News by Subject Atmospheric Science

When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the Philippine Sea, water vapor data provided information about the intensity of Tropical Depression Kalmaegi.

The perceived scale of the Amazon blazes received global attention this summer. However, international concerns raised at the time were countered by the Brazilian Government, which claimed the fire situation in August was 'normal' and 'below the historical average'. An international team of scientists writing in the journal Global Change Biology say the number of active fires in August was actually three times higher than in 2018 and the highest number since 2010.

NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of Typhoon Fengshen after its eye opened as Fengshen had strengthened from a tropical storm to a typhoon and developed an eye.

NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of developing Tropical Storm Raymond in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

The world's tropical forests store huge quantities of carbon in their biomass and thus constitute an important carbon sink. However, current estimates of the amount of carbon dioxide stored in tropical forests of the Amazon vary largely. Scientists at the UFZ have developed an approach that uses recent satellite data to provide much more precise estimates of the amount of biomass in tropical forests than in the past.

Tropical Cyclone Kalmaegi is still experiencing wind shear and those winds have continued to displace the strongest storms north of the cyclone's center. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead and identified those strong storms using infrared light.

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire find environmental developments caused by climate change are contributing to the transformation of the seafloor to a lower, more patchy seascape dominated by shrub-like seaweed which could impact species habitats and the structure of the food web.