Earth Observatory News - SciTechDaily

The Heat Is On: Thermal Anomalies Detected in Ethiopia’s “Gateway to Hell”

Lindsey Doermann, NASA Earth Observatory — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 16:08:42 +0000

Erta Ale, in the East African Rift, is Ethiopia’s most active volcano. The heat is always on at Erta Ale volcano in Ethiopia. In East...

Twists of Nature: Spectacular Swirls in the Sky and Sea Around Norway’s Remote Bear Island

Adam Voiland, NASA Earth Observatory — Sun, 03 Dec 2023 09:53:29 +0000

Fluid dynamics put on a spectacular show around Norway’s remote Bear Island. Theodore von Kármán, a Hungarian-American physicist, is well-known within NASA for helping found...

Catastrophic Floods Strike East Africa After Historic Drought

Emily Cassidy, NASA Earth Observatory — Sat, 02 Dec 2023 10:41:00 +0000

Heavy rainfall in the Horn of Africa submerged entire towns in floodwater. Heavy rainfall led to extensive flooding in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya in October...

The Towering Inferno: Mount Erebus’ Dramatic Emergence From the Antarctic Clouds

Lindsey Doermann, NASA Earth Observatory — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 18:13:39 +0000

The fiery and icy upper reaches of the Antarctic volcano pierced through a canopy of clouds. On a late spring day in 2023, the summit...

Riot of Color: The Fiery Hues of Alaska’s Malaspina Glacier

Lindsey Doermann, NASA Earth Observatory — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 07:02:04 +0000

An unexpected color palette reveals the features of an iconic glacial landscape in southeastern Alaska. To human eyes, glacial ice typically looks white tinged with...

Melting Majesty: Quelccaya’s Ice Cap Shrinks in Climate’s Grip

Kathryn Hansen, NASA Earth Observatory — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 18:46:56 +0000

Ice cores and satellite images are helping preserve the history of a disappearing ice cap in the Peruvian Andes. The Quelccaya Ice Cap rests on...

The Great Green Wall: China’s Fight Against Desertification

Adam Voiland, NASA Earth Observatory — Sat, 25 Nov 2023 13:57:03 +0000

Flanked by mountain ranges on three sides, the basin in northwestern China sees frequent dust storms. The Taklamakan desert, located in China’s Tarim Basin, is...

Snowpocalypse Now: Anchorage Smashes Snowfall Records

Lindsey Doermann, NASA Earth Observatory — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 23:35:46 +0000

The Alaskan city of Anchorage received record snowfall in November 2023. Winter weather arrived in force in Southcentral Alaska in 2023. Anchorage logged its snowiest...

From Fields to Feasts: Illinois’ Mastery in Pumpkin Production

Adam Voiland, NASA Earth Observatory — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 16:22:19 +0000

Much of the canned pumpkin that ends up in Thanksgiving pies and soups came from Central Illinois. Pumpkins, a type of winter squash native to...

Emerald Intruder: The Mysterious Green Iceberg of East Antarctica

Kathryn Hansen, NASA Earth Observatory — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 06:36:23 +0000

A scientist spotted a jade hue in the sea ice fastened to the coast of East Antarctica. Jan Lieser has analyzed countless satellite images of...

Rising Against the Odds: Remarkable Resurgence of America’s Second Largest Reservoir Amid Persistent Drought

Emily Cassidy, NASA Earth Observatory — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 18:39:50 +0000

A wet winter in western states provided a short-term reprieve to the decades-long drought in the reservoir. After falling to record lows in early 2023,...

Solar Storm Spectacle: Colorful Auroras Light Up Earth’s Atmosphere

Emily Cassidy, NASA Earth Observatory — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 05:14:54 +0000

Curtains of colorful light danced across the sky after solar storms sent energized particles crashing into Earth’s upper atmosphere. In early November 2023, sky watchers...

Klyuchevskoy Erupts: Eurasia’s Tallest Active Volcano Spews Ash 40,000 Feet Into the Air

Lindsey Doermann, NASA Earth Observatory — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 12:32:32 +0000

Eurasia’s tallest active volcano spewed ash that drifted hundreds of kilometers. Eruption activity escalated at the Klyuchevskoy volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula in autumn 2023....

El Niño’s Rain Games: A Global Hunger Crisis?

Emily Cassidy, NASA Earth Observatory — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 17:35:06 +0000

Shifting rainfall patterns are projected to leave millions of people without consistent access to food in late 2023 and early 2024. The ongoing El Niño...

Trou Au Natron: The Ghostly Volcanic Face From Space

Adam Voiland, NASA Earth Observatory — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 19:44:55 +0000

Past volcanic eruptions and salt deposits from present-day hot springs left this distinctive “face” in northern Chad. From above, the 1,000-meter (3,300-foot) deep volcanic pit...

Red Alert: Earth’s Blood-Like Waters Revealed From Space

NASA Earth Observatory — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 03:08:49 +0000

Despite their rusty color, these arteries of water in Bolivia and Madagascar are important for biodiversity. Some of Earth’s water bodies can assume a blood-like...

Russia’s Restless Giants: The Volcanoes of Kamchatka in Action

Lindsey Doermann, NASA Earth Observatory — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 10:26:20 +0000

Eruptions on Russia’s active Kamchatka Peninsula made for a dramatic display of steam, snow, and shadows. Neighboring volcanoes on Russia’s ever-fiery Kamchatka Peninsula puffed away...

Breathtaking View of Moon’s Shadow Over the U.S. During the Annular Solar Eclipse

Emily Cassidy, NASA Earth Observatory — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 08:27:29 +0000

As the Moon crossed between the Sun and Earth during the 2023 annular solar eclipse, its shadow darkened skies across the United States. On October...

Coral Crisis: Massive Accumulation of Heat Stress in Summer 2023

Kathryn Hansen, NASA Earth Observatory — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 20:39:46 +0000

The seas around Florida, Cuba, and the Bahamas saw large accumulations of heat stress beginning in summer 2023, with implications for the health of coral...

Fiery Tundras and Plump Bears: Autumn’s Majesty on Alaska’s Kodiak Island

Lindsey Doermann, NASA Earth Observatory — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 13:09:59 +0000

The Alaskan tundra puts on a fleeting display of color before the snows fall and bears hibernate. As summer turns to fall in Alaska, days...

Between Volcanic Eruptions and Destructive Earthquakes: San Salvador’s Fiery Saga

Lindsey Doermann, NASA Earth Observatory — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 23:28:44 +0000

The cultural and political hub of El Salvador lies along the Central American Volcanic Arc. Along the Pacific coastline of Central America, a string of...

Unexpected Desolation: Largest Lake in the Middle East Shrivels Into Salt Flat

Lindsey Doermann, NASA Earth Observatory — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 18:08:42 +0000

A few years after a fresh influx of water raised its levels, Lake Urmia has nearly gone dry. After rapidly growing in volume just a...

Beneath a Desert Moon: Astronaut Captures Breathtaking Image From Space Station

NASA Earth Observatory — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 21:52:31 +0000

An oblique-angle photo taken from above the Middle East captures the Moon peeking over Earth’s atmospheric limb. An astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured...

39 Nautical-Mile-Long Iceberg Grazes Clarence Island

Adam Voiland, NASA Earth Observatory — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 17:32:18 +0000

After passing the Antarctic Peninsula, Iceberg D-30A grazed the much smaller Clarence Island, spun around, and drifted north. In June 2021, the U.S. National Ice...