Solar Eclipses - Interactive Google Maps Thermodynamics: Albedo Albedo is a non-dimensional, unitless quantity that indicates how well a surface reflects solar energy. Albedo varies between 0 and 1. Albedo commonly refers to the "whiteness" of a surface, with 0 meaning black and 1 meaning white. Albedo generally applies to visible light, although it may involve some of the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Sea ice has a much higher albedo compared to other Earth surfaces, such as the surrounding ocean. Snow has an even higher albedo than sea ice, and so thick sea ice covered with snow reflects as much as 90 percent of the incoming solar radiation. Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 Aug 21 Google Maps and Solar Eclipse Paths Your web browser must have Javascript turned on. The following browsers have been successfully tested with Google Maps: Macintosh - Firefox 3.5+, Chrome 4+, Safari 4+, Opera 10.5+ Windows - Firefox 3.5+, Chrome 4+, Explorer 8+, Opera 10.5+ Linux - Firefox 3.5+, Chrome 4+ iOS - Safari Mobile 4+, Chrome 25+, Opera Mini 5+ Android - Android 2.3+, Firefox 19+, Chrome 25+ Introduction This interactive Google map shows the path of the Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 Aug 21. The green marker labeled GE is the point of Greatest Eclipse. Note that the central line of the eclipse (plotted in red) is banded by different colors for hundreds of miles east and west of the Greatest Duration marker. You can be hundreds of miles from the theoretical point of Greatest Duration and still enjoy totality lasting within a fraction of a second of the maximum possible (as long as you stay within several miles of the central line). User Directions Eclipse Circumstances Footnotes
Female Scientist Eunice Newton Foote Warned Us About Climate Change in 1856 – LX Since the 1800s, humans have had plenty of warnings about the dangers of climate change for the future of the planet and life as we know it. One of the first instances of a scientist sounding the alarm came in the 1850s, during the American Industrial Revolution, from a woman named Eunice Newton Foote. And let's just say her research foreshadowed how both climate change and discerning women would be treated by society for decades to come. Foote wasn't allowed to present her own work at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1856. Nope, the highly regarded Joseph Henry, first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, did that. Her experiments are now considered a precursor to those done in 1859 by John Tyndall, who proved the greenhouse effect comes from gases like water vapor and carbon dioxide absorbing heat radiated from the surface of the Earth (not the sun's rays) and redirecting it back toward Earth. So what exactly was Foote's experiment?
NASA: Climate Change and Global Warming From the unique vantage point in space, NASA collects critical long-term observations of our changing planet. NASA applies ingenuity and expertise gained from decades of planetary and deep-space exploration to the study of our home planet. The Earth Science Division operates more than 20 satellites in orbit, sponsors hundreds of research programs and studies, and funds opportunities to put data to use for societal needs. We develop new ways to observe the oceans, land cover, ice, atmosphere, and life, and we measure how changes in one drive changes in others over the short and long term. While listening to and collaborating with industry leaders, international partners, academic institutions, and other users of our data, we deepen knowledge of our planet, drive innovations, and deliver science to help inform decisions that benefit the nation and the world. Wildfires and Climate Change Learn More about Wildfires and Climate Change How Do We Know Climate Change is Real?
Climate and Ice Most of us do not live in polar regions. We do not come in contact with icebergs or ice sheets very often. Most of us have only seen these things in photographs. However, no matter where you live, the snow and ice of the Earth’s cryosphere has an impact on your climate. Because the cryosphere - the icy part of our planet - is so interconnected with other parts of the Earth system, what happens in the cryosphere affects the whole Earth. As climate change causes temperature to rise, ice melts. Some of the reasons that changes to the cryosphere affect the planet as a whole are because of feedbacks that cause more warming. Melting ice causes more warming. When solar radiation hits snow and ice, approximately 90% of it is reflected back out to space. Melting permafrost releases greenhouse gases. Global warming is causing soils in the polar regions that have been frozen for as much as 40,000 years to thaw. Less ice on land means sea level rises.
Clouds, Precipitation, and Climate Change Evaporation, Precipitation and Climate Change Rising global temperatures are likely to accelerate evaporation rates worldwide. So more evaporation is likely to lead to more rainfall, in a globally averaged sense. Many scientists speak of a "spun up" water cycle as a result of global warming; meaning there would be more water cycling through the atmosphere as a result of the increased precipitation rate. There is no guarantee, however, that these increased evaporation and precipitation rates will be distributed evenly worldwide. Warmer temperatures and increased carbon dioxide levels may encourage plant growth in many regions. Clouds and Climate Different types of clouds have different affects on the Earth's climate. Currently, the combined effect of all clouds is one of net cooling, meaning that clouds are dampening the rate of global warming. What if climate change causes the number of cooling clouds to increase? For more information about clouds and climate:
In a new music video, Earth’s climate is baroque Climate change is a pressing issue, but it can often feel distant and abstract. To make it resonate in people’s minds, one scientist turned dry data points into achingly beautiful music, making the frightening changes to our planet audible. The short piece, In Nomine Terra Calens, translates to “In the Name of a Warming Earth.” Jones spent decades of her professional life studying earthquakes with the United States Geological Survey, but she’s also a gifted musician. Jones writes in an blog post that she “sometimes hears the data” she sees in graphs and papers about climate change. But instead of just associating notes with temperatures, she took it one step farther, deciding to ground her work in the baroque period by using a style of music called the In Nomine. She performed the piece live in Los Angeles in February of this year with other musicians, but just posted a music video of the composition online today. “Dealing with climate change means investing in the future,” she adds.