Artificial Intelligence Can Identify Wildlife as Accurately as Humans

Motion-sensor cameras are increasingly being used to track wildlife across the globe, from tigers in India to aardvarks in Africa. But combing through the millions of images captured by these systems is a time-consuming task. Now, scientists have discovered that artificial intelligence is as effective as human volunteers — and much faster — at identifying species in these largely untapped photo repositories.

20 Years of Earth Data Now at Your Fingertips

Powerful Earth-observing instruments aboard NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites, launched in 1999 and 2002, respectively, have observed nearly two decades of planetary change. Now, for the first time, all that imagery — from the first operational image to imagery acquired today — is available for exploration in Worldview.

NASA Finds Some Fragmented Strength in Tropical Depression 05W

NASA obtained an infrared look at Tropical Depression 05W as it continued moving through the South China Sea. NASA's Aqua satellite found very cold cloud top temperatures and strong storms in fragmented thunderstorms mostly east of 05W's center.  

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical 05W on June 5 at 2:05 a.m. EDT (0605 UTC) and analyzed the storm in infrared light to reveal cloud top temperatures. The MODIS or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite revealed some cloud top temperatures in a fragmented band of thunderstorms were as cold or colder than minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 degrees Celsius). NASA research indicates very cold cloud tops with the potential to generate very heavy rainfall. The strongest storms all appeared to be over open waters in the Gulf of Tonkin and northern South China Sea.

NASA Analyzes No. Indian Ocean Rainfall of Soaking Separate Cyclones

NASA analyzed rainfall in two tropical cyclones that developed in the Northern Indian Ocean, each bringing heavy rainfall. Within a week, separate cyclones, Tropical Storm Sagar and Cyclone Mekunu, hit Somalia and nearby Oman, respectively, and both dropped heavy rainfall in a region that is not accustomed to it.

UNH Researchers Shine a Light on More Accurate Way to Estimate Climate Change

It doesn’t matter if it’s a forest, a soybean field, or a prairie, all plants take up carbon dioxide during photosynthesis – the process where they use sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into food. During this changeover, the plants emit an energy “glow” that is not visible to the human eye, but can be detected by satellites in space. Now, researchers at the University of New Hampshire have taken that one step further. By using satellite data from different major land-based ecosystems around the globe, they have found that the photosynthesis glow is the same across all vegetation, no matter the location. This first-of-its-kind global analysis could have significance in providing more accurate data for scientists working to model carbon cycle and eventually help better project climate change.

More Detailed Data on Thermal Conditions of Arctic Ground: North­ern Hemi­sphere Mod­elled to Ac­cur­acy of 1 km2

Understanding the thermal conditions of the ground in the Arctic is of utmost importance in order to assess the effects of climate change on the occurrence of permafrost, on the ecosystems and societies of Arctis, and the global climate system. New data on temperatures has enabled more exact modelling.

A Little Water Could Make a Big Difference for Endangered Salmon

Even small amounts of running water—less than a gallon per second—could mean the difference between life or death for juvenile coho salmon in coastal California streams, according to a new study published in the journal Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.

Scientists Find Pre-Earthquake Activity in Central Alaska

Earth scientists consistently look for a reliable way to forecast earthquakes. New research from University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute professor Carl Tape may help in that endeavor, due to a unique set of circumstances.

Zebrafish Expose Tumor Pathway in Childhood Muscle Cancer

A popular aquarium fish may hold answers to how tumors form in a childhood cancer.

Muscle precursor cells called myoblasts are formed during normal fetal development and mature to become the skeletal muscles of the body. Rarely, a genetic error in which pieces of two chromosomes fuse together occurs in a cell related to this process and triggers those cells to multiply and behave abnormally. A particularly aggressive form of the muscle cancer rhabdomyosarcoma results.

Thousands of Turtles Netted off South America

Tens of thousands of sea turtles are caught each year by small-scale fishers off South America’s Pacific coast, new research shows.