articles

In recent decades, scientists have noted a surge in Arctic plant growth as a symptom of climate change. But without observations showing exactly when and where vegetation has bloomed as the world’s coldest areas warm, it’s difficult to predict how vegetation will respond to future warming. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley have developed a new approach that may paint a more accurate picture of Arctic vegetation and our climate’s recent past – and future.

For thousands of years, people in the Middle East and South America have extracted water from the air to help sustain their populations. Drawing inspiration from those examples, researchers are now developing a lightweight, battery-powered freshwater harvester that could someday take as much as 10 gallons per hour from the air, even in arid locations. They say their nanofiber-based method could help address modern water shortages due to climate change, industrial pollution, droughts and groundwater depletion.

NASA's Aqua satellite provided forecasters with a look at Typhoon Soulik's cloud top temperatures and 50 nautical-mile wide eye as it passed overhead on Aug. 21.

An infrared look by NASA's Terra satellite found powerful storms in the center of Tropical Storm Cimaron that resembled a "Picasso-like" face as they zig-zagged around the center of circulation.

While passing over the Central Pacific Ocean, NASA's Terra satellite stared Hurricane Lane in the eye. Hurricane Lane continued to show a large eye surrounded by powerful storms. An infrared look by NASA's Terra satellite provided temperatures of those storms, confirming strong, high thunderstorms capable of very heavy rainfall.