vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
New NASA Earth System Observatory to Help Address, Mitigate Climate Change - NASA
2 days ago

 

4 min read

Johnson Celebrates AA and NHPI Heritage Month: Anima Patil-Sabale

article

2 days ago

Highlights

 

6 min read

Diez maneras en que los estudiantes pueden prepararse para ser astronautas

article

2 months ago

 

4 min read

Astronauta de la NASA Marcos Berríos

article

3 months ago

 

8 min read

Resultados científicos revolucionarios en la estación espacial de 2023

article

3 months ago

3 min readNew NASA Earth System Observatory to Help Address, Mitigate Climate ChangeNASAMay 24, 2021 RELEASE21-070

NASA’s new Earth Systems Observatory will guide efforts related to climate change, disaster mitigation, fighting forest fires, and improving real-time agricultural processes – including helping to better understand Category 4 to 5 hurricanes such as Hurricane Maria, shown here in a 2017 thermal image captured by NASA’s Terra satellite. Credits: NASA

NASA will design a new set of Earth-focused missions to provide key information to guide efforts related to climate change, disaster mitigation, fighting forest fires, and improving real-time agricultural processes. With the Earth System Observatory, each satellite will be uniquely designed to complement the others, working in tandem to create a 3D, holistic view of Earth, from bedrock to atmosphere.
“I’ve seen firsthand the impact of hurricanes made more intense and destructive by climate change, like Maria and Irma. The Biden-Harris Administration’s response to climate change matches the magnitude of the threat: a whole of government, all hands-on-deck approach to meet this moment,” said NASA Administrator Sen. Bill Nelson. “Over the past three decades, much of what we’ve learned about the Earth’s changing climate is built on NASA satellite observations and research. NASA’s new Earth System Observatory will expand that work, providing the world with an unprecedented understanding of our Earth’s climate system, arming us with next-generation data critical to mitigating climate change, and protecting our communities in the face of natural disasters.”
Environmental Protection - NYSDEC
To protect human health and the environment from harm, DEC measures the overall air quality and levels of outdoor air pollution.

Air Quality 

Public Safety
DEC's Environmental Conservation Officers and Forest Rangers play key roles in assisting citizens during certain types of health and safety emergencies.

Public Safety Resources 

Learn About Climate Change
Sea level rise, heatwaves, floods, and more frequent storms are just a few climate change impacts that New York is experiencing. Learn more about studying climate change in New York State.

Understanding Climate Change 

Recycling and Composting
Reduction, reuse, recycling and composting our waste will benefit all of us, our communities and our environment. Besides, it is the law!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 

Environmental Cleanup
DEC's mission to promote and regulate environmental cleanup and safe brownfield redevelopment is accomplished through programs of the Division of Environmental Remediation.

Site Cleanup Resources 

Waste Management
DEC regulates waste streams produced by residents, businesses, and other organizations. Reuse and recycle to reduce waste and save you money.

Waste Reduction in NYS 

Department of Environmental Conservation

Quick Links

About DEC

Hunting & Fishing Licenses

DECinfo Locator

Events Calendar

Press Releases

Employment

Apply for a Grant

Help Center

Contact Us

Accessibility Assistance

Language Assistance

PDF Help

Help for Businesses

Doing Business with DEC

Resources

Website and Usage Policies

Privacy Policy

Freedom of Information Law FOIL

Donate

Subscribe to DEC's Conservationist MagazineConservationist is packed with informative articles, first-rate photography and stunning artwork.Subscribe

