A NASA satellite instrument is keeping an eye on an iceberg the size of Rhode Island, the first time this space technology has been used to track a potential threat to international shipping. NASA's new orbiting SeaWinds radar instrument, flying aboard the QuikScat satellite, will monitor Iceberg B10A, which snapped off Antarctica seven years ago and has since drifted into a shipping lane. The massive iceberg measures about 24 miles by 48 miles and extends about 300 feet above water and may reach as deep as 1,000 feet below the ocean's surface. The severity of hurricane seasons can be predicted by studying the influence of the El Ni o weather pattern, concludes a study by Robert Wilson of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The study also found that one consequence of El Ni o is less hurricane development in the Atlantic Ocean in years when El Nino is not present.
Hot surfaces tell scientists where areas are succumbing to drought.