NASA calculated the rainfall rates in the Atlantic Ocean's newest tropical cyclone, Lorenzo.
NASA has the unique capability of peering under the clouds in storms and measuring the rate in which rain is falling. Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core passed over the region from its orbit in space and measured rainfall rates in the storms.
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite imagery revealed that Tropical Storm Kiko had a tight circulation center.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard Suomi NPP provided a visible image of Kiko on Sept. 22 that revealed the storm consisted of a tight circulation of low clouds with intermittent bursts of deep convection. The VIIRS image showed some powerful storms circled the low-level center and a large band of thunderstorms were located over the northern quadrant of the storm.
The Northern Indian Ocean has generated a new tropical cyclone. NASA provided an infrared look a recently formed Tropical Storm Hikaa, moving through the Arabian Sea.
Phoenix, Arizona, USA: From the Great Pacific garbage patch to inland rivers, plastics are among the most widespread contaminants on Earth. Microplastics -- particles of plastic smaller than five millimeters -- are especially pervasive. As they build up in Earth's waters, microplastics are also becoming a permanent part of the planet's sedimentary layers.
Now, using the Great Lakes as a laboratory, sedimentary petrologist Patricia Corcoran and her students at the University of Western Ontario are studying the behavior of microplastics as a geologic phenomenon.
As scientists observe the force of nature through a satellite weather tracker, they only see the day's events. To observe the long-term atmospheric influence, University of Cincinnati geologists are taking research a step further by tracking and measuring the distribution of sulfur in plants in the Caribbean island of Trinidad.
Every year, more than 500,000 children have their tonsils and adenoids surgically removed as a way to treat symptoms related to sleep apnea, making it one of most widely performed pediatric surgical procedures in the United States.
The mitochondrion, "the powerhouse of the cell." Somewhere back in the very distant past, something like a bacterium moved into another cell and never left, retaining some of its own DNA. For billions of years, mitochondria have passed from mother to offspring of most eukaryotic organisms, generating energy for the cell and playing roles in metabolism and programmed cell death.
Phoenix, Arizona, USA: Over the past 30 years, wildfires have gotten bigger, stronger, and occurred more often. As climates continue to warm, this trend will likely continue, causing disruption to landscapes and water systems alike.
Wildfires are destructive to ecosystems, but they can also set the stage for future issues. "After a wildfire, particularly a high-severity wildfire, you have significant impacts to the soil that affects the infiltration of water," says Brendan Murphy, a research associate at Utah State University.
Phoenix, Arizona, USA: Identifying geological features in a densely vegetated, steep, and rough terrain can be almost impossible. Imagery like LiDAR can help researchers see through the tree cover, but subtle landforms can often be missed by the human eye.
Now, a team of scientists has tapped into the power of machine learning to identify hidden geologic features. Specifically, the scientists are identifying previously unidentified cave entrances that are difficult to see in imagery, and hard to access on the ground.
Boulder, Colo., USA: The Sahara Desert is vast, generously dusty, and surprisingly shy about its age. New research looking into what appears to be dust that the Sahara blew over to the Canary Islands is providing the first direct evidence from dry land that the age of the Sahara matches that found in deep-sea sediments: at least 4.6 million years old.