Cool Geo-video: Mapping Mega-Droughts

This cool geo-video comes from NASA science in an effort to communicate drought risk base on past drought & soil moisture to drive climate modeling scenarios to estimate the risk & impact of future drought in the 21st century.





Reference: NASA Earrh Observatory, Carbon Emissions Could Dramatically Increase Risk of U.S. Megadroughts, February 15, 2015  - original post - click here

1. NASA Earth Observatory (2012, February 1) Mayan Deforestation and Drought.
2. NASA Earth Observatory (2010, June 3) Global Warming.
3. NASA Earth Observatory (2010, October 1) The Water Cycle.
4. NASA Earth Observatory (2012, September 12) The Gravity of Water.

NASA images by Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC) and Cheng Zhang (USRA), NASA Scientific Visualization Studio. Caption by Patrick Lynch, NASA Earth Science News Team.

Instrument(s): Model

Cool Geo-Pic: "Net-net" Global Sea Ice is Shrinking

Today's cool geo-pic is again from NASA's Earth Observatory. It provides a "net-net" comparison of polar ice loss, and comes to the conclusion that global sea ice is still shrinking.

"Cut & Paste" Highlights:
"....Examining 35 years of sea ice data, Parkinson has shown that increases around Antarctica do not make up for the accelerated Arctic sea ice loss of the last decades. Earth has been shedding sea ice at an average annual rate of 35,000 square kilometers (13,500 square miles) since 1979—the equivalent of losing an area of sea ice larger than the state of Maryland every year...."

.... “Even though Antarctic sea ice reached a new record maximum in September 2014, global sea ice is still decreasing,” said Parkinson, who is based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “That’s because the decreases in Arctic sea ice far exceed the increases in Antarctic sea ice.....”

".....The line graphs above plot the monthly deviations and overall trends in polar sea ice from 1979 to 2013 as measured by satellites. The top line shows the Arctic, the middle shows Antarctica, and the third line shows the global, combined total. The sparklines at the bottom of the graphs show each year separately, enabling month-to-month comparisons across each year. The thickness of each sparkline indicates the overall growth or loss in sea ice globally. The thinning of the sparklines is indicative of the downward trend in total polar sea ice......"

Full Article:  Despite Antarctic Gains, Global Sea Ice Is Shrinking February 11, 2015
 Click Here

References:

• Parkinson, C.L. (2014) Global Sea Ice Coverage from Satellite Data: Annual Cycle and 35-Yr Trends. Journal of Climate, 27, 9377–9382.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2014, September 24) A Tale of Two Poles.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2014) Antarctic Sea Ice.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2014) Arctic Sea Ice.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2009, April 20) Sea Ice.

Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens. Caption by Maria-Jose Viñas and Mike Carlowicz.

Instrument(s): DMSP - SSM/I

Mapping the Goldilocks Zone - the Precious Atmospheres of Three Planets

Everyone remembers the college "urban legend" of a competitive major's first freshman class, where the Professor standing from a podium before an audience of "wide-eyed" students, almost proudly boasts a sneering threat on their probability of academic failure.

It goes something like ... "For those of you freshman just accepted to [insert your prestigious University name here]'s elite major in [insert Engineering, Pre-Med, Physics or similar rigorous speciality here], I offer a prediction. It is based on historical fact. Look to the left of you, look to the right of you.  [Insert choice of 'impending doom' exclusion - One, Both or All] of you will not be here at graduation."

Perhaps surprisingly, this never made me think of the value of a good education, or even the value of a good teacher (possibly because for "my undergrad" I went to Penn State, joined a fraternity, and arguably majored in beer). But it did make me think of how lucky we are to have a planet is the "Goldilocks Zone". It's the "precious place in cosmic space" which resolves the childrens' story conundrum of "not too hot & not too cold"; a planetary zone that can support life as we know it.

This recent graphic from the UNEP/GRID-Arendal again reminded me of this blessing, our planetary orbital 'cradle' that brought us here today. 

