"Scientists and policymakers will use SMAP data to track water movement around our planet and make more informed decisions in critical areas like agriculture and water resources," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. SMAP also will detect whether the ground is frozen or thawed. Detecting variations in the timing of spring thaw and changes in the length of the growing season will help scientists more accurately account for how much carbon plants are removing from Earth's atmosphere each year.
A new NASA satellite that will peer into the topmost layer of Earth's soils to measure the hidden waters that influence our weather and climate is in final preparations for a January 29, 2015 dawn launch from California. The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission will take the pulse of a key measure of our water planet: how freshwater cycles over Earth's land surfaces in the form of soil moisture. This data will be used to enhance scientists' understanding of the processes that link Earth's water, energy and carbon cycles.
The report, “Investment in Climate Change Adaptation Can Help Promote Livelihoods of 65% of Africans,” provides a snapshot of current and predicted future impacts of climate change on livelihoods, agriculture, and human and ecosystem health in Africa.
Professor John Briscoe, a native of South Africa, is named the 2014 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate “for his unparalleled contributions to global and local water management, inspired by an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of people on the ground.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on 6 May 2014 released EnviroAtlas, a web-based interactive tool that integrates over 300 separate data layers, helps decision makers understand the implications of planning and policy decisions on our fragile ecosystems and the communities who depend on goods and services from these ecosystems. EnviroAtlas is available to the public and houses a wealth of data and research.
This article compares quantitative estimates for groundwater loss and glacier recession and considers the significance of their relative magnitudes. It concludes that the effect of food and agriculture, hence of population, may be significantly greater than that attributable to the global warming caused by industrial production and transport.
. In July 2014, NASA will launch the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) to study the fate of carbon dioxide worldwide. Natural processes are working hard to keep the carbon cycle in balance by absorbing about half of our carbon emissions, limiting the extent of climate change. There's a lot we don't know about these processes, including where they are occurring and how they might change as the climate warms. To understand and prepare for the carbon cycle of the future, we have an urgent need to find out.
NEWater’s comprehensive public communications and education program was recognized by UN-Water for building public confidence and acceptance in NEWater, Singapore’s own brand of recycled water which comes from collected and cleaned wastewater.
A trilateral agreement pledges collaborative implementation of science-based conservation initiatives that secure and connect jaguars and their habitats in Belize and beyond its borders, facilitate land development that is both ecologically sustainable and economically profitable, and mitigate human-jaguar conflict throughout the country.
Yale Himalaya Initiative (YHI) with a focus on the themes of Environment, Livelihood and Culture brings together diverse disciplinary interests to consider critical questions in the Himalaya and beyond.