measurements of the Earth’s gravitational field. Since its launch in 2002, GRACE has provided a continuous record of changes in the…
Oceanographer Josh Willis from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory narrates this video about the causes of sea level rise and how sea level has changed over the last two decades as observed by the Jason series of satellite missions. Source Related The troubling reasons why NASA is so focused on studying sea level rise The Science…
According to a new study, sea level rise of several meters might happen faster then previously thought. Based on data from past climate changes, when sea level rose to +5–9 m, including the occurrence of extreme storms – during a time when temperatures were less than 1 ◦C warmer than today, experts warn of similar…
We know that CO2 emissions are bad for climate and subsequently the weather. We know that we have to do something about it, because if not things will turn really ugly with large scale carbon releases (i.e. permafrost melt). However, the current projected changes are bad for many, and because of irreversible changes. So why then is…
Eric Rignot Professor of Earth system science at the University of California, Irvine, and scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory was interviewed on sea level rise and projections. Ice sheets and glaciers can change faster, sooner and in a stronger way than anticipated Machens: As an ice sheet expert, how do you see the sea-level projections…
Think of climate change as a cancer. Your doctor told you that he spotted what appears to be likely a melanoma skin cancer, but he is not 100% sure. Do you wait till the signs become more apparent? The cancer might spread in your body, by that diminishing the chance for survival, or do you ask the…