News by Subject Earth Science

According to the prevailing opinion, species-rich ecosystems are more stable against environmental disruptions such as drought, hot spells or pesticides. The situation is not as simple as it seems, however, as ecologists at the University of Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) have now discovered. Under certain environmental conditions, increased biodiversity can also lead to an ecosystem becoming more unstable.

NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of the remnants of former Tropical Storm Tara after it dissipated near the coast of western Mexico's Jalisco state. Jalisco is a western Mexican state along the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the Eastern Pacific Ocean on Oct. 16, 2018, the MODIS instrument aboard analyzed water vapor within Tropical Storm Tara.

Climatologists may be unable to accurately predict regional climate change over the North Atlantic because computer simulations have failed to include real data from the Greenland region over the last three decades -- and it could lead to regional climate predictions for the UK and parts of Europe being inaccurate.

A new study reveals phytoplankton spring blooms in the Arctic Ocean, which were previously nonexistent, are expanding northward at a rate of one degree of latitude per decade. Although blooms did not previously occur in this area, phytoplankton were present in the Arctic's central basin at low biomass. The study also found the primary productivity of the phytoplankton, or the rate at which phytoplankton convert sunlight into chemical energy, is increasing during the spring blooms.

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite found newly developed Tropical Storm Tara affecting the western coast of Mexico.

Some casualties resulted not only from Michael's destructive winds and storm surges but also from the blinding rain that Michael produced as it battered states from Florida northeastward through Virginia. NASA used satellite data to estimate how much rainfall occurred along Hurricane Michael's track from Oct. 7 to Oct. 12, 2018.

Tropical Cyclone Luban made landfall in northern Yemen and imagery from NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite confirmed that the low pressure area has continued to linger near the border of Yemen and Oman.