The GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement) Cold-season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx) will be conducted in cooperation with Environment Canada in Ontario, Canada from January 17th to February 29th, 2012. The overarching goal of GCPEx is to characterize the ability of multi-frequency active and passive microwave sensors to detect and estimate falling snow through the collection of microphysical […]
By Michelle Koutnik Now for a recap of our adventure! We arrived in Christchurch on November 19 and returned there on January 5. We spent 17 days in McMurdo before leaving to Byrd camp on December 7. It took only a few days to prepare for the traverse and we left Byrd camp on December […]
By Bob Bindschadler Christchurch (New Zealand), 18 January — This will be my last entry in this season’s blog. I had hoped to tell a different tale the past two months —one of successful science being done in a harsh, remote place by hardy individuals dedicated to getting information that had direct relevance to your […]
It’s been a really active time for the Earth Observatory and volcanoes. In the past three weeks, we’ve posted images of a night-time eruption of Shiveluch, ongoing activity at Puyehue–Cordón Caulle, daytime activity at the Kizimen Volcano, and my own favorite, a brand new island in the Red Sea. And those are just the images […]
By Bob Bindschadler McMurdo (Antarctica), 14 January — Delayed flights seem to be the rule this season. Our flight to Christchurch was cancelled late Thursday night because of expected bad weather here. On the next try, there was a mechanical problem that required a part that had to be shipped to Christchurch, so I’m still in […]
The new feature story, Seeing Forests for the Trees and the Carbon, discusses the need to form a three-dimensional picture of the world’s forests. Such a three-dimensional picture includes tree canopy height (below). Although canopy height in the Amazon Rainforest doesn’t match those of the Pacific Northwest or Southeast Asia, it still far exceeds the […]
By Lora Koenig and Jessica Williams Most members of the traverse team have made their way safely back to the U.S. Everyone took a few days to enjoy the summer sun in New Zealand and defrost before returning home. Jessica submitted this blog post and photos from the traverse, with all the scientific details on […]
By Bob Bindschadler McMurdo (Antarctica), 12 January — The optimists following this blog would have likely assumed that the absence of new postings this past week meant that we were finally in the field and that the work was finally underway. Those optimists would be half-right; we were at the PIG Main Camp this past […]
On January 11, 2012, Google celebrated the 374th birthday of geology pioneer, Nicolaus Steno, with a special Google Doodle. Steno was a 17th-century anatomist and pioneering geologist. After dissecting a shark head, he realized that “tongue stones” — believed to belong to snakes turned to stone — were actually shark teeth. In Steno’s era, […]
For a month in the fall of 2011, NASA staff conducted an experiment of a different kind. They shared satellite images and maps with Chicagoans, but not in a classroom or a museum. The images of Earth were posted at malls, at bus and train stations, in O’Hare Airport, and on roadside billboards. The experimental question […]
