Latest news with #EarthScience
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Hurricane forecasters are losing 3 key satellites ahead of peak storm season − a meteorologist explains why it matters
About 600 miles off the west coast of Africa, large clusters of thunderstorms begin organizing into tropical storms every hurricane season. They aren't yet in range of Hurricane Hunter flights, so forecasters at the National Hurricane Center rely on weather satellites to peer down on these storms and beam back information about their location, structure and intensity. The satellite data helps meteorologists create weather forecasts that keep planes and ships safe and prepare countries for a potential hurricane landfall. Now, meteorologists are about to lose access to three of those satellites. On June 25, 2025, the Trump administration issued a service change notice announcing that the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, DMSP, and the Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center would terminate data collection, processing and distribution of all DMSP data no later than June 30. The data termination was postponed until July 31 following a request from the head of NASA's Earth Science Division. I am a meteorologist who studies lightning in hurricanes and helps train other meteorologists to monitor and forecast tropical cyclones. Here is how meteorologists use the DMSP data and why they are concerned about it going dark. At its most basic, a weather satellite is a high-resolution digital camera in space that takes pictures of clouds in the atmosphere. These are the satellite images you see on most TV weather broadcasts. They let meteorologists see the location and some details of a hurricane's structure, but only during daylight hours. Meteorologists can use infrared satellite data, similar to a thermal imaging camera, at all hours of the day to find the coldest cloud-top temperatures, highlighting areas where the highest wind speeds and rainfall rates are found. But while visible and infrared satellite imagery are valuable tools for hurricane forecasters, they provide only a basic picture of the storm. It's like a doctor diagnosing a patient after a visual exam and checking their temperature. For more accurate diagnoses, meteorologists rely on the DMSP satellites. The three satellites orbit Earth 14 times per day with special sensor microwave imager/sounder instruments, or SSMIS. These let meteorologists look inside the clouds, similar to how an MRI in a hospital looks inside a human body. With these instruments, meteorologists can pinpoint the storm's low-pressure center and identify signs of intensification. Precisely locating the center of a hurricane improves forecasts of the storm's future track. This lets meteorologists produce more accurate hurricane watches, warnings and evacuations. Hurricane track forecasts have improved by up to 75% since 1990. However, forecasting rapid intensification is still difficult, so the ability of DMPS data to identify signs of intensification is important. About 80% of major hurricanes – those with wind speeds of at least 111 mph (179 kilometers per hour) – rapidly intensify at some point, ramping up the risks they pose to people and property on land. Finding out when storms are about to undergo intensification allows meteorologists to warn the public about these dangerous hurricanes. NOAA's Office of Satellite and Product Operations described the reason for turning off the flow of data as a need to mitigate 'a significant cybersecurity risk.' The three satellites have already operated for longer than planned. The DMSP satellites were launched between 1999 and 2009 and were designed to last for five years. They have now been operating for more than 15 years. The United States Space Force recently concluded that the DMSP satellites would reach the end of their lives between 2023 and 2026, so the data would likely have gone dark soon. Three other satellites in orbit – NOAA-20, NOAA-21 and Suomi NPP – have a microwave instrument known as the advanced technology microwave sounder. The advanced technology microwave sounder, or ATMS, can provide data similar to the special sensor microwave imager/sounder, or SSMIS, but at a lower resolution. It provides a more washed-out view that is less useful than the SSMIS for pinpointing a storm's location or estimating its intensity. The U.S. Space Force began using data from a new defense meteorology satellite, ML-1A, in late April 2025. ML-1A is a microwave satellite that will help replace some of the DMSP satellites' capabilities. However, the government hasn't announced whether the ML-1A data will be available to forecasters, including those at the National Hurricane Center. Satellite programs are planned over many years, even decades, and are very expensive. The current geostationary satellite program launched its first satellite in 2016 with plans to operate until 2038. Development of the planned successor for GOES-R began in 2019. Similarly, plans for replacing the DMSP satellites have been underway since the early 2000s. Delays in developing the satellite instruments and funding cuts caused the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System and Defense Weather Satellite System to be canceled in 2010 and 2012 before any of their satellites could be launched. The 2026 NOAA budget request includes