Connect With Us

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

YouTube

FLICKR

 Your browser does not support iFrames
 

Translation Services
This page is available in other languages

Translate

English

Español

中文

繁體中文

Русский

יידיש

বাংলা

한국어

Kreyòl Ayisyen

Italiano
Climate Variability and Change Focus Area - NASA Science
BeltThe Oort CloudSkywatchingEspañol CienciaAeronáuticaCiencias TerrestresSistema SolarUniversoScience All NASA ScienceEarth SciencePlanetary ScienceAstrophysics & Space ScienceThe Sun & HeliophysicsBiological & Physical SciencesLunar ScienceCitizen ScienceAstromaterialsAeronautics ResearchHuman Space Travel ResearchExploreSearchSubmitNews & EventsMultimediaNASA+…What We StudyClimate Variability and Change...Earth and ClimateResearch HomeFocus AreasWhat We StudyAtmospheric CompositionWeather and Atmospheric DynamicsClimate Variability and ChangeWater and Energy CycleCarbon Cycle and EcosystemsEarth Surface and InteriorProgramsPrograms OverviewFlightResearch and AnalysisApplied SciencesTechnologyEarth Science Data SystemsDataMissionsEarth Science MissionsNASA Earth System ObservatoryResourcesEarth Science to Action StrategyDecadal SurveyESD Community ForumEarth Information CenterEquity and Environmental JusticeSenior Reviews for Earth Operating MissionsResearch NewsRRNES AwardsEarly Career OpportunitiesUnderstanding Climate and WildfiresOther Documents and ResourcesExplore This SectionEarth and ClimateResearch HomeFocus AreasProgramsDataMissionsResourcesClimate Variability and Change Focus AreaCVC measures and models Earth’s dynamic systems and how they change over time.The Climate Variability and Change focus area (CVC) supports research to better understand the overall state of Earth’s climate and the physical processes that affect it. CVC supports focused and interdisciplinary research to better describe, understand, and predict the ways in which Earth’s ocean, atmosphere, land, and ice will interact and influence Earth’s climate over a wide range of timescales. To do this, CVC supports the development of climate data sets and computer models that leverage observations from relevant NASA and non-NASA platforms, including satellites, aircraft, and ships. These datasets include observations of sea surface height, temperature, and salinity; ocean currents and vector winds; sea ice extent and thickness; glacial topography, motion, and mass change; aerosol and cloud processes that affect Earth’s energy balance; and more.
Climate Variability and Change Focus Area - NASA Science
Additionally, the program seeks to understand how changes in polar ice will affect global climate, sea level, and the polar environment. Supported studies use space-based, aircraft-based, and other remote sensing techniques to understand the factors controlling the retreat (shrinking) and advance (growth) of the world’s sea- and land-based ice and how polar ice interacts with the ocean, atmosphere, solid Earth, and solar radiation. The program sponsors several polar initiatives designed to encourage an integrated approach to cryospheric science problems, such as the annual PARCA meeting, NASA-ESA Snow on Sea Ice (NESOSI) initiative, and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) meeting.Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction ProgramThe MAP program supports Earth system modeling and data assimilation to simulate past and present conditions on Earth and help predict them in the future. These models examine all aspects of the Earth at a variety of timescales, including changes that occur over days to months and decades to hundreds of years. The program uses observations from satellites, aircraft, and ground-based instruments and inputs them into models to better understand the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and cryosphere as individual and integrated systems. This approach helps validate satellite observations and improves current Earth system models. MAP supports this work through both directed funding of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Model E and the Global Modeling and Assimiliation Office’s (GMAO) GEOS 5 models, as well as through annual competed grants as a part of the Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) solicitations.Physical Oceanography ProgramThe Physical Oceanography Program supports research on the ocean’s role in climate variability. The ocean modulates our planet’s climate and weather by storing and transporting large quantities of heat, water, moisture, and carbon dioxide, as well as exchanging these elements with the atmosphere. This continuous exchange influences climate and weather patterns over the globe by releasing the heat that fuels the overlying atmospheric circulation, aerosols that impact cloud cover, and moisture that determines the fate of the global hydrological cycle, and by absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide for millennia.
Terra Spacecraft Fact Sheet
Terra Spacecraft Fact Sheet

Atmosphere
Heat
Human Presence
Land
Life

Natural
 Events

All
Drought
Dust and Haze
Earthquakes
Fires
Floods
Landslides
Man-made
Sea and Lake Ice
Severe Storms
Temperature Extremes
Unique Imagery
Volcanoes
Water Color

Remote Sensing
Snow & Ice
Water

Collections

ABCs from Space
Air Quality
Amazon Deforestation
Applied Sciences
Astronaut Photography
Backgrounders
Blue Marble
Earth at Night
Earth from Afar
Fall Colors
Food and Agriculture
International Parks and UNESCO Sites
Renewable and Alternative Energy
Sea Level Rise
U.S. National Parks
World of Change

EO Explorer

Topics

Search

Images
Global Maps
Articles
Blogs
EO Explorer

×
 This page contains archived content and is no longer being updated. At the time of publication, it represented the best available science.

