Earth Sciences

The first Meteosat Second Generation meteorological satellite is today in operational service as Meteosat-8. The data it streams down from 36000 km over Africa’s Gulf of Guinea assists not just European weather forecasters but also numerous scientific teams.

This dual role was highlighted during a two-day Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) Research Announcement of Opportunity Workshop in Salzburg Austria, last week, running alongside the final two days of ESA’s Envisat S

Remote ‘marine deserts’ and dense plankton blooms could provide scientists with clues for understanding climate change.
A research team will set sail from Southampton, Friday, 17th September 2004, for the start of an expedition to study the interaction between the atmosphere and plankton – tiny floating marine organisms. By monitoring these organisms and the influence of changing climate on their growth, they hope to discover whether they act as a source of carbon dioxide, or a ‘sink’ in

They hadn’t planned it, but Meriwether Lewis and William Clark picked a fine time for a road trip when they set out to find a water route across the American Northwest two centuries ago.

Leading a small group of explorers, known as the Corps of Discovery, Lewis and Clark experienced favorable climatic conditions from 1804 to 1806 in search of an inland “Northwest Passage,” according to a Georgia State University professor.

The timing of the trip was crucial because ha

Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey are closely watching the long, thin barrier islands that comprise the Gulf of Mexico coast of west Florida as Hurricane Ivan approaches. These islands are particularly vulnerable to storm surge and coastal change during hurricanes because of their low elevation. New elevation maps show just how vulnerable.

“If Hurricane Ivan comes ashore on west Florida’s barrier islands as a major hurricane, Category 3 or stronger, most of the coast has the potenti

Even as Thursday’s Salzburg Envisat Symposium discussed the increasingly prominent role of Earth Observation in disaster relief, Envisat played a key part in a multinational emergency exercise taking place hundreds of kilometres to the north.

When is a flood not a flood? For the duration of the International Humanitarian Partnership’s Triplex 2004 exercise, taking place in Norway this week, humanitarian aid groups are taking part in a scenario where the country’s southern Lake Mj?sa

Scientists have long recognized the importance of oceans in our climate. In fact, the unique physical characteristics of our oceans are largely responsible for making the Earth a livable environment. Oceans are major “climate-controllers” because of their large heat capacity. For instance, it requires four times the amount of energy to raise the temperature of water by one degree than it does soil. As a result, over a long period, oceans can store and transport heat from one location to another. Fur