In layman's terms, to one side of Earth, we have a "freeze-dried" planet, Mars - also called the red planet from its reddish appearance yet almost inspite of its prevailing surface temperatures. Martian surface temperatures vary from lows of about −87 °C (−125 °F) during the polar winters to highs of up to −5 °C (23 °F) in summers. Summary: Too cold.

To the other side, Venus. While named for a goddess of beauty, it might as well be called the "microwave" planet. Also once called Earth's "sister" planet, it has an atmosphere that releases so little of the sun's energy that its effectively "overcooked", with an almost constant surface temperatures of over 460 °C (860 °F). Summary: Too hot.

An there in "the middle" is our beautiful, brilliant "blue marble" of Earth, hanging in the same cold void of space yet somehow teaming with life. Just right! 

Now when I "look left, look right" on a planetary scale, I see what we as humans must avoid "at home" and also the future opportunity to "travel abroad".  Venus stands as a global warning of atmospheric change, loudly proclaiming "beware your fragile atmosphere". While Mars is a potential path of planetary colonization in the future - for if humans know one thing, its how to warm a place up! Still a foreboding message, but one I like to ponder (often with a beer) & smile.

Full credits:
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Sources	Calvin, J. Hamilton, Views of the Solar System, www.planetscapes.com; Bill Arnett, The nine planets: a multimedia tour of the solar system, www.seds.org/billa/tnp/nineplanets.html
Link to web-site	http://www.grida.no/publications/vg/climate/page/3056.aspx
Cartographer/ Designer	Philippe Rekacewicz, UNEP/GRID-Arendal
Appears in	Vital Climate Graphics
Published	2000

Mapping the Casualties of War - Battlefield to US Hometown

This is sobering interactive display of war casualties, linking battlefield locations to hometowns. Credit to Flowing Data for bringing this to my attention - a collaboration between CNN and Stamen Design.

Cool Geo-Pic: Antarctic Ozone Hole 2009

This Cool Geo-Pic comes again from NASA's Earth Observatory. The news of ozone decade is cautiously optimitistic as the rate of decay seems to be "holding" for now ....

Quick "Cut & Paste" Highlights:

" ... The annual ozone hole started developing over the South Pole in late August 2009, and by September 10, it appeared that the ozone hole of 2009 would be comparable to ozone depletions over the past decade. This composite image from September 10 depicts ozone concentrations in Dobson units, with purple and blues depicting severe deficits of ozone. The image was made from data collected by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument onboard NASA’s Aura satellite...."


"...Recent observations and several studies have shown that the size of the annual ozone hole has stabilized and the level of ozone-depleting substances has decreased by 4 percent since 2001. But since chlorine and bromine compounds have long lifetimes in the atmosphere, a recovery of atmospheric ozone is not likely to be noticeable until 2020 or later.

Visit NASA’s Ozone Watch page for current imagery, data, and animations of the year to date..."

Full Article - Click Here


References / Credits:

Antarctic Ozone Hole: 1979 to 2008
Climate Change and Atmospheric Circulation Will Make for Uneven Ozone Recovery
New Simulation Shows Consequences of a World Without Earth's Natural Sunscreen
Ozone Day 2009
What’s Holding Antarctic Sea Ice Back From Melting?
NASA image courtesy Ozone Watch. Caption by Michael Carlowicz.
Instrument:
Aura - OMI

Cool Geo-Pic: North Pole Sea Ice Minimum 2009

This Cool Geo-Pic comes again from NASA's Earth Observatory. Part of larger series on measuring the loss of one million square miles of polar ice in the Arctic Ocean, it highlights the pace of the ice loss.

Nothing about this is "new to the planet" except for THE RATE OF CHANGE.

Fluctuations in sea level (30 meters lower as recent as 20,000 years ago) - once measured in centuries and millennia are now occurring over decades.


Quick "Cut & Paste" Highlights:
" ... On September 12, 2009, sea ice in the Arctic Ocean most likely reached its minimum extent for 2009, said the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The reach of Arctic sea ice fluctuates through the year, growing in the winter and shrinking through the summer...."