 

 

Earth's 4.5 billion year history is a study in change. Natural geological forces have been rearranging
 the surface features and climatic conditions of our planet since its beginning. Today, there is
 compelling scientific evidence that human activities have attained the magnitude of a geological force
 and are speeding up the rates of global changes. For example, carbon dioxide levels have risen 30
 percent since the industrial revolution and about 40 percent of the world's land surface has been
 transformed by humans.
Scientists don't understand the cause-and-effect relationships among Earth's lands, oceans, and
 atmosphere well enough to predict what, if any, impacts these rapid changes will have on future climate
 conditions. Scientists need to make many measurements all over the world, over a long period of time, in
 order to assemble the information needed to construct accurate computer models that will enable them to
 forecast the causes and effects of climate change. The only feasible way to collect this information is
 through the use of space-based Earth "remote sensors" (instruments that can measure things
 like temperature from a distance). Consequently, NASA's Earth Science Enterprise has begun an
Climate Change - NASA Science
Earth is home. As humans we are part of a broader, interconnected system and we share our home with over 8.5 million species. NASA studies our own planet more than any other. We observe Earth’s oceans, land, ice, and atmosphere, and measure how a change in one drives change in othersDownload HereLatest NewsMore NASA NewsArticle5 min read5 Things to Know About NASA’s Tiny Twin Polar SatellitesArticle5 min readHow ‘Glowing’ Plants Could Help Scientists Predict Flash Drought4 min readNASA Teammates Recall Favorite Memories Aboard Flying LaboratoryArticle2 weeks ago5 min readMeet NASA Women Behind World’s Largest Flying LaboratoryArticle2 weeks ago2 min readNASA to Discuss New Polar Climate Mission During Media TeleconferenceNews ReleaseEvidenceCausesEffectsHow Do We Know Climate Change is Real?There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. Human activity is the principal cause.Earth-orbiting satellites and new technologies have helped scientists see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate all over the world. These data, collected over many years, reveal the signs and patterns of a changing climate.Read MoreWhat is causing climate change?Human activities are driving the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century.Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century to the human expansion of the "greenhouse effect" — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space.Over the last century, burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). This increase happens because the coal or oil burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO2. Read MoreWhat are the effects of climate change?The effects of human-caused global warming are happening now, are irreversible for people alive today, and will worsen as long as humans add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.We already see effects scientists predicted, such as the loss of sea ice, melting glaciers and ice sheets, sea level rise, and more intense heat waves.Scientists predict global temperature increases from human-made greenhouse gases will continue.
Global Warming
Climate has changed when the planet received more or less sunlight due to subtle shifts in its orbit, as the atmosphere or surface changed, or when the Sun’s energy varied. But in the past century, another force has started to influence Earth’s climate: humanity
How does this warming compare to previous changes in Earth’s climate? How can we be certain that human-released greenhouse gases are causing the warming? How much more will the Earth warm? How will Earth respond? Answering these questions is perhaps the most significant scientific challenge of our time.
What is Global Warming?
Global warming is the unusually rapid increase in Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases released as people burn fossil fuels. The global average surface temperature rose 0.6 to 0.9 degrees Celsius (1.1 to 1.6° F) between 1906 and 2005, and the rate of temperature increase has nearly doubled in the last 50 years. Temperatures are certain to go up further.

Despite ups and downs from year to year, global average surface temperature is rising. By the beginning of the 21st century, Earth’s temperature was roughly 0.5 degrees Celsius above the long-term (1951–1980) average. (NASA figure adapted from Goddard Institute for Space Studies Surface Temperature Analysis.)

