Tag Archives: M-10

Drought in the Land of the Long, White Cloud

Science fiction fanatics know it as “Middle-earth“.  Abel Tasman, the Dutch explorer who became the first European to sail there, called it “Staten Landt“, which was later changed to Nieuw Zeeland, Nova Zeelandia, and, finally, New Zealand. The native Maori … Continue reading

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Chinese Super-Smog

No, not a Super-Smörg, super smog. Smog that is so thick, you can taste it. The smog in many parts of eastern China has been so bad this winter, it is literally “off-the-charts“. Based on our Environmental Protection Agency‘s not-very-intuitive … Continue reading

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End of Autumn in the Alps

Much of the United States has had a below-average amount of snow this fall (and below-average precipitation for the whole year). Look at how little snow cover there was in the month of November. Parts of Europe, however, have seen … Continue reading

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The Case of the 100-year-old Ash Cloud

Lost in all the commotion caused by Hurricane Sandy, a curious event occurred on the other side of the country on 30 October 2012. A cloud of ash obscured the skies of Kodiak Island, Alaska, diverting flights in the region … Continue reading

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Greenland Eddies and Swirls

Last time we visited Greenland, it was because VIIRS saw evidence of the rapid ice melt event in July 2012. We return to Greenland because of this visible image VIIRS captured on 18 October 2012: This image was taken by … Continue reading

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The Outback on Fire

I’m not talking about a Subaru. I’m talking about the vast expanse of sparsely-populated Australia. We’ve already seen fires in the United States, Russia and the Canary Islands. Well, they have been happening down under, too. (Is there any part … Continue reading

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Fires near the “Coldest City on Earth”

Raise your hand if you’ve only ever heard of Yakutsk because of the board game “Risk”. (If you raised your hand, you might want to look around and make sure that no-one saw you raise your hand for no reason.)  … Continue reading

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VIIRS and the Greenland Ice Melt

First, a preface: The purpose of this blog (and this blog post) is not to ignite some debate about global warming. This is about what one new satellite instrument has observed and the information it is providing to the scientific … Continue reading

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