"....This image illustrates the 2009 minimum on September 12, when ice covered 5.10 million square kilometers (2.97 million square miles) of the Arctic Ocean. The average minimum between 1979 and 2000, outlined in yellow, was 6.71 million square kilometers...."

"....The graph illustrates the difference between 2009, 2008, and 2007 sea ice extent and the average extent. Sea ice covered a smaller area in 2009 compared to 2008 until August, at which point ice loss in 2008 surpassed 2009. Neither year came close to 2007, which was low from the start of the melt season. All years were significantly below average...."

"....To see how sea ice has changed since 2000, see the Earth Observatory’s World of Change entry on Arctic Sea Ice...."


Full Article - Click Here


References / Credits:
National Snow and Ice Data Center. (2009, September 17). Arctic sea ice reaches annual minimum extent. Accessed September 18, 2009.

Scott, M. (2009, April 20). Sea Ice. NASA’s Earth Observatory. Accessed September 18, 2009.

NASA images created by Jesse Allen and Rob Simmon, using AMSR-E sea ice concentration data provided courtesy of the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Caption by Holli Riebeek.

Instrument: Aqua - AMSR-E

Cool Geo-Pic: Fire Season in a Rain Forest

This Cool Geo-Pic comes again from NASA's Earth Observatory. What can create a fire season in a rain forest? Us, of course.

Quick "Cut & Paste" Highlights:

" ...Prior to widespread human settlement and forest clearing, there was no such thing as a fire season in the Amazon Rainforest. The ability of trees to draw water up from deep underground during the annual dry season and a lack of natural fire triggers—lightning rarely occurs without rain—meant that in most places, a fire might occur once in several hundred—or perhaps as many as 1,000—years. Today, burning begins in August, generally peaks in September, and tapers off by October; during these months, the skies over the Amazon fill with smoke ......"

"..... Scientists use the amount of smoke and fires in the Amazon as an indicator of how much of the Amazon was cleared or degraded each year, but the burning has other impacts. Fires release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, adding to global warming. And the smoke chokes off cloud formation, which changes the Amazon’s energy balance: fewer clouds mean more sunlight reaches the surface, which leads to warming."

Full Article - Click Here

References / Credits:

Koren, I., Remer, L., and Longo, K. (2007). Reversal of trend of biomass burning in the Amazon. Geophysical Research Letters,34, L20404, doi:10.1029/2007GL031530.
Lindsey, R. (2004). From Forest to Field: How Fire is Transforming the Amazon. NASA’s Earth Observatory. Accessed June 29, 2009.
Lindsey, R. (2008). Amazon Fires on the Rise. NASA’s Earth Observatory. Accessed June 29, 2009.
Torres, O. . Chen, Z., Jethva, H., Ahn, C., Freitas, S.R., and Bhartia, P.K. (2009). OMI Observations of the Anomalous 2008 Southern Hemisphere Biomass Burning Season. Manuscript submitted for publication.
NASA image created by Jesse Allen, based on OMI aerosol data provided by Omar Torres and Changwoo Ahn (Hampton University). Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.
Instrument:
Aura - OMI

The World's Largest Populations Require Glacier Melt for Water Flow - a Map Display

This Cool Map comes from the UNEP/GRID Maps Library. What seems most telling, is that 3 billion+ people rely on glacier melt water flow for their basic water requirements. This is the most stark example I have have seen on the "inland" impact from climate change.

Quick "Cut & Paste" Highlights:

" ...Many of the largest rivers in the Himalayas Hindu Kush region are strongly dependent upon snow and glacial melt for waterflow. Many of the largest rivers in the Himalayas Hindu Kush region are strongly dependent upon snow and glacial melt for waterflow. Except for the fact that glaciers are melting rapidly in many places, we do not have adequate data to more accurately project when and where water scarcity will affect irrigation schemes in full. Making accurate projections is also difficult because of variations in the effects on ground and surface water, as well as on water for urban needs and industrial purposes Furthermore, the cost of water may also increase, seriously complicating the water scarcity question. Recent studies show that cost of water has increased by about 400–500% since 1990 in the Indo-Gangetic Basin of India..."