Earth’s natural greenhouse effect
Earth’s temperature begins with the Sun. Roughly 30 percent of incoming sunlight is reflected back into space by bright surfaces like clouds and ice. Of the remaining 70 percent, most is absorbed by the land and ocean, and the rest is absorbed by the atmosphere. The absorbed solar energy heats our planet.
As the rocks, the air, and the seas warm, they radiate “heat” energy (thermal infrared radiation). From the surface, this energy travels into the atmosphere where much of it is absorbed by water vapor and long-lived greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
When they absorb the energy radiating from Earth’s surface, microscopic water or greenhouse gas molecules turn into tiny heaters— like the bricks in a fireplace, they radiate heat even after the fire goes out. They radiate in all directions.
Why Citizen Science for Precipitation? | Terra
What makes Earth “just right” for life?-our weather and climate. Our unique weather and climate, in other words, temperature combined with the quantity of rainfall and other precipitation, determines where life will flourish or perish on Earth. Too much rainfall, and rivers flood, too little, and soils dry out, making it difficult for plants and animals to survive, resulting in drought and famine.
Water is essential to all life. It comprises 75% of our bodies. We get water from drinking water and from the foods we eat. Water is used for everything. Not only do we use water to grow our crops, it is essential in the manufacturing and transport of our goods and in the processing of our waste. And yet very little fresh water is available for our use. Most of Earth’s water is either too salty (the ocean) or frozen in glaciers.
Additionally, water and precipitation are critical in the redistribution of heat energy around the globe. This movement of water around the Earth is what is known as the water, or hydrological, cycle. Some of the Sun’s energy that reaches the Earth’s surface is used to evaporate and transport the water vapor from one place to another around the Earth. As this water vapor cools it condenses, forming clouds and precipitation.
Throughout history, humans have strived to understand and even control these patterns of weather and climate. By developing an understanding of the patterns of precipitation, scientists are making possible increasingly accurate weather, flood and drought forecasts. In the case of drought, these forecasts allow water managers to decide how to allocate precious water resources. Conversely, in the case of flood events, careful precipitation monitoring and forecasting can improve strategies intended to prevent damage and suffering.
Monitoring Precipitation: How Citizen Scientists Can Help
Scientists use computer models to learn about precipitation patterns and the conditions, both on the land and in the atmosphere, that control them. Models not only allow forecasters to tell you how much rain to expect in tomorrow’s storm, but they also allow scientists to understand how precipitation changes over time.
To check on the models’ accuracy, scientists compare model results to rainfall measurements from ground-based weather stations and satellite measurements.
Global Warming
With some exceptions, the tropics will likely receive less rain (orange) as the planet warms, while the polar regions will receive more precipitation (green). White areas indicate that fewer than two-thirds of the climate models agreed on how precipitation will change. Stippled areas reveal where more than 90 percent of the models agreed. (©2007 IPCC WG1 AR-4.)

It is impossible to pin any single unusual weather event on global warming, but emerging evidence suggests that global warming is already influencing the weather. Heat waves, droughts, and intense rain events have increased in frequency during the last 50 years, and human-induced global warming more likely than not contributed to the trend.
Rising Sea Levels
The weather isn’t the only thing global warming will impact: rising sea levels will erode coasts and cause more frequent coastal flooding. Some island nations will disappear. The problem is serious because up to 10 percent of the world’s population lives in vulnerable areas less than 10 meters (about 30 feet) above sea level.
Between 1870 and 2000, the sea level increased by 1.7 millimeters per year on average, for a total sea level rise of 221 millimeters (0.7 feet or 8.7 inches). And the rate of sea level rise is accelerating. Since 1993, NASA satellites have shown that sea levels are rising more quickly, about 3 millimeters per year, for a total sea level rise of 48 millimeters (0.16 feet or 1.89 inches) between 1993 and 2009.

