By Salvatore R. Mercogliano - As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of mankind’s first steps upon the lunar surface, many have focused their attention to the heavens, but a key component of the success of that first landing on the Moon resides upon the Earth’s oceans with ships crewed by merchant mariners. Many specials are showcasing the career of Astronaut Neil Armstrong … [Read more...]
Researchers Map Seven Years of Arctic Shipping
The Arctic's declining sea ice has meant more opportunities for the shipping industry to expand its use of the region that in decades past was unnavigable for the vast majority of the year. The Northwest Passage through Canada and the Northern Sea Route, or Northeast Passage, north of Russia and Siberia, are both valued because they could significantly shorten ship transit … [Read more...]
New Study Finds Sea Level Rise Has Accelerated
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYnReLNLAZ0 Global sea level rise has been accelerating in recent decades, rather than increasing steadily, according to a new study based on 25 years of NASA and European satellite data. This acceleration, driven mainly by increased melting in Greenland and Antarctica, has the potential to double the total sea level rise projected by 2100 … [Read more...]
NASA Satellite Shows ‘Ship Tracks’ Over Atlantic, Pacific Oceans
The above satellite image was captured on by a NASA satellite on January 16, 2018 and shows criss-crossing cloud bands caused by ships in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off Spain and Portugal. Although the white trails look vaguely like contrails left behind by airplanes, they actually result from ship exhaust. The narrow clouds, known as ship tracks, form when … [Read more...]
Photos: NOAA’s New Weather Satellite Sends First Images Back to Earth
NOAA's next-generation weather satellite has sent its first images of Earth, well, back to Earth. NOAA released the photos on Monday. The agency said the GOES-16 satellite, the first spacecraft in NOAA’s next-generation of geostationary satellites, captured the first high-resolution images using its Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument. Included in the images are a … [Read more...]