an increase in funding for the next-generation geostationary satellite program, so it can be restructured to reuse spare parts from existing geostationary satellites. The budget also terminates contracts for ocean color, atmospheric composition and advanced lightning mapper instruments. The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, is forecast to be above average, with six to 10 hurricanes. The most active part of the season runs from the middle of August to the middle of October, after the DMSP satellite data is set to be turned off. Hurricane forecasters will continue to use all available tools, including satellite, radar, weather balloon and dropsonde data, to monitor the tropics and issue hurricane forecasts. But the loss of satellite data, along with other cuts to data, funding and staffing, could ultimately put more lives at risk. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Chris Vagasky, University of Wisconsin-Madison Read more: Hurricane forecasts are more accurate than ever – NOAA funding cuts could change that, with a busy storm season coming Forecasters expect a busy 2025 hurricane season – a storm scientist explains why and what meteorologists are watching Hurricane hunters fly through extreme storms to forecast intensity – here's what happens when the plane plunges into the eyewall Chris Vagasky is a member of the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Detect Deep, Rhythmic Pulse Coming From Inside the Earth
Scientists have discovered a heartbeat-like pulse emanating from inside the Earth beneath the continent of Africa, which they believe will one day rip the continent into pieces. In a new study published today in the journal Nature Geoscience, a team of European and African scientists explain how they used chemical signatures to examine this inner-Earth heartbeat, explaining that molten chunks of mantle — the rocky layer found between the Earth's surface and core — are surging together through rift zones, or weak areas of volcanos where magma is likeliest to break through our planet's crust. These internal surges have settled into rhythmic bursts of pulsing plumes. Which, while fascinating to imagine, effectively means that bursts of molten rock are pushing against the African continent's crust — and over millions of years, will likely tear the continent apart, making way for a new ocean basin. Researchers focused on the Afar region of Ethiopia, a volcanic area where multiple rift zones are located, collecting and analyzing around 130 samples of volcanic rock. "We found that the mantle beneath Afar is not uniform or stationary," said Emma Watts, a Swansea University geologist and lead author of the study, in a statement. "It pulses, and these pulses carry distinct chemical signatures." As the Independent notes, the research is significant because while scientists have believed for some time that the region's mantle was being pushed against its crust and causing it to expand, they didn't quite know why. This new research offers scientists a deeper understanding of that process. What's more, it reveals that the Earth's plates actually have a huge influence on the movements of the molten magma located beneath them. "These pulses appear to behave differently depending on the thickness of the plate, and how fast it's pulling apart," said study co-author Tom Gernon, a geologist at the University of Southampton, in a statement. "In faster-spreading rifts like the Red Sea, the pulses travel more efficiently and regularly like a pulse through a narrow artery." Excitingly, the researchers believe their discovery will pave the way for more breakthroughs in how we understand and study volcanic activity, the dynamic inner workings of our planet, and what activity found today means for Earth's future. "This has profound implications," said the University of Southampton's Derek Keir, an earth sciences professor and study co-author, in a statement, "for how we interpret surface volcanism, earthquake activity, and the process of continental breakup." More on planet Earth: A Strange Darkness Is Spreading Throughout the Oceans
Forbes
24-06-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Summer 2025 Will Be 15 Minutes Shorter Than Last Year — Here's Why
Summer 2025 will be 15 minutes shorter than summer 2024. Summer this year in the Northern Hemisphere summer will be shorter — by exactly 15 minutes — than it was in 2024 because, according to of the ever-changing shape of Earth's orbit around the sun. Earth currently orbits the sun along a slightly elliptical path, which makes summers in the Northern Hemisphere longer than those in the Southern Hemisphere — and they're getting longer each year. However, that pattern is interrupted this year. Here's everything you need to know about why. Earth's Elliptical Orbit At 15:54 EDT on Thursday, July 3, Earth will reach its farthest point from the sun for the entire year. Astronomers call this aphelion. On that date, Earth receives less radiation from the sun, which is at its smallest in the sky. Earth next reaches its perihelion — its closest point to the sun — at 12:15 p.m. EDT on Jan. 3, 2026. Earth will get maximum radiation from the sun, which will be at its largest in the sky on that day. Crucially, none of this has anything to do with seasons on Earth, which is a result of the Earth's tilted axis. When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, it's