Sea levels crept up about 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) during the twentieth century. Sea levels are predicted to go up between 18 and 59 cm (7.1 and 23 inches) over the next century, though the increase could be greater if ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica melt more quickly than predicted. Higher sea levels will erode coastlines and cause more frequent flooding. (Graph ©2007 Robert Rohde.)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that sea levels will rise between 0.18 and 0.59 meters (0.59 to 1.9 feet) by 2099 as warming sea water expands, and mountain and polar glaciers melt.
World Of Change
World Of Change

Atmosphere
Heat
Human Presence
Land
Life

Natural
 Events

All
Drought
Dust and Haze
Earthquakes
Fires
Floods
Landslides
Man-made
Sea and Lake Ice
Severe Storms
Temperature Extremes
Unique Imagery
Volcanoes
Water Color

Remote Sensing
Snow & Ice
Water

Collections

ABCs from Space
Air Quality
Amazon Deforestation
Applied Sciences
Astronaut Photography
Backgrounders
Blue Marble
Earth at Night
Earth from Afar
Fall Colors
Food and Agriculture
International Parks and UNESCO Sites
Renewable and Alternative Energy
Sea Level Rise
U.S. National Parks
World of Change

EO Explorer

Topics

Search

Images
Global Maps
Articles
Blogs
EO Explorer

World Of Change

Updated Apr 11, 2024
World of Change: Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada
Wet and dry years cause the snow cover to fluctuate.

Water
Snow and Ice

Updated Jan 13, 2022
World of Change: Global Temperatures
The average global temperature has increased by a little more than 1° Celsius (2° Fahrenheit) since 1880. Two-thirds of the warming has occurred since 1975.

Atmosphere
Heat
Land
Water
Human Presence

Updated Jun 11, 2021
World of Change: Water Level in Lake Powell
Combined with human demands, a multi-year drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin caused a dramatic drop in Lake Powell. Wet and dry seasons lead to annual fluctuations, but the massive reservoir is still mostly below capacity.

Land

Updated Apr 28, 2021
World of Change: Antarctic Sea Ice
Ice has more room to expand around the continent in winter. But it also stretches into warmer latitudes, leading to more melting in summer.

Water
Snow and Ice

Updated Apr 28, 2021
World of Change: Arctic Sea Ice
Several record-setting summer lows, combined with poor wintertime recoveries, have fueled a persistent decline over the past few decades.

Water
Snow and Ice
Global Warming
Warm ocean and land surface areas are white and light gray; cool, low-level clouds are medium gray; and cold, high-altitude clouds are dark gray and black. (NASA image courtesy GOES Project Science.)

High cold clouds, however, form in a part of the atmosphere where energy-absorbing water vapor is scarce. These clouds trap (absorb) energy coming from the lower atmosphere, and emit little energy to space because of their frigid temperatures. In a world with high clouds, a significant amount of energy that would otherwise escape to space is captured in the atmosphere. As a result, global temperatures are higher than in a world without high clouds.
If warmer temperatures result in a greater amount of high clouds, then less infrared energy will be emitted to space. In other words, more high clouds would enhance the greenhouse effect, reducing the Earth’s capability to cool and causing temperatures to warm.
See Clouds and Radiation for a more complete description.
Scientists aren’t entirely sure where and to what degree clouds will end up amplifying or moderating warming, but most climate models predict a slight overall positive feedback or amplification of warming due to a reduction in low cloud cover. A recent observational study found that fewer low, dense clouds formed over a region in the Pacific Ocean when temperatures warmed, suggesting a positive cloud feedback in this region as the models predicted. Such direct observational evidence is limited, however, and clouds remain the biggest source of uncertainty--apart from human choices to control greenhouse gases—in predicting how much the climate will change.
The Carbon Cycle
Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and warming temperatures are causing changes in the Earth’s natural carbon cycle that also can feedback on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. For now, primarily ocean water, and to some extent ecosystems on land, are taking up about half of our fossil fuel and biomass burning emissions. This behavior slows global warming by decreasing the rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide increase, but that trend may not continue. Warmer ocean waters will hold less dissolved carbon, leaving more in the atmosphere.

About half the carbon dioxide emitted into the air from burning fossil fuels dissolves in the ocean. This map shows the total amount of human-made carbon dioxide in ocean water from the surface to the sea floor.