The Greenland ice sheet's flow toward the ocean is controlled by several factors, but how surface meltwater drains through the three-kilometer-thick sheet to the ground below and the effect this has on the speed of ice flow is poorly understood.
Satellite Data Helps Conserve Mexican Biodiversity
An international project lead by sustainability software and data firm Ecometrica and funded by the UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Space Programme helped local organizations in Mexico secure funding of more than $1 million from the Global Environment Facility to support conservation of the El Ocote Biosphere Reserve in the state of Chiapas.
NGA Establishes Commercial GEOINT Strategy
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) introduced a commercial GEOINT strategy that outlines the agency's plans to deliver commercial geospatial intelligence products and services by leveraging greater persistence from its traditional as well as new and emerging GEOINT providers.
California's Future Likely Includes More Droughts and Floods
A study published in Nature Communications suggests that El Niño and La Niña weather patterns could lead to at least a doubling of extreme droughts and floods in California later this century. The study also predicts more-frequent extreme weather events.
NASA Satellites Track Historic Hurricane Patricia
Hurricane Patricia made landfall on Oct. 24, 2015, along the southwestern coast of Mexico. NASA's Aqua satellite captured Patricia making landfall, while the Global Precipitation Measurement mission core satellite added up Patricia's high rain totals, which exceeded more than 409 millimeters (16.1 inches) over open waters.
Introducing EONET: The Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker
NASA recently released the Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET), an API that provides a curated collection of natural events as well as a way to link those events to image layers. EONET is expected to enable developers to build their own client applications on top of NASA data.
Ozone Hole Approaches Record Size
Researchers from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Earth Observation Center (EOC) used Earth-observation satellites to determine that the ozone hole over Antarctica currently extends more than 26 million square kilometers”an area larger than the North American continent. It's approximately 2.5 million square kilometers larger than at the same time in 2014, and just less than the record in 2006, when it was 27 million square kilometers.
Initial Commercial UAV Expo Deemed Successful
The Commercial UAV Expo debuted from Oct. 5-7, 2015, at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, and more than 1,500 attendees from 30 countries attended the show. The exhibit floor had 120 exhibitors from 14 countries showcasing solutions including airframes, components, sensors, software and services.
New NASA Cubesat Experiencing Problems
NASA and The Aerospace Corp. received confirmation that the Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration (OCSD) CubeSat spacecraft is in orbit and operational, but it currently is experiencing a problem with its attitude control system.
UAE Space Agency Commits to Earth Observation
At the Second Eye on Earth Summit, which was held Oct. 6-8, 2015, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the UAE Space Agency highlighted the importance of satellite and space technology for environmental-monitoring purposes.