summer, which is defined as between the solstice in June and the equinox in September. Why Summer Lasts Longer North Of The Equator Although it may not define the seasons, Earth's elliptical orbit around the sun does affect the duration of the seasons. At aphelion, Earth is farthest from the sun, so it takes a slightly longer path than when it's at perihelion when it moves slightly faster. Since aphelion occurs a couple of weeks after summer has begun in the Northern Hemisphere, aphelion makes summer last slightly longer than the Southern Hemisphere's summer (which occurs between the December solstice and the March equinox). As it stands, summer in the Northern Hemisphere is about four days longer than summer in the Southern Hemisphere, according to However, the gravitational influence of the sun, the moon and even Jupiter causes minute fluctuations in the shape and speed of Earth's orbit from year to year. In 2025, this will result in a slightly shorter summer than in 2024 — 93 days, 15 hours, and 37 minutes, down from 93 days, 15 hours, and 52 minutes. In 2026, summer will be three minutes longer than in 2025. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains: Exploring Antarctica's hidden mountain range
When you think of Antarctica, you probably picture flat, cold and desolate landscapes, perhaps with the odd penguin here and there. But did you know there are actually rugged and rocky mountain ranges, valleys and hills not only above ground but also hidden one - buried deep below the surface of the icy continent? The ancient Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains in the middle of East Antarctica were discovered beneath the highest point of the East Antarctic ice sheet in 1958. A group of explorers discovered them using sound waves to study the Earth's surfaces. But new research has shone a light on how this huge underground mountain range came to exist. Usually mountain ranges, like the Himalayas and the Andes, rise up due to movement of two tectonic plates in the Earth's crust clashing together. But there are no such plates in the Antarctic, leaving geologists scratching their heads as to how the Gamburtsev Mountains came to exist. However, the new study, published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, suggests the hidden mountain chain appeared more than 500 million years ago when the supercontinent Gondwana, which was made up of what is now Africa, South America, Australia, India and Antarctica, was formed. Usually, as with the European Alps and other mountain ranges, the geography changes because they become worn down by erosion or re reshaped by later events. But because they have been 'hidden' by a deep layer of ice, the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains are one of the best-preserved ancient mountain belts on Earth.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists 'strike gold' in shocking discovery from Hawaiian volcanic rocks
A German university, Göttingen University, has literally "struck gold" in recent findings from volcanic rocks. A new study of these volcanic rocks from Hawaii, that leaked out from deep under the lithosphere, contained various precious metals. Dr. Nils Messling of the Göttingen University's Department of Geochemistry said in a news release they were surprised when the test results came in. "When the first results came in, we realized that we had literally struck gold! Our data confirmed that material from the core, including gold and other precious metals, is leaking into the Earth's mantle above," Messling said. Largest Gold Deposit In The World Worth $83 Billion Found In China Approximately 99% of the Earth's gold is buried deep in the Earth's Metallic Core, far out of humankind's reach. Read On The Fox News App The gold is currently buried about 1,800 miles deep in the core. The discovery of this ruthenium, which was formed and locked down with gold, might be a telling sign that these volcanic rocks are coming from deep within the Earth. Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Erupts With 1,000-Foot 'Lava Fountaining' "Our findings not only show that the Earth's core is not as isolated as previously assumed. We can now also prove that huge volumes of super-heated mantle material – several hundreds of quadrillion metric tonnes of rock – originate at the core-mantle boundary and rise to the Earth's surface to form ocean islands like Hawaii," said Professor Matthias Willbold in a news release. There is a way to test for isotopes of ruthenium, especially when differences are small variations of the same element. The isotopes of ruthenium in the Earth's core are slightly different from those on the surface, with the difference being too small to really detect. However, new procedures developed by researchers at the University of Göttingen have made it possible. "Whether these processes that we observe today have also been operating in the past remains to be proven. Our findings open up an entirely new perspective on the evolution of the inner dynamics of our home planet," Messling said in a statement. With these precious metals beginning to leak to the Earth's surface, it could suggest that the supplies of gold and others important for renewable energy came from the Earth's article source: Scientists 'strike gold' in shocking discovery from Hawaiian volcanic rocks