Full Article - Click Here

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References / Credits:

(Source: Rees and Collins, 2004; UNEP, 2007).
Link to web-site http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/food-crisis/
Cartographer/Designer Ieva Rucevska, UNEP/GRID-Arendal
Appears in Environmental Food Crisis
Published 2009, Joel Benoit

Cool Geo-Pic: Amount of Old Ice in Arctic Hits Record Low in February 2009

This Cool Geo-Pic comes again from NASA's Earth Observatory. While the loss of perennial sea ice opens trade routes, its seems a pale trade-off given the global impact of climate change, sea level rise and the more imaginative tales of polar shift.

Quick "Cut & Paste" Highlights:

" ...The summer minimum and the winter maximum are the two pivotal milestones in the annual cycle of Arctic sea ice. The thickness of sea ice and the extent at each of these times are key indicators of Arctic climate. Over the past two and a half decades, the extent of sea ice at the end of summer (mid-September) has declined significantly. The corollary to that trend is that at the winter maximum (end of February or mid-March), the ice covering the Arctic is much younger and thinner than it was in the past...."

"...The age of ice in the winter pack is important because young ice is thin and likely to melt in the upcoming summer. Historically, a large “core” of sea ice survived the summer. Around the margins of the perennial ice, new ice forms each winter and melts each summer. Ice that survives the summer melt thickens and hardens through freezing of new water and collisions with other ice floes, which builds thick ridges of ice....."

Full Article - Click Here

References / Credits:

Maslanik, J., Fowler, C., Stroeve, J., Drobot, S., Zwally, J., Yi, D., and Emery, W. (2007). A younger, thinner Arctic ice cover: Increased potential for rapid, extensive sea-ice loss. Geophysical Research Letters, 34, L24501.
National Snow and Ice Data Center. Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis. NSIDC Website. Accessed April 8, 2009.

Further Reading:
NASA satellites show Arctic literally on thin ice.
Dwindling Arctic Ice.
NASA images by Jesse Allen, based on data provided by James Maslanik and Chuck Fowler, University of Colorado and NSIDC. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey, with input provided by Walt Meier, NSIDC.
Instrument:
DMSP

Cool Geo-Pic: Antarctic Warming Trends

This Cool Geo-Pic comes again from NASA's Earth Observatory. The image is significant because of the data behind its display - the temperature changes are based on nearly a half century of temperature collections (1957-2006). Five decades of data has allot of relevance.

download large image (2 MB, JPEG) acquired 1957 - 2006

Quick "Cut & Paste" Highlights:

" ... For a long time, it seemed that Antarctica was immune to global warming. Most of the icy southern continent, where temperatures can plummet to minus 80 degrees Celsius (-112 degrees Fahrenheit), seemed to be holding steady or even cooling as the rest of the planet warmed. But a new analysis of satellite and weather station data has shown that Antarctica has warmed at a rate of about 0.12 degrees Celsius (0.22 degrees F) per decade since 1957, for a total average temperature rise of 0.5 degrees Celsius (1 degree F)...."

Full Article - Click Here

References / Credits:

Hansen, K. (2009, January 22). Satellites confirm half-century of West Antarctic warming. NASA. Accessed January 22, 2009.
Steig, E., Schneider, D., Rutherford, S., Mann, M., Comiso, J., and Shindell, D. (2009, January 22). Warming of the Antarctic ice-sheet surface since the 1957 International Geophysical Year. Nature, 457, 459-463. doi:10.1038/nature07669.
Steig, E. (2009, January 21). State of Antarctica: red or blue? RealClimate. Accessed January 22, 2009.
Image courtesy Trent Schindler, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio. Caption by Holli Riebeek.
Instrument:
NOAA-15 POES - AVHRR