Human Geography

View of Amazon basin forest north of Manaus, Brazil. Image taken from top of a 50 m tower for meteorological observations, and the top of vegetation canopy is typically 35 m. Photo: Phil P. HarrisView of Amazon basin forest north of Manaus, Brazil. Image taken from top of a 50 m tower for meteorological observations, and the top of vegetation canopy is typically 35 m. Photo: Phil P. Harris

Reducing Climate Change Could Be More Difficult in the Future

A recent study has declared that limiting climate change in the future could be more difficult due to shifting conditions in the Amazon forest. The planet’s oceans and forests have long held climate change in check because they act as massive carbon sinks, soaking up excess carbon dioxide in the […]

Maps and GIS

The results demonstrated that the visual map of the tadpoles developed naturally when the bars moved from front to back. The tadpoles that were shown the images in reverse order, however, extended nerve fibers to the wrong spots in the map, confirming that the brain would perceive those images as backwards.The results demonstrated that the visual map of the tadpoles developed naturally when the bars moved from front to back. The tadpoles that were shown the images in reverse order, however, extended nerve fibers to the wrong spots in the map, confirming that the brain would perceive those images as backwards.

How Mental Map Development Affects How We Perceive the Visual World Around Us

A new study from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, is challenging the way scientists look at the brain’s visual system.

Physical Geography

Monthly 700 hPa vertical velocity anomalies (Pa/s) from October of 1933 through March of 1934, calculated from the 20th Century Reanalysis. All anomalies are calculated relative to the baseline period of 1931–1990.Monthly 700 hPa vertical velocity anomalies (Pa/s) from October of 1933 through March of 1934, calculated from the 20th Century Reanalysis. All anomalies are calculated relative to the baseline period of 1931–1990. From

New Study Discovers the Worst Drought of the Millennium Occurred in 1934

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the worst drought of the last thousand years occurred in 1934 at the height of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Scientists from NASA and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory found that 1934 had the driest and most widespread drought in a […]

Physical Geography

On Sept. 19, 2014, the five-day average of Antarctic sea ice extent exceeded 20 million square kilometers for the first time since 1979, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The red line shows the average maximum extent from 1979-2014. Image Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio/Cindy StarrOn Sept. 19, 2014, the five-day average of Antarctic sea ice extent exceeded 20 million square kilometers for the first time since 1979, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The red line shows the average maximum extent from 1979-2014. Image Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio/Cindy Starr

New Record Extent of Sea Ice in Antarctica

The polar regions of the Earth, the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica, are of particular concern to scientists and researchers. In one sense, these areas act much like an air conditioner for the planet because of their cold, icy environments and the fact that like they reflect a high degree of […]

Physical Geography

A digital camera on NASA’s ER-2 airplane captured this top-down view of a melt pond atop a glacier in southeastern Alaska on July 16, 2014. Chunks of ice float on the pond’s turquoise water. A digital camera on NASA’s ER-2 airplane captured this top-down view of a melt pond atop a glacier in southeastern Alaska on July 16, 2014. Chunks of ice float on the pond’s turquoise water.

Melt Ponds and the Prediction of Ice Melt

One of the biggest environmental concerns is that of global climate change. Symptoms of major shifts in the Earth’s climate are everywhere from the melting of glaciers, rising oceans, more severe storms, and warmer temperatures. Of particular worry to scientists and researchers is that of the melting of sea ice. […]

Maps and GIS, Physical Geography

Map of the North Atlantic Ocean showing gravity anomalies. Marine gravity model of the North Atlantic (10 mGal contours). Red dots show locations of earthquakes with magnitude > 5.5 and they highlight the present-day location of the seafloor spreading ridges and transform faults. This gravity information shows the details of the plate tectonic history of the rifting of these continents including the subtle signatures of fracture zones that are currently buried by sediment.Map of the North Atlantic Ocean showing gravity anomalies. Marine gravity model of the North Atlantic (10 mGal contours). Red dots show locations of earthquakes with magnitude > 5.5 and they highlight the present-day location of the seafloor spreading ridges and transform faults. This gravity information shows the details of the plate tectonic history of the rifting of these continents including the subtle signatures of fracture zones that are currently buried by sediment.

An Ocean of Mountains

With the help of satellite technology, a team of American and European researchers recently announced that they have discovered thousands of new mountains on the ocean floor.